Morel mushrooms

[goodlife]

My mouth is watering...first morels are showing through the soil...not big enough for picking yet but by monday I sure I can have seasons first taster... :P ;D
Does any of you eat wild ones?

[goodlife]

[Paulines7]

Other than the mushroom kits, I have never tried growing any other kind of mushroom.   Are they easy to grow and what conditions do you need to grow them?

I was looking at them in the Garden Centre and they had several varieties but they were very expensive.   I can't remember whether they had morels but they certainly were different from the normal ones we buy in the shops. 

[goodlife]

..no I don't think you can grow these from kits...they are truly wild ones...I'm just lucky to have them growing in the garden I work for and the owners do not dare to touch anything that doesn't come with label.. ::)..so more for me... ;D
I do grow shome shiitake and oyster on logs though..and those are in lotty...
But yes..they are easy..both the logs ones and the wild..the wild ones just do their thing and I only have to remember not to hoe for next few weeks...
and the log ones...well..they are in black bin liners under hedge bottom in shade and they do not come out untill end of summer..I just have to remember to check that they do not dry out..

[Baccy Man]

You can grow morels but they are challenging to get started, Ann Miller is the only UK stockist of spawn that I know of.
http://www.annforfungi.co.uk

[goodlife]

ohh..interesting..thanks for that ;D..maybe I could work something out  by transfering spawn to to my own land... ::)

[goodlife]

Had a look that site...."tranfer to a old bonfire site"...yes! I have plenty of those spots..I'm working on this idea now........ ::)

[Baccy Man]

I have a patch of morels I grew, bonfire site didn't work so I added lot's of well rotted woodchips & leafmould then they took on the second attempt.

[goodlife]

 ;D I've got plenty of those too! ;D ;D
Do you still get get those...or is "grew" in literal meaning...?

[Baccy Man]

It's grew as in started from purchased spawn, they are back every year and have spread to a couple of other areas.

[goodlife]

Oh..lovely...do you remember what is used as a "bed" for morel starter spawn..

[Baccy Man]

I assume you mean what should be used for the substrate if so then there are step by step instructions for harvesting spawn & cultivating them here.
http://www.thefarm.org/mushroom/morel.html

[goodlife]

Ahh....the fountain of the knowlege.... :-*
I'm trying to teach myself new "gardening" thing every year..last year I had a bash with crafting and I think this might be my mission for this year.......lovely jobley...  ;D

[dingerbell]

just checked out the American Morel site ....... OMG  :o  it would be easier to build my own Large Hadron Collider from egg boxes and tin foil.  Life is too short, I'll go forraging or even buy them online   ;)

[goodlife]

 ;D ;D..I had look too :o..after step 6 my good intentions started slow down...but I'm still not beaten down........I have conning idea... ;)

[Jeannine]

we used to pick them on forestry land where there had been a fire, thye came up well the following year after the fire.

XX Jeannine

[goodlife]

My progress report...happened so far.... ;D

Been in work this morning (in rain ::))..just to sort some morels out...owner was a bit suprised to see me (not in plan for today)..
As I explained that I was to take all mushrooms off from the border she was "over the moon"..."such a ugly looking things"... ::)
So I gently removed top soil into trays with the mushrooms and they are transplanted into my lottie into similar situation and condition than the original area..under plum and apple trees..with remains of the bonfire and leaf mulch already applied some few weeks ago.. ;D..and I didn't even know then that I was to do this... ;D
So..now I'm not going to touch any of the mushrooms..I'm letting them to spread their spawn and one can only hope that mother eart will aprove what I have done...oh well...it is only a chance.... commercial spawn is all sold out for now anyway...

[Baccy Man]

As you have permission to transplant them then your best bet is to try & find the schlerotia (pic in stage 19 of the American site instructions) it will be a hard lump kind of a rusty colour it may be just below the surface or it could be several inches down but that is the critical bit for transplanting morels. This wouldn't normally be reccommended with wild morels as you may destroy a healthy patch of them if you removed too many pieces of schlerotia. Even though you do have permission it would still be advisable not to remove more than 1 or 2 pieces of schlerotia from any clump of morels.
The transplanted mushrooms will also release spawn so if you are lucky they may take anyway.

[goodlife]

I doubt I would be able to take all off anyway...I just removed few 2"deep slabs  of soil between plants..there will be plenty hiding amongst plants..I'm sure..and I would not like to destroy ecology of the place....nor my future crops... ;)

[Jeannine]

I am sure this is s unnecessary  in this case  but if  there is someone reading this that doesn't know and is planning on trying a similar transplant. there is a false morel which is poisonous so be sure what you are doing.XX Jeannine e

[goodlife]

Yep...I know ;D...,mind though..this false morel is used in scandinavia...there is a method of preparation to get poison out...and what a delicacy it is..is widely sold over there..... ;D