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Liquid Cultures
Shiitake Liquid Culture
Live shiitake mycelium suspended in sterile nutrient broth, ready to inject into grain or agar so you can expand your own spawn at home.
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Living culture. Keep it cold and use sterile technique.
Lentinula edodes, the true shiitake
Sealed syringe of mycelium in liquid broth
Inject into grain or agar, not a fruiting medium on its own
The short version
This is a syringe of living shiitake mycelium (Lentinula edodes) suspended in a sterile nutrient broth. You inject it into sterilised grain or onto agar to grow more spawn, then take that spawn on to a hardwood substrate to fruit.
It is a starting point for the lab and grow room, not a ready-to-grow kit and not food. Keep it cold and work clean.
What it is
What shiitake liquid culture actually is
Liquid culture is live mycelium of Lentinula edodes growing in a sterile, nutrient rich liquid. Because the mycelium is already active and suspended in the broth, a small injection spreads quickly through sterilised grain and starts colonising sooner than spores would.
Shiitake is one of the most widely grown gourmet mushrooms in the world. It fruits on hardwood, either supplemented sawdust blocks or hardwood logs. The liquid culture is the first link in that chain. It is not the substrate you fruit on.
How to use it
Using the culture to make grain spawn
Work in a still air box or in front of a laminar flow hood. Have 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, gloves and a lighter to hand, and your jars or bags of sterilised, cooled grain ready with self healing injection ports.
Shake the syringe
Shake hard for thirty seconds to a minute so the mycelium spreads evenly through the liquid. This gives a more even inoculation.
Sterilise the needle
Flame the needle until it glows, then let it cool for a moment. Wipe the injection port with alcohol.
Inject the grain
Inject 1 to 2 ml into a quart sized jar of grain, or 5 to 10 ml into a 2.3 kg grain bag. Flame the needle again between containers.
Incubate
Keep the grain dark, around 21 to 24 C. Full colonisation usually takes about 2 to 6 weeks. Once mycelium has clearly taken hold, shake the jar to break up the grain and spread growth.
Move on to fruiting substrate
Use the colonised grain as spawn for supplemented hardwood sawdust blocks or hardwood logs. Sawdust blocks colonise over roughly 8 to 12 weeks.
Let the block brown, then cold soak
Shiitake is unusual. After it colonises, the block forms a brown leathery skin over a week or two. Wait for most of that browning before you try to fruit. Then soak the block in cold water, around 4 to 10 C, for several hours to trigger pinning. Small brown pins appear within a few days.
If you are not sure the culture is clean or active, inject a little onto an agar plate first and watch for healthy white growth with no off colours or sour smell before committing it to grain.
Storage
Keep it cold, never freeze
Store the syringe in the fridge, around 2 to 8 C, in a sealed bag. Do not freeze it, as freezing kills the living mycelium. Used cold and clean, a liquid culture is generally viable for about 3 to 6 months, though vigour declines with age. Use it sooner rather than later for the best start.
| Species | Lentinula edodes (shiitake) |
|---|---|
| Contents | Live mycelium in sterile nutrient broth |
| Fridge storage | About 2 to 8 C, do not freeze |
| Typical viability | Around 3 to 6 months refrigerated |
| Grain dose | 1 to 2 ml per 1 litre jar; 5 to 10 ml per 2.3 kg bag |
| Grain colonisation | Roughly 2 to 6 weeks at 21 to 24 C |
| Fruiting | Hardwood sawdust or logs; cold water soak after browning |
What it is not
What this is not for
This is not a grow kit. There is no substrate in the syringe, so you cannot fruit mushrooms from it directly. You inject it into grain or agar first, then take the spawn on to hardwood.
It is also not food. The broth is for feeding mycelium in the lab, not for eating or drinking. Treat it as a living lab input and handle it with clean technique.
Common questions
Frequently asked
1 to 2 ml for a 1 litre jar, or 5 to 10 ml for a 2.3 kg bag. Shake the syringe well first.
No. There is no substrate in it. Inject it into grain or agar, grow spawn, then move to hardwood sawdust or logs to fruit.
A still air box or laminar flow hood and sterile technique give the best results. Liquid culture is forgiving enough to use with careful clean technique if you do not have a hood.
Around 3 to 6 months in the fridge at 2 to 8 C. Do not freeze it.
Shiitake is naturally slower than many species. Keep grain around 21 to 24 C and allow several weeks. Test on agar if you suspect the culture has lost vigour.
That is normal for shiitake. The block forms a brown leathery skin when it is mature and close to ready. Let most of the surface brown before you try to fruit.
Supplemented hardwood sawdust blocks or hardwood logs such as oak. It will not fruit on grain alone.
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Sold for legal gourmet cultivation and microscopy use. Keep refrigerated and use clean technique.
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