The best time to order and plant fruit trees is during the mid-winter/early spring while the trees are undergoing dormancy. If you’re interested in planting fruit trees this year, give us a call at 571-282-1724 now to schedule a consult!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Making Mushroom Logs
Growing your own high-quality, organic mushrooms is pretty simple. We’re going to show you a bit about the process by which we put together the logs which we currently have for sale. Enjoy!
First of all, you need wood. The best logs for Shiitake mushrooms are oak. It’s best to use wood that has been cut very recently, so you can avoid contamination from unwanted fungi. For our logs, we used an oak that came down during Superstorm Sandy.
Logs that are between 3 and 5 inches in diameter are best because they allow for good inoculation throughout the entire log. You also want to allow for a length of between about 2.5-5 feet. This keeps the logs in a manageable size while still allowing for maximum production.
At this point, you’re ready to start inoculating the logs.
You want to drill holes throughout the log about 6 inches apart lengthwise, and then alternate rows so that you get a decent amount of spawn throughout the log.
Next, you insert mushroom spawn into the drilled holes. We used hardwood sawdust that had been inoculated with Shiitake spawn from a local source. We use a neat little tool that injects the sawdust & spawn into the holes and really jam-packs it in there.
Then, you seal the spawn-filled holes with cheese wax. This prevents the inoculated sawdust from spilling out, and protects the wounds on the log from being contaminated by unwanted fungi and bacteria.
Voila!!! Done! The logs are now ready to be stacked for storage. It will take about a year for the spawn to fully grow throughout the log and start producing mushrooms. Once fruiting begins, you can stimulate heavy production by soaking the log in water for about 24 hours and then setting it upright in a shady spot.
There you have it! If you are interested in purchasing inoculated logs from us, please visit our Plants for Sale page for more information!
Shiitake Mushroom Logs for Sale!!!
Shiitake Mushroom Logs!!!
Logs are fresh-cut oak, 3-5 inches in diameter and 30-48 inches long. They have been thoroughly inoculated with Shiitake mushroom spawn, and will begin to produce high-quality, organic mushrooms by fall of 2013. The logs will produce heavily for about 2-3 years, and will decline after that, though they will continue to produce some for several years. After production declines, the logs can be used as firewood, borders for garden paths (that will occasionally produce mushrooms!), or shredded into organic soil-building mulch. Log-grown Shiitakes are vastly superior in quality to commercial sawdust-grown mushrooms – while sawdust-grown Shiitakes sell for about $4/lb, log-grown Shiitakes sell for up to $40/lb.
These logs are incredibly easy – just stick the logs in a shady spot in your yard and let them sit. Once you notice mushrooms beginning to fruit, you can either leave them alone and harvest a few mushrooms here and there, or you can soak them in water for 24 hours (in, say, a garden pond or kiddie pool) to stimulate heavy production. This is a very easy and very low-effort way to get quality mushrooms in your own yard!
Prices are $50 for logs between 24-36 inches in length, $75 for logs between 36-48 inches in length. Free delivery within 20 miles of zip code 22207. To purchase, or for more information, please call 571-282-1724 or email info@oegardens.com.
Introducing the New OEG Logo!!!
A Message from Owner Danylo Kosovych
We have matured greatly since our inception in 2010, and we feel that our new graphic logo more closely represents who we are today. The logo depicts the fiddleheads, or young shoots, of Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) – a delicious and beautiful perennial food crop.
Since my certification in Permaculture Design in October 2011 and the subsequent incorporation of Jon Storvick into the business, we have decided to refocus our efforts on perennial food systems. Perennial crops are more permanent, require less intensive care, inputs and management, and produce consistently over a number of years – making them a much more sustainable alternative to annual food systems. While we feel that annual vegetables will always have a beloved place in our gardens, we feel that designed, ecological systems comprised of permanent, perennial and sustainable crop species are the future of both home food production and of good landscape design. This is what we excel in, and what we feel is and should be the defining characteristic of our business. We thus present this new logo to our past, present and future clients with the confidence that it more accurately represents who we are as a company and as individuals concerned with making our bioregion a healthier place for all.
Accordingly, we will be redesigning our website and Facebook pages to accommodate the logo changes. Please bear with us in the event things are down briefly while we restructure our sites. Thanks for your understanding, and we look forward to working with you to create a sustainable future!
Danylo Kosovych
Owner, Organic Edible Gardens LLC
Storm Damage?
We are expecting a pretty heavy storm here in Northern Virginia this next week due to Hurricane Sandy colliding with a westerly storm and an influx of Arctic winds from the north – all of which is a recipe for some crazy weather in our area. We’d like to remind everyone that we offer clean-up and debris removal services. Unfortunately we are unable to perform anything that involves climbing or felling trees, but we can cut and remove trees that are already on the ground. If you need assistance getting your yard back together after what might be a “billion dollar storm” according to NPR, please call us at 571-282-1724. Stay safe and have a great weekend!!!
Sustainable Sites Initiative
The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) is a project that aims to provide guidelines and prerequisites for the creation and certification of sustainable landscapes. SITES developed as a complement to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a similar rating and certification system created by the U.S. Green Building Council to promote sustainable and environmentally-responsible building practices.
SITES released their first Guidelines (PDF) in 2009 as an experimental pilot project. Three years later, much more information, research, and results from trials based on the earlier guidelines have been obtained and reviewed. SITES has created proposed new guidelines for the 2013 release, which will become the new standards for designing, building, and maintaining sustainable landscapes. These proposed guidelines are currently available for public comment – information received in these comments will be considered for revision of the final version to be released next year.
We here at OEG feel that it is very important to be part of the larger conversation regarding ecological landscape design/build, and we have participated in this opportunity to contribute to future national standards (after all, one of the proposed credits regards providing food production in the landscape). If you are an individual and/or a company with an interest or stake in ecological and sustainable landscaping, please consider adding your voice to the conversation. To participate in the public comments, please visit the SITES page, create an account, and then comment on the guidelines. You can make a difference!
Many Thanks to Everyone!
Thanks to everybody that made it out to the foraging class – I think a great time was had by all. Special thanks to Sara, Chris and Amanda at Maple Avenue Market, hopefully we can do this again sometime!
Foraging for Wild Food class on Thursday!
Jon will be giving a talk on foraging for wild edible plants on Thursday, Oct 11 at Maple Avenue Market in Vienna. Come check it out, learn some stuff, and have fun!!!
Working on New Stuff
Hi all,
I sincerely apologize for the lack of new posts – we’ve been quite busy here at OEG with new designs and landscape installations – it’s been a crazy summer!
I’m working on a new article on the benefits of gardening in polycultures (growing more than one species of plant together), and hope to have that up in the next day or two. So stay tuned and happy gardening!
Jon
Holy Jeez, It’s Hot!!!!
It has been a HOT few days here in Northern Virginia!!! Plants all over are suffering from the heat (and lack of water, too).
We design and install automated drip irrigation systems so you don’t have to worry about your prized plants keeling over on you. If you need a little extra help keeping your plants happy and healthy, give us a ring!