Controlled indoor cultivation of black morel(thedanishmorelproject.com)
thedanishmorelproject.com
Controlled indoor cultivation of black morel
https://thedanishmorelproject.com/
84 comments
I surely hope they were privately funded, because being funded by taxpayers money and keeping the results a secret is a really shitty thing to do.
why? i'd say that if they're funded by taxpayers the most important thing is for taxpayers to reap their fare share of the profits. if those profits can be kept higher by keeping things secret it's a win for the taxpayer.
I'm not sure it would be in the taxpayers' interest to make it easier for private and/or foreign competition against their investment
I'm not sure it would be in the taxpayers' interest to make it easier for private and/or foreign competition against their investment
Wealth is not just money in someone’s pocket / taxes paid it’s the actual capital of humanity.
Suppose I found a way to make synthetic oil for 1$ per barrel from atmospheric CO2 and published it. Now I can’t capture that wealth and Exxon’s and many other companies stock tanks so it looks like global wealth decreased. However, soon everyone across the globe can now buy more with their money. Lowered transportation costs for potatoes means potatoes cost less in a very real way.
This is why patents expire, everyone gets richer when they do.
Suppose I found a way to make synthetic oil for 1$ per barrel from atmospheric CO2 and published it. Now I can’t capture that wealth and Exxon’s and many other companies stock tanks so it looks like global wealth decreased. However, soon everyone across the globe can now buy more with their money. Lowered transportation costs for potatoes means potatoes cost less in a very real way.
This is why patents expire, everyone gets richer when they do.
>Suppose I found a way to make synthetic oil for 1$ per barrel from atmospheric CO2
Funnily enough that's part of the plot of Metal Gear 2: https://metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/OILIX
Funnily enough that's part of the plot of Metal Gear 2: https://metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/OILIX
something tells me that the oil companies would sue to claim ownership of the atmospheric CO2 since they spent the money to dig it up. Of course, anyone who paid a carbon tax might have some claim.
[deleted]
But how will the taxpayers ever see any of the profits? It's not like enterprises funded by grants from the government send any of their profits back, unless the government takes actual ownership, which I don't think is very common, at least not anymore.
Of course, a successful business will pay taxes and increase economic activity etc. etc., but I don't think that's much of an argument. It absolutely is strange to see government-funded research ending up locked down like this, if that's what it is.
Of course, a successful business will pay taxes and increase economic activity etc. etc., but I don't think that's much of an argument. It absolutely is strange to see government-funded research ending up locked down like this, if that's what it is.
So I'll sketch a caricature answer.
let's say the patent is released, and a year later every household in the world is thrilled to have black morels every night for dinner, for free, out of their DIY morel cultivation box, and nobody anywhere in the world can ever sell a morel to anyone else again.
Have "the taxpayers" seen benefit from this? In terms of currency return on investment, no. But in terms of access to a desirable commodity, heck yes. How much value have they seen? Something like 365 times the price of a meal's worth of mushrooms.
The best government research generates benefits this broad.
let's say the patent is released, and a year later every household in the world is thrilled to have black morels every night for dinner, for free, out of their DIY morel cultivation box, and nobody anywhere in the world can ever sell a morel to anyone else again.
Have "the taxpayers" seen benefit from this? In terms of currency return on investment, no. But in terms of access to a desirable commodity, heck yes. How much value have they seen? Something like 365 times the price of a meal's worth of mushrooms.
The best government research generates benefits this broad.
Imho that is as wrong as saying that Jeff Bezos' money eventually trickles down to normal people and it's good that he is so rich.
Mother nature is displeased with purposeful throttling of her feminine energy and so I AM going to reverse engineer. I AM the inoculation, I AM the spore manifest. Grow.
First linked page:
https://vimeo.com/631188068
Video presentation of The Danish Morel Project.
The morel mushroom is known as one of the world’s most coveted edible mushrooms. During the last hundred years, it has only with limited success been possible to cultivate black morel mushrooms under controlled, indoor conditions. We are therefore very pleased to announce that we finally, after many years of intensive research at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the University of Copenhagen, have invented and developed a method for controlled indoor cultivation of black morel mushrooms all-year-round under well defined conditions in climate chambers. We are able to produce 4.2 kilos of first-class morels per square metre within a total cultivation period of 22 weeks, corresponding to an annual production of 10 kilos of morels per square metre. The method is so well developed, that a commercial production can be started after an appropriate automation of the cultivation process.
(Next link not yet seen.)
https://vimeo.com/631188068
Video presentation of The Danish Morel Project.
The morel mushroom is known as one of the world’s most coveted edible mushrooms. During the last hundred years, it has only with limited success been possible to cultivate black morel mushrooms under controlled, indoor conditions. We are therefore very pleased to announce that we finally, after many years of intensive research at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the University of Copenhagen, have invented and developed a method for controlled indoor cultivation of black morel mushrooms all-year-round under well defined conditions in climate chambers. We are able to produce 4.2 kilos of first-class morels per square metre within a total cultivation period of 22 weeks, corresponding to an annual production of 10 kilos of morels per square metre. The method is so well developed, that a commercial production can be started after an appropriate automation of the cultivation process.
(Next link not yet seen.)
Sorry kids, you'll be sharing a bedroom from here on out.
‘You need to share as we haven’t got mushroom.’
On a less throwaway note, this sort of thing might be possible in a fairly small basement or ceiling space with appropriate control?
On a less throwaway note, this sort of thing might be possible in a fairly small basement or ceiling space with appropriate control?
Here's¹ has a video of a fairly small DIY automated setup for growing more common mushrooms. I can't say how that translates to morels, but it wouldn't be shocking if it was similar.
¹https://youtu.be/z41Wy5ZF4O8
¹https://youtu.be/z41Wy5ZF4O8
It is not similar. Mushroom growing techniques are common knowledge, but morels have had only very limited success in reproduction in outdoor environments.
And that's why my wife misses me for 3 weeks every year... I'm hunting morels.
I have very fond memories of mushroom hunting as a kid, it is a fun experience... includes hiking and getting out and enjoying nature. Plus, breaded and buttered morels are so freaking good.
It's neat that their method seems to require a partner plant, the grass that's cultivated with the mushrooms. I wonder if they will be able to apply the same methodology to truffles?
There's probably bacteria involved, as well - some fungi species seem to exploit super specific niches, with super specific environmental conditions needed to spread and fruit.
There's probably bacteria involved, as well - some fungi species seem to exploit super specific niches, with super specific environmental conditions needed to spread and fruit.
This nut has been cracked, but not in warehouse settings.
As I learned this summer in Italy with my intermediate language skills, "commercial" truffle hunters purchase tree saplings whose roots are pre-seeded with truffle fungal spores, then plant them on terrain with the qualities (sun facing, slope, stone content, etc.) that make favorable growing conditions. As the trees mature, you start getting regular annual harvest of truffles, but you will wait years before you have anything resembling profitable truffle production.
Once your "habitat" is stable, though, you can continually generate truffles during truffle season for more or less generations, assuming the climate doesn't turn on you. You'll need animal support, of course, to harvest :)
Climate change is currently making annual volumes volatile, as recent seasons have seen too much water or not enough. In addition to defending their own private lands from trespassing thieves (who regularly try to poison their truffle dogs), commercial hunters have had to learn new skills at water management to keep their grounds in as "stable" state as possible during truffle season.
Of course, when you have a bunch of land with trees growing on it, it's normal to also grow food and livestock, too. It's very to _only_ deal in truffles for one's livelihood.
As I learned this summer in Italy with my intermediate language skills, "commercial" truffle hunters purchase tree saplings whose roots are pre-seeded with truffle fungal spores, then plant them on terrain with the qualities (sun facing, slope, stone content, etc.) that make favorable growing conditions. As the trees mature, you start getting regular annual harvest of truffles, but you will wait years before you have anything resembling profitable truffle production.
Once your "habitat" is stable, though, you can continually generate truffles during truffle season for more or less generations, assuming the climate doesn't turn on you. You'll need animal support, of course, to harvest :)
Climate change is currently making annual volumes volatile, as recent seasons have seen too much water or not enough. In addition to defending their own private lands from trespassing thieves (who regularly try to poison their truffle dogs), commercial hunters have had to learn new skills at water management to keep their grounds in as "stable" state as possible during truffle season.
Of course, when you have a bunch of land with trees growing on it, it's normal to also grow food and livestock, too. It's very to _only_ deal in truffles for one's livelihood.
I am afraid to tell you that you have been partially deceived.
What usually happens here in Italy is that someone comes out (it is at least 30-40 years that this thing comes up regularly) with a new, better method to "insert" truffle spores in tree saplings and is wishing to sell you (for a dear price) these trees.
Only, for some reasons in your particular patch of land (which is regularly "approved" after having made - BTW expensive - surveys and laboratory checks/analysis on the soil) this doesn't happen (after 5 years, and they tell you that is too early) then nothing happens after ten or fifteen years and by that time you can't find the seller anymore or even if you can they will tell you that yours is one of the rare cases where it didn't work.
Anecdata of course and I sincerely hope that some other people had more success, but from my experience in the local agricultural district I know rather well, people that report success are maybe 5% (and likely they are IMHO lying).
Besides - at least here - land is usually raided by wild boars that - like pigs - are very capable at finding truffles.
What usually happens here in Italy is that someone comes out (it is at least 30-40 years that this thing comes up regularly) with a new, better method to "insert" truffle spores in tree saplings and is wishing to sell you (for a dear price) these trees.
Only, for some reasons in your particular patch of land (which is regularly "approved" after having made - BTW expensive - surveys and laboratory checks/analysis on the soil) this doesn't happen (after 5 years, and they tell you that is too early) then nothing happens after ten or fifteen years and by that time you can't find the seller anymore or even if you can they will tell you that yours is one of the rare cases where it didn't work.
Anecdata of course and I sincerely hope that some other people had more success, but from my experience in the local agricultural district I know rather well, people that report success are maybe 5% (and likely they are IMHO lying).
Besides - at least here - land is usually raided by wild boars that - like pigs - are very capable at finding truffles.
Wow! So you're saying this guy I met has a real truffle business now, but might have had to go through this con you speak of? And then shared this information with us and I think it's legit?
Or maybe he was the exception and not the rule, and by a lucky connection of Venus with Saturn had the "right" patch of land, with the "right" soil and the "right" set of "injected tree sprouts" or whatever.
I don't doubt that it can work, what I am telling you is that AFAIK it is not a "surely working" approach, if you have some land and some spare thousands Euro to invest in an experiment, it is fine, if you think that those thousands Euro will surely grow to a few tens in fifteen years, you are most probably wrong.
I don't doubt that it can work, what I am telling you is that AFAIK it is not a "surely working" approach, if you have some land and some spare thousands Euro to invest in an experiment, it is fine, if you think that those thousands Euro will surely grow to a few tens in fifteen years, you are most probably wrong.
> You'll need animal support, of course, to harvest :)
Ruff ruff! Beautiful documentary about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFYhrc0AnVw
Ruff ruff! Beautiful documentary about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFYhrc0AnVw
I came across this article in the Smithsonian magazine [0] that details a similar breakthrough for cultivated truffles in the US. The challenge commercially vs. the morels here, however, is that the partner plant for truffles appears to be _an entire forest_.
[0] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/american-grown-tru...
[0] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/american-grown-tru...
Truffles are an entirely different species.
Ultimately life is (mostly) electrochemistry, but the circumstances (such as nitrogen fixing bacterium) and other circumstances which happen within a field are notoriously difficult to synthesize in a laboratory setting.
It looks like morel mushrooms has been successfully farmed on a large scale in China for some time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEwOZwkl-Ao
Archive link if the website 500s: https://archive.md/FQSMI
Huckleberries are the other thing that comes to mind in terms of a popular item that has not (AFAIK) reached a point of cultivation. If they’ve figured this out for Morels, maybe there are similar techniques for Huckleberries, as to my thinking that rich forest loam isn’t terribly different for the two…
Cloudberries/bakeapples are another crop that seems to defy all attempts to cultivate them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_chamaemorus
And then you have tropical fruits like mangosteen that can be grown easily enough in suitable climates, but are very difficult to transport long distances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_chamaemorus
And then you have tropical fruits like mangosteen that can be grown easily enough in suitable climates, but are very difficult to transport long distances.
Mangosteens are actually easily transported and I've purchased them in a number of Asian markets in the US and London, though quality may deteriorate. There are many other fruit, however, which spoil after a day or so, despite refrigeration:
Pawpaw (Asiminia Triloba)
Jamaican Strawberry (Muntingia Calibura)
Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum)
Additionally, there are fruit that aren't suitable for commercial sale due to tenderness: Peanut Butter Fruit (Bunchosia grandulifera) Gummy Worm Fruit (Cercropia)
Many fruit that are properly ripened won't ship well, which is why starfruit from the store never taste good. Weird Fruit Explorer and Earth Titan have tons of info on fruit if you'd like to learn more about what is growing around the world.
Additionally, there are fruit that aren't suitable for commercial sale due to tenderness: Peanut Butter Fruit (Bunchosia grandulifera) Gummy Worm Fruit (Cercropia)
Many fruit that are properly ripened won't ship well, which is why starfruit from the store never taste good. Weird Fruit Explorer and Earth Titan have tons of info on fruit if you'd like to learn more about what is growing around the world.
In Michigan (where I can speak to) they don't really occur together. I guess we have wild blueberries more than we have huckleberries though.
Yeah, I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever found Huckleberries and mushrooms directly adjacent, so much that I observe that they visually appear to like similar ground conditions, elevation, and perhaps tree friends. I’d further observe that Huckleberries do better in dry and shady forest floor by comparison to the affinity that Morels seem to have for water and moss. I’d also note that there is a relationship between burn areas for Morels that I don’t think is at all a factor for Huckleberries.
It's so funny how they tried to patent indoor cultivation Cannabis has perfected indoor AG for years now. Its just now that other Ag industry's are waking up to it. Indoor cultivators know how to control every aspect of their environment. I'm confident a mushroom farmer could reproduce this.
many many have tried, and only a small few have succeeded, and last I checked, none were giving up any of the details about the growth medium or environment to anyone else.
this article is not working for me now, and I hope this is The Day where The Secrets are revealed. probably not, but one can hope.
this article is not working for me now, and I hope this is The Day where The Secrets are revealed. probably not, but one can hope.
If you dig a bit around the company register you can see that they have been working on getting this working since at least the 80s. So it is probably not something someone can reproduce at home easily
Morels are (extremely) picky about nutrients.
Yum! The patent and intellectual property rights issues show how problematic and ineffectual our current laws are. Anyone have any thoughts as to how to equitably restructure our concepts and rights about intellectual property.
Their main page ( www.nordicforestfoods.com ) is up, bit the blog itself ist caput.
never had a morel, maybe now i can afford one
I hunt mushrooms, including morels, and if I’m being honest the hunt is more enjoyable than the eating. It’s fun to find the various species, but I don’t find that the flavor of morels is anything special or that I’m limited in the kitchen by not having them available.
I am on the complete opposite side of this. I eat a fair amount of wild mushrooms and morels are the ones I enjoy most. My kids too. They pretty much don’t eat anything except morels. To me morels have all of the good mushroom flavour and texture without any of the bad parts.
I guess it depends a lot on what’s available to you in your area and what you like to make… as I think about it, I end up using mushrooms a lot in meat-substitute scenarios, where I want something with a lot of body. Think stuffed mushrooms, sautéed mushroom appetizers, vegetarian burgers - things like that. So your criminis and portobellos have a lot of body for those kinds of things. Likewise if I’m making something like a hot and sour soup or a homemade ramen, I want something that’s going to have the right mouthfeel and ideally be traditional to those styles.
So… I guess when I think about the varieties of mushrooms that can generally be found growing in my areas - chanterelles and boletes are perhaps a better fit for things I make. I know where the pro foragers are going in our area, but even they don’t find tremendous quantities of morels… in our particular area, the season seems exceptionally brief. I get enough each year to toss them with some pasta, but the flavor is so mild and the body is so spongy that apart from “the thrill of the hunt” I’d be just as happy to substitute some other variety. I’d be very curious how you use them… I do find that if I dry them and use them to augment a soup broth, they add a nice umami.
So… I guess when I think about the varieties of mushrooms that can generally be found growing in my areas - chanterelles and boletes are perhaps a better fit for things I make. I know where the pro foragers are going in our area, but even they don’t find tremendous quantities of morels… in our particular area, the season seems exceptionally brief. I get enough each year to toss them with some pasta, but the flavor is so mild and the body is so spongy that apart from “the thrill of the hunt” I’d be just as happy to substitute some other variety. I’d be very curious how you use them… I do find that if I dry them and use them to augment a soup broth, they add a nice umami.
Slice fresh morels into rings (they're hollow tubes), dust them with flour and a little salt and pepper, and fry them in a little oil until crisp on the outside.
hell yeah, i'm gonna try that. thanks
> It’s fun to find the various species, but I don’t find that the flavor of morels is anything special or that I’m limited in the kitchen by not having them available.
They can be life changingly good, or not especially special. You need salt and dairy to bring out the flavor, but even then it's hit and miss. But yeah, in general they can be as flavorful as truffles, or as bland as button mushrooms.
They can be life changingly good, or not especially special. You need salt and dairy to bring out the flavor, but even then it's hit and miss. But yeah, in general they can be as flavorful as truffles, or as bland as button mushrooms.
They are one of the easier wild mushrooms to find and identify…they show up in the spring after a fire.
And they sometimes have a smoky flavour to them!
Morels are a common mushroom in cuisine - I'm sure you've had one in a dish in a restaurant even if you don't remember it.
Depends on location. I'm in the UK, and here if a dish says "mushrooms" without specifying which, it will almost invariably be agaricus bisporus (white/ brown/portobello/crimini/ chestnut/champignon and so on - yes, they are all the same mushroom). As someone who loves mushrooms but Fonda that one utterly boring, it annoys me to no end.
Morels are very costly and I've never seen them offered in common dishes. Usually they are battered and fried and eaten alone, and because they are more rare they do not just freely put them into random dishes.
That's just not true...
If the average dish at that restaurant costs $40 or something, then maybe.
If the average dish at that restaurant costs $40 or something, then maybe.
When we develop tech like this, we are betting against environment and habitat. And trees.
Alternatively, we're reducing the demand on the native habitats morels grow in.
That's not necessarily true. Industrial scale foraging of mushrooms isn't great for forests, so relieving some of that pressure is a good, pro-habitat thing imo.
Is industrial scale foraging really a thing? That is scary. I figured that there must be some cottage level foraging going on, but that most mushrooms available for sale were simply species that are easier to cultivate.
Yup. A lot of the "nicer" (chantarelles, porcini, truffles, morels (until now! :)) ones can't be cultivated.
Here's [1] an old NYT article saying there's ~8k commercial mushroom foragers in the US in 1993. I'm sure it's more now.
I know that in Europe there's a lot of commercial scale mushroom foraging going on in Eastern Europe.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/28/us/rushing-to-gather-up-c...
Here's [1] an old NYT article saying there's ~8k commercial mushroom foragers in the US in 1993. I'm sure it's more now.
I know that in Europe there's a lot of commercial scale mushroom foraging going on in Eastern Europe.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/28/us/rushing-to-gather-up-c...
My favorite so far is chicken of the woods. I might try cultivating it next year.
I’d love to know how you prepare it… in my area we’ve found a few, but it’s been a dark art of waiting for the snow to be off the ground to get into the areas where we know them to be, and them being dried out and dead by the time we get there…
That's interesting. I guess you're in a cold area for snow 5o still be around, since they typically fruit June-Sept here.
I like to cut them into pieces and either sauté them or pan fry them like with light breading, like my homemade chicken nuggets.
I like to cut them into pieces and either sauté them or pan fry them like with light breading, like my homemade chicken nuggets.
I may have been given incorrect information, but I've heard that chicken of the woods is incredibly difficult to cultivate, close to morels (you need just the right conditions).
You might like this book, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mushroom_at_the_End_of_the...:
The book describes and analyzes the globalized commodity chains of matsutake mushrooms.
The book describes and analyzes the globalized commodity chains of matsutake mushrooms.
Two sides of the same coin - building resilience and independence, having a "plan B" is effectively betting against everything working fine, risks not materializing and not needing any alternatives; no matter if it's about environment, software or politics.
However, I do consider it a good and prudent thing to "bet against" things that are crucial to us. Whenever there's a major threat, it's wise to also prepare to mitigate its consequences, since saying "we must prevent this" "we need to achieve X or the bad thing will happen" is, even if very true, often not sufficient, and betting everything on the expected success would be just naive wishful thinking, we definitely have to hedge our bets for everything that matters.
However, I do consider it a good and prudent thing to "bet against" things that are crucial to us. Whenever there's a major threat, it's wise to also prepare to mitigate its consequences, since saying "we must prevent this" "we need to achieve X or the bad thing will happen" is, even if very true, often not sufficient, and betting everything on the expected success would be just naive wishful thinking, we definitely have to hedge our bets for everything that matters.
Morels grow under a whole host of trees, some of them of very high commercial value, so I wouldn't bet on that.
What's more, one simple way of getting a bunch of morels to grow on a specific patch of land turns out to be setting it on fire, so growing them on a basement would even probably end up being a net positive.
What's more, one simple way of getting a bunch of morels to grow on a specific patch of land turns out to be setting it on fire, so growing them on a basement would even probably end up being a net positive.
What's the line of argumentation here? That the only reason humanity hasn't clearcut every forest in the world is because they were needed to grow mushrooms?
No. The argument is that the inter connected web of mycelium is much more significant and crucial than edible mushrooms.
No one is going to die without morels but without the soil food web, we are a dead barren planet. Mushrooms and fungi and mycelium is evidence of a living planet. We need that signal to determine the health and viability of earth.
When I ask for robots on the farm, I am betting against low paid manual labour. When I develop long supply chains and invest in more and more warehouses, I am betting against local manufacturing industries. When I create indoor morels(even amongst all the other wild mushrooms, morels are very special), I am betting against the soil food web of life and cycle of life.
No one is going to die without morels but without the soil food web, we are a dead barren planet. Mushrooms and fungi and mycelium is evidence of a living planet. We need that signal to determine the health and viability of earth.
When I ask for robots on the farm, I am betting against low paid manual labour. When I develop long supply chains and invest in more and more warehouses, I am betting against local manufacturing industries. When I create indoor morels(even amongst all the other wild mushrooms, morels are very special), I am betting against the soil food web of life and cycle of life.
Then you're going to be really upset when you hear commercial hydroponics exists, which grows food crops without any soil at all, and is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Mushrooms all taste the same to me. People go crazy "hunting" morels, keeping their locations secret, etc. I've tried them, they are nothing special.
I have the same sentiment for the Chanterelle mushrooms. Apparently they are popular in Europe and are very common to the woods of British Columbia where I live. . I’ve picked thousands of them. We used to go out as teens and pick enough to get some weekend drinking money. I’ve tried a few different ways of cooking them but they just are not good. I would literally have to be in a survival situation before I would seek them out for food. But you can get $2-$5 a pound selling them so I do like them for that fact. It seems like such a poor mans food like something from the past that people ate because they had to the taste is just not good but people buy them. I don’t understand but have to guess some people’s taste is just different then mine. Or maybe it’s not special because I can go out pick them 3-4 months a year.
Not this year though! I’ve barely seen any all season. I guess the heat dome did a number on the trees and they aren’t sharing as much sugar with the mycelium? Or so I’ve read in a few places. Maybe it’s more complicated than that.
I love all kinds of mushrooms, and to me they do have distinct textures and flavours. Something like a porcini or a morel has a flavour I can pick out fairly easily amongst other stronger flavours. Shiitake might be one of my favourite things to eat in general.
I’ve wondered if it might be a genetic thing. Kind of like cilantro tastes awful to some people and great to others for whatever genetically determined reason. Maybe I’m a mushroom person and you’re not.
I love all kinds of mushrooms, and to me they do have distinct textures and flavours. Something like a porcini or a morel has a flavour I can pick out fairly easily amongst other stronger flavours. Shiitake might be one of my favourite things to eat in general.
I’ve wondered if it might be a genetic thing. Kind of like cilantro tastes awful to some people and great to others for whatever genetically determined reason. Maybe I’m a mushroom person and you’re not.
> I guess the heat dome did a number on the trees
I’m in Eastern WA / OR, and the heat made our mushroom season garbage this year… it’s generally not great to begin with, but even the pro foragers were awfully quiet this year. Very concerning.
I’m in Eastern WA / OR, and the heat made our mushroom season garbage this year… it’s generally not great to begin with, but even the pro foragers were awfully quiet this year. Very concerning.
Come to Western Washington. It is generally harder to find mushrooms in a desert climate.
Completely true - though I’m generally looking in the Blues, Wallowas, or occasionally the east side of the Cascades.
Mushrooms aren't worth seeking out in a survival situation, they don't have nearly enough calories to return the cost of picking them (of course if you came across them that can be a bit different).
I'll admit, they didn't really live up to the hype for me either. They were good, but I think they were just hyped to the point they could never live up to it.
I think my favorite so far was chicken of the woods. Maybe I'll try cultivating them this year.
I think my favorite so far was chicken of the woods. Maybe I'll try cultivating them this year.
I wouldn't bother -- I tracked reports of amateur cultivation for Laetiporus sulphureus in past years, and did not see much success. If there is any to be had, it's likely outdoor-only.
Yeah, I would be following Field and Forest's method. Their process is supposed to have a decent success rate.
[deleted]
"In 2006, we filed an international patent application for the cultivation of morels in collaboration with a private patent agency. The application described, among other things, two of the most central cultivation principles which are also used today in our fully developed method for the controlled indoor cultivation of black morels, all-year-round. However, shortly after the application was approved, we decided, on the advice of the Danish Patent Directorate, to withdraw the application before it was published worldwide, as in practice it is relatively easy to circumvent a patent of this type. We are therefore now in a position where we have chosen once and for all to keep the key points of our method secret, not least because we are currently considering the commercial possibilities. This is why we are unfortunately unable to provide any more information on the cultivation process than is given on this website."
in combination with their description of how they and many others spent many years unsuccessfully trying to reproduce a 30 year old USA patent that also claimed an ability to cultivate morels indoors.