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How to Grow Morel Mushrooms Indoors
How to Grow Morel Mushrooms Indoors. Morel mushrooms, prized for their distinctive taste, are always in high demand by gourmet cooks. Used extensively in French cuisine, morels impart an earthy flavor to foods. Compared to other mushrooms, morels are very expensive as they only grow naturally in areas burned by forest fires, and they take a long...
Morel mushrooms, prized for their distinctive taste, are always in high demand by gourmet cooks. Used extensively in French cuisine, morels impart an earthy flavor to foods. Compared to other mushrooms, morels are very expensive as they only grow naturally in areas burned by forest fires, and they take a long time to fruit. While many people enjoy hunting for morels in the wild, morels will grow in backyards or indoors with the proper preparation, care and patience. Using a commercially prepared mushroom kit eliminates much of the difficulty of morel cultivation.
Things You'll Need
Morel mushroom grow kit
Large planters with holes
Bleach
Drip pans
Garden soil
Wood ashes from a fire-pit, wood stove or fireplace
Peat moss
Clean sand
Hard wood sawdust (anything but cedar, pine or redwood)
Gypsum, calcium sulfate
Burnt wood chips 1 to 2 inches in length (charred)
Place the mushroom kit in a dark location with a temperature of 50 to 80 degrees F for one week to allow the mycelium to recover from traveling.
Wash the containers with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Rinse and set aside to dry.
Mix all of the substrate ingredients in equal amounts in a large container. Add water until moist and mix well. Add the morel spawn from the bag into the container and mix, adding more water if needed.
Fill pots with 4 to 6 inches of moist garden soil. Add 4 to 6 inches of the substrate mixture, depending on the depth of the pot. Fill to within 4 inches of the top of the pot, leaving room to add more substrate later.
Put the pots on the drip pans and place in a location that gets indirect light. Water lightly with a spray bottle at least every other day. Morels should begin fruiting the following spring, but may take up to a year to fruit.
Tips & Warnings
Morel mushrooms kits can be started indoors any time of the year.
Store mushroom kits or unused mycelium for up to six months in the refrigerator.
Spread any leftover substrate mix in a shady area of the yard to start an outdoor morel mushroom patch.
White fluffy patches that look like cotton are mycelium, and mean that your mushrooms are growing and doing well.
Add 1 inch of equal parts ashes and burnt wood chips after July.
Crumbled sheetrock or wallboard can be used in place of gypsum.
Any green, black or slimy patches are mold. Small amounts will not hurt your mushrooms, but if there is a lot of it, empty the whole container into your compost pile.
