This drying lark really is a subject where almost anything, no matter how unlikely, can be seen to be true.
I rough turned some bowls (beech, I think) in 2008 sealed them into plastic Tesco bags with a bit of their own bark and didn't refind them until summer (2011). I expected to find a soggy mess within but what a surprise. The bowls were beautifully spalted, but covered in dried mushrooms, and bone dry ready to re-turn. How the hllllllllll can that be, I hear you all say. Can only surmise that because Tesco bags are pierced for safety reasons the wood was able to remain wet long enough to spalt but then became too dry to actually rot. Whether the same would happen a second time, who knows!
My thoughts then, for what they are worth, go with plastic bags if you want to attempt to spalt the timber or paper carriers if you don't. Expect to lose everything so that you will be content if you don't. And, of course, the best bit if, like me, you are approaching that 'certain age' a fully functional memory is completely optional.
All the best
Brian
