Shitake Mushrooms: A Specialty Crop for Kentucky

Long considered a symbol of longevity in Asian culture, the shitake is a gourmet mushroom. Kentucky’s rich hardwood forests provide an ideal resource for growing shitake mushrooms. Small logs cut during a timber stand improvement provide a good source of logs for starting a small-scale shitake enterprise. Log-grown shitakes are higher quality and as a result, may fetch a higher price than their artificial-substrate grown counterparts.

Source: University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. Photo by Bill Messner, UK College of Agriculture