Morels 2012

[mass]

YAY! I LOVE this time of year.
Found the first morels of the season today. Just babies, but found 14 total. A good sign of things to come in the next 4-6 weeks.

 

[carnivoure12]

To a successful morel season!

 

[mass]

AND MANY MORE!!

 

[Peatmoss]

I love morels. I got some that were knocked over by stray hikers once, otherwise, collecting them here is illegal.

Do you fry them in butter?

 

[mass]

I love morels. I got some that were knocked over by stray hikers once, otherwise, collecting them here is illegal.

Do you fry them in butter?

WHAT!?!?
They're illegal to collect? I've never heard of such a thing. Canadian burn sites (forest fire areas from a year ago) are the #1 place to get morels in MASS quantities. That's where the corporations go to fund their morel supplies.

I pan fry in butter, then add them to my steak.

 

[Peatmoss]

Yeah, all the places they grow locally are protected, therefore, illegal to collect. I have only seen three or four while out and about in the woods.

We have a horrible deer problem here due to the absence of large predators and those wreak havoc on the local echosystem.

 

[mass]

Oh oh oh.. I see. So it's not illegal to collect morels. It's just illegal to remove anything from protected land. As it should be.
I hunt mostly state land. Which is protected from logging and what not, but is open to hunting during the proper seasons.

 

[mass]

 

[Dexenthes]

Very nice. I'm not much into mushrooms but it's interesting that these grow in the spring. I'm accustomed to most fungi doing their thang in the fall time.

 

[sarracenia_X]

when do these little guys tend to sprout in maryland? do they all come up about now, like everywhere, or is it different morel seasons for different areas?

 

[cpsammich]

How do you know when they're ready?
We had some in the backyard last year but they got all grody before we collected any

 

[mass]

How do you know when they're ready?
We had some in the backyard last year but they got all grody before we collected any

When you find them, they're ready.

when do these little guys tend to sprout in maryland? do they all come up about now, like everywhere, or is it different morel seasons for different areas?

They are in full swing when the temps are 60*F days (min.) and 60*F nights (min.).
The black morels come out first with the first signs of spring.
The grays/blondes come when it's officially spring with warmer nights.
The giants come for about a week when the temps start reaching 80*s. At which point, the season is over.
All in all, we see about 4-6 weeks of morels here in Michigan from April to May.

 

[mass]

Feel free to post your own finds from this year.
Sorry for the iPhone pics. Forgot the camera..

Arrived in the woods this afternoon to find 3 strangers looking for morels in our spot.
They hadn't found a single one.
We wished them luck, walked over a hill.. and found these all clumped together.
Just waiting for us.

 

[lance]

Nice! They look interesting!

 

[corky]

they apparently taste even better

 

[Kinjie]

Never had one but love mushrooms and they look fantastic. Oregon is suppose to have good mushroom hunting too.

 

[MICKEY]

lots of mushrooms here if you know what to pick

 

[mass]

Mickey is right. Tons of mushrooms up in your guys' area.

And morels are the best tasting mushroom on Earth!

 

[mass]

Time for another update..

4yr. old Aiden found his first morel today!

 

[mass]

Grays are gone.. onto the whites. Picked about a pound today!

Really surprised to see the Trilliums in bloom already.

I see two..