Design 5 - Mushroom cultivation at Iso-orvokkiniitty

Posted on 29.4.202417.10.2024 by Erkki

Diploma apprentice’s name	Erkki Pöytäniemi
Date Apprentice started Diploma	2014 / May 2021
Project Title	Design 5 – Mushroom cultivation at Iso-orvokkiniitty
Design Number	5/10
Date Design Started	2024-03-15 (2015)
Date Design Completed	2024-10-17
Has the Design been implemented?	yes
Online Link to Design (if available)
Type of Design	Land Based
Design Framework	CEAP
Design Category	Land & Nature Stewardship, Tools and Technology, Finances & Economics
Tools used	Base map, Zones, Sectors, Functions-elements, Input-output, Permaculture Ethics, Holmgren Design Principles, Illustrations, Photos, Data gathering, SWOC
Name of Personal Tutor	Andreas Jonsson
Ready for Presentation	Ready

I am doing this design because mushroom cultivation is one of the original 3 dreams I had when we started at Iso-orvokkiniitty. The focus will be in shiitake cultivation but I will mention some other mushrooms as well.

I will publish this here in WordPress but drafted it first in Obsidian.

Content

Design Brief
Design Framework: CEAP
Collect site information
- Our needs
- Iso-orvokkiniitty
- Map
- Helps
Evaluate information
- Sectors
- Zones
- Functions and elements analysis
Apply Permaculture Principles
- Permaculture ethical principles
- Holmgren design principles
Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking
- The Plan
  - The Shiitake Business Model
- Implementing a cultivations system
  - Mushroom cultivation
    - The beginning: inoculation
    - Placement
- Maintanence
  - Annual Shiitake workflow
  - Mushroom log inoculation workshop
  - Force fruiting shiitake
- Evaluation
  - Results with Shiitake cultivation
  - Use, marketing and sales
  - Workload in sales model
  - Workshops
  - Integrations
  - Other mushroom stories at Iso-orvokkiniitty
    - Foraging mushroom
    - Wine cap
    - Turkey tail
    - Sheathed woodtuft
    - Raised beds
    - Chaga
    - Mycorrhiza
    - Kääpä Biotech
  - Input-output analysis of mushroom cultivation
  - SWOC of the shiitake cultivation system
Tweaking
- Shiitake cultivation
- Entangled with mushroom
- Teaching mushroom
Final Reflections and Assessment
- CEAP
- Permaculture ethics and vision
- Using design tools
- Integration with Design 00
- First assessment
Literature

Design Brief

The dream of cultivating mushroom became a part of my plan to generate several side incomes on Iso-orvokkiniitty. My working idea was that we should design 5 business areas that generate 10000 € each in high-margin turnover (meaning that the business relies as much as possible on our own resources and work and only a small part of the turn-over is needed for covering external costs of the operation). Outdoor shiitake cultivation in logs was one of those businesses. So the scale of the design was based on the 10000 € turnover target.

The need for this is that as an entrepreneur my pension plan is pretty weak and after my planned stepping out of my external business I would need to have additional income. 50000 € turnover is a crude estimate of what might be sufficient. It is lower than what I currently make and therefore also requires overall stricter control of expenses on the farm and in life in general. And of course turnover doesn’t directly translate to personal income so the number is just to give direction.

The second need integrates with our target to develop Iso-orvokkiniitty into a permaculture farm with focus on education. Teaching a practical subject requires experience in that subject and a “proof of concept”, i.e. being able to show that the concept works in scale – and what doesn’t work. Developing a mushroom cultivation system of a relevant size builds capacity to teach mushroom cultivation, not only theoretically but as something that can actually produce mushrooms and potentially generate a side income also for the students.

Finally there is need for food for ourselves and as a part of Iso-orvokkiniitty food system and developing self-sufficiency on our farm.

More theoretically we have a need to enhance plant growth in our forest garden and vegetable garden in order to increase productivity. Fungi can be useful also for that end.

Design Framework

I decided to use CEAP as the design framework for this design because I haven’t used it yet and it is a permaculture design framework: it actually includes the step “Apply permaculture principles”. It looks simpler than other frameworks (OBREDIMET, SADIMET) but actually is very similar. I tried to keep this design simple in the spirit of the short abbreviation and not go into a lot of theory about fungi etc. I will include some financial considerations.

CEAP

Collect site information
Evaluate the information
Apply permaculture principles
Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking

Design Categories:

Land & Nature Stewardship
Tools and Technology,
Finances & Economics (PF)

(C) Collect site information

Our needs

Sosteric & Ratkovic propose a holistic view of people’s needs and motivations (see my article Our needs). The needs are grouped as physiological, environmental, cognitive, emotional, psychological, alignment and connection.

This design focuses on the direct need for food (physiological), environmental needs including food security, income (can be used for different categories of needs), cognitive and maybe some of the other categories.

Physiological: mushroom are nutritious and healthy food, some of them even considered medicinal.
Environmental: mushroom have a different relation to weather, soil and other growth factors compared to plants or animals and therefore contribute to food security. Mushroom can be prepared, processed and stored in various ways. Mushroom contribute to resilience of ecosystems.
Income: mushroom can contribute to generating income both directly (selling mushroom and mushroom products) and indirectly (selling knowhow in the form of workshops and courses or even consulting).
Cognitive: Understanding fungi contributes to understanding life.

Iso-orvokkiniitty

We bought the property that became Iso-orvokkiniitty in 2014. It was a 12 ha piece of land with no buildings, roads or other infrastructure.
Appr. 6 ha is forest and 6 ha field, although we lease 4,5 ha of the fields to an organic farmer.
We started building an ecological clay-strawbale house in 2016 and moved in in 2018.
We are off-grid.
Permaculture has been a key part of our Vision, Mission and Aims from the very start.

The Iso-orvokkiniitty site has been described in separate articles and previous designs:

Map

Map 1: Iso-orvokkiniitty map including forest and fields. The 4 ha piece of forest on the NE and 2 separate pieces in the south and NW – in total 6 ha. The uncoloured area within the site borders is field that we lease to an organic farmer for hay and ensilage production.

The map shows the location of the hazelnut grove and the forest area that is predominantly mature spruce forest and therefore suitable for a shiitake yard.

Helps

In 2014-15 when we started experimenting with and studying mushroom cultivation it seemed that very few people in Finland knew about the subject. One of the people who was interested in mushroom cultivation at that time was Jouni Issakainen from Turku University who managed a project to develop cultivation of Kuehneromyces mutabilis (2). I attended his workshop in 2014.

Since then the situation has changed and mushrooms are trending in many ways. Nowadays Karjalohja is a very mushroomy place and that is partly because of us. Eric Puro, one of the founders of Kääpä Biotech, visited us in 2016. Eventually he moved to Karjalohja and Kääpä Biotech was founded just 2 km from here and has become a leading player globally in production of medicinal mushrooms and mushroom extracts. Also Lorin von Longo-Liebenstein and Joette Crosier are part of the story and have offered their valuable help during the years. I met Lorin at the Nordic Permaculture Festival in 2016 which must have been one of the first mushroom workshops he held in Finland. Lorin has helped us in several occasions. In 2023 we took part in Joette’s mushroom workshop about implementing fungi in gardens (Lorin was also there) which was a part of her PhD studies. Also Christian Lankinen played an important role especially in inviting Lorin to Finland and starting one of the first mycelium businesses in Finland.

In addition – apart from all the books (see Literature) – important sources of information, inspiration and mycelium have been Glückpilze in Austria, Field and Forest which I visited 2015 in the US and a visit to a small Latvian shiitake farm in 2015 arranged by my friend Andrejs Hansons. And of course there are many others, not to speak of the endless sources of information on the internet.

(E) Evaluate the information

Most cultivated mushrooms are saprophytic , i.e. they grow on organic matter like fresh wood logs, wood chips or straw. Some are primary saprophytes meaning that they need f.ex. fresh pure wood while some need other decomposers to be present first or need a connection to the soil. Those could be secondary or tertiary saprophytes. However many fungi are opportunistic so they can move between categories depending on situation. I will not into details about all things mushroom. The main conclusion of the gathered information is that outdoor mushroom cultivation is possible in Finland.

Sectors

The main sectors to consider for Mushroom cultivation are
- Wind Sectors: A key factor in all mushroom growing is to avoid drying of the growing substrate. Iso-orvokkiniitty in general is protected from winds from North to SE by the hill and forest on the east side of our property. Western winds can be a challenge as they can enter even the spruce forest from the field edge.
- Sun Sectors: Mushrooms need light but not direct sun light. Again the challenge is drying of the growing substrate. A mature spruce forest is maybe the best natural protection against both winter and summer sun and the drying effect. In any case mushroom should be cultivated in a shady place.
- Water Sectors: We have a well with good supply of fresh cold water. We have ponds. The water system is described in Design 1: Ponds at Iso-orvokkiniitty. Hoses can be used to move water so it is not a critical factor for placement.
- Substrate: Mushroom cultivation in logs requires access to wood. We have approximately 6 ha of woods of which 4 ha in one piece connected to where our house is and 2 smaller pieces behind the fields. Approximately 120 metres north from the house is a hazelnut grove where birch and alder are closing over the old hazelnuts and therefore needed to be thinned. It can also be practical to buy logs and in that case the mushroom yard should be close to access by road, i.e. zone 1-2.

Mushrooms need moisture so guaranteeing suitably moist conditions and avoiding direct sunlight and wind are key factors in choosing the site. A mature spruce forest is an optimal place for growing mushroom as it protects from sun even in the winter (the winter sun is a very effective drier). In our case we have spruce north from Zone 1 in a relatively steep hill (Map 1). The forest is open to the field in the south-west so wind protection is not optimal but still relatively good. The edge should be planted with trees and bushes to close the entrance (integration with Forest Garden).

It must be possible to water the substrates during dry periods both if it is logs or raised beds with organic matter. It needs to be possible to hose water to the cultivation site. This is necessary also for force fruiting shiitake with cold water. As such the shiitake mushroom yards are not close to a water source and they are uphill from the house. However hosing water from the well is feasible as there is no lack of solar generated electricity in the summer. Our well is a good source of cold water necessary for force fruiting but we are not aware how much water can been drawn from it in the summer. It seems to be safe to change the water for force fruiting once a week.

After we dug the ponds in 2022 those could also be used as a water source. However the water for force fruiting should be as cold as possible so pond water is not optimal.

In any case water is a valuable resource that we need also for irrigation. Therefore the water should be hosed back to the garden after it is too warm for force fruiting.

Zones

A mushroom cultivation needs weekly or even daily attention during the season so it should be in Zone 1-2 relatively close to our house. On the other hand there’s no point in carrying logs for long distances in the forest from where trees are felled. Carrying the mushroom yield is much easier. Therefore mushroom logs can also be inoculated in the forest if they are too far from the house.

In 2015-16 we didn’t yet have a house but the place for the house had been decided so we knew where Zone 1 was going to be.

Satellite photo from late 2016 shows where our activities were concentrated at the time. The area within the green circle represents approximately Zones 1-2 at the time. (Photo explained in detail in Iso-orvokkiniitty – the site.)

An important place from the start was the hazelnut grove (see Map 1 above) which is 120 metres north from the house. It is 0,4 ha of big hazelnuts that I wanted to help by cutting down some of the birch and alder that were shading them. The distance was too long to carry the wood out so it was an opportunity to start the mushroom yard on the south side of the hazelnut grove.

Mushroom cultivation means very different things at different times of the year

Growing mycelium indoors in February-March. Zone 0.
Felling trees for the logs in February – March in our young forest Zone 3.
Inoculating logs should happen close to the cultivation yard in Zone 2. However it can also make sense to inoculate logs close to where the trees are felled if it is difficult to transport them out of the forest (mushrooms weigh much less than wood).
The cultivation yard should be close to the site center as it needs to be visited several times a week in high season. Zone 2. (unless Zone 3 as above)
Raised beds and other garden mushroom projects should be in zone 1-2 in a shady place so that they can be observed regularly during the season.

Functions & elements analysis

The reason to do a Functions and elements analysis is to see how the mushroom cultivation process can be integrated in Iso-orvokkiniitty, f.ex. which functions and elements already exist and how can new ones benefit Iso-orvokkiniitty also in other ways.

Function	Element	Multifunction	Comment
Source of mycelium	– fresh mushroom from nature – fresh cultivated mushroom – pure commercial culture – grain spawn – sawdust spawn – dowels	none	The later you come in the process (lower in the list) the less integrated and self sufficient you are.
Growing mycelium	– laminar flowbox – glovebox – Petri dishes and other lab equipment – pressure cooker or autoclave – glass jars or autoclave bags – substrate: grain, sawdust, dowels, gypsum, oat bran, agar agar	pressure cooker and glass jars in food processing, otherwise limited	The later you come into the process, the less you need. A relatively simple process for saving cost is buying grain spawn and multiplying it by growing sawdust spawn. In that case you need the items that are in Italics. Inoculating dowels would require even less. Autoclave bags should be avoided as they are single-use plastic. Glass jars should be used instead.
Inoculation into logs with dowels	inoculated dowels, logs, drill machine, 9 mm drill bit, hammer, wax	drill machine, and drill have other uses	easiest method in small scale
Inoculation into logs with sawdust	inoculated sawdust, logs, angle grinder with adapter, 12mm mushroom drill bit, inoculation tools, inoculation table, stove and kettle for wax, wax	angle grinder is multifunctional, otherwise limited	more efficient method in bigger scale
growing mushroom in logs	all the above, mushroom cultivation yard protected from excessive sun and wind	it’s a forest, used logs can be used in raised beds in the garden or forest garden
growing mushroom in straw or other substrates	mycelium in sawdust, straw, sawdust, other organic material, water, shady location for a mushroom bed	the mushroom bed can be a raised bed for perennial plants etc	all used substrate can be used in composting, mulching or raised beds
force fruiting shiitake logs	water container, cold fresh water, hose	water container and hoses for garden
harvest	baskets or boxes, fridge (cold storage)	yes, can be used for harvesting and storing other products.
sales	packaging material, car or van, access to sales channels (f.ex. REKO in Facebook)	yes, if other produce is sold, car for mobility in general
teaching	functional mushroom growing systems	produce mushroom, we get help for inoculation	to teach mushroom growing you need a functional mushroom growing system for demonstration and proof of concept

It is in principle possible to manage the whole growing process including production of mycelium yourself onsite, so that could be seen as deeper integration. On the other hand to do that you need skills, space and equipment that might not have any other functions for you, so that could be considered as low integration. There is also the question of workload to do something yourself vs buying something with money. Relying on money could be seen as low integration.

Conclusions and Integration

The spruce forest north of our house is best suited for mushroom cultivation in logs on the long run. It is close enough to the house (Zone 2) and optimal for mushrooms cultivation in terms of protection from weather. Raised beds with mushroom can be built in different locations in the garden or forest garden. (integration with Design 4.2: Forest Garden). The challenge there is that the trees in the forest garden are still too small to provide meaningful shade. For the time being the best place is the young forest south of our house.

My conclusion from the functions-elements analysis was that managing the whole process from cloning a mushroom or starting from spore is important for the credibility of the design. However buying mycelium can make sense because of constraints with time and space (mycelium production has to happen indoors in February-March) and because of avoiding processes that are in no way integrated with other processes at Iso-orvokkiniitty (the early stages – growing mycelium – of the process requiring laboratory-like conditions and equipment).

(A) Apply permaculture principles

I am applying the Permaculture Ethical Principles and some Holmgren’s Permaculture Design Principles.

Permaculture Ethical Principles

Earth Care

Fungi is an omnipresent lifeform on earth without which plants and animals would not exist. Therefore fostering and understanding fungi in our environment is of key importance. Fungi is a central element to living soil in all our ecosystems.

People Care

Because fungi are so important to nature and ecosystems they are important to us in many ways. We are entangled with fungi in much more ways than we are aware of. On top of that many mushrooms are edible or medicinal and can transform wood or other unedible organic material into food. We can help people get access to healthy food. We produce food for ourselves.

Fair Share

Sharing seems to be a key function of many fungi, especially the mycorrhizal ones. In this design I want to tell our mushroom story and share basic methods of mushroom cultivation with the permaculture and homesteading community. We produce mushroom and mushroom products for our own consumption but also for sharing and selling. If sold it will be with a fair price.

Holmgren Design Principles

Obtain a yield is a key focus in the design. The obvious yield are the mushrooms we can harvest from the mushroom cultivation. Sidestreams include used logs and other substrate that can be used in the garden and forest garden. At the same time we are enhancing mushroom growth in our garden and forest garden. On the other hand we are acquiring knowledge and know-how about mushroom cultivation, which can also be considered a yield that can be used in teaching.

Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services. Almost all the raw-materials used for mushroom cultivation (wood, sawdust etc) are renewable. The main exception is plastic commonly used in mycelium production.

Mushroom cultivation is very much about transforming something we cannot eat (i.e. wood or other unedible organic matter) into something we can eat (mushrooms). Wood is available from our forest or can be purchased sustainably. Using our own resources and minimising the use of external resources is prioritised by using our own wood.

Produce No Waste. The used logs and other substrate can be used elsewhere in out system. The water we need for force fruiting can be used for irrigation afterwards. Mycelium production usually involves use of plastic in the form of plastic autoclave bags. I will discuss how to avoid those.

Integrate Rather than Segregate. Integrate the process as much as possible in your own hands. There are several ways to do this which I show in the elements-functions analysis. An input-output analysis also serves the purpose of integration with other parts of Iso-orvokkiniitty. The mushrooms are integrated to several other parts of Iso-orvokkiniitty as I discuss later in Evaluation.

Use and Value Diversity. Mushroom cultivation brings diversity to Iso-orvokkiniitty as a source of food and income and many other ways. Fungi and supporting fungal growth increases biodiversity.

(P) Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking

(p) The Plan

The Plan is threefold:

Design a shiitake cultivation system and business model with the target to reach 10000 € in annual turnover.
Experiment with and learn other mushroom cultivation systems so that know-how can be integrated in courses and workshops held at Iso-orvokkiniitty. Study mushroom and fungi in general for the same reason.
Design an inoculation workshop and mushroom course.

The Shiitake Business Model

The target for shiitake cultivation was set at 10000 € annual turnover in order for shiitake cultivation to become a meaningful part of income at Iso-orvokkiniitty. The business model builds on high self-sufficiency in inputs, reasonable workload in production that can partly be covered in workshops and direct sales in order to fetch a sufficient price for the relatively small-scale production.

To understand what that means I needed some data:

what is the average yield (Y) of a shiitake log in an outdoor cultivation system?
what is the lifespan of a shiitake log, i.e. how many production years per log (A)?
at what price can the shiitake be sold (P)?
turnover = T
number of logs inoculated each year (N)

T = N x Y x A x P

or as we need to know how many logs we need to inoculate each spring

N = T / (Y x A x P)

I used the following values:

T = 10000 €
Y = 0,3 (-06) kg/a ((1) – page 165)
A = 3 years
P = 25 €/kg

Therefore we need to inoculate 444 logs every spring so that we would be at the targeted turnover level in year 5 when 3 years worth of logs (1330 logs) are in production and we would produce 400 kg of shiitake per year.

Sales was planned as direct sales from the farm, in Karjalohja open market and in the local REKO rings. Finally shiitake could be sold to Kääpä Biotech if the above channels wouldn’t absorb the production. Processing was planned only for own consumption and sharing.

(i) Implementing a cultivation system

Mushrooms are relevant at Iso-orvokkiniitty in several ways, some of which I am listing here:

Mushroom as key part of the soil-wide-web in field and forest
Wild edible mushroom in the forest
Chaga cultivation in birch
Mushroom cultivation on logs
Mushroom cultivation in raised beds
Mushroom in the garden
Mushroom (yeasts and others) in food preparation

In this design I will focus on cultivation but tell also some other stories.

Mushroom cultivation

Initially we wanted to sell “organic shiitake” so we decided that the shiitake should be certified organic and we became certified in 2016. The certification was an interesting exercise because we were the first outdoor mushroom cultivation system to be certified organic in Finland. The certification requires a production plan:

The original production plan from 2016 included the whole process of growing the mycelium in Petri dishes, grain and sawdust. A simpler production plan based on buying sawdust mycelium was mede in 2020 which I also translate below.

Translation:

Description of production	ingredients	own	*bought (=organic)**	from nature	organic	productiuon facility or area	description of production step
Documentation of actions							in this document
1b. buying sawdust mycelium			Kääpä Biotech*		+
Inoculation of substrate	logs	+	birch, alder, aspen, Salix capper from own forest – oak logs bought from Fiskars	+		Forest at Iso-orvokkiniitty	Mycelium is inoculated in c. 1 meter long fresh logs (felled in the previous winter), holes are drilled in the logs, and mycelium is put in the holes, the holes are covered with beeswax. Inoculating 200-300 logs per year.
	sawdust, wood chips		+		–	Garden and forest at Iso-orvokkiniitty	The substrate (sawdust, straw) are distributed in different containers, in the garden or in the forest and inoculated with mycelium.
	straw		+bought from organic farmers		+	Garden, Iso-orvokkiniitty
	Beeswax	+	+		+		see above
	Living birch tree	+		+		own forest	Inoculating chaga dowels in living birch
Cultivation	Substrate: see above					Garden, forest at Iso-orvokkiniitty	Actions during the cultivation are watering, preventing slugs by hand and force fruiting logs with cold water. Generally yield is obtained the following year after inoculation and in 3-5 subsequent years from the same substrate (logs, sawdust, straw). Some mushroom species might spread naturally in the production area (Stropharia in the garden).
Harvest						Garden, forest, Iso-orvokkiniitty	Harvest by hand.
Processing	mushroom	+			+		Drying
Sales						Direct sales, Iso-orvokkiniitty. REKO, Jukka Ahonala	Direct sales at the farm, delivery to customers or at open markets. Fresh mushroom, Dried mushroom, mushroom logs.
						Kääpä Biotech	Fresh mushroom
	version 2020

The production plan is not a design as such but reflects how I had designed and tweaked the production in 2016-2020. The last year we were certified was 2023. The reason to abandon the certification was cost compared to sales income. Certification is not necessary for consumer sales but is needed for sales to Kääpä Biotech.

The beginning: inoculation

As a mushroom cultivator you can manage the whole process described in the illustration – and thereby be autonomous in your process – but you can also rely on commercial operators to supply you with the materials. The later you enter the process yourself, the less skills are required. You can buy inoculated wood dowels that you can use for inoculating your logs or you can buy sawdust mycelium for inoculating your raised beds. From the point of view of integration you should manage the whole process yourself at least on the level of testing it and knowing that you can do it. If a system relies on continuous inputs from elsewhere it is not sustainable in a crises situation. Integrate Rather Than Segregate

Produce no waste. Commercial production of mycelium involves quite a lot of use of plastic. That can be minimised by taking control of the process internally and using glass jars instead of plastic bags for pasteurising the substrates and growing the mycelium.

Photos of producing mycelium

*Pouring agar on a Petri dish in my self-made glove box 2014.*

*Shiitake growing on a Petri dish 2015.*

*I could fit one bag at a time in my pressure cooker. You need to use autoclave bags (normal plastic bags would melt). 2014.*

*Different types of mycelium growing in grain in jars in the background. Sawdust bags that have been autoclaved and inoculated in the front. 2014.* These could be replaced with big glass jars to avoid plastic.

Placement

Mushroom yards

The main mushroom cultivation areas for shiitake are marked in green in the spruce forest north from our buildings. The area closer to the house is in Zone 2 close to other activities in the summer. The older area further north is in Zone 3-4 and a temporary mushroom yard because we used birch and alder logs from the hazelnut grove still further north. It is easier to carry the shiitake than the logs out fo the forest. *(Principle: Use small and slow solutions.)* The mushroom cultivation areas are connected with walkable tracks. Apart from the occasional wheelbarrow, everything is carried.

The decisive factors for locating the main mushroom yard in the spruce forest was that a spruce forest is ideal in giving protection from sun and wind to the mushroom logs. From the spruce forest we have we chose the closest possible location relative to the house and Zone 1.

Mushroom raised beds can be placed in various places in Zone 1 and 2 under the shade of young trees.

2. Storage of equipment

Equipment for inoculation is stored in the storage building (NW of house) where one of the storage rooms is dedicated to bee keeping and mushroom equipment.

3. Storing mushroom

We bought a used fridge that was placed under the house. The fridge is used in the growing season to store food from the garden and the mushrooms while the earth cellar is too warm in the summer.

4. Processing mushroom

We process the mushroom in our kitchen.

(m) Maintanence

Annual Shiitake Workflow

1) The Shiitake year starts with felling the trees for the logs. The wood must be fresh as shiitake is a primary decomposer. The optimal time for felling the trees is in the later part of the winter (January – March).

2) If you produce your mycelium yourself you should start growing the sawdust mycelium 8 weeks before you plan to inoculate. Otherwise secure your source of mycelium.

3) The inoculation is best to arrange as a workshop. People are interested and it is pretty easy to get 10- 20 people to participate and even pay for it (20€ including coffee and vegetarian soup and an inoculated log).

4) You might get the first tastings of fresh shiitake as early as May depending on weather (in case you have already been inoculating for a few years).

5) Actual harvest season starts in early June and continues until late October – early November depending on weather. You can pick some shiitake until it freezes, some years even for Christmas if the winter is late.

6) June – August: Force fruiting shiitake – or picking them when they happen to fruit.

7) If it is very dry you need to water the logs in June-July. If you force fruit you probably don’t need to water otherwise.

Mushroom log inoculation workshop

The idea of an inoculation workshop was adopted from examples from US based shiitake farms. The workshop has an educational aspect to it but is mainly designed in the system for decreasing the workload in shiitake cultivation. Nevertheless we discuss mushroom cultivation theory and techniques for about an hour before going to work and in some years Lorin has been with us giving a wider theoretical and practical perspective to mushroom cultivation. In 2015 I made a 2-pager for explaining the main points of our mushroom cultivation method that I printed for the participants. It included basics of mushrooms and cultivation and a detailed cultivation instructions as described below. I tweaked the leaflet every year and below is the current tweak of those instructions.

Before lunch we go through the steps in the process and start the actual work but not so much happens in terms of log count yet. In the afternoon we get in a flow and reach even the numerical target of 160-170 logs per workshop.

At Iso-orvokkiniitty we use the sawdust inoculation method. If you use dowels it is slightly different.

What you need:

c. 1 meter long logs, diameter 8-20 cm
- from broad-leaved trees (oak, birch, alder, aspen etc), coniferous won’t work for most cultivated mushrooms
- thicker can be shorter – you should be able to carry them even soaking wet
an inoculation table or some other suitable rack or stand to hold the logs while inoculating.
sawdust mycelium of the mushrooms you plan to inoculate (either grown by yourself or commercial)
- or alternatively inoculated dowels
One angle grinder with adapter + 12 mm mushroom drill bit
- you need a special Japanese made drill bit that has a stopper and can hold at 10000 r/min speed. Don’t use standard drill bits with an angle grinder.
- if you use dowels you need an 9-10 mm drill bit
- you can use a normal drill but it is far slower – you might need 2 or 3 in a workshop
3-4 (minimum 2) inoculation tools for pushing the sawdust mycelium into the drilled holes
- if you use dowels you don’t need the tool but you need a hammer
You can buy the drill bit, adaptor and inoculation tools f.ex. in growmushrooms.eu
a gas or electric stove + kettle for melting beeswax
beeswax (or some other food quality wax, f.ex. cheese wax) + brushes
metal labels (we find old venetian blinds at recycling centers and cut small pieces)
a permanent marker (needs to be really weather resistant and hold 4-5 years)

Tools prepared for the mushroom inoculation workshop in 2024. A drill with 9 mm drill bit for drilling holes for the dowels, an angle grinder with adaptor for 12 mm mushroom drill bit, inoculation tools, kettle and camping gas for melting beeswax, brush and spoon for applying the wax. Also needed a hammer for pushing the dowels in the holes. If you use battery driven power tools you’ll need several batteries and a charger depending on how many logs you plan to inoculate.

2. What you do

carry logs to the working station
- I set the working station up close to the mushroom yard. If you don’t have electricity there you need to use power tools and gas stove.
drill 40-50 holes in each log
- drill the holes evenly but not precisely around the log in a salmiak formation
push the mycelium in the holes with the tool
cover the holes with hot wax
label the logs
carry them to the mushroom yard and put on poles lying on the ground
- you want the logs to benefit from ground moisture but not touch the soil
When the logs are close at hand an effective work team consists of 6-11 people:
- 1 drilling the holes (presuming you have an angle grinder)
- 2-4 inoculating
- 2-4 waxing
- 1-2 labelling and carrying logs away

Obviously the team members can change tasks. In a workshop it is good to have 10-15 people so it doesn’t start to feel too much like work but people still get to try all tasks and get a feel of the workflow.
Things to watch for:
- The angle grinder is dangerous especially to others that get too close. Be careful!
- Oak is much harder than other wood and the drill bit gets easier stuck. Normally you get it out by turning to reverse. If stuck you lock the grinder and turn the whole machine counter-clock-wise.
  - You need to sharpen the drill bit maybe once a year with a diamond file (with oak more often)
- Control that people are actually filling the holes with mycelium, i.e. using the inoculation tools correctly.
- Control that people are covering the holes with wax properly but not brushing it all over the place; beeswax is expensive!
- Label the logs with date, species and strain of mushroom and species of log.
- Don’t lay the logs directly on the soil.

The workshop setting in 2024. Logs are piled on the right side of the table, drilled on the right side of the table and moved to the centre for inoculation and to the left side for waxing and to be carried away.

*Applying wax with a smal*l spoon. A brush would also work.

*2024 workshop result was 158 inoculated logs + the logs participants took home so 175-180 logs. Mostly shiitake, but we inoculated* 6 logs with Lion’s Mane and Reishi to demonstrate use of dowels.

In 2020 we made a 20 minute video in Swedish about the inoculation process (in Swedish because we made it for Novia Yrkeshögskola).

A short video made in September 2023 by Michael den Herder from the European Forest institute.

Evaluation of Workshops

Workshops for inoculation have been an integral part of the cultivation system. In 2015-2019 we arranged 2 workshops in the spring, otherwise 1 workshop except 2020. Inoculating the same number of logs as one workshop would take almost a week for one person and it would be difficult to find that person even if paying a salary – and it would be too expensive. People are happy to come to the workshop for a day, learn about the subject, network together and go home with one inoculated log.

Number of participants:

2015: 17
2016: 16
2017: 12
2018 15+6
2019: 24 + 29
2020: 1
2021: 0
2022 no inoculation
2023: 8
2024: 17

People actually pay for coming to iso-orvokkiniitty for a workshop whithout which we wouldn’t be able to keep the inoculations on the current level. During a workshop day we are not going deep into theory of fungi and mushroom cultivation – rather we are just going through the basics and then going into the process of inoculation. People can get a feel of the inoculation work flow in a more serious volume. The 20 € cost covers the coffee and lunch and 1 log but of course it leaves us with a small surplus economically. It is fair share. Presuming 20 participants we would create 400 € turnover per year which is a minor part of the 10000 € target. However a full day mushroom cultivation course covering different aspects could cost much more; f.ex. 100 €/day per person. If the shared knowledge is at a sufficient level the price is fair. One course with 20 people would generate 2000 € turnover.

It is difficult to evaluate other impacts the mushroom workshops have had so far. 145 people have attended so far but I am not aware if any of them have started or continued mushroom cultivation at any scale.

Force fruiting shiitake

Force fruiting is typical of shiitake cultivation. Instead of the fruiting bodies (the mushrooms) emerging more or less randomly you can control the production cycle. This is crucial if you want to have a steady marketable yield. Otherwise you might be picking a third of your annual production in one random week and the following weeks nothing.

The idea of force fruiting shiitake is simple.

You need to have shiitake logs that have already fruited (at least 2 years old).
you soak the logs in cold water for 12 to max 24 hours.
- cold means optimally 15°C colder than the log temperature, so it works best in the summer when you have outside temperatures over 20°C and cold water from the well at 5-6°C.
- even if the temperature difference isn’t that big you get an effect and in any case soaking the logs is beneficial for keeping them moist.
- don’t forget the logs in the water. mushroom needs oxygen.
the force fruited logs will produce mushroom within the next week.
you can force fruit a log every 8 weeks.

So let’s say you have a summer party coming in July. You force fruit a number of logs 1 week before the party to be sure you can offer fresh shiitake.

If you want a steady production you could approach it in at least two ways:
1) Systematic weekly system: divide your logs in 8 groups or piles. Each week you force fruit one of the piles and after 8 weeks start again from the first one. F.ex. you might want to force fruit every Friday in order to sell the mushroom on the Saturday open market a week after.
2) Continuous system: Calculate how many logs you have in production and divide by roughly 80 (so if you have 800 logs you get 10). Force fruit that number of shiitake every day by taking the previous one out of water and putting the new ones in. You are soaking them for appr. 24 hours.

In southern Finland the force fruiting period is roughly 12 weeks (June, July, August) so you won’t be able to do even 2 full rounds. In any case it is good to soak each log at least once in a season to ensure their moisture level.

In the continuous system you need much less water container capacity and you have a continuous but relatively small work load. On the other hand you also need to be picking mushroom all the time because you are force fruiting all the time. It still would work with a weekly sales cycle if you have a big enough refrigerator as shiitake keeps well in cold. We have an extra refrigerator that we use only in the summer for this purpose.

The force fruiting system at Iso-orvokkiniitty:

We use drinking troughs for animals that you can find in the farmer’s hardware shop. It fits 10-15 logs depending on log size.
We hose cold water from our well into the trough which is situated in the shiitake yard on the hill. We have our own ring well and the pump runs on solar energy (we are off-grid).
- note that you shouldn’t use chlorinated water for mushrooms
I put 10-15 logs from one stack of logs in the trough. The next day i pick them up and lay them in a new stack and put a new set of 10-15 logs in the trough.
- never leave the trough filled with water without some log or stick in it. Animals (f.ex. squirrels) can drop in and need to get out. If the trough is empty turn it around.
I change the water only once a week so only the first 2-3 batches actually get a cold water treatment and the rest are soaked for moisture. So the biggest effect is in the first batches of the week.
- if you feel you have enough water you could change the water every or every second day.
As I am in the yard I pick the mushrooms that are right size to be used or sold.
After a week I hose the water down to an IBC tank for use in the garden. If you are in a hill like us you can just use the siphon effect.
- effectively you are producing some kind of mushroom tea for the garden – no idea what the effect could be…

*Shiitake growth a few days after cold water treatment (force fruiting). These will be 5-7 cm in a few more days and ready for picking.*

After force fruiting the growth can be impressive.

(e) Evaluation

The whole process

As I discussed in the functions-elements analysis there are different ways of looking at integration. In 2015 I started with thinking that I should be able to master and manage the whole process from cloning the mushroom to growing mycelium through inoculating logs and managing the mushroom yards. In 2017 I compromised and started buying grain mycelium which I multiplied into sawdust mycelium for inoculation. Since 2020 I have bought sawdust mycelium. This development could be seen as less integration because of relying on external sources of a key element in the system. It could also be seen as more integration because I eliminated functions that have nothing to do with anything else we do at Iso-orvokkiniitty and in any case rely on external inputs (petri-dishes, autoclave bags or glass jars etc). In any case I made my life a bit easier for myself by relying on some external helps that I could get locally once Kääpä Biotech started in Karjalohja.

Results with Shiitake cultivation

The first implementation with shiitake cultivation started in 2015 and has continued in some form since then. I have quite detailed documentation partly because the shiitake operation was organic certified in 2016-2023.

Mushroom cultivation data 2015-2023

Year	inoculated logs	of which Shiitake	3.-5.old shii	Shiitake-yield kg	g/log
2015	339	198	0	0
2016	300	200	0	0,4
2017	416	397	198	26	130
2018	371	371	398	103	260
2019	344	344	795	60	75
2020	170	127	968	59	60
2021	72	40	1112	89	80
2022	0	0	842	56	66
2023	140	140	512	18	35
2024	158	152	167	5	30
2025			180
2026			292

As the numbers show the inoculation numbers dropped due to the covid-19 pandemia which prevented us from arranging workshops. Even then we did inoculate in 2020 and 2021 but in 2022 we didn’t inoculate anything. This is causing a dramatic drop in production-aged logs in 2024-2025.

We did force fruiting of shiitake in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024.

In the above table I show how many logs we have inoculated each year and how many of them were Shiitake. From those numbers I can deduct how many of the shiitake logs are in 3rd to 5th year, i.e. logs that should be in production and calculate average yield per log. It shows a very big deviation which might just depend on years being very different or a problem in the calculation model or some other problem. Calculating only 3rd and 4th year logs actually gives a lower deviation (but still quite big) so probably the 5th year production is already much lower than 3rd and 4th year. However the most important result is that we are far from the original estimation that the logs would produce 1 kg shiitake during their lifetime (300 g/log/year). In reality we have produced max 260 g/ log/year but in most years much less. The average has been only 100 g/log/year so only 30% of expected.

The only factor in our favour is that we can get more than the estimated 25€/kg for fresh shiitake from the market if we sell directly to consumers in REKO or Karjalohja open market. In 2018-19 we were selling at 30 €/kg locally and 40 €/kg in Helsinki region.

Possible reasons for not reaching the production target:

1. Quality of mycelium
2. Quality of inoculation work
3. Temperature at inoculation
3. Draught: logs drying out
4. Loss to wild animals (foraging)

There has been cases of batches of logs totally failing, f.ex. appr. 50 logs from 2020 which did not produce anything and were carried into the forest garden in 2023 for use in the raised beds. Total loss hints to a problem with the mycelium or conditions during inoculation (freezing) while “Quality in inoculation work” problems can decrease overall productivity but wouldn’t cause a total loss because there are several people inoculating in the workshops. Draught could be a problem especially in the years when force fruiting was not done. In general there has been very little pest problems; mainly “mushroom flies” later in the summer ( the same would affect wild mushroom) and mouldiness in late summer if shiitake is not picked often enough. Occasional bites by mammals (either deer or hare) have been observed but in 2023 it seemed that “somebody” learned to like shiitake and this could be the reason for the low harvest in 2023 despite force fruiting. In 2024 we seemed to have something totally harvesting the shiitake so we could pick very little.

Finally a possible reason for the decreased production levels is loss of interest and energy which is typical in any long lasting project. Perseverance can be lacking. One motivation for this design is reviving the interest in efficient mushroom cultivation in an appropriate scale – weather this means scaling up or scaling down.

Shiitake fruiting after force fruiting. The small shiitake in the photo would have developed into several kg of shiitake in a few days, but they were eaten up by some animal. 25.6.2024.

To make the business calculation work we should develop the production process in order to have more consistent result in the higher end of what we have so far, and we might have to increase log volumes by 20-50% compared to the original estimate. We might also want to scale down but still increase the efficacy of the cultivation.

Crop year 2024.

The expectation for 2024 crop was not high because the number of productive logs was calculated as only 167 logs. I did a force fruiting cycle in the end of June and the results looked very good. However when I cam back to harvest the mushrooms a few days later they were all gone. Also on other logs the shiitake was consistently disappearing. Something was really gotten in the taste of shiitake.

In order to find out who was eating g the shiitake I installed a game camera in the mushroom yard.

It seems that the white tail deer is the main culprit as they can be seen on the camera several times every week. The other animal I have seen is squirrel. Of course also bank vole is a possible culprit.

My solution to the problem was to get protective nets over the logs. I covered 3 of the most promising stacks with nets in August. However there hasn’t been a major flush since then. Some of the mushroom under the net have still been partly eaten, so possibly the squirrel or bank vole is still working under the net.

Use, Marketing and sales

As Table 1 shows the shiitake production has been 20-100 kg per year – i.e. far lower than the original target. Nevertheless it has been more than is possible to eat fresh in our household. So different channels of sales and use have been tested and implemented:

Use:
- Eat fresh: We like mushrooms so this is a major channel. Especially in 2022 and 2023 when we had wwoofers the consumption has been significant.
- Dry: Shiitake adapts well to drying as it is relatively dry to start with. If dried in sunlight it also develops vitamin D which is an additional health benefit. We dried larger volumes in 2018 but a large part of the dried shiitake was spoiled during the winter by insects that were either already in the mushroom to start with or found their way into the bags later. This combined with not having proper drying equipment made us loose motivation for drying.
- I have developed a Shiitake paté which I pack in glass jars and pasteurize and keep in our earth cellar for consumption during the winter and sharing. A production batch is 1 kg fresh shiitake so I have used less than 10 kg per year for this.
- I have fermented shiitake which is an easier way to use large volumes than making paté.
- The book Farming the Woods includes an interesting recipe including shiitake and haselnuts. I haven’t tested it yet – still waiting for the big hazel nut yield. Integration with Forest Garden.
Sell:
- The most active period for selling fresh shiitake directly to consumers was 2018-19. This kind of sales works best in early and mid summer when wild mushrooms are still scarce in the forest. In direct sales we could get 30 €/kg locally and 40 €/kg in Helsinki region. We also sold 33 cm pieces of logs for consumers to “grow” their own shiitake.
- We made a leaflet explaining shiitake cultivation and use.
- We sold at the local Saturday market, Puujärvi päivät and harvest celebration day in Karjalohja from a traditional market table.
- We sold in REKO in Tammisaari, Karjaa, Lohja and occasionally in Espoo and Helsinki. I became convinced this would be the best sales channel offering sufficient volume in the 10000 € concept. However it would be good to have other products to offer to REKO so that distributing the products to the REKO sites would make more sense. Integration with other “businesses” (honey, garlic, other sellable produce)
- Direct sales from the farm was sporadic.
- Initially I believed that restaurants would be an important channel. However this was not true. Sales to restaurants takes a lot of effort and personal contacts to chefs who want to test the shiitake, but even with positive response chances are that the shiitake never get into the menu. Sales result compared to sales effort is far too low.
- We are lucky to have Kääpä Biotech as our neighbour (2 km from us) so we could sell any extra volumes to them for processing into medicinal extracts. However the price got lower by the year as their own production costs in indoor cultivation decreased. Also we needed to maintain the organic certification to be able to sell to them so we abandoned this sales channel after 2022 (and ended the certification).
Overall we have shifted from external sales to internal usage. This is not in line with the original business model but it is in line with our aim to increase food self sufficiency.

*I made stackable boxes for picking and transporting the shiitake.*

*Distributing at REKO in Karjaa in June 2018. REKO is an efficient sales channel based on preselling. You need to stay only half an hour at each distribution location.*

*Offering our honey in jars and as comb and shiitake at REKO.*

*Selling shiitake at Karjalohja open market on 2.8.2019.*

Workload in Sales model

The main workloads in the shiitake operation are:

logs can either be purchased or felled from our own forest.
- This winter I calculated that I can make 160 logs in 10 hours, including carrying them a short distance out of the forest
inoculation: in a 6 hour inoculation workshop with approximately 10-15 people you can expect to inoculate 150-170 logs. Actually a team of 6 people is needed so this is not work all the time for everyone. We could calculate 36 hours /160 logs
- I have tested doing inoculation alone I could reach 10 logs/hour so you could expect a professional team to be 2-3 times faster than a voluntary workshop team.
- 2h per workshop for preparing and cleaning up, i.e. 8h own work /workshop
force fruiting in June, July, August, mid September (14 weeks)
- using the continuous method of changing 10-15 logs out and in from the water trough every day, you can calculate 30 min /day. 50 hours/season
harvest: after force fruiting you can continue with checking the growth and picking mushroom; average 30 min/day. 50 hours/season
Sales
- Karjalohja Saturday market 4h x 12 weeks = 48 h
- driving every second week to local REKO distribution locations (Tammisaari, Karjaa, Lohja, Vihti) through the season (7 times) 3h driving time + 2h standing time = 7 x 5h = 35h
- driving every second week to Helsinki region REKO points 7 x 6h = 42h
- for REKO one should calculate 1h per round for collecting orders and packing. 14 h.

Summing up based on 480 inoculated logs per year (not calculating voluntary workshop work):

Item	hours
making logs	30
inoculation	24
force fruiting	50
harvest	50
Karjalohja market	48
local REKO	42
Helsinki REKO	49
sum work	154
sum sales	139
SUM	293

Trying to sum up the calculation presuming 480 logs inoculated per year:

with 480 logs inoculated per year we can calculate 960 logs producing 260 g per year (my best year) producing 250 kg sold at 35€/kg average giving turnover of 8750 €.
average 18 kg /week
external costs if logs are felled from our own forest
fuel for chainsaw 25€
mycelium for inoculation 400 €
fuel cost of car (3000 km) 360 €
theoretically we could distribute with electric car and charge the car free with solar panels
other cost (paper bags, marker pens, others) 200 €
Sum costs appr. 1000 €
7750 €/300 hours = 26 €/hour
appr. 300 hours per year is about 15% of my working hours annually but over 30% in the growing season (presuming 50x5x8 hours in a year).

So economically the result is acceptable (fair share) but there are several uncertainties:

The yield is estimated at the high end of previous experience. On the other hand it is less than half compared to what American literature indicates.
It is difficult to say if the envisioned sales effort is sufficient. It cannot be much less because fresh shiitake has to be sold every week even if kept in fridge.
Scaling up could mean employing someone for the season to run the operation especially if some kind of unemployment benefits could be used.

These strategies must be translated into the plan of how to go forward, i.e. the Tweak.

Integrations with other aspects of Iso-orvokkiniitty

My aim with the list below is to think about different ways how this design and mushrooms in general feed into other parts of Iso-orvokkiniitty and other designs we are developing here. I am not necessarily going into more details here; it acts more like a check-list that I can revert to later in other designs.

Forest Garden: Design 4: Forest Garden
- Supporting mycorrhizal growth in the forest garden.
- Planting a wind shield at forest edge.
- Supporting secondary saprophytes like wine cap.
- Growing saprophytic mushrooms in raised beds.
- Combining products in processing and sales.
Food System at Iso-orvokkiniitty
- Producing shiitake and other mushroom.
- Foraging mushroom.
- Preserving mushroom
- Supporting plant growth with a healthy fungal soil system.
- Mushroom teas for the garden
- Combining products in processing and sales.
Hunting
- A probable culprit for disappearing shiitake are the white tail deer. This is in my mind not “fair share with nature” as the population levels of deer in our area are unnaturally high due to hunters feeding them. The deer populations should be controlled more efficiently by hunting and feeding should be stopped.
Business
- Income from selling fresh or processed shiitake.
- Arranging courses and workshops.
Community
- Courses and workshops
- Consumers of shiitake etc
- Entangled in the mushroom enthousiast community.
Education
- Courses and workshops where mushrooms have central stage or are integrated with other content.
Health and Spiritual well being
- Medicinal mushroom.
- How mushrooms change your mind.

Input – Output analysis of Mushroom cultivation

“Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services” is one of Holmgren’s design principles and it translates to using your own resources as much as possible and minimising use of external resources. Therefore an input-output analysis including external and internal inputs is relevant.

External Input	Source	Could it be internalised?
Mycelium	Commercial	Mycelium production can easily be partly internalised. Internalising the whole process with no dependency of external sources is challenging in a non-laboratory setting. Since 2020 we have bought sawdust mycelium.
Logs (oak)	Fiskars forest	Logs yes, but we don’t have oak.
Other substrates: – sawdust – straw	– local carpenter shop – organic farms	– We produce some sawdust in our own workshop but volume is limited. – We still have straw bales from our house building. We don’t currently grow grains ourselves. Straw is not easily available in south Finland as grain farmers prefer to till it into the field.
Tools	Commercial	Some of the tools are generic but some inoculation tools (adapter for drill bit, drill bit, inoculation tools) are specific to mushroom and currently originate from Japan. However they are not absolutely necessary.
Material for growing mycelium, f.ex. autoclave bags	Mostly commercial	A lot of the plastic could be replaced with glass jars.

Internal Input	Output of	Comments
Logs	Thinning our forest	Birch, Alder, Aspen
Beeswax	Our bee hives	Top bar hives produce more wax than standard hives.
Water	Our well
Old logs	Shiitake production	How well shiitake logs would work for other secondary saprophytes needs to be tested.
Other substartes	Wood chips, hay	To be used in mushroom raised beds for Oyster mushroom etc

Output	Source	Comments
Shiitake	Log cultivation system	So far the biggest mushroom yield
Wine cap	Our garden	Occasional yield in garden June – September
Turkey tail	Logs in raised beds	Medicinal mushroom, current yield is more than enough.
Other mushroom: Oysters, Lion Main, Reishi, Chaga	Raised beds Logs Live birch	In 2024 a successful oyster mushroom bed in the young forest. Otherwise proof of concept missing
Old logs	Shiitake cultivation	Test use in mushroom raised beds for secondary saprophytes. Transform into raised beds.
Other used substrate		Transform into raised beds, compost
Used water	shiitake force fruiting	shiitake-tree-tea for irrigation

The highlights of the input-output analysis:

I started with production of mycelium by myself, i.e. buying small amounts of desired mycelium and multiplying it in 2 stages (grain mycelium, sawdust mycelium). This creates workload but is a big saving in costs and also enables me to abandon plastic autoclave bags in favour of big glass jars or ceramic pots.
- However at the moment it is easier for me to buy mycelium but for the design it is important to know that I have capacity to start the mycelium production myself from scratch.
I have used both oak logs that were bought from Fiskars forests and our own logs – mainly birch. As we have enough forest to cover both our need of firewood and the mushroom logs we should produce the logs ourselves (and I did for the 2024 inoculations after buying oak for several years).
The water we use for force-fruiting is not lost as we hose it back to the garden for irrigation.

A functions-elements analysis which I did in the Collect information step of CEAP, is closely related to an input-output analysis which I did here after design and implementation. Essentially the analysis confirms what the functions-elements analysis already showed earlier in the process. In the former focus was more on the functions necessary for mushroom cultivation. The later reflects the situation after several years of mushroom cultivation and show something that maybe was not originally obvious. Originally we carried inoculated logs into the forest. Now we also carry half-rotten logs out of the forest for use in the garden and forest garden raised beds. Other than that the later analysis confirms the former.

SWOC of the shiitake cultivation system

SWOC	Strengths – lot of experience and knowledge – access to wood in own forest – suitable location for a shiitake yard in zone 2 – some experience in food processing – access to cold water	Weaknesses – lack of workforce / time – no oak on our site
Opportunities – produce food from wood – cover a part of our target to be self-sufficient in food – sell locally directly to consumers – create a side income – people are interested to attend workshops	S+O – Shiitake production for own consumption, processing and sales – expand on teaching about mushroom cultivation	W+O – use workshops, volunteers – consider employing someone during the season – use the wood species we have
Challenges – production is not at target level and reasons are partly unknown – workload – adapting sales channels to production cycle – loss of momentum in a long project	S+C – Observe and use knowledge to identify problems – use workshops to push the process – use force fruiting to manage the production cycle – learn, teach and develop	W+C – move from selling product to selling knowledge

The 8-field SWOC analysis can be used to define strategies by looking at the combinations of strengths, opportunities, threats and weaknesses. They are the conclusions that can be drawn from the SWOC analysis that guide the design.

S+O: How can we use our strengths to take advantage of our opportunities? SUCCESS APPROACH
S+C: How can our strengths be used to mitigate challenges? REACTION APPROACH
W+O: How can we take advantage of opportunities to correct our weaknesses? ADAPTATION APPROACH .
W+C: How can we stand our ground even with the challenges seen? SURVIVAL APPROACH

(t) Tweaking

I am considering tweaking how we act with fungi at Iso-orvokkiniitty in 3 main aspects:

Tweaking shiitake cultivation
Developing and learning other aspects of entangling with mushrooms
Integrating mushrooms in our education offer

Shiitake cultivation

We have already tested several different action models and scales of production over the years. At the moment I would not be able to integrate 480 logs per year sales model in my life. This could be topical when I am retired and I need to think more seriously about additional income streams from Iso-orvokkiniitty.

For the time being I will continue at 160 logs per year level, i.e. 1 workshop every spring. The shiitake will mainly be consumed by ourselves, shared and processed/preserved but also sold at the local market at special market days. The main focus will be in

developing efficacy and production level of the shiitake cultivation process, in order to test the feasibility of the business model.
Integrating the mycelium production
processing and preserving (integrating with our food system).
Sales at special market days locally (Puujärvipäivät, Elonkorjuutori). This can be managed with force fruiting prior to those days.

The Plan:

Continue shiitake inoculation workshops every spring with the purpose to inoculate c. 160 logs. Continue shiitake cultivation at that level (c 480 producing logs)
- Arrange the inoculation workshops later to be sure that it is not too cold for the mycelium.
Observe and increase efficacy of shiitake cultivation.
Use protective nets against foraging animals.
Scale up processing to the level of production.
Use force fruiting to sell at local market happenings (f.ex. Puujärvipäivät and local harvest market).

Entangled with mushroom

The purpose is to learn about mushroom in even more ways and support and integrate with other systems at Iso-orvokkiniitty. This is already reflected in the mushroom stories that were told above and that will continue. We need more experience in growing and integrating mushroom in different ways at Iso-orvokkiniitty. This leads to the third point.

The Plan:

Expand log cultivation to other mushroom species and develop working models for each (reishi, turkey tail, Sheathed woodtuft)
Build and experiment raised mushroom beds for producing Pleurotus (Oyster mushroom).
Experiment with other saprophytic species that can thrive in the garden (Wine cap, Macrolepiota procera, Coprinus comatus)

Teaching mushroom

During the last 10 years there has been a huge surge in interest in all things mushroom. Interest in the mushroom workshops has continued and we have presented our mushroom cultivation system also in other occasions including our open days, permaculture intro courses and articles. A full day mushroom workshop during the summer or autumn months would be a natural addition to our course offer at Iso-orvokkiniitty. This could be either independently or together with other fungi experts. This makes also sense because people would like to see the mushrooms actually growing, which is normally not possible at the time of the inoculation workshops in April.

The Plan:

The first Mushroom Summer Workshop will be held on 15.9.2024. The program will consist of the stories told above and include practical work with force fruiting, building raised beds and looking at different methods of inoculation. Of course some theory of entanglement with fungi and linking to permaculture design.
Plan the Mushroom Summer Workshop.
(The course was announced but marketing was not effective and it had to be cancelled for lack of participants. Tweak: Do it in autumn 2025.)

The main outcomes of the design tweak are

to move focus from shiitake cultivation to other mushroom cultivation systems and facets of fungal life (without abandoning shiitake)
to move focus from production to sharing information through teaching
to learn more about mushrooms through observation and experimentation complemented with studying.

Final Reflections and assessment

As I mentioned in the beginning mushrooms was one of my original dreams moving to Iso-orvokkiniitty and the story of practical mushroom growing and experimentation has continued already 10 years by now. I started in 2015 in relatively large scale and concluded quite quickly that I should focus on shiitake and not try to do everything in the mushroom sphere. It has been quite a trip – by no means ended yet – and there are a few things I would like to highlight:

Growing mushrooms takes patience and perseverance – you don’t get quick results. It takes 5 years before a shiitake growing yard is in full swing. You need to believe in the project even when you cannot yet evaluate if it works or not. But there are some positive feedback loops on the way that help you keep momentum. You should also create them. For me the spring workshops has been a good way to get started with the mushrooms again each season.
We lost momentum during covid-19 but it also showed that the 10000 € concept might not work for us in our current situation. I like to do things in a bigger scale but at this moment I feel that especially the sales side of the concept is too time consuming. Like in any activity there are ups and downs and there is greater enthusiasm in the beginning and loss of momentum when the activity starts to feel like work and might not be creating expected results as easily as planed.
Different ways of picking up momentum need to be put in place during the lifecycle of an activity. Redesigning and tweaking is one option. Scaling up so that we could employ someone to do most of the work could be an other. If there is no growth and development – which could be quantitative or qualitative – a project will not live.
All my dream topics: honeybees, forest garden and mushroom – while very different – represent natural systems that are more complex than we can imagine. Trying to understand them means understanding life and it “changes your mind” (and you don’t need psilocybin for that). This is the line of thought I will continue to follow. Integration.
Similar to bees and forest garden, I have made a design of what I have been working on for a long time. I am describing the design, the implementation and finally tweaking it.
Is this design too much retrofitting for it to be a true design? The thought is certainly justified but I have also tried to show that a permaculture design did exist from the beginning – and it was tweaked on the way – even though it was not written down at the time.

CEAP

In this design I followed CEAP as the design framework. It enabled me to go much more directly into design and I like the “Apply permaculture principles” step in the framework.

In Design 4.2: Forest Garden I made a comparison between VOBREDIMET and SADIMET and developed VOEDIMET. How does CEAP compare?

VOBREDIMET	SADIMET	VOEDIMET	CEAP
Vision	Goal	Vision	Presume there is one
Observe	Survey	Observe	Collect site information
Borders	Survey	Observe	Collect site information
Resources	Survey	Observe	Collect site information
Evaluate	Analyse	Evaluate	Evaluate
Design	Design	Design	Apply permaculture principles Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking
Implement	Implement	Implement	(Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking)
Maintain	Maintain	Maintain	(Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking)
Evaluate	Evaluate	Evaluate	(Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking)
Tweak	Tweak	Tweak	(Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking)

CEAP doesn’t have the Vision/Goal step and strictly speaking it doesn’t have Implement, Maintain, Evaluate and Tweak either. It just tells you to plan them. That is in contradiction with the notion that a permaculture design should also be implemented, not just planned. CEAP allows for a straightforward advance into planning and it highlights the permaculture principles but other than that it seems a bit weak. What it could point to in developing the VOEDIMET framework further is elaborating permaculture principles. The V should be “Vision based on permaculture ethical principles” and the D should be “Design using permaculture design principles”.

VOEDIMET

V : Vision based on permaculture ethical principles
O : Observe, Survey & Analyse
E : Evaluate & Goals
D : Design using permaculture design principles and tools
I : Implement
M : Maintain
E : Evaluate feedback
T : Tweak

Permaculture ethics and Vision

In VOEDIMET (and VOBREDIMET and GoSADIMET) one would first develop the Vision or Goals based on Permaculture ethics. In this design, using CEAP, I did not do that but rather started with a short brief. I came to ethics in the “Apply permaculture principles” step after Collect and Evaluate. So there is actually no stated vision. Thereby what I wrote about permaculture ethics in “Apply” are more statements of how I think the ethics are true in this design than thoughts that would have steered this design. I think this happened because of using CEAP and points to a weakness of the CEAP framework.

In hindsight I could now formulate a Vision:

“We have a deep understanding of fungi in its many facets and we are using that knowledge in developing an integrated fungal growth system on our permaculture farm:

efficient mushroom cultivation systems including processing and sales of mushroom generating a side income
integrating fungi and edible mushroom in our garden and forest garden supporting plant growth while producing a yield of edible mushrooms for us
integrating this knowledge and skills in our education in order to share it.”

CEAP has the benefit of allowing for a more straight-forward jump into design and implementation but developing the Vision first results in a more efficient design. Maybe CEAP could be modified into GoCEAP or V-CEAP.

Using design tools

Base map, Zones and Sectors

Placement of the shiitake cultivation yards was a major decision in this design. The main decisive factors were that it needed to be in a protective mature spruce forest and at a reasonable distance from the center or from the source of wood. Two yards were chosen with different criteria. Sector analysis further confirmed the suitability of the yards.

Functions-elements, Input-output

I used the Functions-elements analysis in the Evaluating information phase. It worked mainly as a tool for understanding the degree of integration of the mushroom design to other aspects of Iso-orvokkiniitty. While intergration in general is desirable in permaculture the analysis also shows that integrating all elements of the process into Iso-orvokkiniitty also leads to need of elements that have no other function. So integration can lead to less integration. It can make sense to outsource functions that can not be easily integrated in other aspects of the site. This can be seen as a justification for buying mycelium for inoculation instead of producing it yourself.

An Input-output analysis is also about integration and therefore closely related to the Functions-elements analysis and they could also be combined. In this design I did a separate input-output analysis in the second evaluation step after implementation (in ‘Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking’). Again the analysis confirms that it is in practise challenging to maximise self-sufficiency in inputs, especially the mycelium, and it might not make sense in practise. It makes more sense to use those internal inputs that already exist on the farm from other systems (forest, bees, water). On the other hand the analysis high-lights side stream type outputs from the mushroom production that can be used in other systems on the farm (old logs and other old substrate, water).

The Functions-elements analysis and the Input-output analysis look at integration from different angles and are therefore useful. It makes sense to use them both in the design phase to check for possible integrations and in the evaluation after implementation phase to check what happened in practise and what new ideas emerged from that.

SWOC

The SWOC analysis (often called SWOT) is a powerful tool commonly used in business to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges (Threats) and to develop strategies based on those. The ‘8-field SWOC’ makes it visible where those strategies come from. I could have used the SWOC already in the ‘Plan’ phase but using it post-implementation seemed more useful as then it is based on experience and not expectations. So it serves the Tweak phase.

Illustrations, photos

I have taken a lot of photos over the years which serve as observations and memory and help to evaluate and demonstrate success and challenges. Some of the photos have been used in this design. I developed some illustrations that make it easier for the reader to understand the processes.

Data gathering

I try to gather data of our different activities as much as possible. In the case of mushroom cultivation it was even enhanced by us being organic certified which required keeping records of inputs, outputs, actions etc. The ‘Mushroom cultivation data 2015-2023’ proved especially valuable because it clearly high-lights the problems in the shiitake production levels but also shows how the number of production-age logs depends on inoculation rates in the 3-5 previous years. We have way over 1000 logs in the yard so without this data it wouldn’t be obvious why the production is currently so low.

Integration with Design 00: My Diploma Pathway

This design is the Design 6B in my “Design 00 Action Plan 2024 Diploma & Iso-orvokkiniitty”. It covers CEAP as a design framework and it is in the “Land & Nature Stewardship” category. It also covers “Tools and Technology” and “Finances & Economics”. It takes me one important step forward in my Diploma Pathway.

First Assesment

My mentor did the first assessment of this design 18th May 2024 and the conclusion was that the design was too retrofitted to be a design. The verdict was “does it make sense to try to fix it? – probably not”. So pretty bad… Unfortunately I am not able to link to that version of the design as I decided to try to fix it in any case and started editing it without saving that version. So here you have read a new version, which however does not change the fact that most of the designing and implementing had been done long before I started writing this design. So the retrofitting argument is still valid. In other aspects I have tried to improve it. If it’s still not a design, I am ok with that, but I feel better with having tried to improve it. Retrofitting was not the only problem.

From the assessment I think I can identify the following main problems with the May 2024 version of this design:

Retrofitting
The aim of the design was unclear
- there’s a dream but is there an aim?
Permaculture tools did not guide the design; ethics and principles
- elements functions analysis missing
- Zoning before and after?
- SWOC – why use it?
- Output – input : why use it?
Integration of ourselves in the design (f.ex. zonings, economics)
Needs/limitations giving direction to the design
Lacking reflection of tools used

So let’s start with 2. and come back to retrofitting last.

2. The aim of the design was unclear

This was certainly true. Somehow CEAP lured me into stepping directly into the design framework without a proper brief. I think all frameworks should include a Vision or Goals step in the beginning – even if it is obvious that it should be there. Frameworks are for stating the obvious. In this version I wrote a brief reflecting my thinking in 2015. Apart from the dream to grow mushrooms I had the 5 x 10000 € business plan that I refer to in the current brief. So the goal is not retrofitted – it existed from the beginning.

3. Permaculture tools did not guide the design

This was probably more about not articulating the decisions process properly than a real problem. I think I have now clarified in the design how zones, sectors, functions-elements, input-ouput analysis, SWOC and Holmgren design principles have guided the design.

4. Integration of ourselves in the design (f.ex. zonings, economics)

I think the brief is now clearer. Nevertheless I suppose I have a tendency to write designs on a theoretical level where my/our role is diminished in the text. I have tried to improve on that since the May version. Of course the implementation shows that I have actually been there and the one reflecting on all this is me.

5. Needs and limitations giving direction to the design

As said already the original brief was very – well, brief. I think I have articulated the needs and motivations better now. Limitations are dealt with in the SWOC.

6. Lacking reflection of tools used

That has now been added.

1. Retrofitting

So is this design retrofitted? Yes, in the sense that it has been written after it all happened. This is not the design I would have written in 2015 but my argument is that nevertheless there was a design then strongly influenced by permaculture design principles and tools and this design reflects my original thinking. The main ‘proof’ of a design is the Production Plan that was written for the organic certification. Of course the purpose of that paper was different. Also the 10000 € concept was the basis of calculating the scale of production at the time and a key part of how the design evolved and was implemented. Also other aspects of the design were there from the beginning. Of course tweaks and changes have happened along the way.

In the end of the day I will let others make the judgement.

Literature

(1) Ken Mudge, Steve Gabriel. 2014: Farming the Woods: An Integrated Permaculture Approach to Growing Food and Medicinals in Temperate Forests. Chelsea Green Publishing.

(2) Jouni Issakainen. 2015. Herkkuruokaa puusta – syötävien lahottajasienten viljely maatalouden sivuelinkeinona. Turun ammattikorkeakoulun raportteja 216. (Gourmet food from wood – growing edible decomposing mushroom as a side business on farms.)

Trad Cotter. 2014. Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation. Simple to advanced and experimental techniques for indoor and outdoor cultivation. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Paul Stamets. 2000. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. 592p. Ten Speed Press.
Paul Stamets. 2005. Mycelium Running. 356p. Ten Speed Press.

McCoy. 2016. Radical Mycology. 672p. Chthaeus Press.

Mauritz Vestberg, Sari Timonen (ed.). 2018. Rihman kiertämät – Kasvien ja sienten erottamaton elämä. 356p (The inseparable life of plants and fungi)

Sari Timonen, Jari Valkonen. (ed.) . 2013. Sienten biologia. 454p. Gaudeamus. (Biology of fungi)

Jaakko Halmetoja. 2014. Pakurikääpä. Opas lääkinnällisten sienten maailmaan. 261p (Chaga. Guide to the world of medicinal mushrooms)

Nils Suber. 1952. Champinjonodling. (Cultivating Agaricus)

Meli Valtonen. 2000. Viljeltyjen sienten ominaisuudet ja käyttö. Pyhäjärvi Instituutti. (Properties and usage of cultivated mushrooms)

Tahei Fujimoto, Markku J. Pellinen. 1985. Siitaken viljely puupölkyissä. (Shittake cultivation in logs)

Tuomo Niemelä. 2016. Suomen käävät. (Finnish conks)

Tea von Bonsdorff, Ilkka Kytövuori, Jukka Vauras, Seppo Huhtinen, Panu Halme, Teppo Rämä, Lasse Kosonen, Stefan Jakobsson. 2014. Sienet ja metsien luontoarvot. 271p. (Mushroom and forest’s nature value)

Pertti Salo, Tuomo Niemelä, Ulla Salo. 2006. Suomen sieniopas. 512p. WSOY. (Finnish field guide to mushrooms)

Ari Seppälä. 1997. Sieniviljelijän pieni käsikirja. 56p. (Small guidebook to mushroom cultivation)

Michael Pollan. 2019. How to Change Your Mind. Penguin Books.

Merlin Sheldrake. 2024. Näkymätön valtakunta. Miten sienet muokkaavat maailmaamme, mieliämme ja tulevaisuuttamme. 354p. Gummerus.

translated from
Merlin Sheldrake. 2020. Entangled life. How fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures.

Content

Design Brief

Design Framework

CEAP

Design Categories:

(C) Collect site information

Our needs

Iso-orvokkiniitty

Map

Helps

(E) Evaluate the information

Sectors

Zones

Functions & elements analysis

Conclusions and Integration

(A) Apply permaculture principles

Permaculture Ethical Principles

Earth Care

People Care

Fair Share

Holmgren Design Principles

(P) Plan a schedule of implementation, maintenance, evaluation and tweaking

(p) The Plan

The Shiitake Business Model

(i) Implementing a cultivation system

Mushroom cultivation

The beginning: inoculation

Placement

(m) Maintanence

Annual Shiitake Workflow

Mushroom log inoculation workshop

Evaluation of Workshops

Force fruiting shiitake

The force fruiting system at Iso-orvokkiniitty:

(e) Evaluation

The whole process

Results with Shiitake cultivation

Mushroom cultivation data 2015-2023

Use, Marketing and sales

Workload in Sales model

These strategies must be translated into the plan of how to go forward, i.e. the Tweak.

Integrations with other aspects of Iso-orvokkiniitty

Other Mushroom stories at Iso-orvokkiniitty

Foraging mushroom

Wine cap

Turkey Tail

Sheathed woodtuft

Raised beds

Chaga

Mycorrhiza

Kääpä Biotech

Input – Output analysis of Mushroom cultivation

SWOC of the shiitake cultivation system

(t) Tweaking

Shiitake cultivation

Entangled with mushroom

Teaching mushroom

Final Reflections and assessment

CEAP

Permaculture ethics and Vision

Using design tools

Integration with Design 00: My Diploma Pathway

First Assesment

Literature

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