dakotabob Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I had something similar last season. Of my top 25 spot for black morels, only 5 produced. I did add a couple new locations but it was slim pickings. I did try for yellows once but I was at least a week early. I knew it the time but I still drove 75 miles to give it a shot because it was going to be my only shot at yellows for the year. While there was a shortage of morels, there was no shortage of wood ticks. I think there is a direct correlation out this way between wood ticks and morels. The fewer the morels, the more wood ticks there seems to be. Last year there was even a shortage of Verpa bohemiica. I was trying to find some to give my nephew from NJ a crash course in morel hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 The ticks seem to get worse every year... wood ticks, and the more problematic deer ticks. I saw three deer ticks today. I do a lot of driving around during morel season. Sometimes it pays off with large harvests, other times I get only a few. So far this is a down year for morels, but I still enjoy visiting different places and looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dualsetters Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I had a dream Saturday night that I was near the dead elm in my local woods where I found all the mushrooms 2 years ago and a few last year. I dreamt that I saw one yellow morel under the tree and walked to get it. So yesterday I decided to have a look. Lets see thats exactly what happened. I checked both local spots and there was only the one yellow under the elm. Im afraid thats going to be it for the year, although there is one more place I want to look. I suppose Ill check again in a week also. The ticks do seem to get worse every year. My poor Setter gets the worst of them. Have to admit he hasn't had as many this year as in previous years. Those are some nice trout Evan. Looks you've been doing some fine dining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 DS, elm morels don't fruit very well under the exact same trees year after year. Finding a big haul one year, followed by maybe one or two the next year is typical. This because the Dutch Elm Disease works quickly, and once the tree is dead the morchella fungus it has hosted dies off quickly. One needs to scout newly dead elms year after year. But sometimes a lucky morel hunter finds an area that's got lots of elms which die off a few at a time year after year. This is the type of spot where I harvested most of these yesterday. About 150 of these beautiful yellows came from a 100 square yard area surrounding one newly dead large elm. A few steps away, some 2nd/3rd year dead elms had only a couple morels. The apple trees work differently, They tend to die slowly, so morels may often be found under such a tree for many years. The "Old Departed Friend" in the photo below has consistently provided me with some of the nicest-looking vivid yellow morels over the past 20 years. I got 5 from this tree yesterday, and these may be the last. There's only a couple good trees left in this old orchard where I used to get over 100 yellows almost every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Again, I like the eye candy Dave! I head up to my annual campsite in Manitoba on Thursday. I am hoping that blacks start popping before I have to return home around the end of the month. If I don't go on line again before I take off, I hope the rest of your morel season goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thanks Bob. Good luck up north! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shroomersue Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Finally some yellows poppin in southwestern ontario! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Still getting some here in NA PA. These were all growing at the base of a large white ash tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 And yet more... The coolish temps have apparently keep the soil temperature within a desirable range. I found a dead elm yesterday that had 13 large ones. Here are the nicest of the lot. Found some Tree Ears that I'll dehydrate and use in a stir-fry Also still finding morels under apple trees. But yesterday's heavy rain showers will likely water log most of what's still out there... except there's a few late-spots that haven't even started yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shroomersue Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 Found these under tulip trees. Now it seems to me that there are two types I found. There were a few that were smaller more pointy conical and also had some reddish tinges on the stipe and on the cap body. Is this so or just immature yellows? And they were also found together under one tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 Nice photo Sue, and nice call. You have two species (well... at least two). There are maybe 6 smaller ones in the lower right that are probably Morchella diminutiva. This species is associated with Tulip Poplar, White Ash, and hickory. I have also found these small "deliciosa" types in mixes of living apple trees and Black Cherry saplings. The similar M. virginiana is a southeastern NA species. Very interesting that you have Tulip Poplar and these small morels up there in Ontario. The large ones --grays and yellows-- are probably Morchella americana, formerly M. esculenta. M. ulmaria is another possibility. And the name M. rigida may actually end up being the official name... for at least a month or so :-) This type has relatively more pits in the cap, and the pits are more randomly aligned/shaped than the "Tulip Morels" which often have mainly vertically elongated pits. We missed the "forest morels" in the Tulip Poplar woods this year... very few blacks, deliciosas, or large yellows. It was too chilly at the crucial time. Looks like you hit the "forest morels" up there in Canada. Must've warmed up at just the right time for you. But the late morels under dead elm and dying apple trees did really well here in Northeast Pennsylvania. We're still getting nice ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Sometimes you don't have to go too far from home. I wish I had checked the poplar next to my driveway. My wife found this today. We've been throwing trimmings and old morels there the last couple years. There was another one on the other side of the tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 I should check the Tulip Poplar woods around here again. I had decided that the morels didn't occur this spring in this setting. But everything has been so late to appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Hey Dave! I looks like a late but productive season for you. I returned from Manitoba yesterday and they are just getting underway with the black morels. The ice just went off the lake where I camp on May 20th. This was the latest ice out that I have ever seen. Almost 3 weeks behind normal. I head back up next week and I should have some good success. If not, the oysters are not too far behind. I should be harvesting those before I return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Yeah Bob, a very good late season here. The big yellows under apple, elm, and ash started up around May 5, and there's still some out there. After trout fishing yesterday morning I explored some back roads looking for dead elms and found 5 more yellows that were in good enough shape to harvest. This has been the latest-starting season in all my experience. I found no morels of any type in my local spots until May. Contrast this with 2012 when I found black morels on March 23 and yellows on April 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 I head back to Manitoba next week and I still expect to find good numbers of blacks in my late spots. All of those have exposure from the north. I have not seen any mushrooms in my yard yet. That is unusual. I should start seeing fairy ring mushrooms (Marasmius oreades) soon. The past 2 years I have also found Agaricus bitorquis in my yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 I have recently found M. oreades in a spot where it appears annually (assuming sufficient rainfall). http://mushroomobserver.org/165804?q=1yswX And, I spotted a couple Horse Mushrooms on a lawn. Agaricus arvensis during spring is an unusual find for me. http://mushroomobserver.org/165827?q=1yswX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastwx Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 While I did not find any this year in my main spot here in NC, I did run across the foundation of an old homestead last weekend. The thought of an apple orchard entered my mind and low and behold I look up at this really old tree and see what appear to be small fruit, crab apples perhaps. Leaves matched apple well, but need to verify and survey to see how many trees. Hopefully next year I'll get lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 You guys are makin' me jealous. After a good crop of Inky Caps and some dry weather oysters, the only thing interesting around here has been my first ever find of a Sweet Tooth, and that was just the one. We'll get rain one day and then see what pops up. I'm still waiting to find what happens with the new crop of Reishi, whether the new ones push the old ones out of the way. We'll soon see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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