Shiitake mushrooms are prized for their high quality and velvety caps. They are dark brown, with an earthy flavour, velvety texture and versatile abilities in the kitchen.  The most effective and natural way to grow these mushrooms is on hardwood logs using mushroom dowels. With your spawn voucher, you can claim your fifty shiitake dowels, which will then be delivered fresh to your front door.  It can take up to a year to see your first harvest flourish. However, this low-intensity method of growing can see you harvesting shiitake mushrooms for up to eight years. This makes the shiitake kit a gift that offers years of money saving from supermarket plastic wrapped mushrooms, as well as the chance to understand sustainable food production in a way where you can make a difference. We believe anyone can be an expert urban farmer with a little help from our kits.  Traditionally, logs would be inoculated by placing them adjacent to more logs already growing shitake mushrooms, and the spores would naturally infiltrate the new logs. Both the development of the mushroom industry and our knowledge about growing food sources in ways that mimic effective natural processes allow you to get a head start on growing by implanting the mycelium directly into the logs.