Customer Reviews

9-10" Shiitake Mushroom Log

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I had never heard of a mushroom log before until I was flipping through a catalog of expensive items and saw one. My thought was that it would make a great Christmas gift for my Dad, but I thought the price was a bit much, especially considering that shipping would be added on top. Since I was ordering from Amazon anyway I decided to look if mushroom logs were available, and indeed they were, for less than the price in the catalog I had been flipping through. Within a few days of placing the order, I got a very nice email from Sandra at Lost Creek. She wanted to know approximately when I would like the item to arrive, and explained that it's not good for the log to sit for long periods of time. I hadn't even considered that, and had missed the part in the description where that is stated. So I specified a date. I got an email from them when they had shipped the item, and it arrived a day before I had requested. How refreshing to see such a commitment to customer satisfaction.

Upon opening the box I saw that the log was nicely packaged for gift-giving and included detailed instructions, a "quick reference" card, a recipe booklet, and black-and-white pictures of what to expect when the log fruits. (The folks at Lost Creek must have taken to heart the other reviewer's comments back in 2005. I like it when people are willing to learn from their experiences.) No tray is included, but that fact is clearly stated in the description, and besides, it's cheap enough to get a plastic bucket from the supermarket or the hardware store.

Short Version: This is a wonderful and unique gift, nicely packaged and shipped right on time. Plus, the folks who sell it are clearly very focused on customer satisfaction. I couldn't ask for a better and more personal shopping experience.

I had been looking to buy a mushroom log for several weeks. This log seemed like a good value compared to others I had seen listed on Amazon or other sites.
When the product arrived it seemed to me like it was missing several important things:
1. Instructions on how to care for it or how to get the mushrooms to grow.
2. A tray to soak the log in.

I noticed the Amazon product description didn't mention a soaking tray so I checked the vendor (Lost Creek Mushroom) site for product info. I found a description of the log that says 'The single log is 9-10" long but does not have a tray included. An economical way to start growing your own shiitake mushrooms or give as a gift.'

Bottom line: It is economical but the lack of care instructions is a bit much...I'm not going to ding them over the lack of soaking tray since the product description doesn't explicitly state that it includes a tray (so you'll have to provide that which might cost you money depending on what you have available to use). But why doesn't it include care instructions?

It may seem odd to give an item a 5 star score when I only received 1 out of the 4 ordered but my experience with the owners of the Lost Creek Mushroom Farm was very satisfactory! I had tried to purchase logs from other sites but all were sold out - this was 2 weeks before Christmas. Found them here and ordered 4. Received 1, e mailed them, had a very fast and HONEST response stating that they truly overlooked the order for 4 and only shipped 1. That in itself was a treat in this day in age - they actually cared and asked that I call them as soon as possible. Because I only needed one right away for out of town guests that were here, I was ok with that. Lost Creek could have shipped the others out overnight and they offered to do so but I told them it was fine since the other receipients were away anyway and 1 was for my very own self! They arrived with complete instructions and a free gift with each along with an apology for missing the original shipping. I did not expect a stand or soaking tub as it was not listed as included. A bucket like most of us have around the house works well. I am happily waiting for mine to produce it's first crop and the friends I gave them to are really excited over the gift. More than anything, I appreciate their honesty about the mistake and being overwhelmed with holiday orders. They were great to do business with and I would recommend them!

What a huge disappointment this was. I bought three of these logs last christmas -- two for presents and one for my own home. All three were duds. Each one produced a 2-4 mushrooms. EVER. That was it. One or two mushrooms at a time, for a few months, and then nothing. Each crop was progressively smaller. I even tried putting my own outside over the summer when we had soggy weather all summer and it was always the right temp, and still not one mushroom. We all followed the directions very carefully, and two out of three of us are avid cooks and gardeners. This is not rocket science! They should have sprouted better. I will NEVER buy a log again, from lost creek or any other provider. The other kind of "mushroom farms" work much better.

I really wanted to give this product a good review, as the folks at Lost Creek are quite friendly, but I just can't do it. I blame the whole industry of DIY Mushroom Logs in general, not just Lost Creek. I think all of these guys are guilty of misrepresenting what can actually be done at home, and then profiting off that misrepresentation. What people don't realize is that real mushroom farms contain TONS of these logs in very heavily monitored environments. Purchasing one little log and setting it up at your house is NOT going to get you a big mushroom crop, and indicating otherwise is misleading, which is what Lost Creek and others are doing by selling these things (just to make money for themselves at the expense of consumers). Like others, I'm generally very good at growing things (am a major gardener), and I followed instructions to a T. I got no mushrooms, so I requested a replacement (as I said, customer service was great, so it pains me to give a negative review, but that's the reason I have 2 stars instead of 1). My replacement has produced 2 mushrooms, and the original is sitting outside in a nice semi-shaded, humid area with periodic rainfall -- it still has produced nothing. So, I would say, save your money -- just buy some good shiitakes at your local market and leave the growing to people that have large quantities of these logs!

We purchased two of these as gifts and neither one had great luck. Both were able to get a few mushrooms from them but not a lot...it was neat that some grew but a little dissapointing that there weren't a lot more for the price of the logs. One of the ones we purchased went to a warmer area of Oregon and that one did a little better than the one that went to colder/dryer southern Idaho. If they would have produced as many mushrooms as in the picture I would have given 5 stars, just because it is neat to watch them grow. Only 4 stars due to only a few mushrooms.

I got this for my Mom for Christmas. She's into organic and locally produced food, so its right up her ally. She loved it and says its already fruiting quite well after only two weeks. If you follow the instructions carefully (chill the log to induce fruiting, NO chlorinated water, etc), it should be fairly easy to produce your own mushroom crop.

The package arrived on time, with instructions and a little recipe book. I got my log four weeks ago. I tried twice to shock it with cold water, I followed all the instructions, and I only got (until now) two tiny mushroom heads coming out of it.... really slowly. However, my family is having fun, every morning we look at the little log and it is fun to see it growing at its own pace. We make jokes about which recipe we will select from the book when we can harvest our first bunch of mushrooms. If you want to have tons of fresh shiitake, this is not for you. If you enjoy having living creatures in your house, see your plants grow, get this very particular pet.

Log arrived in good condition on schedule. Good instructions and some recipes were in the box with the log. I followed the instructions and as advertised got a good crop of mushrooms on the first try. Saute'ed them up and they were the best mushrooms I've ever eaten. I'm glad I bought this product.

I purchased one of these for my son who loves to garden, and can make anything grow - well NOT THESE! He tried everything in the directions to make it grow, but nothing ever happened! It was disappointing to think that I had given my son a piece of a log for Christmas - and that's all it was - just a barren piece of a log. I guess he can use it for fire wood.