Conical Morel — a tasty edible mushroom, consumed fried, stewed after preliminary boiling (15-20 minutes), and dried. Grows: in coniferous and mixed forests (often under aspens), on clearings, meadows, roadside verges, more commonly on sandy soils, in large groups and individually, more frequently in April-May, not annually. Grows slowly, reaches maturity in two weeks. Cap diameter 3-4 cm and height 5-7 cm, gray-brown, gray-green, black-brown, margin fused with the stem. Cap surface ribbed-porous, with distant, darker-colored partitions. Stem: length 2-5 cm and diameter 1-2 cm, grooved, hollow (forms a single cavity with the cap), light, yellowish. Flesh: odorless, waxy, thin, tender, brittle, rubbery in the stem.
Cultivation of Conical Morel mushroom on a garden plot: select a slightly shaded, moist area, avoiding direct sunlight. Preferably choose a location under apple trees. If the plot is not shaded, install a canopy to protect from sun and wind. Remove weeds and grass from an area of 1 m2, remove the topsoil layer 15 cm thick. Mix 65% upper (brown) peat, 30% wood ash (paper, cardboard, straw ash), 5% gypsum or plaster with apple waste. Dig drainage ditches around the perimeter for meltwater runoff.
The bed is prepared in spring. Before sowing the mycelium, moisten the bed. Spread the mycelium with substrate on the surface of the bed to a depth of 10-12 cm, water it, cover with removed soil to a depth of about 6 cm, and cover with dry leaves or straw (1-8 cm). Water using drip irrigation in dry weather (do not use chlorinated water). In early spring of the following year, remove the covering. Annually, it is recommended to apply a small amount of ash (in a water solution during watering, at a rate of 1 liter of ash per 1 m2) and apple pomace (pressings). Dosage: 10 grams of mycelium (1 packet) per 1 m2. For a stable yield each year, additional (repeated) application of mycelium is required annually.
