Morel Patches Finished

…So I took an hour this week to go ahead and a finally make use of those bags of spawn i was sent. I made the outdoor patches near an old oak tree out in our woods. Morels can stand a little bit of filtered sunlight, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Also, the location underneath the old (ridiculously looking, seriously, this tree is messed up. I’ll have to put up a pic) oak makes it much easier to find.

I made the patch according to the directions, which was basically to spread the sawdust spawn I was sent (those bags I took a picture of in this post) on a well cleared patch of soil, and cover with more sawdust, plus a mix of sand and pea gravel. As a crazy unrelated side note, I LOVE pea-gravel! I like holding a handful and shaking it in my palms. It makes a very satisfying slightly crunchy, slightly swish-y noise! After that, I covered it with cardboard.

This method confused me a bit, because I thought morels didn’t grow on wood? So why the sawdust?

I really hope this works and I get some mushrooms out of it. Morels are highly sought after everywhere, especially places like here where they don’t grow in the wild. I’m really crossing my fingers on this one. This could do wonders for my self-esteem! Unfortunately, won’t know for sure until at least the spring.

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Ground scratched bare of vegetation and litter, so the spawn can make contact with the soil

The spawn, spread on the ground

The finished, watered down pile. Yes, I can’t see it either. It’s a cellphone, guys…