Morel and morel excited!

[TheJackal]

Thanks to workman and greysRDbest there are some great threads on morel cultivation:

http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=20284 (Morel Cultivation video - PBS Scientific American Frontiers)

http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=21836 (Free Morel PDF files from the USDA)

Based on this inspiration and the programmable greenhouse (http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=19076 (The PC Full Auto Greenhouse Build Tek)), will attempt an indoor PC controlled morel grow.

Have just about everything needed, except a way to control the simulated heavy rain.

Then the light bulb went off. Why not use the upper shelf of the greenhouse to hold an upper water reservoir and the lower plastic container as a lower water reservoir? Then, by adding a water pump at the bottom reservoir and adjusting the size of the holes in the upper reservoir one could program via the pump the desired inches of rain per hour. One could further add a filter between the collection portion and pump portion of the lower reservoir to keep the recycled rain water clean of any possible contams.

Helpful info:

A Black Morel Culture Syringe (Morchella elata) is available from Sporeworks.

Details of indoor morel cultivation:

Morels

Step 1.


Morels are gathered in the woods. Typically this occurs in the early Spring. They can be very elusive, but look under the corners of downed trees, in thick leaves, and in areas recently burned by forest fire.







Step 2.


Keep the morels fresh as best you can by keeping them in a bag or box in the field, then refrigerating them when you get home.






Step 3.


In a clean area (preferably under a HEPA hood), use a sterile (heat/alcohol-treated) paper clip to pierce the stem of a healthy looking mushroom.






Step 4.


Hang the mushroom by the paperclip over a freshly prepared petri dish. Petris, agar mix and agar preparation instructions can be ordered from Mushroompeople.






Step 5.


Let the morel drip its spores onto the petri plate as you gently work it with your fingers. If you don't see spores falling, just leave the mushroom hanging over the agar.






Step 6.


Cover and seal the agar plate and store it (at 55-80°F). You can invert it to prevent moisture from building up on the lid. After a period of from a few hours to a few days, the spores will begin to send out their first mycelial strands into the agar plate






Step 7.


The strands will form a web, and then grow vigorously, extending over the entire plate. For maintaining rapid growth as we transfer to new media, the most valuable portion is the outer, leading edge where thin strands are extending most quickly.






Step 8.


When the plate is fully colonized, you can either transplant sections into fresh agar, thereby propagating the culture indefinitely, or you can innoculate grain media with sections of the mycelia you cut from the plate, using a sterilized (alcohol and heat treated) razor knife. Resterilize the knife after each transfer.






Step 9.


A good grain medium is annual rye grass seed. Other grains such as rape seed, hemp seed, birdseed, and rice will work. Cover grain with water and soak for 24 hours.






Step 10.


Drain and mix with potting soil, 1 part potting soil to 5 parts grain. Place 2 cups of this medium into a 1 quart regular canning jar. (Sorry, the pictures are of a pint jar!)






Step 11.


Fit with filter disc and ring and sterilize for 1 hr at 15 psi in an autoclave.






Step 12.


Clean work surface with 5% bleach, use a laminar flow hood, if possible. Remove filter disc from jar and quickly add a few small pieces of agar cultured mycelium with a flame sterilized scalpel. Replace filter disc. Cover the filter disc loosely with foil to prevent drying of the culture. Resterilize your scalpel after each transfer.






Step 13.


Shake the jar to thoroughly mix in the mycelium. Place the jar in a cool (68 - 71°F), dark place for approximately 4 - 6 weeks. Good growth will be indicated by whitish strands of mycelium growing through the medium. At about 5 weeks, small aggregates of white to rust colored mycelia scerotia will form.






Step 14.


After the schlerotia are visible within the jars, prepare some clean trays to receive the mixture for fruiting. Construct a fruiting room where temperature, humidity, light and fresh, filtered, air can be precisely controlled. The Mushroom Cultivator by Stamets and Chilton has excellent ideas on growing rooms.






Step 15.


Make a fruiting substrate mix of 20% sand, 30% potting soil, 50% organic material composed of 80% small hardwood chips (ash, oak, maple, beech, elm, apple, etc.), 10% rice hulls, 5% soybean meal, 5% sphagnum, and a small amount of lime (the mineral, not the fruit) to bring the pH to 7.1-7.3. Mix well.






Step 16.


Fill an autoclavable aluminum 9-1/4 X 9-1/4 X 2-1/2 inch tray (i.e. cake pan) or plastic dishpan (liberally punched with drainage holes) to a depth of 2 inches with substrate.






Step 17.


Saturate substrate thoroughly with water. Allow to drain completely. Fill a second, identical tray with soaked, drained rye grass seed to a depth of 1/2 - 1 inch. Set substrate tray into rye seed tray so that the bottom of the substrate tray rests on the rye seed. Place the prepared trays inside an autoclave bag (oven cooking bags seem to work well) fitted with a filtered closure and sterilize at 15 psi for at least one hour.






Step 18.


In a clean (use 5% bleach to clean up) draft- free area (laminar flow hood recommended) open cooled substrate bag and mix ca. 1/2 cup spawn into substrate using a flame-sterilized spoon. Reclose bag and place in a cool (65-70°F) dark place for 4-6 weeks. During this period (the spawn run) the relative humidity should be kept at 90-100%, CO2 at 6000-9000 ppm, and no fresh air exchanges.






Step 19.


After 4-6 weeks, the surface of substrate should be covered with sclerotia. The hard schlerotia lumps are the secret to growing morels. These are the "seeds" of your mushrooms. Keep unused spawn refrigerated at 38-40°F. Spawn is viable for up to a year, under optimal conditions.




Step 20.


CHILLING (a necessary step): After spawn run, remove rye seed tray from bag, reclose, and place bagged substrate tray into refrigeration (38-40°F) for two weeks.




Step 21.


Remove bagged tray from refrigeration. Remove substrate tray from bag and place in fruiting chamber or room. Slowly saturate substrate with sterile (65-70°F) water at a rate of 1.5-2.5 fluid ounces/hr/square foot of substrate surface area for 12-16 hours. Allow substrate to drain completely (for about 24 hours).




Step 22.


CASING (optional): Layer casing soil evenly to a depth of 1/2". Allow 7-10 days for mycelium to run through the casing. Air temp 65 - 70°F. Filtered fresh air exchanges at 1 - 2 per hour. Keep dark.



Step 23.


Primoridia will form in 3-7 days. Substrate moisture 60%, relative humidity 95-100%, air temp 70 - 73°F, filtered fresh air exchanges 6 - 8/hr. Light cycle 12 on / 12 off (grow lights). Keep CO2 less than 900 ppm.



Step 24.


FRUIT BODY MATURATION: Substrate moisture 50%, relative humidity 85-95%, air temp 73 - 77°F. filtered fresh air exchanges 6 - 8/hr. Light cycle 12 on / 12 off (grow lights). Keep CO2 less than 900 ppm.






Step 25.


You can also grow outdoors using sawdust spawn available from Mushroompeople. Plant Spring through Fall. Inoculated area must be kept moist during hot, dry periods. Plant under the type of trees where you find morels in your area, i.e. ash, oak, maple, beech, elm, old apple orchards, etc., in your garden with perrenials such as jeruselum artichoke or asparagus. HOW TO PLANT: Gently remove forest litter from 7-8 square foot area for each pound of spawn to be planted. Loosen soil to a depth of 1 - 2 inches and moisten lightly, if dry. For each 7 - 8 square foot area, add 1 pound (soaked 48 hours) wood chips (from above types of trees) to loosened soil. Next, break up spawn and distribute evenly over prepared areas. Mix lightly with wood chips and soil. Replace litter and keep moist, especially during hot, dry months. Supposedly, a cover crop of clover helps to keep soil moist and adds nitrogen to the soil. WHEN THEY FRUIT: Late April - early June. Fruiting should occur the spring following planting. If you have a dry spring, be sure to water the planted area.



Step 26.


Cook 'em up!

MykoWeb: Morel Cultivation for the Adventurous and Observant

Here is a more detailed version of the process described in the above article:

http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/mycolog...ly/002438.html

INDOOR CULTIVATION OF MORELS

SPAWN PRODUCTION:

SPAWN MEDIUM: 5 parts annual rye grass seed, 1 part potting soil.

PREPARATION: cover rye seed with water and soak for 24 hours. Drain and
mix with potting soil. Place 2 cups of this medium into a 1 quart
regular canning jar. Fit with filter disc and ring and sterilize for 1
hr at 15 psi in an autoclave.

INOCULATION: clean work surface with 5% bleach, use a laminar flow hood,
if possible. Remove filter disc from jar and quickly add a few small
pieces of agar cultured mycelium with a flame sterilized scalpel.
Replace filter disc. Cover the filter disc loosely with foil to prevent
drying of the culture. Shake the jar to thoroughly mix in the mycelium.
Place the jar in a cool (68 - 71 F), dark place for approximately 4 - 6
weeks. Good growth will be indicated by whitish strands of mycelium
growing through the medium. At ca. 5 weeks, small aggregates of white
to rust colored mycelia scerotia will form.

-----------------------------
FRUITING:

CONSTRUCT a fruiting room where temperature, humidity, light and fresh,
filtered, air can be precisely controlled. "The Mushroom Cultivator" by
Stamets and Chilton has excellent ideas on growing rooms.

STORAGE OF SPAWN: Keep unused spawn refrigerated at 38-40 F. Spawn is
viable for up to a year, under optimal conditions.

FRUITING SUBSTRATE: 20% sand, 30% potting soil, 50% organic material
composed of 80% small hardwood chips (ash, oak, maple, beech, elm,
apple, etc.), 10% rice hulls, 5% soybean meal, 5% sphagnum, and a small
amount of lime (the mineral, not the fruit) to bring the pH to 7.1-7.3.
Mix well.

PREPARING SUBSTRATE FOR SPAWN INOCULATION: Saturate substrate thoroughly
with water. Fill an autoclavable aluminum 9-1/4 X 9-1/4 X 2-1/2 inch
tray (i.e. cake pan) (liberally punched with drainage holes) to a depth
of 2 inches with substrate. Allow to drain completely. Fill a second,
identical tray with soaked, drained rye grass seed to a depth of 1/2 - 1
inch. Set substrate tray into rye seed tray so that the bottom of the
substrate tray rests on the rye seed. Place the prepared trays inside
an autoclave bag (oven cooking bags seem to work well) fitted with a
filtered closure and sterilize at 15 psi fr at least one hour.

SPAWNING THE SUBSTRATE: In a clean (use 5% bleach to clean up) draft-
free area (laminar flow hood recommended) open cooled substrate bag and
mix ca. 1/2 cup spawn into substrate using a flame-sterilized spoon.
Reclose bag and place in a cool (65-70 F) dark place for 4-6 weeks.
During this period (the spawn run) the relative humidity should be kept
at 90-100%, CO2 at 6000-9000 ppm, and no fresh air exchanges. After 4-6
weeks, the surface of substrate should be covered with sclerotia.

CHILLING (A NECESSARY STEP): After spawn run, removerye seed tray from
bag, reclose, and place bagged substrate tray into refrigeration (38-40
F) for two weeks.

FRUITING: Remove bagged tray from refrigeration. Remove substrate tray
from bag and place in fruiting chamber or room. Slowly saturate
substrate with sterile (65-70 F) water at a rate of 1.5-2.5 fluid
ounces/hr/square foot of substrate surface area for 12-16 hours. Allow
substrate to drain completely (for ca. 24 hours).

CASING (OPTIONAL): Refer to "THE MUSHROOM CULTIVATOR," chapter VIII (I
believe). Layer evenly to a depth of 1/2". Allow 7-10 days for
mycelium to run through the casing. Air temp 65 - 70 F. Filtered fresh
air exchanges at 1 - 2 per hour. Keep dark. CO2 6000-9000 ppm.

PRIMORDIA FORMATION: 3-7 days. Substrate moisture 60%, relative
humidity 95-100%, air temp 70 - 73 F, filtered fresh air exchanges 6 -
8/hr. Light cycle 12 on / 12 off (grow lights). Keep CO2 less than 900
ppm.

FRUIT BODY MATURATION: Substrate moisture 50%, relative humidity 85-95%,
air temp 73 - 77 F. filtered fresh air exchanges 6 - 8/hr. Light cycle
12 on / 12 off (grow lights). Keep CO2 less than 900 ppm.

-------------------------------------------------

OUTDOOR CULTIVATION

STORAGE OF SPAWN: as above.

WHEN TO "PLANT": Spring through Fall (we're in Northern California, so
adjust accordingly). INoculated area must be kept moist during hot, dry
periods.

WHERE TO PLANT: Under type of trees where you find morels in your area,
i.e. ash, oak, maple, beech, elm, old apple orchards, etc., in your
garden with perrenials such as jeruselum artichoke or asparagus.

HOW TO PLANT: Gently remove forest litter from 7-8 square foot area for
each pound of spawn to be planted. Loosen soil to a depth of 1 - 2
inches and moisten lightly, if dry. For each 7 - 8 square foot area,
add 1 pound (soaked 48 hours) wood chips (from above types of trees) to
loosened soil. Next, break up spawn and distribute evenly over prepared
areas. Mix lightly with wood chips and soil. Replace litter and keep
moist, especially during hot, dry months. Supposedly, a cover crop of
clover helps to keep soil moist and adds nitrogen to the soil.

WHEN THEY FRUIT: Late April - early June. Fruiting should occur the
spring following planting. If yu have a dry spring, be sure to water
the planted area.

Here are the patents listed in the article:

United States Patent: 4594809

United States Patent: 4757640

Comprehensive study of morels:

Pacific Northwest Research Station - Ecology and management of morels harvested from the forests of western North America

Sure would be nice to break out the Dom Pérignon, if one could pull off indoor morel cultivation!

[the jesus]

I can't wait to see this, very ambitious. Sounds like a good idea, I hope it works out. Good luck.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by the jesus

I can't wait to see this, very ambitious. Sounds like a good idea, I hope it works out. Good luck.

Thanks!

[TheJackal]

Found out at shroomery that I should get the big buck ($125 versus $18) morel culture syringes for the morel experiments. Ouch!

Also, the fruiting temps being 50-60F poses a problem with summer coming up, so looks like I will have to add some a/c control into the equation. If I do pull this off, I will owe myself a big bottle of Dom Pérignon.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by TheJackal

Found out at shroomery that I should get the big buck ($125 versus $18) morel culture syringes for the morel experiments. Ouch!

Also, the fruiting temps being 50-60F poses a problem with summer coming up, so looks like I will have to add some a/c control into the equation. If I do pull this off, I will owe myself a big bottle of Dom Pérignon.

May have found a solution to the cooling problem using a vortex tube (http://www.airtxinternational.com/ho...tubes_work.php) and a 120vac electric air compressor. The air compressor would be connected to a computer controlled switch used to turn on and off the compressor based on temperature. This technique could also be used for other cold loving species applications.

[kocos]

Iam also very interested in your future results so please post all the details possible. This is something i would very much like to take up once i have the fascility to do such delicate grows. Best of luck to ya, sending the mushie vibes ur way.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by kocos

Iam also very interested in your future results so please post all the details possible. This is something i would very much like to take up once i have the fascility to do such delicate grows. Best of luck to ya, sending the mushie vibes ur way.

Thanks, will do!

According to the experts, apparently the odds are 1000 to 1 against me!

[kocos]

I knew they were hard, but that hard?? Then i think its pretty much usless for me to even think about growing morels There was that video up here though where they made it look easy as pie to get a tray covered in delicious morels.

im watchin this thread close jackal, best of luck~!
i think that for your best chances you should use M. ruffobrunea spores/culture. I believe this is the strain that mills was able to tame into culture and i believe it to be the easiest fruiter of all the morels, have thought that for a long time and now theres research to prove it in the pdf docs from the usda. i do think that the black morel might be your second best bet though...i know that it tends to make quite a few more sclerotia than a "yellow" esculenta type morel.whatever happens...dont give up. Ill be trying this next winter after the fall mushroom harvest is done.

[Workman]

I'm onboard too. There seems to be a building body of knowledge and interest that is likely to result in some breakthroughs in the near future. I predict some posts of some marginally successful grows within 12 months.

I have acquired several specimens of dried morels from last spring, including several of the landscape morel, M. ruffobrunea. I hope to make some attempts this winter when I have more free time.

Brainbreath at thenook.org had some accidental success getting a few pinheads with the sporeworks.com black morel culture which is also a landscape morel.

Another tidbit of information:

"Taming the Wild Morel" in Discover magazine, May 1988, 9:58-60.

Pictures of Ower’s morel mushrooms and article. I was able to get a crappy fax version from interlibrary loan, but if anyone has this issue or knows where to get it for a color scan to post, please do so. There isn't any helpful culti ation information but the pictures might have some hints on how it is done. Unfortunately, my copy is almost useless in that regard.

Keep up the good work. A collective of morel experimenters is very powerful.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by greysRDbest

im watchin this thread close jackal, best of luck~!
i think that for your best chances you should use M. ruffobrunea spores/culture. I believe this is the strain that mills was able to tame into culture and i believe it to be the easiest fruiter of all the morels, have thought that for a long time and now theres research to prove it in the pdf docs from the usda. i do think that the black morel might be your second best bet though...i know that it tends to make quite a few more sclerotia than a "yellow" esculenta type morel.whatever happens...dont give up. Ill be trying this next winter after the fall mushroom harvest is done.

Already dropped big bucks for black morel culture syringe(s), maybe I will think real hard about it the universe will deliver me a M. ruffobrunea spores/culture (http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=21853 (The Secret - Law of Attraction))!

[TheJackal]

Got some positive feedback from some vortex application engineers and it seems that the 50-60F range is doable, and maybe even 30-40F. This at least gives me some hope. As an alternative, RR suggested rigging a portable a/c unit to the greenhouse, which he has done, to get into the 60F range. Not settling for easy goals, I have set my cooling goals much lower than that (pun intended).

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by Workman

I'm onboard too. There seems to be a building body of knowledge and interest that is likely to result in some breakthroughs in the near future. I predict some posts of some marginally successful grows within 12 months.

I have acquired several specimens of dried morels from last spring, including several of the landscape morel, M. ruffobrunea. I hope to make some attempts this winter when I have more free time.

Brainbreath at thenook.org had some accidental success getting a few pinheads with the sporeworks.com black morel culture which is also a landscape morel.

Another tidbit of information:

"Taming the Wild Morel" in Discover magazine, May 1988, 9:58-60.

Pictures of Ower’s morel mushrooms and article. I was able to get a crappy fax version from interlibrary loan, but if anyone has this issue or knows where to get it for a color scan to post, please do so. There isn't any helpful culti ation information but the pictures might have some hints on how it is done. Unfortunately, my copy is almost useless in that regard.

Keep up the good work. A collective of morel experimenters is very powerful.

Thanks man, you are quite the legend here and at the shroomery and your vote of confidence means a lot to me.

[TheJackal]

The vortex worked, but will only be feasible with a large (80 gallon or so) air storage tank, so ditched that idea. Instead, hooked up an a/c (pic 1) to the greenhouse for cooling (as suggested by RR of shrooomery). Also added a HEPA filtered fan to suck in the cold air from the a/c (pic 2) for HEPA filtered a/c and extreme FAE. Also, added a heat diffuser made from a sheet to the a/c exhaust output (pic 3). Put both HEPA fan and a/c on computer control for morel fruiting cycle (pic 4).

if you look at the natural fruiting initiation data for morels on pp421 in GGMM, stamets suggests that varying the temperature quite a bit during fruiting will help . I think it would mimic nature more, as this is what I see at the beginning of the year during morel season and in the fall when Im picking fall edibles.....there a 2-3 week period where temperatures vary alot from day to day...night to night, often with no real linear pattern- some days are 60f and sunny....then the next might be overcast and 45f.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by greysRDbest

if you look at the natural fruiting initiation data for morels on pp421 in GGMM, stamets suggests that varying the temperature quite a bit during fruiting will help . I think it would mimic nature more, as this is what I see at the beginning of the year during morel season and in the fall when Im picking fall edibles.....there a 2-3 week period where temperatures vary alot from day to day...night to night, often with no real linear pattern- some days are 60f and sunny....then the next might be overcast and 45f.

Thanks! The above setting was for testing the extreme of temps and RH, taken from the article which suggested this simplified pattern:

"[innoc then] 69-71 degrees F.
Four to six weeks later you should observe whitish mycelial.
After five weeks, you should also see white to rust colored masses forming. These are the sclerotia.
inoculate with about 1,500-4,000 cc sclerotium per meter of substrate.
Refrigerate for about one month at temperatures just above freezing (35-40 degrees F).
Allow the substrate to return to 65-70 degrees F.
"Flood" with sterile H2O. Leave for 24 hours.
apply casing to 1/2 inch thick.
Allow 7-10 days @ 65-70F for formation of primordia. Location should be dark with one to two air exchanges per hour.
Adjust your substrate to 60 percent moisture, relative humidity to 85-95 percent, air temperature to 70-73 degrees F., and air exchanges to six to eight per hour. Light should be maintained on an on/off 12 hour cycle.
In three to seven more days, adjust parameters for full fruit-body maturation: Substrate moisture 50 percent, relative humidity 85 percent, air temp 10-15 degrees C., and fresh air exchange at 6 to 8 per hour.
Once your mushrooms have reached a length of 126 mm, you may justifiably break out the Dom Perignon, and party on!"

[TheJackal]

Cannot locate the supersoil :

"Prepare the "supersoil" substrate, the standard mixture is as follows: 20 percent sand, 30 percent soil, 50 percent organic material composed of 80 percent small wood chips, 10 percent rice hulls, 5 percent soybean meal, 5 percent sphagnum. Correct the ph with lime to 7.1-7.3."

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by TheJackal

Cannot locate the supersoil :

"Prepare the "supersoil" substrate, the standard mixture is as follows: 20 percent sand, 30 percent soil, 50 percent organic material composed of 80 percent small wood chips, 10 percent rice hulls, 5 percent soybean meal, 5 percent sphagnum. Correct the ph with lime to 7.1-7.3."

Ended up ordering everything ala carte!

they love apple trees-----apple wood chips perhaps?

[shroom_seeker]

Sounds like a pretty ambitious project Jackal...

According to the experts, apparently the odds are 1000 to 1 against me!

I'm rooting for ya man - who better than a fellow Topiate. Best of luck!

[pindulinka]

Immensely ambitious project, I wish you the best and heres a photo top inspire you of a morel I found (too late) in my garden 2 days ago.
They grow all around my house but its been dry the past month.. do you think watering the hedgerows would have any effect on their growth?
K+++
pin

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by greysRDbest

they love apple trees-----apple wood chips perhaps?

Ordered (to be for sure for sure):
CH-APW $4.99 1 Wood Grilling Chips - Apple -2# Bag
CH-HMW $3.99 1 Wood Grilling Chips - Hard Maple - 2# Bag
CH-WOC $3.99 1 White Oak Chips - 2 lb. Bag

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by shroom_seeker

Sounds like a pretty ambitious project Jackal...
I'm rooting for ya man - who better than a fellow Topiate. Best of luck!

Thanks bro! Just about have everything needed. Will make morel LC first, so that I can maintain ongoing experiments.

[TheJackal]

Originally Posted by pindulinka

Immensely ambitious project, I wish you the best and heres a photo top inspire you of a morel I found (too late) in my garden 2 days ago.
They grow all around my house but its been dry the past month.. do you think watering the hedgerows would have any effect on their growth?
K+++
pin

Nice! I think greysRDbest or workman can best answer your morel questions, as me is just one very ambitious newbie!

[TheJackal]

Got some more computer controlled switches and now heat and ac (and soon simulated heavy rainfall) are on computer control.

[TheJackal]

Started morel LC run today.

Procedure was to make LC solution, shut down greenhouse fans, cool mist, ultrasonic, heaters, ac, etc., spray the inside of greenhouse liberly with 70% iso alcohol, wipe everything down, and introduce working equipment, scissors, tape, inoculation loop, LC jars, morel culture syringe, etc.

Then, used greenhouse glove box features to perform still air LC inoculation and then greenhouse was put in incubation mode.