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.
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.
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