At Cold Dew, drill wood to grow mushrooms; the harvest must wait until early next year

Original title: Drilling wood to grow mushrooms, thick and delicious, fragrance fills the garden

Li Zhaoxue introduces linden wood shiitake mushrooms.

Poverty alleviation profile

Overview: Shannan Village, Lengshuiguan Township, Nanchuan District, has a total population of more than 1,430, of which more than 800 work elsewhere. Because it is relatively remote, with many slopes and few fields, villagers who farm at home have an annual net income of only about 1,000 yuan, and it is also very difficult to attract investors.

Breakthrough: Shannan Village has particularly rich forest resources, with a forest coverage rate of more than 50%, making it suitable for developing "linden wood shiitake mushrooms."

Path: After inspecting this technology in Sui County, Hubei Province, the Nanchuan District People's Congress, the village's paired poverty alleviation unit, promoted it in the village.

Effect: Each jin of linden wood shiitake mushrooms sells for 8 yuan, much higher than ordinary varieties. The village established a shiitake mushroom professional cooperative, driving more than 10 households of villagers to grow them together.

Can clusters of shiitake mushrooms also grow on wood?

Recently, at the home of Li Zhaoxue, a villager of Group 3 of Shannan Village, Lengshuiguan Township, Nanchuan District, this writer saw something unusual.

In the courtyard, pieces of wood about 1 m long were neatly stacked in a well shape, and on top of the wood, brown mushrooms were eagerly poking out their heads. "This kind of mushroom is called linden wood shiitake. It grows very fast. Don't look at how small it is now; by tomorrow morning it can grow to the size of a palm and be ready to pick," Li Zhaoxue said.

Using local materials

Before December 2012, like other villagers in Shannan Village, Li Zhaoxue had never thought of growing mushrooms. "Our whole village has 1,435 people, of whom more than 800 work elsewhere. Those who farm at home have an annual net income of only about 1,000 yuan," he said. Some people also wanted to engage in farming and breeding, but first, they had no capital, and second, they had no labor. "Our Shannan Village is rather far from Nanchuan, and no one is willing to come to the village to invest."

In December of that year, the Nanchuan District People's Congress, the paired poverty alleviation unit of Lengshuiguan Township, came here. They found that although Shannan Village had many slopes and few fields, its forest resources were particularly rich, with the village's forest coverage rate exceeding 50%. "Sui County in Hubei Province developed linden wood shiitake mushrooms. I heard it uses local wood and does not need mushroom bags, so it is very suitable for development in mountainous areas." Therefore, after going to Sui County for inspection, the district People's Congress invited technicians from Sui County to guide villagers on site in trying to grow them.

"Actually, in recent years, the shiitake mushroom industry in Shuijiang Town has developed quite well, and we also thought about learning from it, but one shiitake mushroom bag costs four or five yuan. Besides, the family members are all elderly and have no energy to manage it, so we had to give up," said Chen Tianyou, a villager of Group 3. At that time, everyone was somewhat hesitant about developing linden wood shiitake mushrooms.

Trial planting succeeded

"The so-called linden wood shiitake mushroom uses wood as the raw material for shiitake mushroom fermentation and does not require manual management. Except for the first time, when mushroom bags are needed, no mushroom bags are needed afterward. It is very convenient and suitable for mountainous areas with little capital and little labor." Hearing the technician's explanation, Li Zhaoxue resolved to give it a try.

After the beginning of spring in 2013, he went to his family's forest land and cut more than 60 pieces of qinggang oak and sweetgum trees with a diameter at breast height of more than 10 cm. "These are the best woods for growing linden wood shiitake mushrooms, as introduced by the technician. It just so happens that these trees are everywhere in our village."

According to the technician's instructions, he first cut the wood into 1 m sections, then drilled small holes 3 to 5 cm deep every 10 cm or so, and put the linden wood shiitake mushroom bags gifted by the district People's Congress into the holes. Finally, he neatly stacked 1,200 pieces of wood in the courtyard and then left them alone.

After the first rain following Cold Dew, Li Zhaoxue stacked the wood in a well shape. "The technician said this makes it easier to pick the mushrooms."

After 7 to 10 days, the first batch of linden wood shiitake mushrooms grew. "When they grow fast, I pick them in the morning and can pick again in the afternoon; if I pick in the afternoon, I can pick again the next morning." Li Zhaoxue went into the house and brought out two freshly picked linden wood shiitake mushrooms to show this writer. After examining them, this writer found that this kind of shiitake mushroom looks 1/3 larger than ordinary shiitake mushrooms, has thick flesh, and its stem is shorter and cleaner than ordinary shiitake mushrooms.

"This kind of linden wood shiitake mushroom has a richer flavor than ordinary shiitake mushrooms. After cooking, its aroma is overpowering, and it tastes tender. Anyone who has eaten it knows." Li Zhaoxue told this writer that the market price of linden wood shiitake mushrooms is about 8 yuan, and they are very popular in the market.

Prospects are quite good

From Cold Dew to around Qingming the following year is the season when linden wood shiitake mushrooms fruit. Li Zhaoxue calculated that last year he picked more than 600 jin of shiitake mushrooms in total. At a price of 8 yuan per jin, his income was about 5,000 yuan.

More importantly, linden wood shiitake mushrooms are a one-time investment with long-term benefits. He said that one piece of wood can be used for 5 to 8 years. Except for the first year, when mushroom bags need to be inserted, no investment is needed afterward. Apart from turning the wood over manually after Cold Dew each year, no management is needed the rest of the time.

In June 2013, Li Zhaoxue established the Xiangde Shiitake Mushroom Professional Cooperative in the village, which has now absorbed 11 linden wood shiitake mushroom growing households as members. "Maybe our Shannan Village will also become a major mushroom-growing village in Nanchuan," he said happily. (Text/Photos by correspondent Wang Ziren)