Mushrooms

[JohnT]

IT CAME!!!!

My morel mushroom kit!

I read the instructions, and already have a spot (in a wooded area) already picked out. I just need to come up with some good organic matter to mix into the soil. The instructions say that I should not use already composted material, just organic matter. I was thinking of using crushed leaves, chunks of bark and rotten sticks.

This is worth a try! I figure that the kit costs $30 and at best I can expect a couple of POUNDS of morels in late may. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

This seems like a great solution, if it works. The Wife has outright refused to eat mushrooms that I forage. I guess my working "is you life insurance paid up" into the mushroom hunting conversation didn't help..

She said that she will not have a problem if I cultivate them. I actually had her smile over the though of sautéed morels to go with a nice tender steak.

I plan on putting in my mushroom garden this weekend. The instructions say that the mushrooms can be seeded any time when the soil is not frozen (spring, summer, or fall). It has been in the 70's this week, so the soil is definitely not frozen.

I will post pictures.. Wish me luck!

 

[montanaWineGuy]

Sounds great. I've been out looking for Morels, and they are damn hard to find in the wild.

 

[Deezil]

IT CAME!!!!

My morel mushroom kit!

I read the instructions, and already have a spot (in a wooded area) already picked out. I just need to come up with some good organic matter to mix into the soil. The instructions say that I should not use already composted material, just organic matter. I was thinking of using crushed leaves, chunks of bark and rotten sticks.

This is worth a try! I figure that the kit costs $30 and at best I can expect a couple of POUNDS of morels in late may. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Here John, maybe this will help

http://www.themushroompatch.com/pdf_instructions/Morel_Mushroom_Patch.pdf

In that PDF, they mention a soil mix of sorts.. Peat moss is cheap, from Home Depot or Lowes; Gypsum is pretty cheap but I would get that at a nursery, even though they have it at Home Depot (I get picky about putting lawn-grade stuff on food-grade "soil")..

Neat little tip about letting them sit for a week, too; I didnt know that one.

 

[cmason1957]

morel mushroom kit, I think I just found an unusual Christmas/birthday gift for my wife. HUMMMM!!

 

[jswordy]

JohnT:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTFugHA2WaI[/ame]

http://www.morels.com/forums/topic/morel-cultivation-holy-grail-and-other-mushroom-cultivation/

Want spores, folks?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/135-g-LIVE-...ms-/141702747469?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

For organics, people really like hardwood sawdust, if you can find it. They also report better success after mixing in some wood ash, since morels frequently fruit after forest fires. Then there is an interesting theory about freezing the spores before putting them out, and how that forces earlier fruiting. Have fun!

 

[jswordy]

Oh yeah, if you can understand Chinese, this guy has been doing it for 30 years!

http://sannong.cntv.cn/program/lczx/20120420/114402.shtml

 

[JohnT]

I planted my mushroom spores on Saturday.

I first made a mix of top soil, peat moss, some hard wood ash (from my fireplace), some ground up oak leaves and some oak twigs broken into tiny pieces.

I mixed it well then added the mushroom spores. I mixed it well again, then spread it all out into a nice 4 X 4 inch area, 8 inches deep.

I then watered it well, then covered it with a thin layer of leaves, and added just a few bigger oak sticks on top.

I am looking forward to having fresh morels. I hope that this works. I guess will just have to wait until May to find out....

 

[montanaWineGuy]

I am looking forward to having fresh morels. I hope that this works. I guess will just have to wait until May to find out....

I wouldn't be able to wait. I'd go look at it, the ground, every day.

 

[jswordy]

I planted my mushroom spores on Saturday.

I first made a mix of top soil, peat moss, some hard wood ash (from my fireplace), some ground up oak leaves and some oak twigs broken into tiny pieces.

I mixed it well then added the mushroom spores. I mixed it well again, then spread it all out into a nice 4 X 4 inch area, 8 inches deep.

I then watered it well, then covered it with a thin layer of leaves, and added just a few bigger oak sticks on top.

I am looking forward to having fresh morels. I hope that this works. I guess will just have to wait until May to find out....

Uh, don't you mean 4 by 4 FOOT area? I'm ordering some today. Gonna wildcraft it under leaves in my woods. We'll see in a year or two or up to 10, which is what it takes sometimes. Keep us posted on yours!

 

[JohnT]

Uh, don't you mean 4 by 4 FOOT area? I'm ordering some today. Gonna wildcraft it under leaves in my woods. We'll see in a year or two or up to 10, which is what it takes sometimes. Keep us posted on yours!

Yup, FEET, my bad..

interested in seeing if just wildcatting it works. Simply sprinkle the medium around some trees and cover with leaves.

Definitely gonna you guys posted.!

 

[jswordy]

The mycelia are on their way.

 

[JohnT]

The mycelia are on their way.

That's great Jim. Good luck to us both!

 

[cintipam]

Jim and John T, I'm really interested in your results. If it goes well I'd like to try it myself, so pls keep us posted. when the time comes I'd like to know who you bought from and if you had any delivery problems. The linkpage on ebay stated they come from the Ukraine, and buyer could be responsible to taxes coming into any other country. Great feedback, but a scary long distance wartorn source.

Pam in cinti

 

[jswordy]

Pam, what'll be interesting to me is that John and I are going to be using two different methods in two very different weather pattern areas of the country. If you look at the Grow Morels video, that guy is in Kansas and all he does is buy a very small amount of morel, then propagate it. He has had astounding results with a very low-tech technique.

So it is going to be an interesting experiment. I know that if I do not get them out now, I will run out of moisture by late spring here. So hoping for the best. I am going to almost literally strew them around my small woods near a wet-weather creek. It won't be quite haphazard, but it will be wildcrafting.

So, we shall see. I am told in some cases it can take up to 10 years for even actively growing mycelium to fruit. I hope doing this going into winter helps things along.

My stuff is due Nov. 24 to Dec. 7... I hope it comes while I am off for Thanksgiving. That would be perfect.

I would also like to reorder sometime and try propagating the package further before planting. Or I might try that with fruits, if I get any.

 

[quiltertoo]

Jim
I had the same idea. We have several acres of woods, mostly oak with some ash and hickory and I thought if I could find a spot in the woods within reach of a hose it would probably a good place to try. My other possibility is under a large apple tree that has limbs reaching almost to the ground. I will have to wait to next year to plant though.

Mary Lou

 

[jswordy]

Got my mycelium yesterday from the Urkraine. Today is 65 degrees and cloudy with a 90% chance of rain tonight and 100% tomorrow. I dug some partially decayed mulch out of the mulch pile and planted mushrooms in four spots: 1.) In two spots under a big oak in the pasture, right in the crook where the roots splay out from the trunk. 2.) Near a fallen log where leaves pile up. 3.) In a nice area of oak bark, branches and leaf debris where a 300-year-old oak had to be cut 2 years ago.

I simply raked the leaves back to the loam, broke up and sprinkled the mycelium, then covered it with a thin layer of the compost mixed with ashes from the wood stove. Then I lightly scooped the leaves back by hand.

Dadgum fire ants had gotten in the mulch pile, so my hands got bit up pretty good the first time. (It's a Southern thing, so far...)

So JohnT, we'll see what we get!

I have half a mind next year to just let them fruit out (if they do) and scatter spores rather than picking many. But I might pick a few and propagate them in slurry like the guy in the video did.

BTW, when you pick yours, I was taught not to pull them up by the "root" just pluck them off and leave the "stump." It'll make your patch bear over more years that way, they say. That's why guys have these secret spots they go to every year...

 

[jswordy]

Jim
I had the same idea. We have several acres of woods, mostly oak with some ash and hickory and I thought if I could find a spot in the woods within reach of a hose it would probably a good place to try. My other possibility is under a large apple tree that has limbs reaching almost to the ground. I will have to wait to next year to plant though.

Mary Lou

As long as your ground is not frozen, this is the time to plant. They can handle cold, in fact theory says that makes them fruit better.

 

[jswordy]

We have had temps in the 60s and 70s here for about 10 days, so I checked my planting sites. No joy yet. Not a fail yet, either, since I have not found mushrooms of any kind while out scouting. Early in the season.

 

[JohnT]

Funny you should post that. I checked out my plantings. Nothing yet (which is ok since they said that the mushrooms should not appear until May).

One thing I did notice that made me very concerned is that some form of local wildlife has been digging around in my mushroom bed. I hope that the damage was not too bad.

 

[Arne]

Many years ago we were out looking for them. None to be found. Had a slight rain shower came thru, not even enough to get your shirt wet. You could watch them come up. My hearing was way better them, a leaf on the ground would make a small noise and look that way and watch the mushroom (morel) come out of the ground. Only took a few seconds for them to get big enough to see. Just that one time, have never seen it again . Arne.