"Blooms of 'Shrooms" – The Perfect Valentine Gift for Mushroom Lovers and Gardeners

"A mushroom log kit is a win-win gift for mushroom lovers on Valentine's Day. For people who enjoy caring for plants, watching things grow and dining on the fruits and fungi of their own harvests, a shiitake mushroom log kit is a unique and long-lasting Valentine remembrance," said Sandra Williams, The Mushroom Lady, of Lost Creek Mushroom Farm.

"A shiitake kit is a great surprise, lots of fun, and lasts a long time. Why not 'Shroom your Sweetie?"

Lost Creek Mushroom Farm shiitake log kits are sections of hardwood trees such as oak, gum and cherry, inoculated (seeded) with shiitake spawn (the seed material), and set outside under trees to mature into logs that bloom with mushrooms every two months for 3-5 years. See how they do it here.

"At first, just a few mushrooms pop out," Sandra explained. "But as the log matures, it grows more mushrooms each time. In the second and third years, the log can be covered top-to-bottom with meaty, organic shiitakes."

The mushrooms grow inside like plants and can be placed outside in shade in spring and fall for more and bigger mushrooms. They require soaking in non-chlorinated water very two weeks or so. "Shocking" the log with ice water triggers the mushroom growing cycle (called fruiting), and brown mushrooms ringed with little white stars bloom through the bark.

"Shock it, harvest, rest it with soaking for two months, then shock it again. Logs will last for years," Sandra said. "Kits with two logs can produce a harvest every month by alternating the fruiting log. Or shock them together: Each log will grow more mushrooms than it would alone.

Lost Creek Mushroom Farm log kits are available in a variety of sizes and prices from the 6-inch 'Shroomie, "a cute coffee table conversation piece;" to the Best Buy, two 14-inch logs with their own trays for soaking, fruiting, and resting. All kits come with instructions and recipes. Logs over 9 inches long are fully guaranteed to produce. The Shiitake Sampler Cookbook by Janet Bratkovich, with 51 kitchen-tested recipes ($7.99), extends the value of all the kits.

Customers can learn more and order online at http://www.shiitakemushroomlog.com. Phone orders and brochures are available at 1-800-792-0053. The log kits are listed on Amazon.com at slightly higher prices.

Lost Creek Mushroom Farm donates a portion of sales to Mushrooms in Ghana Project, promoting increased production and profits for small-scale oyster mushroom growers in Ghana, West Africa. Mushrooms in Ghana is helping build a spawn laboratory in northern Ghana so more farmers can grow more mushrooms. See video here. The parent non-profit is Mushrooms for Well-Being Foundation. Donations can be made through Lost Creek Mushroom Farm.

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