Well, most everyone knows that white button mushrooms grow well in the dark - and thrive on lots of manure. So, if you live in the DC area, you are in luck. Plenty of that there lately.....If you are in other parts of the country where you have access to an oak log (must be freshly cut with no other fungus established), you can grow your own shiitake. I would have to check into it, but an oak 4x4 might work - and a source for that might be an old brick pallet or the wood store. My source said its best to have the bark still on it. In Utah, scrub oak might work. If you are in Washington, soft Maple or Alder or other hardwoods will work. It does need to be a hardwood - and oak is best. Once you have found the perfect log, the next thing is buy the plug with the preferred type of fungus from this store and drill your log to accept the spore plugs. Cap the plugs with bees wax (great if you have some left over from a bee hive), keep the log moist and wait for your delicious mushrooms to appear. At CLICK LINK - FUNGI PERFECTI , you can get all the details for your culinary experiment. Once I get my first crop, I will take pics and let you know how they turned out. Apparently, a log is good for at least six years of continuous harvest. Dry them in the sun to increase vitamin D loading.
Enjoy them!
You can also buy the pre-innoculated oak logs here if you would just like to spend a little more and have a little less hassle:
http://www.livingearthfarms.net/shiitake-mushrooms/
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