Morel Mushrooms

[Gare]

I could use some help please. Does anyone have any hints on hunting Morel mushrooms and the GPS coordinates would be nice also

 

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[relic nut]

It's early for them here, but we find them mostly around old apple trees and on the edge of woods were it stays moist. We also find them around poplar trees.
Good eating for sure. I like them fried in eggs.

 

[relic nut]

The mountains around here offer a lot of goodies in the spring
Fried mushrooms, wild ramps fried with potatoes, and Brook trout for the main course. Yum, Yum!!! Making my mouth water just thinking about it. I love spring!

 

[Tpmetal]

They are hard to spot even if your in the right areas. I get down close to the ground and look carefully around then walk 10 feet and do the same. Be sure to have a proper id before you start munching any mushrooms.

 

[worldtalker]

The mountains around here offer a lot of goodies in the spring
Fried mushrooms, wild ramps fried with potatoes, and Brook trout for the main course. Yum, Yum!!! Making my mouth water just thinking about it. I love spring!

Not many people know what ramps are.

 

[Tpmetal]

Not many people know what ramps are.

I have sooooooo many wild ramps on my land it's ridiculous. It is a sea of green in the spring. I'll have to take some photos when they pop up. I've been trying to figure out a way to sell them to NYC or something. Anyone need like 2,000 lbs of ramps every spring?

 

[worldtalker]

I have sooooooo many wild ramps on my land it's ridiculous. It is a sea of green in the spring. I'll have to take some photos when they pop up. I've been trying to figure out a way to sell them to NYC or something. Anyone need like 2,000 lbs of ramps every spring?

When I lived on Cosby Tenn. they would have a ramp festival and close the schools down..the reeking smell don't you know.

 

[nagant]

look for cars parked along rural roads and people with plastic bags hanging out of their pockets Really around here timing is big but dying trees with the bark just coming loose are great spots. When they first come up south facing hills will be better.

 

[Slingshot]

The Morels around here tend to be around older elm trees.

 

[relic nut]

We go on a ramp digging trip every spring.
I come home fat.

 

[releventchair]

I could use some help please. Does anyone have any hints on hunting Morel mushrooms and the GPS coordinates would be nice also

When some one asks where ,I give directions to a certain big hill. Go in if gate is open .... ( It is a landfill.)

Black morels are earliest by me. Starting out raisin sized around the last spring frost. Smokies describes the first of appreciable size ,and larger later ones more black.
Very different habitat than the late season big footed white morels ( more orange in color).

There is an overlap ,where " greys" hint of whites to come ,and the blacks are oversized ( for blacks anyways) and more are degrading than appearing fresh.

We are picking fruit. From an underground growing mycelium.....That mycelium matters the most to would be pickers.
Where ,why,when,it becomes established for what specie ,and when/ if it bears fruit......

My best sites for blacks over the decades has been poplar tree jungles. Fence post diameter and bigger trees ,thick canopy ( in summer , squirrel ear sized leaves around first morel sightings) rich dark loam . Few oak leaves . ( though blacks have been picked in scrub oaks near hot spots from windblown spores).
Mounds from old decayed trees. About two year old slipped bark on downed poplars.
Elm blight killed them off ( elms) but slipped bark on them could be hot spots.

White morels like a bit more sun ,but use shade too. A different game and they can be spotted from ridiculous distances.
Bugs are out ,poison ivy powered up by then. Big squeeky when you cut them mushrooms....

Soil temps matter much. Again , we are picking fruit.
An onion bag allows a few spores to fall off our finds and keeps mushrooms aired well so not to induce spoilage.
Mushroom finding/ tracking from Southern U.S. to Northern can be noted on line as the season progresses.
Once your area is close ,get looking.

Give yourself time. And training your eyes. They can feel shot after a short period of time ,because they are not used to the work/ background mosaic

Lean against a tree. ( Look out for ticks and poison ivy!)
Now dissect the ground without moving your head. All kinds of shapes,textures,colors, flats, a leaf with a bump under it to flip off ,( ohh look a baby fiddle head fern!) a little red bug ,a snail ,bird turd ,ect,ect.
After checking around your feet raise your vision to the next " grid", repeat to 10- 15 feet.
Chase with your eyes along and under that downed log with the last years bark slip...The moss on that used to be stump. That darker shade under that clump of whatever

Till your eyes are trained...it may take a couple visits to not have them slip into single dimension siting.
If you are moving/ walking and not dissecting the minutia in your site ,you are missing what is there. Better to only cover 10 square feet ,than 10 square milesuntil you know what todays morels look like.

It may differ for others. My worst hunting is when my shadow interferes.
My best hunts are in a light rain ,after leaves are flattened.
Such conditions led to about twenty pounds of blacks in two days hunts once upon a time for me.

 

[tigerbeetle]

A thought: In morel areas of NJ, they're known as a "Mother's Day Mushroom" timeframe-wise. I have managed to spur growth, i.e. introduce mushrooms in areas ripe for growing. https://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/growing-morel-mushrooms.html.

 

[releventchair]

Did you cover that ten square feet with your eyes? Now move your head six inches and the entire view changes.
Move a couple feet and scour for morels. A few pores peeking out from under a leaf ,a tip of a cone from almost bebind a tree trunk ,or under a log just off the ground. A shape in the top of a downed tree.

One day they may be tree trunk at the base related. Another day they may be in the downwind leaf drop of a chokecherry tree.
Another day around the drip edge of big white pines. Another day in the shade of briers in an open canopy area. Or mixed throughout.

Look behind you before and after moving. Don't expect a whole mushroom. Look for the days color and texture.
You might feel like you are catching on when you find one somebody stepped on ,until you or some one else finds one you stepped on....
Found one? Expect another,and find it. Don't move towards it until you dissect everything between you and it and around it.
Spotting a half dozen more happens ,and keeping track of them while looking for more can get interesting...
Cut ,or carefully pinch stem off just above ground level. We are trying not to damage more than the fruit Ease the shroom into your onion bag and cover the cut stem with a leaf. ( Cut stems are easy to spot and risk others finding your spot).
Now start scanning again. Odd mushrooms happen ,but where there is one there is more theory helps searching what is near better, before stepping on another one.

When your eyes go to one dimension vision ,take a break. It can take a week of short hunts to get them dialed in.
Getting out before morels are up can help with eye conditioning ,and patience.

When you get real good ,a mushroom stick comes in. Lift that bulged leaf...another young shoot from something. Now put the leaf back how it was with the stick.
Tread light ,don't leave sign for others to see you been around. No litter.
Have a ready answer to if you are finding any. ( Is bag in sight?) My favorite answer is " big flood ,mushrooms drowned".
Have an excuse to be there if no bag is in view if you don't want to be seen as mushroomin. (You can hide a small onion bag of morels under your oversized shirt or jacket, earth toned of course if feeling competitive.)

Have a compass , know how to use it and mark your point of return before starting.
All my years of hunting game animals ,and nothing gets me turned around like hunting morels. (!).

 

[Gare]

How come NO ONE has given any GPS Coordinates ??

 

[Tpmetal]

How come NO ONE has given any GPS Coordinates ??

mushrooms can be a lucrative gather. anyone who has good spots likely wont give them up, just like ginseng spots, or metal detecting spots and so forth. These spots travel as well, a good spot one year may not be the best next year. Do some research on the habitat and such, join a mushroom club, and find your own patch, it is rewarding and eventually you will learn what to look for.

 

[worldtalker]

mushrooms can be a lucrative gather, anyone who has good spots likely wont give them up. These spots travel as well, a good spot one year may not be the best next year. Also just like ginseng spots, or metal detecting spots and so forth. Do some research on the habitat and such, join a mushroom club, and find your own patch, it is rewarding and eventually you will learn what to look for.

Closely guarded secrets.

 

[releventchair]

How come NO ONE has given any GPS Coordinates ??

Never!!!!

 

[relic nut]

I'll take you, but you'll have to be "Bradshaw'd"

 

[Duckshot]

I could use some help please. Does anyone have any hints on hunting Morel mushrooms and the GPS coordinates would be nice also

What do you want Go Pound Sand coordinates for?

Look for areas with brown dirt and moss. The morel don't like black, rich soil. Also I check around under any may apples i can find.Brushy areas are better than old hardwood woods. Look along the transition from hardwoods to meadow.

 

[Gare]

ok ik will bite what is "Bradshaw'd" ?