Missouri Entrepreneur Seeks Key to Producing Morels

Springtime brings excitement in the world of mushroom hunting across the Midwest. Traditionally families and individuals would get out to their secret locations where they’ve found Morels previously in the hopes of harvest.

Morels hiding

Morels are a special treat. You just can’t go to the store and buy them. You have to go get them yourself, or as I’ve been told, you can pay kids to go find them and then pay them by the pound. But what if you could buy them at the store (not the farmer’s market)?

Packaged for Purchase

A Missouri cultivator in O’Fallon is working on figuring out the exact conditions to grow morels year-round. Mushrooms Naturally already has figured out how to grow shiitake, hen of the woods, lion’s mane and king oyster mushrooms. They also will sell you kits so that you can grow your own specialty mushrooms. But morels are still elusive.

Read More: Morel Mushroom Fans Hit Jackpot in Missouri Town

Mushrooms Naturally - O'Fallon, Mo.

No one has cracked the code on the honeycombed, golden goodness that is morel mushrooms that many set out on foot to find growing wild every spring. Growing your own mushrooms is a little different than having things grow in the garden.

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Eventually the mystery will be solved and people will be able to grow their own morels anytime at home if they want. There will always be purists though who will stick by the wild morels for tradition and flavor.