Morels are one of the most highly prized, and valuable culinary mushrooms on the planet. For centuries foragers have headed to coveted spots each spring in the hope of finding some of these rare delicacy. And for almost as long, people have been trying to figure out ways to reliably cultivate morels, with varying degrees of success!
 
Recent innovations in the past decade or so in both our knowledge of the morel organism, as well as in cultivation methods and techniques, have brought successful morel cultivation within reach of the hobbyist grower and backyard fungi enthusiast.
 
We are proud to make available to the New Zealand public the opportunity to set up a morel patch at your very own home and have a chance at a private supply of this amazing mushroom. This product is the culmination of extensive efforts in research, field observations, culture obtainment, lab work, growth trials, and consultation with a range of morel experts from around the world whom have provided their advice based on their own successful research into the cultivation of morels.
 
The cultivation of morels is still somewhat of a 'dark art' and it should be noted that success is NOT guaranteed. But as the result of our research and development efforts we believe that if you were going to have a shot at it, this is your best chance. In our experience, the key component of a sucessful morel patch is the soil. You will want a dense loamy soil to form the main base of the patch. Loam soil is soil which is fine in its particle size, and does not contain a lot of organic matter. Suitable soils will generally be a grey to light brown in colour when dry, rather than a dark brown or black like soils high in organic matter. Some clay content is also completely fine for morel cultivation.
 
Our Black Morel (Morchella importuna) Spawn Matrix has been carefully crafted based on the best science available to us. It features:
Verified fruiting culture isolate of Morchella importuna
A specially developed blend of all-natural organic substrates and selected minerals to assist the healthy growth and establishment of the morel organism in your location.
Microbiome inoculant. The morel culture is paired with a select grouping of morel-specific soil microbes which assist in the formation of fruit bodies.
Premium genetics (DNA verified). We have trialed a number of fruiting isolates of Morchella species and chosen this one as the best candidate for cultivation, due to several factors such as prolific fruiting, non-mycorrhizal growth habit (does not require to grow in association with any particular tree species), good sclerotia formation, and generally non-specific habitat requirements, as well as successful inoculation and fruiting of outdoor patch.
High standard of quality control. Each individual bag of spawn matrix is inspected for quality assurance prior to dispatch. We only send out healthy, fully colonised spawn bags with confirmed occurance of sclerotia.
 
The main intention for this product is for it to be used for the inoculation and establishment of outdoor morel patches, which have a higher chance of success than indoor morel cultivation. However this spawn can also be used for indoor growing attempts by the more adventurous and exeperienced cultivators out there.
 
Each kilogram of spawn matrix comes with a separate packet of gypsum to help you in the preparation of your patch. In addition to this you will need a couple of bags of coniferous tree woodchip, bark mulch and / or pine needles (or a mix of all), as well as a bag or two of loamy soil (loamy soil is fine, silty soil often found in riverbanks or plains or bought from a garden centre). Full instructions are provided along with the spawn.
 
NOTE: Morels require a certain degree of 'chill hours' over the winter in order to trigger the fruiting process in the spring. Most areas of New Zealand should be suitable as only a few light frosts are needed. But areas in the far north may not have enough chill hours for this to occur. This spawn is suitable for indoor cultivation attempts as well, for the more experienced and/or adventurous growers out there!