Any morel shroom experts here

[44man]

I am baffled. I used to pick many in certain spots and it went on each year but now there is not a single one to be found in those spots.
Have I been too efficient in removing all of them and not leaving spores? Does the mycelium die off or run out of nutrients?
I always pinch them off, leaving the base in the ground and I carry them in a mesh bag to spread spores.
Long ago they used to pick them here by the bushel basket but I am lucky to find a bag full.

[frankenfab]

Maybe it has been TOO wet?

Don't know if you have seen this, but you can buy grwing kits for Morels now.

http://www.gmushrooms.com/morel/

I gonna try to grow some someday.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Not sure where your'e at...but it's too early for morels in southern MN
when I say too early, I'm not going by
the calender, I'm looking at other plants.

My asparagus is just coming up,
it started about a week ago,
but has not grown tall enough to pick...too cold.

the same weather making twisters down south
has kept us in the 30's at night
and 40s or 50s in the day...too cold
Jon

[troy_mclure]

ive hunted morels in the snow before! lol

its been very wet in many places. that will inhibit the growth.

[geargnasher]

Weather has to be just right. I have them on my property growing wild, (SW Texas Hill Country), but I may not see them for years. Sometimes I pick them, sometimes I leave them to multiply. I suppose over-harvesting can deplete them, but most fungus spores are very prolific, just that the growing conditions have to be perfect. I may not se any at all for six or eight years, then they will suddenly pop up everywhere on a warm, wet spring.

The weather patterns nationwide are totally scewed up, so lots of native plants are getting their growing cycles screwed up.

The mesh harvesting bag is a good idea.

Gear

[firefly1957]

My understanding it there is a complex root system that grows in decaying wood. Also have noticed for best morels you need a warm night and rain. I was thinking about starting a thread on morels I was looking today no luck I am in Northern Clare county Michigan.
By the way no asparagus up yet I looked for that too.

[mooman76]

I haven't in years but like some others have said, the weather has to be just right. They need moist warm but not to hot weather. Doesn't have to be real warm either but dry is definately bad. Some years the weather just doesn't come out right and you don't see hardly any and other years they can be real thick.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

44man, if you ever get it figured out how morel grow, let me know. Around here, it has been too cool and few are being found........... yet, out at my brothers timber, he found over 200 of them last week after work. Go figure.

[winelover]

By the way no asparagus up yet I looked for that too.

Had asparagus for dinner today. Picked about a pound over the last couple of days in my backyard.

Winelover

[firefly1957]

wine lover I hate the stuff myself but it comes up in several places on my land I do pick it for friends they like it. Do not know why it just tastes bad to me?

[condorjohn]

I live in western Oregon and some years back I had a nice patch of Chantrells I could count on every year for 10 to 15 pounds. Went back at the right time and discovered a black-top logging road right over the spot... I was bummed...

[woody1]

I live in western Oregon and some years back I had a nice patch of Chantrells I could count on every year for 10 to 15 pounds. Went back at the right time and discovered a black-top logging road right over the spot... I was bummed...

I don't know squat about Chantrells but I've seen shaggy manes poke up thru blacktop.

About morels: are the trilliums blooming yet? That's a good sign for morels, but they still need ground moisture. Spring rains or light snow followed by warmer weather are very important. It seems like there can be too much because saturated ground doesn't help growth at least I've never found 'em where it was real wet. Look for 'em in recently disturbed areas like recent logging and recent forest fires can be great. Regards, Woody

[troy_mclure]

my dad has been finding tons of them in southern ohio.

[Fire_stick]

I knew some folks in college that liked the type that grow in cow patties. They would take a trip and never leave the farm!

[44man]

I am near Harpers Ferry, WV.
I started finding a few in mid April. The black ones come up in cooler weather, then the brown ones later.
What has bothered me is I have not found them where I used to get a lot.
Our ground here is funny and drains too fast. Karst, bluestone and limestone. I live near an old limestone quarry and there are tunnels all over the place. The ground can get dry real fast, I can drive on the grass after a rain.

[firefly1957]

No trilliums yet.

[mroliver77]

No shrooms here yet. We find them mostly around dead elm trees. Sometimes around apple trees especially if there are blackberry plants near.

Funny that asparagus is being harvested 100 miles north of me and mine is just peeking through.
Jay

[Philngruvy]

Triliums are blooming all over on our place in Pensacola. Havn't seen any morels though.

[troy_mclure]

we always find them by ash trees or gum trees that are "peeling" their bark.

[Lloyd Smale]

dont worry about overpicking them. You spread more spores when you pick them then would be spread by leaving them in the ground.

[44man]

dont worry about overpicking them. You spread more spores when you pick them then would be spread by leaving them in the ground.
I use a mesh bag and shake it as I walk but it has never spread them.

[bowfin]

First off, I don't believe there are any experts when it comes to Morel mushrooms. They seem to delight in defying rhyme or reason, and the longer one hunts them, the more likely you are to say "could be" or "I'm not sure".

I do know hot spots eventually fade and new ones take their place. I don't know about being overharvested, but I suppose any living thing can be taken faster than it can reproduce.

[waksupi]

I was always told to use a sharp knife, and cut them off just above ground level, to maintain a patch. Don't know if it was true or not.

[Dean D.]

I don't know if it's true or not but I heard the same thing from my Uncle who was pretty knowledgeable about wild mushrooms. I recall him being adamant that they needed to be cut or pinched leaving the base in the ground. It may be a wives tale but he believed it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I believe it has to do with the type of rotting wood in the soil.
a spore without the right type of rotting wood, will grow no shroom.
When a Hot spot has fully decayed all the type of wood the shroom wants,
it will be come a cold spot.
Jon

PS. I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means. It's Just what I've read.
If you want to cultivate them, you need to continually add the correct type of wood bits to the soil.

[waksupi]

Around here, it seems the best areas to find them, is where a forest fire has been. They pop up by the truck loads then.

[44man]

I believe it has to do with the type of rotting wood in the soil.
a spore without the right type of rotting wood, will grow no shroom.
When a Hot spot has fully decayed all the type of wood the shroom wants,
it will be come a cold spot.
Jon

PS. I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means. It's Just what I've read.
If you want to cultivate them, you need to continually add the correct type of wood bits to the soil.
This is correct for every mushroom. I grow ****akes on logs and when the sugars are depleted, everything quits but it takes about 5 years.
I do not think morals use wood but they need nutrients from the soil.
I bought spawn and followed instructions to the letter and it never said anything about wood. It said kitchen scraps, etc. I worked like mad for years and never got a single shroom. $30 down the drain.
If they needed wood, they would grow on fallen, rotting trees. This place is full of fallen trees.

[357maximum]

The little Black morels have started here in Central Lower Michigan. My Wife, F.I.L and I picked about 200 of them last Saturday. The ones that were actually big enough to pick were very tasty. Hopefully the ones we left will be there the next time we look.

This bunch was found growing out in the open on the edge of hole that used to be used as a farmers seedbag burn pit:

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l80/357maximum/shrooms009.jpg



We normally find the black morels in relation to popple/maple timber in humus rich sandy soils but every now and again we find them in odd places. I once picked a bunch of them in the middle of a cedar swamp on a drier than normal year.


I am no mycologist but I am a morel expert......wanna hear the secret? :idea:

Morels grow where they want to, when they want to, and morels can only be found where they grow. [smilie=b:

[troy_mclure]

we have been here several times, always a good time. http://www.morelfest.com/

[firefly1957]

Neighbor has found some morels said they are very small yet.

[flydoc]

Hey 44man, don't despair. I have see that happen here. A few years in a row a spot will be "mushroom heaven" then the next year-nothing. I think you are right, the nutrients or climate in that spot just isn't right for a while. Our season here is over , mostly because it got way too wet. We set a record on rainfall here in April, with big flooding down by the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. When a spot quits producing look in a 50 yrd circumference around it and you may find where the spores landed. Good luck

[krag35]

I cut them off at the ground with a knife. Best places I have found are on a north slope on an edge of a clear cut, around Red fir trees. Calf brain mushrooms, I look for clear cuts or burns, right at the edge of the snow line. Shaggy Manes, drive gravel roads drink beer :-)

[44man]

OK, I got it! I am going to torch the whole woods! :drinks:
357, thank you for being an expert, you are 100% correct. :lol:

[Boz330]

The best year I ever had was when we had a 10" late snow at the end of March. Unusual for KY. Every morning while turkey hunting I gave up on the turkeys and filled my head net with Morels, literally packed the freezer with them, not to mention eating about 3 meals a day for a month. Those same areas never yielded that many again, but always had some. Then that wood lot was sold and the new owner dozed it off for cattle. I searched surrounding wood lots but never found any after that. I haven't had any Morels in years now. Man I miss them.

Bob

[troy_mclure]

boz330, thats what my dad said he did this year. too wet for the birds, but perfect for the shrooms.

[Iowa Fox]

I slipped out for a while yesterday for the first time this year in east central Iowa. It has been horribly cold here the last couple of weeks. I have one spot that has yielded bags upon bags for over 30 years. Last year I found exactly 2 mushrooms in that area all season. My first trip out yesterday I was skunked. We have had record setting rainfalls here the last three years and I think that is a big factor.

I live on the edge of the coralville reservoir so I have thousands of acres of public land to explore. Its always fun to look for shed deer antlers and enjoy the pristine old timbers full of all sorts of wildlife. The deer trails around here are like highways which all seem to lead straight to my garden.

I have never spotted any cougar tracks as I'm always looking for them as we do get a few reported sightings. Sometimes I find a few arrowheads or other artifacts. This is my first spring being retired so I hope I find a few to make the wife happy. I always enjoy just getting out.

[44man]

You will not believe the deer bones I have found. One was a nice little buck. Hair is still spread all over. Rifle hunters that lose deer left and right! :veryconfu I would guess I have found 20 deer so far.
It is the same old stuff, if a deer does not drop, it must have been a miss.

[Boz330]

You will not believe the deer bones I have found. One was a nice little buck. Hair is still spread all over. Rifle hunters that lose deer left and right! :veryconfu I would guess I have found 20 deer so far.
It is the same old stuff, if a deer does not drop, it must have been a miss.

That or they shoot them right at dark and don't go back to follow up. That is a real crime as far as I'm concerned.

Bob

[firefly1957]

44man I also found more deer remains than normal we did have a bad winter though. I noticed that ll bones were gone except largest leg bones that were splintered and crushed but left? Well weathered dropping full of hair was 1 inch around and seven inches long. Lot of hair patches with just those crushed leg bones no skulls,ribs,pelvis, not usual at all.

[44man]

That or they shoot them right at dark and don't go back to follow up. That is a real crime as far as I'm concerned.

Bob
Could be but it is easy to go get a light. A Coleman lantern is a great thing to see blood with.
The worst trend here is the use of magnum rifles, 7mm and .300's. Shots to 100 yards are rare and most are very close. They lose a great deal of deer. I have had to help a neighbor many times. One went a mile with a hole you could stick your head in. No blood at all after 100 yards. I can't convince him to get a 30-30 or a .35.
Anyway, I learned a lot the last few days about shrooms. It has been cool with a little rain but the shrooms have a calender. On a certain date, they just quit! :killingpc

[firefly1957]

Next thursday should be the day to look (May 12th) Wednesday is suposed to hit 80 with a warm rainy night.
44man I do not think it is the large caliber but shot placement that those people need to work on. From what I could see I am not sure if the dead deer were shot it could of been anything that caused the deaths.

[44man]

Next thursday should be the day to look (May 12th) Wednesday is suposed to hit 80 with a warm rainy night.
44man I do not think it is the large caliber but shot placement that those people need to work on. From what I could see I am not sure if the dead deer were shot it could of been anything that caused the deaths.
I would say all were shot. I tracked blood for a lot of them in the snow. But the places I find them are the same every year, just that distance from where the others hunt.
It really IS the large caliber rifles because the guys are afraid of the recoil and never ever shoot until the season opens.
It still shows the massive damage I see does not assure recovery because most shots are badly placed. Why they think a magnum is needed is because they think even if you hit a hoof, the deer should drop. Replace marksmanship with POWER, with a BIG "P".
We understand here but the average hunter could not hit a deer with a grenade! :veryconfu I heard one of those cannons go off 5 fast shots--time to reload and 2 more and I said OH, OH, how many will I find this time? :confused:
The reason they lose deer in the snow is because they don't drop so they think they missed, after all it is a magnum.

[firefly1957]

44 I do follow your line of thought many people are recoil shy others get "buck fever" no matter what they shoot! I was thinking from my own view point I forget so many people to not shoot enough to know their gun.
I remember sitting in my blind last year and hearing 4 very loud shots followed by about eleven pistol shots! I am sure it was at least a mile away still to close for me. I wonder what was going on over there but probably do not want to know.

[44man]

I have a friend that makes me laugh every time he comes to hunt. Buck fever with capital B! [smilie=1:
He never hits a deer, never lost one either. I heard him shoot one day and asked where the deer was standing. I found where she ripped the ground, no blood, no hair so I looked around and found a boolit hole in a tree 10' from the deer.
I thought enough exposure to deer would calm him down---nope.
Now he shoots all the time and is really a decent shot. I put up a deer target and he will poke the bulls eye out.
I can't help him, he just falls apart.
I wonder how many more are like him?

[firefly1957]

I wonder the same about people and how they act/react me and a friend were camped in the U.P. and my labs hair ALL EVEN HIS FEET went up and he let out the scariest growl I have heard from a dog Just as a good sized branch broke twenty feet into the woods. My friend froze I pull model 29 out of holster and turned to the woods and he still could not move it seemed like it took several minutes it was at least one minute before he was able to unholster his pistol. I have never seen him do that again but he did that night. We assume it was a bear it stalked around camp for four hours that night we did get very little sleep. Next morning we only found one bear track and the branch that broke was laying on ground were it was stepped on it was over a inch in diameter. IT is strange how people act to stimulus especially of fear.

Found one moral today I left it alone it was less than two inches tall.

[quilbilly]

Out here in the Puget Sound area the only place you find morels in numbers is under cottonwoods and it was a good season. East of the Cascade Mtns the best morel picking is after forest fires in the burned areas but only lasts 3-4 years before numbers go down.
I never seem to get to them before the maggots do so I stick with the fall shrooms like chantarelles, boletes, and rusulas. The Olympic Pen is heaven for shrooming in October.

[44man]

Bugs like morels and I just clean them out. No big deal.
Once when I was a kid---holy smokes, was that possible? :bigsmyl2:
I bought a Mounds bar, ate half and bit the other side in half. It was good but I happened to look at the piece left and it was not coconut, it was all wiggling! [smilie=l: Good protein fix for the day.

[gew98]

In my part of KY Morel mushrooms have been Out of season about two weeks. I don't eat them and could'nt tell you one from the next. But a buddy I worked with now retired came over and we walked my woods with him looking for them. Didn't find a single shroom , but boy the old fella sure found some ginseng though !.

[gew98]

Bugs like morels and I just clean them out. No big deal.
Once when I was a kid---holy smokes, was that possible? :bigsmyl2:
I bought a Mounds bar, ate half and bit the other side in half. It was good but I happened to look at the piece left and it was not coconut, it was all wiggling! [smilie=l: Good protein fix for the day.

I think in my area the damn turkeys are eating the shrooms from what I have seen. I put out 50'lbs of sheleld corn in PVC feeders every two weeks and the dang buggers eat it like they are starved !. The jake in my back yard can move 5lb rocks I put under the feeder to slow down the corn pour like nothing. The old gobbler ( his beard touches the ground ) does not seem so energetic , but neither one nore the hens get in range when turkey season hits... though I have to cop to farkin up as I had the jake dead to rights at 15 feet and like a ******* had unloaded my 870 the night before and forgot I did that. So he and I heard the click and he walked off at a trot. You ever have one of those moments ?.

[firefly1957]

Turkeys deer and squirrels all eat morels.

The morels are coming up today here in Harrison Michigan they are still on the small side.

[troy_mclure]

my dad just got up to the pigeon river country state forest in mi. for a 4 day morel hunt.

[44man]

Looking for morals is like looking for gold! :drinks:
Spotting one puts a skip in the heart. But nature teases us big time. That shroom was designed to drive us nuts.

[bslim]

A good spot to start looking for Morrels would be an area that was burned over, forest fire etc. I have one spot that only produces once every 3 or 4 years and it has to be a wet spring and a warm sunny day. I start looking for them as soon as I can see the leaves budding out on the trees.