Grow Your Own Morel Mushrooms

Grow Your Own Morel Mushrooms CROPS Miscellaneous James Malachowski has been selling morel mushroom kits for more than 30 years so nothing surprises him anymore Sometimes his kit produces a bucket of mushrooms the first year and sometimes nothing happens at all “I had two people in a Michigan suburb who were best friends and neighbors order kits and they did the same thing with both kits ” recalls Malachowski of Gourmet Mushroom Products “The next spring one harvested 70 morels and the other had nothing “If you plant the kit in spring or early summer you are most likely to get some the next spring ” says Malachowski “It takes at least a year to establish While production varies from area to area the second year tends to be the best ” Malachowski only shares a few of the details of establishing a bed of morels with non-customers To get the full list of instructions you have to buy his kit for $34 95 Each kit is designed for a 4 by 4-ft bed and contains 22 oz of morel spawn “You need a definite transition from winter to spring for morels to grow ” he says “I try to discourage people from areas that don’t have a true spring from buying a kit That said I have had people from Alaska to the deserts of the Southwest grow them ” Another hint he offers is to feed the morel bed fresh kitchen green waste “Mix it into the soil on regular basis until a month or two before you expect them to produce ” he says The company website suggests each kit can produce pounds of morels even in the first year Malachowski notes that one customer reported getting 120 morels in year 15 However when asked his answer suggests reality may be quite different “On average people get from 5 to 20 or 30 and that won’t be every year ” he says “Getting 100 or more is rare ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gourmet Mushroom Products P O Box 515 Graton Calif 95444 ph 707-829-7301; gourmet@gmushrooms com; www gmushrooms org

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.