The News Outside

Getting close for that time of year for our tasty lil pals to start popping up. Any guesses on what type of year it could be finding them? As I have said before some ole timers have stated that winters with a lot of snow on the ground it will be a bad year, who knows. But with all the ice and wind and damage to trees could there be more spores this year. Could all the wind mean that we find schrooms all over the place. With winter hanging on and nothing growing yet in the woods could it be a easier year to spot them if we get a lucky, get the ground temps up to around 50 before much starts to grow. Any thoughts?

All good questions Berlin.  I’m curious to hear some answers from our resident experts as well.  Hard to juggle crappie and shrooms but I get out once in a while. Need to find somebody who’s willing to trade!!

Berlin, Last year wasn’t good at all…..I think this year is gonna be a lot better:)

I had better and had worse, it seems like the past few years we either get the rain and no heat or just the other way around. Give me 50 degree ground temp. 50 degree nights and enough rain to keep the top of the soil damp. I think you get to much rain and schrooms get mushy to quick, you can always soak them to bring them back if they are a little old. I don’t shed hunt but just looking at the timber and with all the snow everything looks so flattened out and nothing has greened up yet, the soil temp here at 4” is 43 degrees. But I wish this weather would change so quick get some 70 or 80 degree days and the conditions I like, I think you would almost find every schroom in the timber. I know it’s still March but I think we would be reallly lucky here to start finding them by mid April right now with the weather.

I have typically had pretty good years after very snowy winters. Last year was pretty ruff for me in central Illinois. The winter of 2011 we had a pretty decent snow cover most of the winter, the spring 2012 for me was really good. My grandfather always told me windy winters were a good sign. With the ground moisture and little greening up if it gets to warm to quick they will hit quick and fast then be done. I have always believed slowly raising temps and normal rainfall was the key to a good shroom year.

Not that I know a whole heck of alot - but here’s what I can tell you after 50 odd years of doing it - The type of winter we had will historically provide us with a good morel season. That may well be off a bit this year though because the ground was already pretty dry and recovering from drought. As for ground temps - honestly I never pay any attention to that sort of thing, instead I watch what’s happening in the woods. The south facing rocky slopes will warm up faster, but they are also dryer. I don’t think it’s going to be an early season by any stretch.  It was colder than usual, longer than usual. Places where I would normally be finding blacks and little greys this time of year are barely showing any green at this point. All any of us can do is watch the woods, look for the signs, and be ready to hit hard when they start. If the temps get above about 85, for several days in a row it will likely shut them down. They have a very small window for fruiting in comparison to other mushrooms. JMO - the key this year is finding the smaller ecosystems and working with them. If we are lucky it will be long strung out season as some places are ready sooner than others.

G, The reason I kind of look at ground temp is with the type of soil we have here, good ole black dirt. Don’t get me wrong, I read every post you make and I think your purdy darn smart myself. But don’t you live way south of me and deal with a more rocky/sandy soil than I do here. Site M is a 20-25 minute drive for me through the country and it is a little different schroom hunting there than where I hunt around home, I even think there is a difference in the way they look!!