Morel Mushrooms -

[stevebell]

Is there anyone in the upper Midwest (Minnesota or Wisconsin) that goes Morel hunting in the spring? This is something I would like to learn and I have never gone. Guess I'm thinking "SPRING" as I sit here and watch the snow blow across the window during this Blizzard that is happening here in Minnesota. I would rather think "spring" then go outside and clean up the snow.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by stevebell

Is there anyone in the upper Midwest (Minnesota or Wisconsin) that goes Morel hunting in the spring? This is something I would like to learn and I have never gone. Guess I'm thinking "SPRING" as I sit here and watch the snow blow across the window during this Blizzard that is happening here in Minnesota. I would rather think "spring" then go outside and clean up the snow.

Hi Steve
I'm thinking about spring too. its not cold here at our place, its 16F. There's a
little breeze however, wind out of the NW at a sustained 32MPH with gusts to 56MPH. Sounds like a freight train running through the yard. The Czech word for mushroom is houby. I've been hunting the morels for about 60 years. They come on about late April in southern Iowa and they continue to pop up for about a month progressing northward and the last of them are usually found in late May in the top tier of counties. We will be at the Pikes Peak State Park rally from May 8 through 11, They may be located at that time in that area but if so it will have to be a warm wet spring and the primary location will be on south facing slopes, near the bottom of a hill where there's good light penetration to the soil, If you are there I'd be glad to show you what little i know. Competition is keen especially on public ground. People use a stick to flip through the duff and to turn over slabs of bark that have fallen off of elm trees. There's really not a secret, walk slow, concentrate, get down low and look uphill, and believe you're going to find them. Hope to see you there. Even if you don't find any, the walk in the woods is beautiful, the songs of the warblers like a symphony and your senses heightened for the day. one of the greatest outdoor thrills of the simple houby hunter is "hitting a rug' where hundreds of morels are found in a small area. I've had some good days but never had that thrill. it keeps me looking.
Iowa Dave

[panhead_mike]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Hi Steve
I'm thinking about spring too. its not cold here at our place, its 16F. There's a
little breeze however, wind out of the NW at a sustained 32MPH with gusts to 56MPH. Sounds like a freight train running through the yard. The Czech word for mushroom is houby. I've been hunting the morels for about 60 years. They come on about late April in southern Iowa and they continue to pop up for about a month progressing northward and the last of them are usually found in late May in the top tier of counties. We will be at the Pikes Peak State Park rally from May 8 through 11, They may be located at that time in that area but if so it will have to be a warm wet spring and the primary location will be on south facing slopes, near the bottom of a hill where there's good light penetration to the soil, If you are there I'd be glad to show you what little i know. Competition is keen especially on public ground. People use a stick to flip through the duff and to turn over slabs of bark that have fallen off of elm trees. There's really not a secret, walk slow, concentrate, get down low and look uphill, and believe you're going to find them. Hope to see you there. Even if you don't find any, the walk in the woods is beautiful, the songs of the warblers like a symphony and your senses heightened for the day. one of the greatest outdoor thrills of the simple houby hunter is "hitting a rug' where hundreds of morels are found in a small area. I've had some good days but never had that thrill. it keeps me looking.
Iowa Dave

Geeze Dave, you paint a rather nice picture. I "almost" want to head for Iowa myself lol
Temps here are as they have been all winter...cold! No real snow around. but a consistent 2-10C or (28-14F)... below of course. Wayyyy too early for the beach.

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Mike
Your screen name reminded me of a very good park foreman named Ray who worked for me. He was a Harley guy and had a mid 50s panhead. On an inspection with a new Director one time, we went to the Ray’s shop in the middle of winter. He was out plowing snow and when we opened the door to his office there was his Harley completely torn apart on the floor, on his desk, on benches, pieces were even on top of the refrigerator. Ray lived on site and was overhauling the Harley in the late afternoon, after supper and on the weekend. It did not bother me but my new boss went nuts. Have it all out of here in a week he said. I called Ray and he understood. A week later we re-inspected. Ray had one parking stall in the main shop area. At the back of it were two tarped items. The director pulled the tarp back and there sat the Panhead Harley, reassembled and gleaming. Under the other was a rebuilt Corvette smallblock on an engine stand. He just looked at me and shook his head. Never asked another question about Ray. Those Morels grow in areas all over North America as I understand it but I’ve never looked for them anywhere but Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.
Iowa Dave

[Wayne Collins]

We have found morels when we were not looking for them.
Canoeing on a creek, we went upstream as far as we could. watching the wildlife.
Found a place to pull out for lunch. Our son the explorer went up the hill, and found a patch loaded with morels!!!!! All we had to carry some home in was the bread bag we had our sandwiches in. '

Anyway, it seems that where to find them is a well kept secret, by them that find them.

[Paul O.]

You are a very generous guy, Dave! I grew up Czech, and remember that the serious houby hunters would never reveal the best locations and their hunting secrets. I was never good at it, always too distracted to find anything. I do agree that just walking through the woods, looking and listening, is the best for our well being.

On our trip to Newfoundland, I found some beautiful boletus kind (hriby), but was not sure of their identity. Asking the ranger at the Dildo Run Provincial Park, I was admonished that no picking of anything is allowed. However, he said that a friend of his eats them. Fried with eggs, they were a treat!

[Iowa Dave]

Yes, it’s true that the location of good spots are well protected. As I get older I find great pleasure in sharing what I have learned. My son in law called a few years ago and said he very much wanted to find some morels. I could not go that night but gave him some directions into a public timber about 5 miles from his house. A few hours later he called to say he’d found a few using my directions. I got great pleasure from that. Putting my kids, and grandkid on fish or game gives me the same pleasure. I never picked a hen of the woods off of a coniferous tree base. So like a dummy I left one a couple years ago down near Hickory North Carolina. Then I some nice fall mushrooms a couple years later in a squirrel timber but took a picture and showed my horticulturist. She ridiculed me and called me a rookie.
Iowa Dave

[Lisle]

To add to the above directions. I used to find them in the woods in Kansas. You can tell when it's time to go look by putting your hand on the dirt under the leaves. It has to feel warm but not hot. Best time to look is the day after a rain when the round is soft and damp. They don't usually grow under evergreens, though I found an occasional under a cedar tree. Yes to bottom land, maybe along a stream or river, yes to places where the sun can penetrate thru the tree cover into the floor. And in Kansas, it's before the leaves are on the trees, really. Since morels are the same color as the leaf duff, you do have to have the right eyes. The first time I found them, an old timer came by and invited us because he had found so many. As long as I stood near him, I could see them. If I got more than a few feet away from him, couldn't see them at all. Maybe they are magic and run away giggling? In any case, when your eyes are right and you're in the right place at the right time, there they are! And worth it!!! Good luck.

[CindyL]

When the spring wind blows, I get the itch to hunt mushrooms like I did as a kid every year in Iowa. There is a Morel Mushroom Festival in Harrison, MI every year that we attended while camping at with fellow fiberglassrvers. It snowed, but I was able to at least buy some that came from Ohio.

CindyL

[Iowa Dave]

I forgot to mention that two indicators of the arrival of morel weather are the early blooms on lilac bushes and secondly and more poetic “when the while oak leaf is the size of a Fox squirrel’s ear.” It’s time to hunt houby. Start with south facing slopes and full sun in the next couple of weeks work west facing and then east facing slopes. Finally north facing slopes in forested areas. Again, dead and dying American Elm trees or red elms if there are any left in your area. They say areas of forest burns are good. I’ve never checked them. I’ve found them under Apple trees though.
Iowa Dave

[Kenton]

Iowa Dave, morels do not grow here. And most of what does has deadly lookalikes. I'm not interested in finding out what a liver transplant is like so I just look at the wild ones when I come across them. I've only found a few that may or may not have been edible but did not try them. I do have King Stropharia AKA Wine caps growing in the yard but I started them so I know they are safe.

We grow our own, here is what is ripening at the moment. 3 Lions mane bags that are almost ready to pick. 2 golden oysters bags that should start to flush any day now and 2 hen of the woods that will take a few more weeks before they take off. We have bags of all three stored in the freezer. But no morels, one day I hope to go somewhere where they grow and see if can find some.