The mushrooms are coming
In spring, the search is on for the wily morel.
© Beth Gauper
This year, nothing is normal about the advance of morel mushrooms.
Usually, they advance from the south, starting in April in Missouri and southern Illinois, appearing in Iowa in late May and
peaking on Mother's Day in southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin. They're found in the north woods later in May.
But this spring, the Upper Midwest has basked in unprecedented warmth, and mushrooms are popping up in patches, depending on which areas have had rain.
The first gray morels appeared around the Twin Cities the third weekend of April, nearly a month ahead of schedule. But few
hunters in southeast Minnesota, the traditional morel hot spot, found anything because it's been so dry.
If your area has had rain and the soil is moist, look now on south-facing hillsides. Or, look in moist spots, around springs or
creeks. For updates from other mushroom hunters, check the message boards at Morels.com.
Usually, morels pop out about the same time lilacs bud. Look first at the top of sunny hillsides around dying trees, especially
elms, though morels can be found under many kinds of trees and also in meadows and on sandy bottomlands.
The season lasts three to four weeks. Since most people go out on weekends, Thursdays and Fridays are good days to look because new mushrooms have had a chance to pop out since the previous weekend.
Toward the end of the season, look on the northern edges of woods and in ravines.
For hunting tips, see Out of the forest and into the frying
pan.
And watch out for ticks: See Preventing Lyme disease.
Last updated on April 18, 2010
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