How to grow morel mushrooms – an expert shares essential advice, including where to site your growing patch and how to get started

One of the best parts of growing your own food is the range of interesting options available; if conditions are right, you can raise types of fruits and veggies that you might not find in your local store. One such example is growing mushrooms, of which there are plenty of weird and wonderful edible varieties. And perhaps some of the most prized amongst foodies and foragers are morels.

Morels are known for their meaty texture, earthy flavor, and appearance reminiscent of a honeycomb or sponge. They are also considered difficult (although not impossible) to cultivate, which is reflected in their expensive price tag. The window for foraging wild morels is relatively short, and the danger of mistaking them for something poisonous – such as false morels – is not to be taken lightly. As you probably already know, mushrooms should only be eaten if you are 100% certain they are safe.

If you're up for a bit of a challenge and have plenty of patience to hand, there is a way to raise morels in your own backyard. While mushrooms growing in a lawn can be a nuisance, a successful pre-planned patch of this sought-after variety can be a delight. To find out more, I turned to mushroom-growing expert Erin Hamilton, founder of The Mushroom Conservatory. Below, she shares her tips.

How to grow morel mushrooms

Don't expect quick results when growing morels – these certainly aren't fast-growing vegetables. According to Erin, it can take up to seven years for them to appear (although she has seen a small handful of people achieve their first harvest in two years). 'It doesn’t take a lot of work to start and care for them, but you do have to wait patiently and return every spring to see if that will be their year,' she says.

Erin Hamilton

Erin Hamilton is the founder of The Mushroom Conservatory in Howell, Michigan, where she lives with her husband, Elijah, and their children. Growing up on a small farm, she developed a deep passion for sustainable farming, which she channels into her mission to unlock the potential of fungi for food security, wellness, and ecosystem restoration. Through her innovative mushroom-growing kits and hands-on cultivation workshops, Erin has taught thousands around the world to grow mushrooms. In addition to leading The Mushroom Conservatory, Erin serves as the president of Soil2Service, a Detroit-based nonprofit that oversees The Detroit Institute of Gastronomy, fostering education and sustainability in the culinary and agricultural industries.

Growing habits for morel mushrooms

'Morel mushrooms do far better outdoors – they need the cold snap of winter and the mulchy hideaway of a forest floor (or at least a spot set up to imitate a forest floor) to grow and thrive,' Erin says. 'Indoor cultivation has been attempted by many, but with the length of time that it takes for morel mushrooms to grow, it’s not efficient and there’s a notable absence of the wonderful, smoky terroir that morel mushrooms are loved for.'

Unlike most other crops, mushrooms aren't started by sowing seeds or planting plug plants. 'People often laugh when I tell them how to start growing morel mushrooms,' Erin says – 'it’s such a simple, odd process that it sounds more like a spell than a gardening technique.'

Her instructions are below:

1. Take a morel mushroom (or about 10ml of liquid morel mushroom culture) and put it in the blender with a tablespoon of molasses. Fill the blender the rest of the way with lukewarm water and blend it for a minute.
2. Let it sit overnight, then add the contents of the blender to a bucket (Erin usually uses a five-gallon bucket) with a cup or two of ashes from a fireplace or bonfire pit. Fill the bucket the rest of the way with water and let it sit overnight.
3. In the morning, mix some woodchips or mulch with leaves and spread a 3x3 foot area with them in a slightly shaded location, a few inches deep. Then, pour the mixture on top.

Growing guide for morel mushrooms

Soil: 'A mossy, mulchy forest floor is the favorite growth environment for morel mushrooms,' Erin says. 'If you’re growing them in your garden, you can use woodchips. If you have a choice in what woodchips to use, hardwoods like maple and oak work well, but they will grow on pine chips as well.'

Light: Erin recommends starting your morel patch in a shaded or semi-shaded area. 'Mushrooms are 80% water, so direct sunlight can dry them out a bit too much.'

Watering: You generally don’t need to water morels – as Erin explains, they’ll pick up moisture from the ground. However, if it's a very dry summer within an exceptionally dry year, and has been six months or more since the morel patch was started, she 'might hose down the area they're in'.

Harvesting: 'A forager’s knife is handy for harvesting morel mushrooms,' says Erin. 'It has a small curved blade that’s perfect for neatly cutting them as close to the ground as possible. An old foragers’ tradition is to put your morels in a mesh bag (even an onion bag will do) and carry them in that as you walk; it allows any stray spores that fall off of them to drop to the ground, giving them a chance to grow in more places over the years.'

Toxicity: As mentioned above, always ensure you've correctly identified any mushroom before eating it, even if it's growing in a patch specifically planned for morels. Many types of mushrooms are extremely poisonous and even deadly (and can look very similar to edible varieties). What's more, morels should always be properly prepared and well-cooked (never eat them raw) before they're eaten and even then, should be consumed with caution, as allergic reactions to them are possible. Eating large amounts and consuming them alongside alcohol may also cause health problems. Overall, conduct proper research, cross-checking sources, before you plan to eat morels to reduce any risks.

FAQs

Which mushrooms grow faster than morels?

'If you love the idea of growing your own mushrooms, but don’t have time to wait seven years for a harvest, oyster mushrooms and lion's mane mushrooms are a great choice for beginners,' says Erin. 'Both varieties can be grown indoors or outdoors, grow very quickly, and can be harvested in as little as six to eight weeks.'

What sort of climate do morel mushrooms grow best in?

Morel mushrooms are known to grow well in temperate climates with moist, mild springs.

If you're interested in looking for mushrooms and other edibles outside of your own backyard, our guides on how to forage for food and foraging mistakes are a must-read.