Does anyone here grow mushrooms? It's sort of like gardening. I
planted a bed of giant morels out near the vineyard last year and hope
for a crop this spring. I also have a small pan in my basement
greyhouse (as opposed to my wife's greenhouse) but I've heard if's
very difficult to grow them inside.

I also put shitake spawn plugs into four segments of oak logs; they
started producing fruit in the last month or so.

Paul

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
Does anyone here grow mushrooms? It's sort of like gardening. I
planted a bed of giant morels out near the vineyard last year and hope
for a crop this spring. I also have a small pan in my basement
greyhouse (as opposed to my wife's greenhouse) but I've heard if's
very difficult to grow them inside.

I also put shitake spawn plugs into four segments of oak logs; they
started producing fruit in the last month or so.

Paul


I grow shiitake and oyster mushrooms and I've been picking wild mushrooms
for about 30 years. I know of a good many people who have tried the morel
kits and have failed, so best of luck to you.
Steve

"Steve" wrote in message
ews.com...
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:35:39 -0500, "Steve Peek" wrote:

I know of a good many people who have tried the morel
kits and have failed

Why is that? Is it the quality of the kit, the difficulty of starting
this variety, or something else?

There are about 70 different species in the genus Morchella. Many are
symbiotic with other plant species. The only one that I know of that is not
{and consequently reasonably easy to grow to fruiting (at least for 1
season)} is the burn site morel. Kits have been sold for many years, but I'm
still doubtful of the success rate. The average gardener should pick
something easy and proven like oyster mushrooms, etc., etc...
Steve

On Jan 7, 9:09*pm, "Steve Peek" wrote:
"Steve" wrote in message

ews.com...

On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:35:39 -0500, "Steve Peek" wrote:

I know of a good many people who have tried the morel
kits and have failed

Why is that? Is it the quality of the kit, the difficulty of starting
this variety, or something else?

There are about 70 different species in the genus Morchella. Many are
symbiotic with other plant species. The only one that I know of that is not
{and consequently reasonably easy to grow to fruiting (at least for 1
season)} is the burn site morel. Kits have been sold for many years, but I'm
still doubtful of the success rate. The average gardener should pick
something easy and proven like oyster mushrooms, etc., etc...
Steve

That's encouraging. The morels I bought are supposed to grow best on a
burn site according to the booklet that came with the spawn, so that's
probably what I have. I worked a lot of ashes and oak chips into the
soil before innoculating, as advised by the booklet and various
Internet sites.

Paul

"Steve" wrote in message
ews.com...
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 21:09:52 -0500, "Steve Peek" wrote:


"Steve" wrote in message
ynews.com...
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:35:39 -0500, "Steve Peek" wrote:

I know of a good many people who have tried the morel
kits and have failed

Why is that? Is it the quality of the kit, the difficulty of starting
this variety, or something else?

There are about 70 different species in the genus Morchella. Many are
symbiotic with other plant species. The only one that I know of that is
not
{and consequently reasonably easy to grow to fruiting (at least for 1
season)} is the burn site morel. Kits have been sold for many years, but
I'm
still doubtful of the success rate. The average gardener should pick
something easy and proven like oyster mushrooms, etc., etc...
Steve

Thanks Steve, (good name BTW). I have been on the mushroom journey for
a short time and the info is appreciated.
I to had a failure of morels and didn't quite understand what to
attribute it to.

If you have the interest you should look for the website for the North
American Mycological Association (NAMA for short). There are clubs all over
the country.
Steve