How To Grow Morel Mushrooms
- How To Grow Morel Mushrooms
What are Morel mushrooms?
The morel mushroom is a seasonal mushroom that can be used in hundreds of recipes.
Generally they begin growing during the spring months, and will begin sprouting up across the United States. These delicious mushrooms can easily be grown in your back yard.
However it’s important that you understand that the rain level, air and ground temperature affects the growing cycle and will also affect how bountiful the crop is.
What do you need to grow them?
The key to successfully growing morel mushrooms is the right materials and of course the proper amount of sun. Here’s what you’ll need to begin,
- 4 x 8 foot Partially shady area (preferably a location near an oak tree with a north facing slope)
- Morel mushroom culture
- Oak wood chips, mulch or shavings
- Ash from wood
How to begin cultivation.
The location to place your 4 x 8 foot bed to begin growing your morel mushrooms is the most difficult aspect of growing them. Once you find this north facing slope location you can begin the cultivation process.
Step 1: When preparing the bed you’ll need to remove all weeds and grass from the site.
Step 2: Mix the wood ash in with the oak chips and lay a thick layer of moist oak chips.
Step 3: Evenly sprinkle the morel mushroom culture over the entire moist bed. Important: The morel culture should not be green. If it is the spores are bad.
Step 4: Add an additional 3 inches of moist oak chips covering the entire bed.
Step 5: Water the mushroom patch. The trick is to be sure that the oak chips are moist on every layer. You can stick your finger into the layers to ensure the lower sections are moist.
Step 6: Now you wait. The growth of morel mushrooms is unpredictable. It can be next season or years from now.
Other information about growing morel mushrooms.
Some people add a burnt log of Oak or Elm wood on top of the soil. This aids in the recreation of the moral mushrooms ideal conditions. In the wild you always find morel mushrooms growing along a burnt field and near oak trees…
Click Here For A More Detailed Guide & Variations On This Technique
Or alternatively, often the best way to begin is to start with a ready made mushroom growing kit. These kits are very cheap, come with everything you need to get started, and generally will start producing mushrooms in as little as 3-4 weeks (depends on the variety). Check out some of the more popular mushroom grow kits at the links below…