Cool, I think I will give this a try. Where do you get sawdust spawn?
There are many suppliers. This is the product I used for the wine caps. If your looking for shiitake and want to start small then look into the wood dowels for inoculating logs. Super easy!
Post a pic of your mushroom garden when you get it going! I need ideas.
Here is how my garden ended up. The vines will give me some good head cover once they get green. I lined the bottom with cardboard and then layered straw and hardwood chips. 3 layers of each with sawdust spawn spread in the straw layers. About 7-8 inches of straw and wood chips total. The logs are all Shiitake logs. I will add more next year if it goes good in the box.
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I’ve been working my way through a huge pile of maple chips from storm damage in June 2022. Would those chips be useable for wine caps? It was loaded with some type of white mycelium on the south facing side once I got into the wetter stuff two weeks ago. Would that be detrimental to another type of fungus?
I am sure the Wine Caps would do good in those chips. Its good material for them. The issue with foreign mycelium is that its just more competition for the Wine Caps. Maybe add in some straw to give it a good kick start when you spread the sawdust spawn for the wine caps. I am sure it will work fine either way. You will just get less mushrooms and want to make sure you picking the correct species if there is other mycelium in there!
Just keep the log moist and in the shade?
Yep! cool, shaded areas that get moisture or you can water them yourself as well. You can also purge/soak the logs in water to speed the process and force them to grow. However this will burn out your logs fast. Most logs will produce for 4-6 years but if you push them hard by soaking it will cut that cycle in half.
If I have plans to cook a big meal and need a few pounds of mushrooms you can soak the one or two logs 8-10 days before this. I usually soak mine for 1.5 days and then stand them up in a shaded area. The Shiitake’s will go crazy (20-25 per log) and be mature in 7-8 days after a good soaking.
How has it worked for you!?What process do you do to grow your own? What kind of yield do you get?
Its super easy to be honest. They sell a smaller kit that sell wood dowels and the wax so the only tool you need is a drill, hammer and a small crock pot or something to melt the wax. Here is a photo of the 1st two logs I did with this method.
The last two years I joined a group of guys and we use sawdust spawn and he has all the tools for inoculating fast. We can run about 150-200 logs in a day and everyone gets to take a few home. I believe I have about 30 logs now so will get more mushrooms that a guy can use.
Wine caps are grown in the ground. You can buy 5 lbs of sawdust spawn for 25 bucks and this species will grow right in your straw garden covering or wood mulch. I am finishing my garden bed tonight and will take a photo. It is 6×6 ft and will hold all my logs and the ground cover will be wine caps. Looking forward to seeing how it does.
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If you decide to go with the Tacoma run your #s.. You might be surprised to see its better to buy a 2023 right now. I have a Tacoma now and love it.
Used Tacoma’s hold their value. You will see them 2-3 years old and asking 35,000.00 plus. You can get a new one around 41-42,000.00 with 3 year warranty and a better interest rate. It can cost more if you add a bunch of stuff but that will come with anything you are looking at.
Also, 2023 is the last year they will be selling the Tacoma with the 3.5 v6. The 2024 will be a 2.4 twin turbo and sticker price will be about 8-10,000.00 more than the new 2023 models.
I have been using the 13 fishing (Omen Black) spinning rods in MH for a few years and really like them. Great rod for the price. Should be able to find one at or under 100.00. The MH comes in 7’1″.
Monday was pretty good on Pool 2 with some bigger fish, Saturday was only immature males and smallies on the upper part of the river. Hopefully they get back on the chew this week!
One odd thing, lots of moss, weeds messing up my cranks. I dont know if it is flowing downstream or if it grew with all the low flow recently. It is showing up downriver too? Not a fan!
I did see some of this downriver on Sunday.. I think it is just build up from last summer/falls low flow clearing out. We never really flushed the toilet from last year so maybe this is the start. Hoping for more flow to get these seams set up nice. Those females should be moving back down river this week.
I have to assume the ladies were finishing up dropping eggs this weekend. I was surprised to see how warm the water was already.
P3 was 53-54 and pool 2 was at 56 in the main channel yesterday while I was out. I found 62 degrees in some back waters and the bass were piling up in some areas.
St Croix was a 45 degrees.
I have done good with the Rapala ripstops #9. Its more of a twitch bait than a pull and pause. Great for pre spawn bass.
Out of all the things we cook the smash burgers are the family’s favorite.
85% beef, BoarsHead American cheese and good buns are a must. I like to set onions down too but not needed.
Measure your beef with 1/4 cup measuring cup. This equals 1/8 lb and smashes to the perfect size. We do double and triple patty burgers.
Butter the surface and toast your buns first. Then butter the surface again and run your burgers. Smash the burger, season and flip in 90-120 seconds. Then drop the cheese on and let the other side cook for another 90 seconds and they are done. Make sure to use parchment paper when you smash the burger. You want your burger super thin and that parchment paper will keep it from sticking to your smasher.
We can cook 12-16 burgers, buns and all in 20 minutes. Helps to have two on the grill if your doing a big batch.
I wish I needed it, double your price and it would still sell!
I would if it was going on Marketplace but sure there is someone here who can use it more than me.. I just want to get what I have into it and happy with that.
Robby, Interstate 1 is the manufacture I believe. I have to dig up the title and can see what year and verify manufacture.
There’s one thing with harvesting bait thats never made sense to me. You can buy minnows from a bait shop and go to a body of water that is heavily infested with several things milfoil, zebra mussels, etc and camp out and fish for a week, dragging your minnows around in a minnow bucket the whole time. Now transfer the minnows to clean tap or bottled water and go fish a pristine uninfested lake and be totally legal, but you can’t trap or net minnows out of that heavily infested water and transfer them to tap or bottled water to use somewhere else.
If you catch/trap your own bait the state collects zero TAX $$.
No need to get much deeper into discussion when $$ to the state are involved.
I pulled a camera last night and as of this week I still see about 70% holding here in the metro. 11 bucks. 2 bald and 2 with one holding on. 7 still hanging onto both sides.
This area traditionally holds late into the season. So there is that…
Not that it matters but I am curious why the police were called to the domestic.
Do you all think the audio of the phone call to 911 will be made public? I understand this information will never change the outcome here but as said in earlier post this information matters. It might help people understand more of what happened that evening.
We have had goldens here on the St Croix during the winter. Specifically in Afton near the open water at Catfish bar.
I was never 100% sure till we had a videographer out and got good film of them. 100% verified as a pair of goldens. Seen them for about 8-10 years now. They like harassing the ducks and geese down there.
I second Whirlpool. Had those appliances at my previous house and they were solid.
Same here. We purchased a gas Whirlpool in 2019. Double oven, 4 standard top burners and a center plate burner. My FW loves it!
Only issue so far was the ignitors. Last year our upper oven ignitor went out and about a month later the lower oven ignitor went out. Was super easy to replace though. I ordered the parts from Dey Electric here in the cities and had them swapped out in 30 min.
It’s been the opposite for me lately, I’ve been finding numbers of fish but no monsters. There is a zillion tons of bait in the water as well as a large number of low 20’s inch long fish. The future looks pretty good.
Yesterday was tough for me. I found a couple of Saugers and one White Bass. I would imagine the sudden rise in water temperature and flow along with the sudden decrease in visibility has shaken things up. Once it settles down I think things will pick up again.
SR
Good to know your at least catching them Steve.. I was back down on Friday and noticed that flow and water color. I found them but the fish moved about 100 yards and got tight to a deep seam. Might be a bit before we get back out now.
I was out there a few nights over the weekend and last night. Glad to see some flow finally back in the river!! Forecast looking forward is not great for us on P2 but sure did enjoy the weather we had the last week here.
I dont know if I remember ever seeing so many trailers up at 494. EVER!! How did you guys do? Seems quiet on the report side. I avoided the circus and spent my time targeting unpressured areas. It paid off in size but #s have been low. I was happy with that though.
Here is an example of Woke. I agree the with lack of critical thinking…
Chauvin was sentenced to prison in June of 2021.
Fall of Minneapolis was released 11/16/2023
Chauvin was stabbed 22 times in prison 8 days later… Hmmm..
Woke “he deserved it”
Non-Woke “how did this happen and why”
If watching this does not open ones eyes to all the crap going on around us, Nothing will. But sadly not many will take the time to watch it.
I seen first hand what some think about this show. We watched it with a group and two of the gals we watched it with are very “WOKE”.
#1 induvial left right away and refused to watch. Instead she told us we were the problem for even turning this on. #2 made it half way through before she teamed up with #1 in the kitchen and did what they could to make it hard to hear and watch this show. Again, because we were the problem???
Neither of them learned or wanted to learn anything about this show. The rest of us will have to watch it again just to see the last 40 minutes and understand what was said.
Lions can ice in early but this mild fall doesn’t seem like enough to freeze it up yet.
You can get out yet but will be busting ice. Dan said there was about an inch to break a couple days ago. With zero flow back there right now I would plan on 494 moving forward.
I used to fish out of a solo bell marlin canoe quite a bit.
Few tips…
Bring an anchor but a small one (8 lbs) so it is easy to pull in and out of the canoe. Will come in handy if your walleye fishing.
Use a vexilar/marcum ice unit for your depth finder. My canoe was Kevlar and I could read depth and fish right though the bottom of the canoe. You don’t have to put it in the water and get solid readings. If you put a dab of Vaseline on the bottom of the canoe and set your transducer to it there. Works great! Not sure what material your kayak is but give it a try.
He is always busy. Just normally not to this extent. I am sure once a little is off his plate we will hear from him again. I do enjoy his post and humor. I can confirm he is alive and is busier than:
– a squirrel in a nut factory.
– a flopping fish in an ice chest.
– a mosquito at an orgy.
– a toothless beaver.
– a cat at a laser show.
– a cocktail waitress at happy hour.
– a politician in a church confessional
– a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest.
– a rabbit in heat
– unsupervised pedophile in a daycare.
I have read this list 3 times and laughed every time.. Thats funny! I thought it was only these younger kids that are single with no kids, pets or mortgage payment that are this busy. Good to see you guys are keeping an eye on Mr. Pout 
I haven’t smoked them in years, but they are great!
As above, brine them and smoke them like any other trout. I like Applewood personally.
I moved to alder base and will mix apple or pecan in but like that Alder for my salmon now. Yummm…
Now that you can have two rods on Pool 2, you need to craft a rod holder into the bear!!!
You know it!! Its on my list of things to do. Will be on there by next year for sure.
While you are at it Joe you need one that can hold your beer also…
You are a wise man 
Lol I thought the same thing. Is that a bear cub sitting there?
Gimruis got it right !! My kids asked me to carve it and mount it to the boat. So we did and left it there. I want to do a different one that can hold a rod. Would be kind of funny. I get some weird looks driving down the road too. That was the idea at first. Been on the boat for a few years now.
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Your boat gives me anxiety.
My boat is a mess and I love it. Lots of blood, fish slime and beer stains under those baits. You should be around when it gets wet. haha.. Can smell it from a 1/4 away.
N2iOcOk8, there is a bite out there but might have to change up what it is that you are or were doing two weeks ago.
I was out on Saturday and a couple hours on Sunday last weekend. The Bass are really stacked up in some areas of the main channel right now!! Large and Smallmouths.
The walleyes were deeper than they were a week ago. Not sure why but had to look for structure along deeper water and found them. It took us about 2 hours on Saturday to get our first walleye. We caught a few on crank baits but meat and plastics were best.
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