TOPIC: 2020 Morel Season

Got out today and found a few...

TNHunter

Most that I found today were smallish and some the tips were dried out a bit...

This one was near white...

Now I was most proud of spotting this little guy...

that is the smallest morel I have ever seen..



tiny !!!

We had pork chops in the crock pot --- slow cooked with some potatoes and carrots and cream of mushroom soup...

and I cooked this batch of morels up in some butter with a splash of dales sauce...

Nice !

Are there any shrooms that look similar to morels that might kill or make you sick?

Woodsrunner...

Yes... there is one called the false morel that looks somewhat similar... but the stem on it is solid.

On a true morel, the stem is hollow and the shroom is too.

The false morel has a solid stem.

I have seen people on youtube saying you could eat the false ones no problem and others saying they could make you very sick even dead.
I am not going to try any false morels myself.

PS.. when you harvest a morel you need to either just pinch it off just above ground level, or even better carry a knife and slice it off just above ground level.

They don't really have roots... but if you leave the part in tact where it goes into the ground (instead of ripping it up).. it is supposed to help them continue to produce in that area.

You are also supposed to carry them in a mesh bag... in case they spore after you pick them... the spores can flow out.

I bet if you check youtube on false morels... you will find plenty of info.

One thing is for sure with mushrooms... if you don't know for sure it is OK to eat... don't eat it.

TNHunter

This vid shows true morel vs false... there are several others out there too...

TNHunter

I've seen nothing like those on my property. Then again it took me 18 months to discover three colonies of ginseng.

Speaking of which, to date I'm seeing 1-5 3 leafers in the plots I planted last fall. Last year's leaves are pretty thick in some places.

TN, I feel as though I'm your "grasshopper", hope you get the reference.

Yesterday (Wed) morning was beautiful outside and I played hooky from drywall work and went for a walk with two things in mind; checking a few of my fall ginseng planting plots and clearing a trail where a large ash had fallen. I was also checking my game cams in that area. I guess that's three things.

Well doggone, I nearly stepped on a morel! I looked around and found a few more. I only looked for a few minutes cause I had to get back to the house eventually and earn my keep. I sacrificed one and cut it and sure enough it was hollow. Also, the colony I found looked nothing like the false morel in the video (which I just watched).

Walking back down the trail toward the house I found a few more, one was already dislodged (by a deer or one of my dogs perhaps) and it too was hollow.

I took a photo of one but haven't been in a location to download it from my cell phone. I think I happened upon black morels. But now I'm not sure, doh! If I get in to town tomorrow, I'll try to get the pic posted here.

Any idea what their forest shelf life is?