When is morel mushrooms season

Then BAMM! Freeze warning for a couple days in a row, add snow in there for a couple days in that week and it went to hell. It really did depend on where you were geographically, and if the morels were able to rebound.

Seemed as though those folks in the northern Midwest states needed a few good timely rains in their prime time. There really were not too many complaints. Morels in the Various Regions in the US. You must be logged in to post a comment. Toggle navigation. The Morel Mushroom Season Summary As the season came to a close, it was certainly filled with mixed results for many morel hunters across the U. A better way to tell when it is morel season is to read the forest. Here are a few indicator plants I reference to time my morel hunts.

Morels grow in rich upland forests where they share a symbiotic relationship with certain trees. The morels colonize the root system of some trees, and provide increased nutrient and water absorption for the trees. In return, the trees provide the morels with carbohydrates produced from photosynthesis. The following trees are all good choices to look around for morels: tulip trees Liriodendron tulipifera.

Soil temperature and moisture are all important for a good morel season. When soil temperatures reach 50 degrees F with sufficient rainfall, morels will start to grow. A sudden cold snap will only retard their growth, but a dry spell will mark the end of additional morel growth. I start looking on south facing slopes first.

North facing slopes will produce morels later. Finding morels takes a trained eye. When you get to the woods, especially when you get close to the creek or floodplain where you plan to search, slow down.

Morels are really difficult to spot, especially until you find that first one and get your eyeballs dialed in. My personal favorite tree species are tulip poplar and boxelder a maple species — I have found morels at the base of both of these tree species.

The indicator species I personally look for in a potential morel producing spot include May apples nearby, painted buckeye blooming, and fiddleheads emerging. You have to try to observe the forest floor in a manner where you take in as much detail as possible. Look at individual sweetgum balls, twigs, leaves, tulip poplar and maple samaras. Survey your surroundings slowly and systematically. Another way to do this, if the creek is nearby, is to get down into the creek bed so your eyes are roughly at ground level, and search the banks and floodplain, looking for anything poking up.

More often than not, as soon you find one you will see several others become glaringly obvious. Before you move, remain calm and mentally mark their locations very carefully, because as soon as you move to harvest one, you can easily lose the position of the others you saw! Finally, when you pick one, note that both the stem and the cap of are completely hollow — this is an identifying characteristic.

Their flavor is unsurpassed.