The Greenhouse

First, I have to say, that I have wanted to own a greenhouse for as long as I can remember.  The idea of growing healthy food throughout the year in Wisconsin has been on my bucket list since I first realized that joke about Wisconsin was true. You know the one, Wisconsin has two seasons - winter and construction.  So when my generous next door neighbor bestowed upon me the wood from an abandoned project I was more than delighted.

This considerably cut down the cost of my greenhouse.  Now to build it. Research must commence. It has been consuming all of my curious moments.  There is so much to consider.  What type of walls would we use.  We decided on polygal 10 millimeter twin wall construction.  This would provide a good deal of sturdiness and give us a maximum amount of light transmission for our seedlings. What type of ventilation will we need and where will it be located.  Roof ventilation leaves us open to leaks so my builder friends thought that to put the vents on the roof in Wisconsin would be a poor choice of design.  At this point we are considering an open wall design.  This will involve removing some panels for the summer.  Screens will be affixed to the top part of each wall so that we will be able to take the top sections of the walls right off. Next was the door and the shelving.  And of course there was the foundation.  It is a temporary structure but with northern winters, spring rains and summer tornadoes we couldn’t go with a fly by night operation, literally.

We opted for concrete footings. The conversation as turned to gravel and bricks mounted under the foundation to keep out rodents.   The next decision concerned the type of beds would they be raised or in pots?  We decided pots would be best as they are movable and be brought out in the summer to increase the yield of the greenhouse and lesson the transplanting.  We could then easily bring them back in again for the fall.  

So much to think about.  And with my artistic background of course I also had my mind on other things, like finials and dragons and celtic shelving.  The greenhouse had to have some flair so architectural elements are a must. Later today we will begin the polygal operation.  More pictures to follow.

How morels grow is an often asked question and the answer is tricky. The source of the spores is a mystery as they may come from many different places. Spores grow after being transplanted through an airborne method or through an underground root system. Even seasoned hunters cannot determine the exact source of the spore. Often, when finding a hot spot for the tasty mushrooms, morel experts attribute it to the decomposing tree or its root system they are found on. One thing is for sure; when that tree is gone so too go the morels.

Unlike other mushrooms that have gills under their caps, the morel spores drop from the crevices in the cap. The spores are microscopic and once they have dropped, the mycelium begins to grow under the ground in the first inch of dirt that is on top of wood chips or some type of decomposing wood. The tiny spore needs high humidity and the proper temperature to thrive. Morels tend to like colder temperatures than you might expect. They grow well anywhere from 50-75 degrees as is evidenced by their appearance in mid spring. After the mycelium has colonized 100% of the decomposing wood it's growing on or in, it develops what is called the fruit body of the fungus. The morel mushroom will grow in about 3-10 days. The time it takes for the morel to mature depends on the amount of shade, temperature, moisture and wood source.

The mystique around morel mushrooms seems to grow with each successive generation. And it is well founded. Morels are more than delicious; they are probably the most tasty mushroom you will ever eat and well worth the effort. The one pictured in this article was a gift to me from a dear friend who shall remain anonymous, lest the secret of her morel hotspot be found by others. When I came home from work a few days ago, there was a little brown lunch bag with a handwritten birthday note on the outside. Much to my surprise when I opened this humble wrapping, I found a beautiful selection of recently picked morels. What a wonderful gift. We stoked up the grill and I gently soaked the morels, then sliced them in half, placed them in a shallow grill pan. I drizzled them with butter, freshly chopped garlic and Spike seasoning. Put the pan on the grill and closed the cover letting the morels cook for about 10 minutes. I served them with a crusty sourdough and triple cream Brie. Morels simply cannot be beat when you consider the fun of the hunt coupled with their spectacular flavor. Good Luck and Happy Morel Hunting!

For more information on safe mushroom picking, please check out the following pages. Each of these sites gives a great deal of information about poisonous mushrooms including pictures.

HYPERLINK "http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/how/mushrooms/safe-..." http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/how/mushrooms/safe-...

HYPERLINK "http://mushroomexpert.com/sitemap2.html#morels" http://mushroomexpert.com/sitemap2.html#morels

HYPERLINK "http://www.michiganmorels.com/" http://www.michiganmorels.com/

HYPERLINK "http://thegreatmorel.com/" http://thegreatmorel.com/