Morel Mushroom Season Has Arrived
Its that glorious time of year to get outside and find those tasty morel mushrooms.
According to WZZM, morel season has begun in West Michigan and here are a few tips on locating these delicious morsels.
Part of finding the morel mushrooms is waiting for the the weather to cooperate, you know, a little rain followed by some cool nights the day time temperatures in the high 60s and 70s and then boom...its on!
A lot of people look for ash trees, and yes that is still good to do, but another place to look is around something called May Apple. Usually when you find May Apple, you found the elusive morels.
Every morel hunter has what they call the perfect location and some of those will be elm, oak and ash trees but don't forget to check around those old apple orchards. Morels can also be found around any old dead tree that is mostly decomposed.
The Michigan Department of Natural resources also offered up a tip for morel hunters to search around forests area's that have burned down recently. Here is a list of locations the DNR has provided so click here.
When you search for the morels, take your time and enjoy the walk, but if you find a morel, look around, when there is usually one, there are two, three or many more since they tend to grow in clusters. The hard part is usually finding the one.
When picking the morel, just pinch off it off where the stem meets the soil. Leaving the root may help them return to the same location the following year. When carrying your morels its also a good idea to use a mesh bag because the spores will fall out and you maybe setting up a new crop of shrooms for the following year.
There is plenty of public land to search for morels but if you see some private land that looks like a good location, make sure and get permission from the land owner before he or she calls the law on you.