Freshly inoculated and point of fruiting - what does it mean?

To grow mushrooms on logs you take a freshly cut piece of timber and drill holes in it, then inject mycelium-laden sawdust into the log. At this point the log is freshly inoculated. The mycelium ( the 'roots' or vegetative stage of a mushroom) then grows throughout the log over a period of about a year. This is sometimes referred to as the period of 'benign neglect' and requires little active attention but a careful eye to make sure the logs have enough moisture, and are safe from cats dogs and marauding woodsmen. Once the log is fully colonised it is ready to fruit (point of fruiting) - ie produce mushrooms which are in fact the sexual stage of the mushroom cycle; the fruiting body.

At Ragmans we prefer to sell our logs when the mycelium has fully colonised the log and it is ready to fruit (point of fruiting). Although the period of 'benign neglect' is straightforward in terms of management, it is more likely that we can provide optimum conditions given that we are looking after thousands of logs. We think a point of fruit log is a superior product. A freshly inoculated single log in a customers' backgarden going through its period of benign neglect has an uncertain fate - cats claws, dog pee and log burners spring to mind.

Having said all of this, we sometimes run out of point of fruit logs. At this stage we offer freshly inoculated logs, and work twice as hard to make sure that our stocks of point of fruit logs are bigger for next year.

If you are buying a freshly inoculated log, it simply requires time, and a little watering over the hot dry summer months (rainwater or tap water left to stand overnight so the chlorine evaporates please) and a shady breeze free area to rest in.