Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

Dave McGill, WVU Extension Specialist – Forestry WVU Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources Tiffany Fegel, Forest Stewardship Outreach Education Coordinator WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

This fact sheet explains how to prepare, inoculate, and propagate shiitake mushrooms.

About Shiitake Cultivation

Shiitake mushrooms are part of the shiitake fungus, a species that consumes wood for energy. Cultivating shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) can be an integral part of forest farming. These gourmet mushrooms are a non-timber forest product that can be grown in the understory of woodlands as an added money-maker resource or in a backyard for personal use.