Serving Mushroom Growers Around the World Since 1992

Resources for Mushroom Growers
Morel Mushroom Cultivation

Morels are one tough mushroom to grow commercially! Two cultivation processes have been patented. The first process is based upon work by Ronald D. Ower, who was the first to produce morels in a controlled environment at San Francisco State University in 1982. His findings were published in Mycologia 74(1), Jan-Feb 1982. The patents are held by Terry Farms and vigorously defended by them. Still, at last report, no one has been able to produce morels by the instructions in the patent. Just perhaps, the patents left out a detail or two? Terry Farms opened a morel production facility in Auburn, Alabama and offered their products for a few years, but eventually closed down the operation. We suspect the economics were pretty marginal. Some suppliers sell morel spawn with instructions for creating a small outdoor patch. This works, sometimes, but it is certainly not a sure thing and don't expect commercial yields.

• Our friends at Mushroompeople summarized a process demonstrated for a TV show by Gary Mills, one of the parties to the orignal patents listed below.
  
  
• Terri Marie Beauséjour has developed some instructions for morel cultivation. Expect to do some experimentation on your own!
  
  
• The original patents that Terry Farms now holds were originally held by Neogen. Their process is quite complicated. The patents involved are:
  • US Patent 4,594,808 (PDF - 229K)
  • US Patent 4,757,640 (PDF - 260K)
  • US Patent 4,866,878 (PDF - 160K)
  
  
  
• In 2005, Stewart C. Miller patented a process for growing morels that involves inoculating tree seedlings with morel mycelium, allowing the mycelium to produce sporocarps, then killing the seedlings to induce the morels to fruit. Read all about it in US Patent 6,907,691B2 (PDF - 186K)