I was safely at work on the 31st while Ron dragged Jo and brother Don out to THF for another project. It was time to get our winter mushrooms to be set up in lean-to stacks. The winter variety does not need to be soaked for 24 hours in order to force the fruit. All I know is that I looks like they will be easier to harvest this way. Leaving them in crib stacks may take up less space, but you then have to take the stacks apart and get down in the dirt to get all your mushrooms. Besides we are not growing on a flat area and lean-to works best there too. And it will be easier to cover the logs once they start pinning.  Soggy mushrooms are not a good thing.
Ron, being Ron  had been pondering about a solution for about a year.  He had done of a lot of research on how to create the best lean-to, but wanted less work and expense involved. Had pretty much decided how he was going to get this done, but he never knows exactly how his plans are going to work   He just gets started and waits to see how things go. Fixing and jerry rigging things on the fly.  I don’t know if he watched much of the MacGyver TV show in the late 1980’s but I was a huge fan. Now that “mcgyvering” is an official verb, he just loves using it.  His solutions are never as dramatic as the stuff done on the show, but they are fun and work.

This was the final support system he came up with. His first attempt using just wire to hold the side beams together was not strong enough. Usually he does this kind of thing by himself or with me. I have learned exactly how to offer suggestions to him, though it has taken me years to develop the right technique. When Ron works with his brothers, things don’t always go as well. All three of them have their own ideas of how things could or should be done and they are so alike. It can get a bit testy at times. Working with just Jo goes pretty well for him too. She doesn’t offer suggestions, simply follows his lead. She might be the smartest of all of us.

I did have to question Ron though. My research showed the log ends actually resting on the ground. I wanted to know what was with the pallets. He had a good reason – slugs. A major bane of mushroom growers. Nobody wants to buy a slug chewed Shiitake. He is hoping that by keeping the logs up off the ground that will give him one more level of protection. It will mean he has to keep a closer watch on the moisture level of the logs. But he thinks it will be a more than even trade-off.

Ron must have told her to show him how she really feels. While Jo is a solid hard worker, you can tell that she is not thrilled. Can’t blame her.  A day of hauling boards, shifting logs and dealing with her Dad.  She would be much happier back at home, warm and dry and sitting in front of her laptop. Though they had spots of sunshine, it was a cold and rainy day with thunder sounding in the background.  Their hard work paid off, with 5 racks done with 3 more to go.  I can see a trip out to THF in my near future.