![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallfarms.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-02-at-1.26.07-PM.png?resize=1880%2C450&quality=80&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0For thousands of years, mushrooms have been grown on hardwood logs from sustainably managed forest lands. Their origins trace to parts of China, Korea, and Japan. Shiitake cultivation on logs is one of the oldest known forms of agriculture. Today, log cultivation is increasingly rare, replaced by technology and now many shiitake in the US come from synthetic sawdust \u00ablogs\u00bb often manufactured in overseas and shipped over 7,000 miles to New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet just upstream from the city are abundant forests in need of stewardship, and logs sourced from upstate forests support the livelihoods of foresters and loggers. Species such as Oak and Sugar Maple in small diameters offer little market value but are perfect materials for mushroom cultivation. Many community farms and gardens in New York would benefit from the ability to grow their own mushrooms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the summer of 2021, a partnership between the Cornell Small Farms Program, Woodsman Forest Products<\/a>, Schooner Apollonia<\/a>, Hudson River Maritime Museum<\/a>, RETI Center<\/a>, and Red Hook Community Farms<\/a>\u00a0 piloted the carbon-neutral transport of logs from upstate forests to community farms and gardens in New York City.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n