There was word that the open garden club meeting at Lowe-Volk Park might bring mushroom soup, or some delicacy made with mushrooms. A matter of fact, Jeff Wilkinson was sauteing mushrooms in cast iron skillets. You talk about anticipation, the smell rambled around the room while Jeff was telling how he goes about the task of creating Shitake mushrooms. Oh, sure the term is "growing."

It is an adventure which takes some knowledge. As the listening started, the group smelled simmering mushrooms; olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper were added to rehydrated Shitakes.

He advised us to select oak logs, the medium in which mushroom spawn can mature. So, you will need white oak — and swamp white oak has brought success to Wilkinson. He cautions that the oak should be cut when it is dormant, otherwise a drying out period will have to follow. Select logs that are about 4 inches in diameter, then cut into 40-inch segments. Next drill holes into the log with a 3/8 inch drill bit about 8 inches apart. Jeff actually drilled a log on the spot. Then he stirred the mushrooms, which were radiating making most of us salivate.

Holes are drilled so that saw dust plugs from birch, can be inserted. These are sterilized then inoculated with mycelium. Mycelium is in the underground portion of a mushroom. So, after the plugs are inserted, they are sealed into place with either bee’s wax or cheese wax.

Prepared, logs must go into a shaded area, away from direct sun and wind and remain moist for a year. Jeff employs felt mats as protection. Spawn will colonize.

Mushrooms, both morels and Shitake, certainly were being savored. Jeff has crop production figured out. As a heavy supplier at a farmers’ market, he knows how to make growth move along.

He places logs in cold water for 24 hours and apparently this moisture bath really makes the mushrooms pop. Logs are next leaned against a tree trunk in the same shaded area, at a 45-degree angle.

Then, Jeff turned off the flames. We knew that tasting mushrooms would finally come. Toothpicks were used to select a piece of Shitake or morel; heavenly.

Mushroom growing has brought long sessions of dehydrating to Jeff so he can store them in the freezer. He shared trips out West where successful hunting could yield more than 100 pounds a day!

Wilkinson’s experiences include the Division of Forestry in South Dakota, and 10 years with Richland County with the Soil and Water Conservation District. He currently does forestry consulting.

Sadly, I did not opt for the kit to raise my own supply. Finding a suitable place for 10 to 15 logs for a year would be a greater challenge.

Happily, I will value more than ever Shitake and morel mushrooms. I reflect on the 300 pounds per year Jeff has produced over the last 15 years.

Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, is an accredited flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth-grade teacher.