Ask Morel Doctor Message Archives

Nicole; I have had years when I picked fire morels all summer long, August & September were the best but a few morels were picked in October. Once the morning wake-up temperatures got down to 20°F or about 44°C I could only find a few in one micro clime, there were probably other good micro climes flushing but I was only researching the one. ….. In the fall almost everyone is busy chasing chanterelles and matsutake but fire morels do not follow the seasons like the other fungi mentioned. They often flush as long as six months, but you’ve gotta go looking. Don’t depend upon someone saying it is over because some burns haven’t heard a fat lady singing.

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Hey everyone, I'm looking into following the flush. Either pines, morels, or whatever really. I don't know too too much about picking mushrooms. I love being in the bush, and I have picked quite a bit bit... In Terrace when it was really worth it for pines. I live on Vancouver island and picked a lot of chantrelles last season, I'm looking to join someone, or a group, and really get into it this year. Can someone point me in the right direction on where to find someone who might be looking for a picking partner, or a few people looking for some extra help. I love sleeping outside and I don't mind the rain. Looking to make some money, but not afraid to work my ass off for a few months, and travel around a bit. I have a travel trailer as well as a tent, and a good bush truck. Not to mention I'm a great cook. Let me know ally_boop@hotmail.com

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Nicole; I would focus on micro climes, areas that have unusual features when compared with the rest. North facing slopes are usually more moist than the sunny ares. Areas of thick trees with lots of fallen timber may also be better in a dry year.

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manley desjarlais; Be sure to read the information above each of the 48 photos in the gallery; http://matsiman.com/md_web/morel_doctor_photo_gallery.htm They will help you in your search for edible fungi. For other types of mushrooms you need to obtain a book and never eat something you are not sure about. I recommend the field guide by David Arora titled, "All That The Rain Promises and More". Many book stores carry it and it is about Western mushrooms.

Also even if a mushroom is edible for someone else it does not mean that it is edible for your family. Try a small piece of any mushroom that anyone tells you is edible and spit it out, then wait for a half hour to see if it upsets the stomach. When you cook a known edible mushroom for the first time only eat a little bit and then wait to see if it is compatible with your stomach. Some people are allergic even to the type of mushrooms purchased at the store.

One more thing, some people react violently to morel mushrooms if they drink alcohol at the same time, be cautious. Some of the photos of morel mushrooms were taken down by the river south of Omak, be real cautious of the poisonous ones like the Verpas.

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Hi Me and my family live in Mission and we are going camping for a few days. I would like to take kids out and show them how to pick different types of mushroom. Is anyone out there able to give me info on any kind of mushroom picking in the okanagan area or any southern BC area ? Or is it to dry.

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hi Lobo ...hope this finds you feeling good and making progress on your recovery. I am going to head up to a fire area next week and try my luck . Rumours abound but the only way to find out is to go and walk it and see. Its the same as Matsutake , you can't eat rumours and hearsay. On the eating of morels I love them and always cook them well . If I eat too many like anything it can give me stomach issues. Patty has taken to soaking them in salt water for an hour or two before cooking and then rinsing really well before throwing in the frypan. She read where the soaking them in a little bit of salted water can break down the enzymes in morels that can cause stomach issues .. I haven't googled this to confirm but she did I will assume.

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tom907; I do have experience with Alaskan mosquitoes even though I did not hunt morels when I was in the Fairbanks area. Down here the female skeeters start hunting blood at the same time as fire morels began flushing, therefore if you are getting bit I would suggest that it is probably time for hunting.

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I haven't picked morels in Alaska but I have observed the transition of morel growth from Southern California to Oregon and then up to Northern Washington. The time lapse may be similar from Washington up to Alaska as the soil temperature warms up little by little. There may be micro climes that could be producing now but looking for them could be a waste of fuel or leg strength. Also watch for 2nd year morel growth and re-prod burns.

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tom907; On May 15 @ 1:06 pm on the Buyer Picker board I posted this message prediction for NWT and I would venture it may be about the same for Fairbanks area; Morels are just starting to come on in marketable volume in central Washington State. The main flush may be in a couple weeks and as far away as one month in NWT this year. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=877330542306050&set=a.431522440220198.94715.100000873380585&type=1 ............... You may have indicator plants like are shown on the http://matsiman.com/md_web/morel_doctor_photo_gallery.htm

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Lobo, thanks for the comments and especially the stories about people getting sick from undercooked true morels. I had often wondered how that happened but the description of only the breading/batter getting cooked while the morel didn't makes sense. I've always cooked them without any kind of coating and very thoroughly (as with all varieties I eat) since almost all mushrooms are tough and difficult to ruin by overcooking. No sense taking chances! I think your assessment of the article author trying to appear more knowledgable than they actually are is probably accurate. In any case I'm sure they are figuring better to err on the side of caution.

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JC; The article is a little bit confusing and possibly written by someone wishful of appearing more knowing than they are, that happens with news media.

I am aware that people do eat false morels and say that they are safe, some pop the tops off verpas and cook them. Some say they are safe after par-boiling twice or three times. Some deaths are attributed to breathing vapors of cooking gyro's; as are explosions from cooking over flames. Personally I shall advise that no type of false morel, verpa, gyro or whatever be consumed.

I know of people getting very ill from consuming true morels and advise caution with them also. One gentleman got horrendously ill in Cave Junction Oregon with much vomiting from eating just a little bit of white morels while the rest of us were fine.

He now lives up near Portland and has consumed black naturals from the east side Hood just fine with no problem. I believe the problem was in the cooking time; in CJ his wife only cooked the white morels until egg coating was done. In Portland I cooked them first and then coated and cooked with the egg wash; his current wife had never tasted morels but they were both just fine. I got ill from eating a whole 12" skillet full of baby black naturals while reading a book, just popping them in my mouth one at a time until they were all gone, oops. Another time on a ranch in Eastern Oregon I provided blond fire morels at a dinner. The lady only fried them until the egg was done. I and another guest got ill.

Some people are allergic to the little mushrooms called buttons in the market place, some to morels, some to morels consumed with alcohol, it I wise to use caution when consuming wild mushrooms. I love eating morels especially olive fire morels.

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Lobo, thanks for the link and info. This is an interesting topic. For the people you mentioned who were inadvertently poisoned, are you sure verpas were the cause or could it have been one of the gyromitra species? There is quite a bit of debate about toxicity of verpas (though none about gyromitras, which are recognized as dangerous at best.) The article you linked to showed a photo of and mentioned verpas, but it appears the poisonings were actually caused by gyromitra spp. See this thread: http://cascademyco.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=873&sid=5203d276e2d945c67aa338a2dfa39ac9 In particular check out the most recent posts by user 'maxfun' on page 2. The bottom line conclusion is more study is needed, but it calls the commonly held wisdom about verpa toxicity into question.

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Yikes, that is awful! Coming from an area where "picking mushrooms" gets you some pretty crazy looks/comments.. If I inadvertently poisoned one of my friends or family in my attempt to show off how great they are, I'm pretty sure no one would give me a second chance or forgive me lol. I've always thought morels were the easiest to identify but I can see if you were in a great patch how inadvertently picking a verpa could happen.

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Mixing mushrooms can be hazardous to the health. I knew a lady in Oregon who got deathly ill from consuming verpas. Her husband and a friend had been picking morels up on Mount Emily and apparently did not realize that a verpa had been picked. She did not know that there was a difference and cooked them all up together... She apparently ate more verpa than they did; liver transplant in Portland and bad health forever or even death can be expected for some who consume mushrooms they are not familiar with.

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Yeesh how can you mistake a gyromitra or a verpa with a morel! A minuscule amount of research will show some obvious differences.. unless old or bug eaten morels wont look like brains for one lol. Every single forager I know has a strict "if in doubt throw it out" policy! Mushrooms can so easily absorb toxins, even if I think one looks suspicious it gets tossed. I've read of too many people accidently poisoning themselves by simply carrying inkies in the same basket as boletes..

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JC; Thank You, I am glad you put the information to good use. I get lots of thanks in private Emails but it is nice to get it publicly. If you have questions that you do not want published send it to me at yahoo, moreldoctor.

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Lobo, many thanks for sharing your work, especially the indicator species. Though I'm a fairly experienced non-commercial hunter, I just had my most successful 2 days of hunting ever by following your advice. Looking forward to more as you and Andy have a chance to continue building up the site.

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Some words of caution with regard to selling in the Boise area marketplace if anyone tries to fool you with saying that they are the only one authorized to sell in the area and that you will get fined by the State if you do so.

I had been selling in Boise for several years when someone who allegedly had an MBA in mycology from a Michigan University moved to the area, he was repairing automobiles to sell and desired to get into mushroom sales; [here after referred to as MBA]. He began obtaining left over’s and Agaricus thrown out for hog feed from mushroom growers, sorting them and then competing in selling for less at local businesses.

One day he was in the Boise CoOp store and saw my mushroom brochure stuck on the wall above the produce manager’s desk; it had color photos of various wild mushrooms including morels that I sold in season. He called me and asked where I obtained my morels; because he said that he thought they only grew back where he came from.

He asked for me to sell morels to him and then he would sell them to stores and restaurants in Boise; but that he had no interest in any markets outside of Boise. Because I was doing market research I sold a few Montana greys to him so that I could see what transpired.

When the produce manager at the CoOp retired, MBA started a campaign of telling my customers that because he had a mycology degree, the State had made him inspector in charge and all wild mushrooms must be purchased through him or their business would get fined.

I went to the State Department of Agriculture Doctor in charge of such things and he said that MBA had tried to get himself crowned [mushroom king] but that it was not to be. He gave me a letter stating that there was no such law and that anyone claiming that there was [was a liar], I also had a voice mail from them stating the same basic message.

I took the information to the new CoOp produce manager but she would not believe me; liars are very good at convincing gullible people; about ½ of my Boise clientele were lost due to MBA’s lies. I still had my customers in Hailey, Ketchum & Sun Valley but soon MBA was spreading the same nefarious trash there also.

As one of my loyal customers told me; “We don’t believe him or his made up laws, over here”. I also dealt in huckleberries and chanterelles from the Oregon coast and had them air freighted to me while I was tied up with Idaho late season morels.

Soon MBA was undercutting me with my supplier [all he needed to do was pay someone & read the shipping label] soon he was attempting to corner all of my markets for those products also.

There is more to how the supplier and MBA connected but that is research saved for my book. Fast forward a few years when MBA allegedly sold the business and traveled the country.

The new owner was even more cutthroat in his dealings. Eagle City Market was a good mistletoe customer at Christmas time purchasing hundreds of dollars worth from me; the manager told me that they were not happy with quality of morels they had been getting that year and would I be their supplier the next spring.

When I brought in the ordered morels in spring I was told that they had been told by the ‘nefarious supplier’ that two restaurants had been fined $500.00 each for purchasing morels from an independent picker, so they bought inferior morels again from him.

Again I went to the State and again they said that the supplier had lied and no one had been fined. I was able to sell morels to the Eagle City Market but much of the Boise customer base was tainted again by a slick tongued liar who spread his new story of State fines to the gullible people who do not take time for due diligence of themselves.

That concluded my Boise area research on the marketing of wild mushrooms; if anyone hears about any State law changes since then, I suggest that they check with the appropriate Department of Agriculture to be sure it is not lies spread by someone wishing to control the market for themselves.

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mushie jack, using temps might be difficult. Like masti, micro sites (small areas) are hard to determine from air temps and are sometimes important in determining fruiting possibility.

I found this link on the Mushroom Appreciation pages, http://www.gorsky.com/~pdilley/Grow_Morel_Mushrooms/Online_instructions.html There are temps there that might give you an idea. I really don't think they will help much, but at least it's something.

I cultivated mushrooms in a lab for a year, not morels, and found fruiting occurred 65 to 70 F was fruiting temps for most species. Temps prior to fruiting are also important. Use the daily mean (average) to determine what soil temps might be at mycelia depth.

As I said, doubt if it will work. Would probably take several years in several areas to come up with something useful. It's a mushroom, it does what it wants!

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That could be a lot of wasted petrol by lots of hopeful foragers. May be time soon to check last years best areas. Yes I agree with you and would watch the weather and temps for an area from a distance if I could not be on site. I just vary rarely would take a soil temp on site if there were indicator plants growing.

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Hi doc just in from one burn the natives say they own it all . the thing about the temps is if a person isa long ways from the burn its a whole lot easier to check the temp than it is to drive there to look at plants. just to have a idea of when its feasible to travel the temp is important

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Thanks to our newest supporter John Cain. Your contribution represents nearly 1/3 of YEARLY web space costs for a new .com for Morel Doctor. Lobo and I appreciate your help. Matsiman

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wild side; I like that one also. I have photo files of so many indicators that there was not room for, like Dog Tooth Violets, Holly Grape. Grass Widows etc. I just included ones that might help newbies with little foraging knowledge find some morels.

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great info. regarding indicator plants. I've always supported the importance of using indicator plants and invertebrates to tell the story. not much to find yet in the Can. Kootenays, little rain has fallen and very few naturals. we also use the showing of petals on the Mountain violet flowers as indicators for morels.

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Joe; It is an 2004 with the in-line 5 cyl that got 27 mpg with all my mining & mushroom gear inside. I don't think that they make 5 cyl anymore just V6 and I hear that they get about 10 mpg less. While I was in the hospital for my stroke my wife had the bed and gear removed because I was expected to remain in a more vegetative state. It still has the cargo separation wall and steel shelving and new 10 ply tires that I purchased just prior to the stroke. I don't really wish to sell but Mrs Lobo says that the payments are killing us and that we could possibly break even if those payments were gone. She says $10,000.00 Gmail.com goldngourmet if interested.

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Lobo, you talk about "Sprinter mushroom home on wheels" Maybe you could post a photo of this rig. I for one, would be interested in seeing it. We are off the grid as of Tuesday night for about the next two months. Sorry you can't share any of our time. Northward Ho!.... It is time....... Might be on from time to time when we come to town to do laundry and shopping.

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Jack; For several years I put thermometer probes 5" & 6" deep into the ground (as many as 6 at a time in a 50' radius) next to flowers, plants & fungi. I found that checking soil temps was a waste of time compared to the soil temperature indicators made by God, they indicate soil composition and what type of mushroom that will most likely flush & when and so much more.

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Hi doc sorry to hear that at least you are able to put your experience to good use. University Of B.C morel study- temps between 40 degree f. low 60 degree f. high ground temp 50 degrees.

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Jack; It would be nice to get up that way, in 1980 I drove the dirt highway north to work on a salmon drift boat out in Cook Inlet and coming back I drove Top of the World dirt to Dawson then the ALCAN back down; there was a forest fire burning from the junction east of Whitehorse almost all the way to Laird River hot springs; petrol stations and lodges on fire or still smoking. I got married 4 years ago and we live in the desert SW for her health, but now with having the stroke I cannot even drive. She says that I gotta sell my Sprinter mushroom home on wheels, I cannot climb into it anyway.

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Jack; Oh how I miss the prospecting for fungi & gold. One spring mushroom that I miss is the Alpine Waxie Cap, yum. Boy with all those orange cups you are most likely salivating for morels.

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a ps to that doc one constant just about everywhere ive noticed seems to be the orange cups thanks again

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Hi doc thanks for that I will be on the lookout for these plants and will photograph any I see. Im setting off in the next couple of days for the season, going to combine fishing, gold prospecting and mushroom picking. Im sure I will have more questions for you when Im back. As always life should be fun.

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Jack; sounds like you've had a full experience hunting fungi in some of the most diverse areas. I've had a few hundred pound days with various fungi but I have only met a few who do it on a consistent basis. I have foraged only a little bit in BC and as far south as SoCal and Arizona. My favorite areas for morels was the Blue Mountains in Oregon and Central Idaho. I no longer watched the soil temps because the plants do so much better of a job indicating what is going on with soil compositon, minerals etc. The plants shown on pages 2, 3, & 4 are only a small representation of the ones in my photo files but there just isn't room to display then all; http://matsiman.com/md_web/photo_gallery/morel_doctor_photo_gallery_2.htm

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hi doc in the great white north here we have many different environmental zones north to south about 800 miles from semi arid desert with cacti to coastel and interior rain forest with cedars and ferns, ponderosa pine grasslands to lodgepole pine, engleman spruce and balsam forests. lowlands with birch and poplar. so the ground cover varies accordingly. But ground temperature seems to be the key as the burns in the south come on earlier and expire sooner. And of course elevation is a big factor. I have only been picking commercially for 15 years but have averaged about 2-3 different burns a year prospecting and picking. I have had the occasional 100 lb day but that is not the norm. But now at 65 the more I learn the more I find I don't know. So therefore my questions. I am wondering how much soil compositon, minerals etc affects things. I thankyou for your insight.

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Jack, I quit watching temps because they are not as reliable as the indicator plants are to tell you if the soil is ready.

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Thanks for that doc im wondering what the ground temp has to be before the first morels come

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mushie jack; In Idaho I’ve photo documented fresh fire morels two different years in micro climes at 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet in October and the morning temperatures were as low as 20° F or -7° C. Conica usually start in May. The snow starts to build usually by mid October but sometimes in September. Lower Oregon burn sites are often a bit warmer. I only know of one state where fire morels come on during the same year as the forest fire and in that case the fire was in early spring; therefore the fire morels flushed about 6 months later. Don’t forget to check where farmers do spring burning; naturals may flush due to warming of the soil, not fire morels. Before my stroke I watched the same pickers still getting up to 100 lbs per day of fire morels in August & September. I was only getting a few pounds but then I could not hike the altitude they were doing or as far.

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hi doc in my neck of the woods winter snow starts in October, but its frosting in September ,and doesn't end until the end of april. we had snow yesterday a bit .the morels will come about the third week of may and only last usually into the first part of july. this is the whole range from naturals to blondes. so our burns only produce the following spring of the fire and sometimes the next year. I guess latitude may make a big difference in the way mushrooms happen. A good picker can usually make 50 - 60 lbs a day from a good burn

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mushie jack; I figured that it takes at least six months following a burn for the fire morels to be good and that late season fires were more productive. But then again things change with elevation, latitude, weather etc. If you have spring burning of ditch or field you might get a flush of what ever variety of naturals that normally grow in the area, due to the warming of the soil. Good luck.

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hey doc im wondering if the time of the summer the burn happens has any effect at all on the production of the morels as ive noticed the later burns don't seem to produce as well but maybe that's just location

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Afternoon All, Lobo and I have been working to get the new page up, but having internet connection problems. We have moved and posted a few new pages in the other galleries.
Morel Doctor Photo Gallery

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Will have a new photo gallery page, with indicators, up late this afternoon or this evening.

Matsiman

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Andy; Tamarack indicator 2 is OK & ready to post, short on time this morning I shall call when I get home after church; about 2:00.

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That is a $64.00 question, whether or not the weather will cooperate with our desires. Conica like water, I have even found them growing in and under water with moss growing on them. But the more or harder the rain the greater the chance for ash splash, I have found conica so covered with ash splash that they looked like fuzzy black morels; not edible.

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New picker BC; Leaving the stem foot in the ground did not seem to affect more first year growth nor the second or third year growth of conica in research areas. I do prefer to hide first stem/feet so other foragers do not stop to look closely. What ever you do don't place the feet in with your clean morels, you cannot clean all of the dirt out of the morel folds. The conica will continue to grow at higher and higher elevation also at the same elevation if you forage on the north side where it was too cold previously. Greys need warmer soil than conica so look for them where the conica was earlier.

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A question regarding cutting the conica and leaving the "dirty foot" in the ground. Does this have anything to do with more conica coming within the same area? I know with pines- if allowed to grow and spore out - the crop finishes- kind of like "dead- heading annual flowers". Also, if conica start at lower levels and is a good crop- then will it continue up to higher levels? Would also like to thank you for sharing your knowledge and pictures, enjoy it very much.

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The wheelchair fits my computer table, the arms on my walker get in the way of arm movement when sitting on it. Mrs Lobo offered a way to use the laptop at my lift chair, I said no because I need the exercise. I use the walker to go check the mail daily, that is about a 325 feet trip and go to the toilet plus other things. I have an exercise bike peddles, not a bike and rope on pulleys for pulling my arm up; it still has a lot to be done as does my whole right side. I thank the Lord daily for progress received & achieved. The head nurse at rehab expected no such progress an told my wife that I was there to learn to accept that I would that I could not recover. About two weeks later I moved my pinky finger just a fraction while Mrs Lobo was holding my hand, what a surprise she had. I had been struggling to move anything on my right side for the two weeks and finally achieved that goal. I have been very blessed with achievements since that day. I walked 609 feet utilizing my cane with the physical therapist holding on to balance me, but my leg gives out when I attempt walking without a cane or walker.

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Not a Mushroom Question...........So I have to ask.... How far away is your computer (via walker) I am hoping that this new sight will give you lots of good therapy, Both from getting to your keyboard, and getting both hands working together...... Keep on trucking' Lobo

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Thanks Daddy; There have been almost 500 visits since my birthday, the repeat questions do not occur so it must be doing the job it was created for.

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Lobo, It is so fantastic that Andy has set this board up for you. You have so much to offer folks and am very happy that you now have this venue to help people.

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...be sure to left click on the arnica photos in photo gallery #2 to be able to read the instructions that go with each stage.

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Cascadia; I remember now the area where you were foraging. It cannot be over yet it is probably just having weather pains. Did you check the arnica growth, I would be surprised if any have flowered yet. Then you can always go up in elevation. The oak areas probably aren't ready yet, they flush later. Be sure to look at the arnica indicator photos.

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Thanks lobo I live and pick on and around Mt Hood I usually spend most of my time for morels east of the mtn

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Cascadia; I cannot recall if you have shared your location; my remember does not always.... It may make a difference to know the general area, for myself or anyone with knowledge on the area. If your area is really good for another mushroom, such as chanterelles..... then I would suspect that the morel mycelia cannot get very established. This happens also when someone wishes to establish a truffle or morel or some other type of orchard, inoculated with the desired fungi. You can establish an area to grow morels but if another mushroom is already in charge of the neighborhood then it will attack and kill many of the new interlopers. It is my opinion that logging activity causes fungal life to go into shock, chanterelles might take years to re-establish their supremacy but in the meantime logging morels might be allowed to flourish.

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Howdy Lobo: I wanted to ask you, I am scouting new areas (lower elevations, my only productive spots are between 2000-4500') and am finding only singles . 2 afternoons out finding 3 each day none in very close proximity to each other Have I missed it or is it still yet to come? Just wondering, I have scanned the areas when I have located morels closely and haven't seen but 1 stump. It has chilled back out up here again For the weekend If you have time, I'd love to know your thoughts. Thank you and be well!

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Matsiman; I doubt that I did research in the burn that you were in if it was near Cave Junction. I have hunted natural morels between in that area and Grants Pass but did not do as well as others and then there is all the poison oak that I do not get along with. If the area you were in was the first to warm then it would be most likely be the first to produce, if an area gets too warm then it possibly would stop producing. Historically the border area of NorCal & Oregon, between the Green Springs and Lakeview was a high production area for naturals but I never researched a burn in that area.

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I am sorry that I cannot give a cut-and-dried scenario of how & when. It changes from year to year and place to place so much, just as soon I thought I had figured out the rules some how the rules had changed. About the only one that stayed constant was Heart Leaf Arnica growth for the first natural blacks, photos coming soon. First fire conica morels about two weeks after that and greys two to four weeks after that, with exceptions as previously noted.

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Well that's no help....LOL Other than the old adage "mushrooms will be mushrooms" I guess we would like it to be a science, But maybe it's a good thing to be kept guessing.... Just waiting to pounce here in B C..... (sorry about the DDoouubbllee Post) And thanks Lobo for the input.

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In some burn sites only a handful or no conica flush, just greys and other sites no greys are seen and often there are no olive’s. I have a photo that will be posted soon where a fresh conica and a fresh grey are growing so close together that you would think that they are growing from the same root. I have photographed two or three greenies in a Blue Mountain Oregon burn site the same day that I was shooting fresh conica & greys. I have photographed fire morels June to October in the same Idaho burn site at 8,000’ feet to 9,000’ feet, they did get a little bit sparse [one to two gallons worth] but then I was only checking my research plots.

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Lobo... what is you take on the time frame between Conicals and blonds/Greys and blacks and greens? Not sure if I have the correct. What my observation is, is there seems to be a fair amount of time between when the conicals are done and when the Greys show up. I was wondering if you could shed some light on that? Having said that I know that there will be differences in flushes at different elevations. What I am looking for is a start and finish time for morels as the season progresses at one given location.... Am I making any sense? I suppose a line graph or chart idea would explain what I am getting at. or maybe an open ended time line that one could sort of rely on to refer to as the season continued. Hard to explain.

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Boletus Joe; [this is a repeat, if my earlier post shows up, some of it is different] Greenies seem to be a little bit different in various burn sites, on the top portion but not so much on the stem but I don’t know about Yukon. I may have looked at a photo on Randy Marchand’s ‘My Space’ account years ago that looks like Idaho olives but do not know where his photo was taken. I have photographed conica that looked green with light shining through. I picked a one pound grey once in late season that was already ½ dried out, after it finished drying I photographed it along with two smaller greys; when I looked at my photo’s I realized from looking at the stem it was a greenie. I will try to find them; there are so many pictures to prepare that it may take a long time before we are ready.

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Great new addition to this web site. My research has been hit and miss and not very organized but I still look back in my note book from time to time started taking notes about 1983 about weather an wher the norels grew ect.

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Lobo, As you know I know nothing about morel hunting. I read in David's book they start on the warmest places first and then move into the woods. I worked with a silvaculturist who said slopes warm mid slope southwest facing first. I had an opportunity to check out a burn in southwest Oregon a few years back. The burn was southwest to northeast. The only place we found morels was mid slope, southwest at first. They seemed to expand out from there. Was this a fluke, or a good rule to follow? Matsiman

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You guys did a wonderful job in a very short time.... Congratulations on a job well done........ Incredible photos of the greens..... I saw some in the Yukon that I thought were green but now I'm not sure.... They were almost jet black but when you got them in the right light you could see a very distinctive dark olive green. Everyone was about the size of a goose egg. And I never took any photos....My bad.

Messages Below this Box were taken from the two other boards, beginning April 1, 2015, to consolidate information, Matsiman

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tigerlily; I would surmise you may be referring to Lodgepole Pine beetle kill areas. In my areas the pole pine is not a very good host for morels until it burns, however White Fir is a super good host while it is dying. Therefore if there are a mixture of dying trees you may reap many full buckets for many years. Logging morels are those which come up due to the disturbance created from logging. If you are West of the Cascade ridge then the beetle kill areas may be very good starting a few months to a year after the disturbance. If East of the range it usually takes two years for the same thing to happen; no I do not know why.

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I am new and vary excited for this morel season! What are some pointers or main mistakes rookies make? I wanna also work south/Kelowna up to the NWT like #sarahllaxtell

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dannyboi; A common newbie mistake is to pick morels with ash-splash; In spring there is often rain when the early fire morels flush and ones out in open spaces are prone to getting gritty because the raindrops hit the ground and splash the dirt & fire grit into the morel folds and crannies. The better areas are ones under the trees where needles have fallen, known as needle beds. Later flushes after the spring rains are often OK out in the open. Some buyers who care more about volume will purchase ash-splash but their broker will most likely not be able to sell any more to customers who have tried eating then. As the greys flush a good location is in large rocks or boulders because they retain the days heat and the morels like to snuggle near them on cold spring nights, where as away from the rocks the ground may be too cold for a flush.

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Another newbie error is to wash the morels, no buyer that I know will purchase wet morels. You cannot get all of the ash-splash out of morels and they will contaminate morels that they come in contact with. Just as will any dirt from picking, use a knife to cut the stem about 1/2 inch below the cap; ______do not pull the root like you might a bolete or matsutake. If you think that you can clean up your morels later and cut the root wad off ____________ please think again.

User_Name: mountainflattops
Date: Friday, April 10, 2015
Time: 09:31:15 PM

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Ash splash has turned off a few new morel pickers grtity and ashy taste yuck. As to how fast morel grow well the warmer the nights the faster they grow. Warm days make them grow but they can handle some light freezing at night as long as they are growing. average about three day cycle but don't forget they are mushrooms and mushrooms do what they do. If you have a good area and leave the babys you can go back every day and pick. they show up where they shouldn't be, they show up when they shouldn't show up for example Perfect frozen Pine mushrooms at -20 celceus for 2 weeks in Revelstoke BC under a tree 3 feet of snow probably formed before it froze I think that was in January

User_Name: Boletus Joe
Date: Friday, April 10, 2015
Time: 10:03:34 PM

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Ahhh yes ash splashed morels, and how about the fuzzy ones. The ones that are downwind from the cottonwoods when start to shed. I remember one year seeing acres of beautiful blacks all covered in cotton. Have fun trying to remove that stuff.... lol Was wondering if "Rob from Barrier" might give us a report on the snow pack up in that area. Yes "garf" as of today I am just waiting for the weather to get on track and some snow to melt. You better finish those rails. Good hunting.

User_Name: sllaxtell
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Time: 08:42:41 AM

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Thanks to you all for the seasonal indicators! I saw 1.5'' tall heartleaf anica and lilly blooming in our yard so I ventured from our 450m elevation home to our morel spot (now a 2 year old cut block) and found 6 black morels at 500m elevation. Happy picking and as yall say, full buckets! - sarah

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sllaxtell; Congratulations, as the arnica continues it will grow two opposing leaves and then the stalk will start growing taller with two leaves facing the same way as the first two, soon a bud will grow. When the bud blooms then start watching for blond morels at that elevation and aspect.

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Cascadia; Sometimes the true morels or naturals follow the red false morels and some may flush at the same time. I always hunted the east side so cannot help much other than the Wamac area may happen as much as one month prior to the villages. Those lower area whites in the oaks are good, as you increase in elevation the best host tree for me were the silver side fir aka white fir.

User_Name: Cascadia
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Time: 10:29:19 PM

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Hey everyone, it's my second year hunting morels around the my hood area and this week I found 2 big false morels in my yard. Are the an indicator of true morels ? Also, around the mt hood villages areas what type of environment would I find morels in? I usually head over around the east side of hood but this weather has kept stuff cold not to mention the highway project near govy is a mess. I appreciate all the info here and thanks in advance for your response ! Full buckets

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sarahllaxtell; That sounds like a fun challenge, I never made one that way. What I would do is roll 1/4 inch hardware cloth which is not cloth, it is wire mesh that keeps rodents out; anyway the rolls are at least 6 inches in diameter and 4 feet long using zip-ties to hold it together and fold one end. I fill them full of morels and cap the end with the same type of wire; then place them horizontal between the steps of ladders with two box fans blowing on them in shade for 24 or more hours so that they don't spore-out. They will dry down to about 1/4 of the tube and then I place them in direct sunlight for a day, rolling them occasionally to crisp. Of course if it is rainy you need to modify things.

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garf; I used to figure that about two weeks after black naturals started then the first conica would be poking their heads up in the burns nearby. The orange cups are a fair indicator and may come up brown in your area I just do not recall well since the stroke. I guess that I rely on the heartleaf arnica so much that I may have missed some other indicators. User_Name: garf
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2015

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Hi all ...things are starting to heat up on the mushroom front and it seems very early. I think they are a month or more ahead where I am so I'm not sure what that means for the fires ... earlier would depend on when the snow melted I would think and then how fast the soils warm... anyhow I was going to ask geopyxis carbonaria as indicator for morels ... think the short name is fries but they are the little brown cup mushrooms . I saw quite a few up high but no morels . ts

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Cascadia; Other places to look would be under the power lines, something about them causes an earlier flush; big ones between the dams on the Columbia and Portland for instance. ...also the orchards on both sides of the Columbia. ...also the logged areas on the north side with south aspect for extra warmth. ...and then all along the Barlow Road is good from the grass lands to Portland as different elevations warm.

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fancysan; The cup fungi do come up prior to the conica but I do not consider them to be reliable for indicating when. Your guess is as good as anyone's, personally I do not care for conica and look for naturals until time for the greys. Are there any arnica plants growing yet?

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How long after the cup fungi appear before the morels flush? Scouted some of my local burns here in BC and there are tons of cups around. No morels yet. Anyone getting them out of the burns in Washington yet?

User_Name: mountainflattops
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015
Time: 04:31:34 AM

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I have used triliums in some areas as indicators of morel flushing and also the cups.mostly the trilliums have to be full size and in flower. also on the power line right of ways if you can find an area that has been mechanical brushed ie: using a stump grinder type machine that type of area will produce better. keep a log book or notes look around at what else is growing when the morels are up it will help you in years to come. Also use your memory looking back at some of my pine notes from the Arrow lakes the mileage markers don"t match any more as the mileage markers have been changed on some of the roads so have to rely on memory for some spots.

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...another flower indicator people rely on is trillium. I do not like it because like the cups it often is several days (maybe as much as two weeks) before morels poke their heads above ground. On friend uses dogtooth violets as a (soils ready) indicator, but again from my research it is not as reliable as the first arnica to leaf out. Another indicator for naturals is the large cup fungi aka star cup or crown cup, but as with other cups they come on several days to weeks ahead of the black naturals. Yellow tip Coral is another indicator that I do not follow, they may come up way before the naturals or at the same time and long after.

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BC_Treetopper; I would 1st ask if the stream is oriented east-west where the patches are and in a steep sloped area or gentle slope? Are the blonds producing at the same time as the blacks? If so then I might surmise that the south facing slope or south-east slope may have warmed more or quicker to the temperature needed for blondes. If so then it may have gone right passed the flushing temperature for blacks and thus they could not grow on that side. In a different year with different warming trends you might get blacks in the blond area while there is still snow on the black patch.

User_Name: BC_Treetopper
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015
Time: 08:17:41 AM

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So I have this patch I have been picking on for years now, its a small area of aspen cottonwood mixed with a small creek running thru, one side of the creek produces black morels and the other side produces blonde morels. Has anyone ever found similar patches out there, I just dont get it really, but who knows the mind of a morel.

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Welcome to the forum Morchella DeVille; A google search seems to indicate several plants identifiable as silverweed. Do you know which variety is the one you use? I did not spend time researching Morchella esculenta which is more of a lower elevation & river bottom morel in western USA. I spent most of my time on Morchella elata and fire morel varieties at higher elevations. I like your song, I have one also that I posted earlier.

User_Name: Morchella DeVille
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015
Time: 12:05:22 PM

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I've got a patch up here in Northern BC where I use silverweed as an indicator for the first morels. When the little yellow flowers on the silverweed bow their heads, the morels will begin. It'll be some time yet. We've searched lots of terrain in the area, and only found small patches. Does that mean there could be much more somewhere nearby? Or just that there are only a few here? We bought the house up here because while we were standing in the gravel driveway talking about what we liked/didn't like about it, we both sort of started casually staring at the ground. We spotted it at the same moment, Morchella esculenta! One single perfect specimen, and also our first ever (though we'd been looking for them for awhile.) We also had a little song we'd sing as we hunted along, "We need more-els in our life! Like love and light and laughing and lunch, but most especially moooooore-elllls!" First time posting, but I've been lurking your board for about 4 years now. Hi everyone.

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Jonnytutu; Some say when the leaves are the size of mouse ears it's time for morels but that info came from an easterly perspective. I always hunted the mountains for blacks & blondes, then river bottoms for the later whites when the leaves did not quite match up to Mickey Mouse ears, its a matter of perspective...

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Hey folks, a pleasure as always to soak up the mushroom knowledge. Someone posted about river edge indicators for morels with respect to new deciduous leaf size. Does that mean if there are leaves its a go? Should they be full size leaves? any info is good info.....i'm in the west koots...anyone else finding any yet?

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garf; Right on with the altitude & slope aspect, also remember to watch the larch as to needle spreading and the arnica for leaf size. As for river morels watch deciduous leaf size & always out for verpas.

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Hi all... I think some pickers did really well last year on the fires but you have to remember that the pickers were getting more than twice what they would usually get for their mushrooms, mostly due to a shortage of morels in Europe because of low volumes of morels for a couple of years . Lots of contracts to be fulfilled and it worked out great for the pickers ... always unpredictable . Think boletus hit the nail on the head , all the ducks lined up just right! this year who knows? Only the shadow! anyhow I did look yesterday and found a few for sure. Will look again in a few days as being fairly new at this game I don't know weather more will come or not, One thing I did notice is once I hit a certain altitude they stopped . From what I am reading it probably has something to do with ground temperatures. these mushrooms are a month earlier than ones I found last year. gl and full buckets...

User_Name: mountainflattops
Date: Sunday April 12, 2015
Time: 05:06 PM

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Just a few more notes for those going to look in cut blocks for morels this year the gyromitra or Brain mushroom comes out first. When they are fully formed then the morels start to grow they are usually more prolific in the second year after logging. Also along the road sides in the grass the thinble caps come out before the morels usually. but not always went for a quick look today and thistles just breaking ground so I still have a while to go for my first taste this year /forcast is for possible snow tonight at my area

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Windwalker; It got to the point that if was driving past logged unit and could not see thistles I might not stop unless I saw Islands of un-cut trees where naturals might be. I haven’t done spring research in BC but down here the thistles are growing the first or second year depending basically which side of the Cascades they are on in Oregon. Same thing with arnica, I pretty much could tell when driving by if the leaves were large enough for the soil to be warm enough for naturals or fire morels.

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Garf; There are folks who have done time-lapse photography on growth; I would surmise that a google search would turn up some. I have friends who were out on a spring foray with their children but could not find any morels, they sat on their buckets and ate their lunch; when finished with lunch they noticed that there were full size black natural morels grown up all around them, so it can happen in minutes. One thing is vibration along trails and such tend to bring up morels, so it is possible that my friends children having stomped the area then that could have triggered the flush. Every area is different and may change year to year. Cooler areas would normally happen later, Southeast slopes generally happen 1st. Spring rains and sunshine bring mushrooms. I have found early fire morels such as conica under stream & pond water but if they grew 1st I don’t know. With fire morels the conica love water but greys usually happen after the spring rains. If you get rain about every two weeks then greys may continue flushing until the fall weather air cools down to 20 degrees F, researched at 7,000 to 8,000 ft in the Idaho Valley Road burn, about -6 to those who use it that way. The green or olive morels did not happen much in the Valley Road burn however they were more prolific than greys were in the Dollar burn. Greenies seem to like south facing well drained sloes however in the Dollar they were all over on the ridge tops and westerly aspects. Good luck and I wish you a good season.

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Good morning . As a relative new comer to morel picking I was wondering about a couple of things. How long does it generally take for little ones to grow into a nice picking size and I know there will be variants but generally speaking? Also is the moisture at night with cooler temperatures good for growth or do they need a little rain . Temperatures etc. I see earth temperatures of at least 45 and ideally a little higher but what about air? In logged areas hillsides or flats with a little less exposure? thankyou for any input

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windwalker; I guess it depends upon location, if west of the Cascade ridge then about one year following the logging activity as a common rule. East of the Cascades it's about two years following the logging. If the activity occurred while the ground was frozen you may not expect many morels unless it is in a good natural patch. You might expect the best crop if they used tracked machinery or there is lots of soil disturbance. Whatever the situation I usually do not find many morels until the thistles [I prefer elk thistles] are the size of dinner plates but not yet stacking.

User_Name: mountainflattops
Date: Thursday April 09, 2015
Time: 09:52 PM

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I have found that summer logging in June july to be about the best for the previous years logging about the same as for forest fires current year logging would be early spring but that is usually breakup time as the ground is too soft for logging. Tried thet spring logging once and when the frost went out of the ground the 440 skider was in the mud to the top of the blade got hell from forestry for the deep ruts. hope this helps you.

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could I please have some professional feed back on timing of the logged blocks for when the best months they were logged the year before for picking this year. for example, march, april may, or latter in the summer....thanks for your help...

User_Name: mountainflattops
Date: Sunday April 05, 2015
Time: 03:33 AM

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continupng on with the morels My indicators of when to start looking are something like this. I like 20 deg celceus day time temp with 10 degree night time temp. Othere indicaters that I use are oregon grapes are in flower.yellow wood violets are in flower and cottonwood buds are starting to turn to leafs. Anyway that seems to work for me. that 20/10 combo seems to work in the fall also for pines chantys and lobsters. The neatest morel I ever found was pure white just one single one lt wasn't mould it just gign't get the color dna . thats my 2 bits worth this time moubtainflattops

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Ya I have to agree with ya cranberrydawg, prepped ground for planting is bang on, although I dont like mounds, they usually expose the wrong soil by going to deep then just flipping soil over. I like blocks that use a twist and turn method to disturb soil for planting and a nice mixed forest but always special attention to the aspen cottonwood areas. Good tip is find the local tree planters and pick their brain for spots to try. Many a block I have picked while they are planting and the planters have spotted many a morel for me.

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Can't speak for everywhere, but I do know a little something about morels in the cutblocks of the BC interior. As far north as Prince George anyway. The best ground for picking is ground that has been prepped for planting. Scooped, trenched, mounded, stumped etc. Less so, but still somewhat productive are skid trails, especially if they snake through any remaining standing timber. The most productive spots are the scalps - the shady, moist hollows - those machine made ones specifically for the planting of seedlings. This ground preparation almost always occurs right before the tree planting programs begin in mid spring, so the key is that they are fresh disturbances. You are wasting your time if you are looking for substantial quantities of morels in a cutblock that has been prepped years ago. Hint: if you see planted trees that are more than a few feet high, move along to a fresher cutblock. At any rate, you can expect upwards of fifty morels in some of the newly created scalps if the conditions are right. Granted, not all of this recently exposed dirt will produce mushrooms, but if you factor that there will be on average 1600 of these scalps per hectare, there is a lot of opportunity to get lucky. Oh, and look around where the hoe chuck has been working too...that can be a goldmine also. Happy picking folks.

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Mountainflattops; I too have found that the winter logging, especially when the soil was frozen is mostly devoid of logging morels. Its when a cat makes deep tracks in the duff that I get excited for morels.

User_Name: Mountainflattops
Date: Friday April 03, 2015
Time: 03:58 AM

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Regarding morels in cut blocks not all cut blocks produce good amounts of mushrooms, Afew years back had a cut block that I picked morels in for 5 years in a row, Some areas are better than others. Look for ground moisture, a good amount of cottonwood or aspen in the area and good soil not rocky. That area is a north facing mostly fir tree part of the world of moderate elevation. Also you want lots of soil disturbance from machinery and logged in the summer. I think it is mostly soil disturbance in the summer. Hope this helps in your cut block harvest. mountainflattops

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I was not talking about a second year burn, (I too have picked second year burns and done alright) I was talking about a reburn,... a place where a fire has happened years ago, and then another fire comes and burns it again. I have not had any luck in such areas very, very few mushrooms if any. I guess if some new trees grew up in between the 2 fires their might be some more production. Any one else have similar experience or have picked reburn Id like to hear your comments. I think the rule of thumb in most cases is, little to no production. full buckets and a big thank you to Matsiman all his hard work

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Sorry Get Real, you got it wrong. The only reason (and I did my research), morel come out after a forest fire, is that the fires free the ground of all types of vegetation that normally hamper the free growth of morel. When you do remove this stuff ( moss, grass, etc...) morels are free to explode. Wild morel are always present in those forest. the fire is what give them the opportunity to grow without competition. they will come out again the next year in lesser quality because grass and other vegetation are also coming out and competing with our beloved shows. Cheers By the way, Matsiman, after years of using your website(with different names), I am starting to feel guilty. I am aware of the cost of maintaining such a site (not including your time), so please, remind us how to send you a contribution and you have my word of honour, I'll send you 100 bucks before the end of the season. Thanks Bro for a great job

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