GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

418 GROWTH PARAMETERS
Recommended Containers for Fruiting: Tray of sufficient depth (10-12 inches) to accommodate
the above with holes for drainage.
Yield Potentials: Estimating from the photographs of the indoor method used by Morel Mountain,
yields appear to be in the 1 lb. per square foot range. Since Morels are hollow, the number of mushrooms
per square foot weighs less than the same number of similarly sized solid mushrooms, for
instance Shiitake.
Harvest Hints: Black Morels are best picked before the ridge edges become darkened and spores are
released. When the mushrooms cease developing, the margins of the folds darken, wilt, and dry.
Form of Product Sold to Market: Fresh, dried, and powdered. Morel Mountain has fresh Morels
year-round. Fungi Perfecti sells Black Morel spawn for outdoor inoculation. Their addresses are
listed in the Resource section in theAppendix IV.
Nutritional Content: 20% protein (N x 4.38), 4.8% fat, 8.7% fiber, 64.4% carbohydrates. *
Medicinal Properties: Not known to this author.
Flavor, Preparation & Cooking: A superb edible, this mushroom should be well cooked as many
individuals are sensitive to it in the raw state. Morels work well in stir-fries and in a wide range of
preparations. Please refer to the recipes in Chapter 24.
Comments: Morels can not be easily co-cultivated with other gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in
the same growing room. Once a cultivator succeeds in getting to the stage of "white tuft" formation,
humidity and temperature is critical for fruitbody development. (See Figure 363.)At this stage, a different
set of environmental stimuli is introduced. I am proposing such a strategy in the above Growth
Parameter section. Humidity levels should be lowered below the range specified for most mushrooms.
For more information, consult Ower (1982), Ower et al. (1986, 1988), Leonard & Yolk (1992),
Yolk & Leonard (1989), Yolk (1990), and Sanderson (1969).
* This analysis based on Morchella esculenta. Taken from The
Chang & Hayes, 1978.
Biology & Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms, ed. by
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