How to Grow Shiitake
Shiitake At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Mushroom
Sun Exposure
Full Shade
Frost Tolerance
Not Applicable
Plant Family
Omphalotaceae
Growing Season
Year Round
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
In late winter, cut logs from a healthy hardwood tree such as oak or maple, about 10 to 15 cm thick and 1 m long, and fill them within a few weeks, before other fungi move in. Make holes about 15 cm apart all around each log, tap in plug spawn (small wooden pegs full of mushroom roots) and seal each one with melted wax. Stack the logs off the ground in deep shade and keep them damp: they take 6 to 18 months to fill with mushroom roots, then give mushrooms for 4 to 6 years.
Safety first: only eat mushrooms that grew from a kit or spawn you bought, right where you put it. Wild mushrooms, some of them deadly, can pop up in the same pots, logs or wood chips, so if one looks even a little different, don't eat it. Shiitake on logs takes patience: the first mushrooms come 6 to 18 months after you fill the logs. After that, each log can give a crop a few times a year for 4 to 6 years, and soaking it in cold water lets you choose when the mushrooms come.
When To Start
Shiitake grows all year in the right spot, so there is no window to wait for.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Shiitake?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Shiitake Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Shiitake Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Fill your shiitake logs with plug spawn and seal with wax
About 0 days after you plant it
Soak shiitake logs in cold water to start the first crop
About 365 days after you plant it· every year
Pick shiitake before the caps flatten, then rest the logs
About 420 days after you plant it· every year· optional
Hello from your shiitake log! Keep it shaded and moist, and know that the first mushrooms can take a good while.
About 7 days after you plant it
Checking in on your shiitake. Pick caps when they are mostly open, before they flatten out.
About 14 days after you plant it
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
Vertical Growing
Yes: logs are leaned or stacked, using little floor space.
Succession Planting
Yes: stagger inoculations for a steady supply.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Only ever eat mushrooms that grew from your own kit or spawn, and throw out any that look even a little different from the rest, because wild look-alikes, some of them deadly, can sprout in the same spot.
- 2Keep the logs in deep shade, such as under trees or on the north side of a building.
- 3Stack them off the ground, on a pallet or in a criss-cross pile, so they stay clean and air can flow.
- 4Water or soak them whenever they go a week or two without rain, since a log that dries out stops growing.
- 5Once white patches show at the cut ends, soak a log in cold water for 24 hours to wake it up, and mushrooms appear about a week later.
- 6Give each log 6 to 8 weeks of rest between soaks.
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Pick when the cap is 60 to 80% open, before it flattens fully
How to Harvest
- 1Pick shiitake when the caps are most of the way open but the edges still curl under, before they flatten out.
- 2Cut each mushroom at the base of the stem with a sharp knife, or twist it off gently.
- 3Keep them in a paper bag in the fridge for about a week, or slice and dry them to keep for months.
- 4The tough stems are best simmered in soup or broth.
- 5Always cook shiitake well, since raw or undercooked shiitake can cause an itchy rash in some people.
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your shiitake.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your shiitake will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
