Recycled Kitchen Scraps Used To Grow Morels
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If you love morel mushrooms, but don’t have the time or a good location to hunt the wild delicacies, you can grow your own. All you need is a 4 by 4-ft. space in your backyard and a $32.95 block of soil filled with mushroom spawn from Gourmet Mushrooms and Mushroom Products. The California company has been around for more than 20 years helping customers grow a variety of mushrooms including shitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms.
While many varieties grow on logs, morels grow on the ground, says James Malachowski, noting that wild morels can be found in every state.
You simply crumble up the soil block and bury it about 6 to 9 in. deep in a shady area.
“Once they’re in the ground, you feed them with household scraps like lettuce, radish tops, or even coffee grounds,” Malachowski says. “Don’t just leave it on top. Bury fresh biodegradable material in the area the same depth as the spawn.”
Don’t worry about disturbing the spawn. Keep adding produce waste until the ground freezes, then again in the spring until a month before morals grow in your region. Grass and weeds may grow in that time, but that’s okay. They will protect the mushrooms.
“Spring or summer is a good time to start. They’re perennials so it takes a year to get established,” Malachowski says, adding that the second season typically produces the most mushrooms.
One customer sent a photo of mushrooms covering the entire bed, but 20 to 50 mushrooms is more typical. Numbers often decrease over the years, but morels will continue to pop up 20 years later.
“It’s not an exact science. They’re still wild,” Malachowski says. “We just encourage them, and Mother Nature does most of the work.”
Many customers live in the suburbs and like the fact that they can recycle kitchen scraps to grow something they enjoy.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gourmet Mushrooms & Mushroom Products, P.O. Box 515, Graton, Calif. 95444 (ph 800 789-9121; www.gmushrooms.com).
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Recycled Kitchen Scraps Used To Grow Morels AG WORLD If you love morel mushrooms but don’t have the time or a good location to hunt the wild delicacies you can grow your own All you need is a 4 by 4-ft space in your backyard and a $32 95 block of soil filled with mushroom spawn from Gourmet Mushrooms and Mushroom Products The California company has been around for more than 20 years helping customers grow a variety of mushrooms including shitake maitake and oyster mushrooms While many varieties grow on logs morels grow on the ground says James Malachowski noting that wild morels can be found in every state You simply crumble up the soil block and bury it about 6 to 9 in deep in a shady area “Once they’re in the ground you feed them with household scraps like lettuce radish tops or even coffee grounds ” Malachowski says “Don’t just leave it on top Bury fresh biodegradable material in the area the same depth as the spawn ” Don’t worry about disturbing the spawn Keep adding produce waste until the ground freezes then again in the spring until a month before morals grow in your region Grass and weeds may grow in that time but that’s okay They will protect the mushrooms “Spring or summer is a good time to start They’re perennials so it takes a year to get established ” Malachowski says adding that the second season typically produces the most mushrooms One customer sent a photo of mushrooms covering the entire bed but 20 to 50 mushrooms is more typical Numbers often decrease over the years but morels will continue to pop up 20 years later “It’s not an exact science They’re still wild ” Malachowski says “We just encourage them and Mother Nature does most of the work ” Many customers live in the suburbs and like the fact that they can recycle kitchen scraps to grow something they enjoy Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gourmet Mushrooms & Mushroom Products P O Box 515 Graton Calif 95444 ph 800 789-9121; www gmushrooms com
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