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When to pick
Black morel (Morchella
Elata) in northern Michigan, usually starts slowly during the last 2 weeks
of April. The best black morel hunting is the the first
2 weeks in May.
For the the yellow morels (Morchella Esculenta) Mothers Day
is usually a big weekend. The 2nd and 3rd week of May is usually
best for yellow morels.
So come on up and bring Mom! . .
. Or at least tell her where you're going.
The blacks start slowing down to almost nothing by the 2nd week
of May. The white or yellow morels start coming on around the second
week of May and even last into early June sometimes.
How To Pick a Morel
Try to never"pull"
a morel from the ground! You'll stand a chance of destroying the mycelium
that way and you'll only get about 1/4 inch more of the stem anyway.
Always "CUT" it off with a small knife (or pinch)! Pinching
works well with black morels. (Pinch, cock the plant a bit, then
pinch again. Works like a charm with black morels.)
Pinching DOES NOT work very well with white /
yellow morels though. They are meatier and stronger. Best
to cut these. If you pull a morel out with the roots you stand a
chance of it never re-growing, as you have just disturbed the mycelium.
Anyway, that is the part of the plant system under the ground that produces
the actual morel and is very delicate and easy to kill. So please
. . . . "CUT"---
NOT PULL!
Mesh, Paper or Plastic Bags?
OK. Here is where I get
into trouble no matter where I stand, but I'll give my opinion anyway.
Why not? I sure get enough e-mail about this subject. LOL
Use mesh bags, paper bags
or a woven basket.
Paper, mesh or loose woven baskets will allow the mushroom to breath and
moisture to escape. However when using paper bags spores are prevented
from falling out as we walk and possibly spreading to new areas. I
have found no definite answer as to whether or not this spreading by spores
is true or not. Morels grow from a web like root system (called
Mycelium) underground so some people say it doesn't matter about the spores.
However I'm sure God made the spores for some reason. What I do
if I have to use paper bags for hunting is to go back to the woods and
bury the spore laden bag about 3 or 4 inches deep and let nature do it's
thing. It will decompose the brown paper in less than a year and
if the spores are going to grow, they will grow there as well as anywhere
I assume. I do not just throw the bags out the car window, using
this theory as an excuse, and neither should anyone.
I don't like using plastic bags.
Why? Morels have a high moisture content and need to either
be kept cool and moist, or allowed to begin the drying process right away.
When morels are placed into plastic bags, I believe they can't breath
and moisture can't escape, so they will start to break down (rot) almost
immediately! So now you know why not to use plastic for gathering
mushrooms. I have two very good friends, Bob and Ken, who will disagree
with me on this.
What upsets me much more than seeing someone using
a method of holding their mushrooms in a container I personally don't
approve of, is litter in the woods. This is much more of a problem.
Please don't throw away your beer, pop, candy wrappers etc. in the
woods. Carry out what you carry in (or more). Don't
be lazy about it.
Where Do Morels Grow? - How To Find Them
 Explaining
where morels grow in Michigan and how to find them, is difficult.
There is no hard and fast rules here either. They grow where and
when they want to. I've read and heard that areas with a lot of
snow and rich sandy soils are good for morels. That type of combination
seems to work here in northern Mich.
Black morel habitats includes Ash, Fruit
and Aspen trees (also known as: Popple or Poplar) or even lawns
and fields.
White (yellow) morels especially like Elm, Fruit trees, and
Maple. And in southern Michigan, the Tulip Poplar tree
is a good host.
Learn your trees.
It sounds like you could expect to find morels growing
just about everywhere. But that's not always the case. That's
why we call it "Hunting".
You just have to get out there and keep hunting until you find one.
Once you have found the first one, you'll find others. And once
you've found a few, you'll start to notice where, when and how.
After that seeps into our fungi shaped brains, it becomes easier to locate
this gourmet treat. When this occurs, you are hooked for life!
I know you must be a little
exasperated by now in your quest to find information on these little buggers.
When I first started searching the Internet a few years ago for information
it seemed like nobody wanted to give the "real" information out on how
to find them. Now it seems there are a ton of mushroom sites on
the web. So I understand how you feel. It drove me crazy too
for awhile. I've only recently begun to find whites (yellow) (other
than the occasional ones).
I looked where people said to look, . . . but for
me they are just weren't there. [See: The
White Morel Hunt ]
Then I started learning to "identify the different trees".
Take it from me, this is all important when scouting a new area to hunt.
Learn your trees. It's the closest thing to a guarantee you'll
ever get, and it sure increases your chances of finding morels, or any
other edible mushrooms.
The truth is friend, none of us truly understand
the morel completely. Even mycology experts are still learning about
them.
Why I hunt mushrooms
Why I hunt, is much more
than just finding edible mushrooms. That's just the prize.
The true reward is being in the woods all spring, summer and fall.
Being with my wife or friends, walking and seeing everything beautiful
in His woods.
In the spring, it's discovering a hidden fawn, or the fluff of woodcock
chicks in a nest.
In summer, it's the flight of a high coasting Eagle, chattering of squirrels
and yips of the coyotes.
The low and high notes of the melodious song of a bird I've never seen.
In fall, it's hearing the Elk bugle, or a White-tailed buck grunt as
he follows the doe.
The startling flush underfoot of the Ruffed Grouse. The glide
of an early hunting owl.
It may be as simple as a great
expansive spider web, covered in sparkling dew.
A single leaf spiraling down, signaling fall. One snowflake heralding
winter soon.
It never ends...
It never will....
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Spring
is my favorite time of the year. Just smell the morels! 
I'm serenaded by wild turkeys.
