Morels, like all fungi and mushrooms, have an extremely short shelf life once picked. However, there are a variety of ways to store morels for future use.

Once picked, morels should be washed, cleaned and refrigerated quickly if they are to be eaten or frozen for storage. Morels, like many wild fungi and mushrooms, go soggy very quickly if not properly handled or stored, due to the spore content within them. Do not pack them too tightly when picking or storing, as morels compact easily.

If you prefer a more thorough wash, either slit the morels in half lengthways before immersing, or puncture the narrow end to allow easier drainage after washing in the salty solution. This root-like mass, and the valleys of the morel honeycomb, tend to pick up small particles of dirt, sand and humus, contributing to a gritty, unpleasant texture with poorly cleaned morels.

Morels can be dehydrated, using a standard fruit dehydrator (available at Wal-Mart). To rehydrate morels, simply soak them for 1-2 hours in warm water or thin sauce.

Many campers use dried morels like chewing tobacco, letting the morels rehydrate between gums and cheek for a real time-delayed taste explosion.

To freeze morels, wash & drain them, then in a deep fry pan, melt butter, add pepper (or garlic, if desired) and the morels, and cook over medium low heat for up to 5-8 minutes. If using morels within 2-3 days of picking, wash thoroughly and drain until dry. Place loosely in a paper bag and store in the refrigerator, as you would with white button mushrooms.

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There are three categories of poisonous mushrooms. Mushrooms grow in different habitats. Observe your surroundings for unwanted mushrooms. Most mushroom related poisoning are with small children eating mushrooms found in the neighborhood. Some are allergic even to the safest mushroom. Eat only fresh mushrooms. Rotting mushrooms is harmful. Do not eat raw mushrooms and on large quantities. Most wild mushrooms are difficult to digest when eaten raw.

Avoid other mushrooms which look like amanita and false morels. Amanita has bright colored caps ornamented with scales. Toxic chemical monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) is present in false morels. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches. Try to find out signs on animals that have eaten mushrooms you are identifying. Identify names of poisonous mushrooms. The little brown mushrooms are small to medium sized brownish mushroom with spores of different colors. Lastly, be aware of the mushrooms toxins involved like Alpha-amanitin, Phallotoxin, Orellanine, Muscarine, Coprine, Arabitol, Ergotamine, etc.
Symptoms of the poisonous mushroom usually pass in 24 hours with no effects. Majority of the cases are due to mistaken identity of the many types of mushrooms.

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When enough manure has accumulated for a bed, prepare it in the following way: Turn it over, shaking it up loosely and mixing it all well together. Throw aside the dry, strawy part, also any white “burnt” manure that may be in it, and all extraneous matter. Do not throw out any of the wet straw. We should aim to retain all the straw that has been well wetted in the stable. If the manure is too dry do not hesitate to sprinkle it freely with water. Then throw it into a compact oblong pile about three or four feet high, and tread it down a little. Leave it undisturbed until fermentation has started briskly, which in early fall may be in two or three days, or in winter in six to ten days, then turn it over again, shaking it up thoroughly and loosely and keeping what was outside before inside now, and what was inside before toward the outside now; if there are any dry parts moisten them as you go. Trim up the heap into the same shape as you had before, and again tread it down firmly. This compacting of the pile at every turning reduces the number of required turnings. We should endeavor to get along with as few turnings as possible, so as not to waste ammonia. At the same time, never allow any part of the manure to burn, even if we have to turn the heap every day.

These turnings should be continued until the manure has lost its tendency to heat violently, and its hot, rank smell is gone, – usually in about three weeks. If the manure, or any part of it, is too dry at any turning, the dry part should be sprinkled with water and kept in the middle of the heap. The greatest vigilance should be observed to guard against over moistening the manure; far better fail on the side of dryness than on that of wetness.

If the manure is too wet to begin with it should, be spread out thinly and loosely and exposed to sun and wind to dry. If the manure cannot be dried enough, add dry loam, dry sand, dry half-rotted leaves, dry peat moss, dry chaff, or dry finely cut hay or straw, and mix together.

The proper condition of the manure, as regards to dryness or moistness, can readily be known by handling it. Take a handful of the manure and squeeze it tight; it should be unctuous enough to hold together in a lump, and so dry that you cannot squeeze a drop of water out of it.

Different growers have different ideas of preparing manure for mushroom beds, but the aim of all is to get it into the best possible condition with the least labor and expense.

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But what makes the San Francisco Oil Spill unusual, is the oil spill cleanup technique that was adopted. A group of volunteers cleaned San Francisco’s beaches using unconventional products, namely human hair and mushrooms. Though unconventional, it is an organic and eco-friendly way of cleaning up oil spills.

Hair is a natural absorbent that soaks oil very well. In the San Francisco Oil Spill, masses of matted hair the size of a doormat were used to soak up oil. (These mats are woven from human hair donated by salons.) After the visible effect in the San Francisco oil spill, others have also started using these for cleaning up oil spills.

You must be wondering where mushrooms come into the picture in this whole process. Oyster mushrooms have the power to convert toxic oil to compost. In the San Francisco oil spill, once the hair mats had soaked up the oil, oyster mushrooms were layered between these mats. In about 12 weeks, these mushrooms not only absorbed but turned these oil-soaked mats into non-toxic compost.

The success of using hair and mushrooms in the San Francisco oil spill cleanup calls for more such innovative, cost-effective, and eco-friendly techniques of cleaning oil spills. One such eco-friendly technique that has proved to be effective in oil spill cleanup is bioremediation technology.

Oil Gone Easy S-200 is an oil stain remover that makes use of bioremediation technology. Instead of toxic chemicals, microorganisms present in the atmosphere are used to degrade the harmful hydrocarbons present in the oil. Thus, this eco-friendly product cleans oil stains without causing any harm to the environment.

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Here is a project that will keep the gardener busy during this time of year.Have you ever given consideration to growing mushrooms? Just think your very own mushrooms whenever you needed them for cooking and salads. You can easily grow mushrooms outdoors but I think you are better off growing mushrooms indoors. You completely avoid the insects and diseases that are prevalent outdoors. I am not entertaining growing wild mushrooms but growing mushrooms that you know are safe to consume like shiitake,oyster or portabella.

It would be wise to try your hand at growing mushrooms inside in the beginning and maybe later you can graduate to the outdoors. You can learn to be a mycologist by researching and studying the different species so that you have the ability to identify the poisonous wild mushrooms that find their way into your patch of cultivated fungi. Incidentally a mycologist is one who makes a study of fungi.

I think it best to cover just growing mushrooms indoors. The first method of growing mushrooms would be to buy spawn,germinated mushroom spores,and using a growing medium such as sawdust,compost or newspaper to begin your growing mushrooms. Spawn can be procured from numerous websites selling mushrooms and should be accompanied by very detailed instructions. Always check to make sure that complete instructions,helpful information or supplies are included. You should never purchase from any vendor if you are not going to receive the complete package.

Now my approach in growing mushrooms,at least in the beginning,is to purchase a mushroom kit which is designed to immediately allow starting with the growing phase. A kit will include all the required components to grow several crops of mushrooms. There are many types of mushroom kits available but the most popular are the shiitake,oyster and portabella. These kits will allow you to grow several crops over an eight to twelve week period.

The benefits of growing mushrooms is not only from the satisfaction of a successful crop but can be good for the health.Mushrooms are very nutritious and are low in calories, with a very small amount of fat and cholesterol. A basic serving of five small mushrooms contains 2 grams of protein, just about as much potassium as a banana and three B vitamins. Mushrooms also are a valuable source of selenium, a nutrient found in meats that may be in short supply in vegetarian diets.

The other benefits in growing mushrooms comes from the delicious and innovative ways you can prepare them for consumption. They are outstanding in salads or how about cooking up some portabella on the stove with some port wine and worcestershire sauce and then fill them with a mixture of onions,garlic,peppers,more mushrooms,and spinach all chopped and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. It is truly almost like eating a small steak. If you purchase the same mushrooms in your local store,they are already 5-6 days old. Growing mushrooms can be a great hobby which could also become a small business. There is a great deal of information concerning the growing of mushrooms at http://www.gardenersgardening.com/growingmushrooms.html

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We visited with the Oregon mycological society to see how they grow different types of delicious mushrooms for the home garden.

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I have been a gardener for over 20 years. I have decided to publish what i have learned for both beginners and experienced gardeners. My web site is at http://www.gardenersgardening.com

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