diff --git a/src/cryptonote_core/cryptonote_core.cpp b/src/cryptonote_core/cryptonote_core.cpp
index 0c73a316f..619c5be3e 100644
--- a/src/cryptonote_core/cryptonote_core.cpp
+++ b/src/cryptonote_core/cryptonote_core.cpp
@@ -650,7 +650,7 @@ namespace cryptonote
     r = m_blockchain_storage.init(db.release(), m_nettype, m_offline, regtest ? &regtest_test_options : test_options, fixed_difficulty, get_checkpoints);
     CHECK_AND_ASSERT_MES(r, false, "Failed to initialize blockchain storage");
 
-    r = m_mempool.init(max_txpool_weight);
+    r = m_mempool.init(max_txpool_weight, m_nettype == FAKECHAIN);
     CHECK_AND_ASSERT_MES(r, false, "Failed to initialize memory pool");
 
     // now that we have a valid m_blockchain_storage, we can clean out any
diff --git a/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.cpp b/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.cpp
index f95645abd..696bc88d4 100644
--- a/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.cpp
+++ b/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.cpp
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ namespace cryptonote
   }
   //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-  tx_memory_pool::tx_memory_pool(Blockchain& bchs): m_blockchain(bchs), m_txpool_max_weight(DEFAULT_TXPOOL_MAX_WEIGHT), m_txpool_weight(0), m_cookie(0)
+  tx_memory_pool::tx_memory_pool(Blockchain& bchs): m_blockchain(bchs), m_cookie(0), m_txpool_max_weight(DEFAULT_TXPOOL_MAX_WEIGHT), m_txpool_weight(0), m_mine_stem_txes(false)
   {
 
   }
@@ -1351,13 +1351,18 @@ namespace cryptonote
     for (; sorted_it != m_txs_by_fee_and_receive_time.end(); ++sorted_it)
     {
       txpool_tx_meta_t meta;
-      if (!m_blockchain.get_txpool_tx_meta(sorted_it->second, meta) || !meta.matches(relay_category::legacy))
+      if (!m_blockchain.get_txpool_tx_meta(sorted_it->second, meta))
       {
         MERROR("  failed to find tx meta");
         continue;
       }
-      LOG_PRINT_L2("Considering " << sorted_it->second << ", weight " << meta.weight << ", current block weight " << total_weight << "/" << max_total_weight << ", current coinbase " << print_money(best_coinbase));
+      LOG_PRINT_L2("Considering " << sorted_it->second << ", weight " << meta.weight << ", current block weight " << total_weight << "/" << max_total_weight << ", current coinbase " << print_money(best_coinbase) << ", relay method " << (unsigned)meta.get_relay_method());
 
+      if (!meta.matches(relay_category::legacy) && !(m_mine_stem_txes && meta.get_relay_method() == relay_method::stem))
+      {
+        LOG_PRINT_L2("  tx relay method is " << (unsigned)meta.get_relay_method());
+        continue;
+      }
       if (meta.pruned)
       {
         LOG_PRINT_L2("  tx is pruned");
@@ -1522,7 +1527,7 @@ namespace cryptonote
     return n_removed;
   }
   //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-  bool tx_memory_pool::init(size_t max_txpool_weight)
+  bool tx_memory_pool::init(size_t max_txpool_weight, bool mine_stem_txes)
   {
     CRITICAL_REGION_LOCAL(m_transactions_lock);
     CRITICAL_REGION_LOCAL1(m_blockchain);
@@ -1578,6 +1583,7 @@ namespace cryptonote
       lock.commit();
     }
 
+    m_mine_stem_txes = mine_stem_txes;
     m_cookie = 0;
 
     // Ignore deserialization error
diff --git a/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.h b/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.h
index 292d427e2..18ef0340b 100644
--- a/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.h
+++ b/src/cryptonote_core/tx_pool.h
@@ -205,10 +205,11 @@ namespace cryptonote
      * @brief loads pool state (if any) from disk, and initializes pool
      *
      * @param max_txpool_weight the max weight in bytes
+     * @param mine_stem_txes whether to mine txes in stem relay mode
      *
      * @return true
      */
-    bool init(size_t max_txpool_weight = 0);
+    bool init(size_t max_txpool_weight = 0, bool mine_stem_txes = false);
 
     /**
      * @brief attempts to save the transaction pool state to disk
@@ -603,6 +604,7 @@ private:
 
     size_t m_txpool_max_weight;
     size_t m_txpool_weight;
+    bool m_mine_stem_txes;
 
     mutable std::unordered_map<crypto::hash, std::tuple<bool, tx_verification_context, uint64_t, crypto::hash>> m_input_cache;