Logs #20 and #28; white stuff is mushroom spawn
One of the biggest challenges with raising shiitake mushrooms from oak logs in the southwest is maintaining the high humidity of the midwest or Japan, where the cultivation technique is common. The internal moisture levels should be kept above 35%, but lacking a wood-moisture meter I follow the advice of trying to keeps cracks on the end of the logs at less than a 1/16" wide. In the spring, summer, and fall this means monthly soakings (for a day or two) in rainwater, but in the winter it's much easier; just bury the 40" logs in the deepest snow bank and forget about them until spring arrives.
What happened to the snow pack?
Eventually, I'll build a small mushroom shed to provide high humidity and protection from the drying winds and sun, without all of the physical effort and planning my current process requires. Remember, if your planning on starting your own mushrooms in oak logs, winter is the only time to harvest the logs and 'plant' the spawn in them. However, unlike established logs that can be kept beneath a cold blanket of snow, newly planted logs need to be kept warm and moist while the initial spawn-run occurs (about 6 months long).
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