I received a mushroom log kit for Christmas, followed the directions,
and nothing! I can't tell if I'm giving it too much water, too much
light, or not enough of either. I am trying to grow it indoors in the
midwest. It has a faint green mold on the top of the log - is this
okay?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

put it outside. the green mold (which is bad) will disappear. Once the
weather warms, you will be able to make it fruit, either by soaking or
by knocking it.

Give it a cold shock.
Place it in your fridge for a night or two(wrapped in plastic to contain the
mold). Bring it out and submerge it in pure water (rain water/melted snow)
overnight, then place it somewhere that stays around 50F (an unheated porch
or cold window). In a few days you should see fruitbodies forming. If
this procedure does not work, and the green mold (or other mold infections)
persist, the mycelium from the Shitake may not have taken in the log and
might be a lost cause due to competing molds gaining a foothold before the
mushroom could. It happens sometimes no matter how clean the innoculation
environment was to begin with.

I've had shitake from logs I innoculated with plugs. I just leave them
out in the shade and they appear when they want. Usually in cool
weather after rain. Too much pain in the ass to get them to grow when
you want.

In message .com,
redens writes
I received a mushroom log kit for Christmas, followed the directions,
and nothing! I can't tell if I'm giving it too much water, too much
light, or not enough of either. I am trying to grow it indoors in the
midwest. It has a faint green mold on the top of the log - is this
okay?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!


If you mean Christmas 2005, then the chances are it has only just been
inoculated. You'll have to keep the log damp for around a year while the
mycelium grows through the wood. Only then will it be ready to fruit.

The instructions with the log I got for Christmas say that if it is kept
indoors, it should be submerged in water overnight once a month.

I'm too lazy for that. I've just put it in the garden where the water
butt overflows and I'll give it extra water if it needs it in the
summer.
--
Graham