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MORELS 2019 CHIT CHAT

58K views 350 replies 60 participants last post by  Pan0606 
#1 ·
For those thinking morels already. A thread to talk about the up and coming season. Happy Scouting!!
 
#3 ·
I was out checking a spot that I received permission to look for mushrooms yesterday. It looks like it might be more on the chanterelle, black trumpet, or hen of the woods type of area. Lots of oak with just a few tulip poplar mixed in. View attachment 12058 View attachment 12060
That is good to get out & scout now. Find new spots & tree’s really helps when it starts popping.
 
#6 ·
Howdy Yall.. Wade & Robin here ..
from over in Monroe county Indiana..
We drive out to Lancaster about 25 time a year..its so Beautiful in those Mountains..
We Morel Hunt on some State Game Lands..and find a few..but haven't got into any Honey holes yet.
We will Keep trying ..
We Love Walking in Yalls Woods ..
Very Similar to Our Hoosier National Forest here at Home..
but Man..Yalls Hills are Big Mountains.
Hunting Recreation Military camouflage Soldier Photography
 
#7 ·
Howdy Yall.. Wade & Robin here ..
from over in Monroe county Indiana..
We drive out to Lancaster about 25 time a year..its so Beautiful in those Mountains..
We Morel Hunt on some State Game Lands..and find a few..but haven't got into any Honey holes yet.
We will Keep trying ..
We Love Walking in Yalls Woods ..
Very Similar to Our Hoosier National Forest here at Home..
but Man..Yalls Hills are Big Mountains.
View attachment 12086
If you want to climb hills you should visit northern Centre co, Elk co or Cameron co. Its all just about straight up and down. In fact there is a sign just west of Clearfield on rt 80 that says that it is the highest point on 80 west of the Mississippi.
 
#11 ·
I lived in Allentown in 1976, I was 13 years old... I didn't go in the wood to Hunt then.
Just Playing..I only lived there about 45 days.. Man they piled the snow High.
and that Birch Beer and Cheese Steak Sub style Sandwiches... and them Girls!
it was Golden Good times....
and the Bulldog Swimming pool at the Mack Truck Factory.. and The Delaware river & Canal......We moved back to Indiana just a day before that Big Blizzard hit...
 
#12 ·
I had friends in St Marys back in the early 80's and went up trout fishing and hunting morels with them. The trout fishing was great but we didn't do real good on the morels. I have learned a lot about morel hunting since then. One thing we did find was plenty of ramps around the Bendigo state park area.
 
#13 ·
Someone once said there are no stupid questions, so I am going to ask this (maybe the first one) does the mycelium of morels grow all winter or become dormant or just die and depend on spores to restart the cycle again. The reason I ask is my cousin has an apple tree that over the past 15 years he has poured his rinse water from his morels around it and it fruits morels on the year after, but he has skipped a few years and the years he missed the following year there were none.This has happened more than once.
 
#22 ·
I just purchased some property in Nelson County Kentucky. The property has a small creek running through it with very thick mature tree lines. Has anyone ever hunted in Nelson County?I haven’t hunted these since I was a kid in Evansville Indiana so I’m very anxious to see if there has ever been any found in the area!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Beagle, From my experience growing morel mushrooms, this it what I've learned. MYC is not affected by freezing, but it does help in fruiting. The key is nutrients and nutrients removed. Morel MYC has fast running threads (the fastest I've ever worked with). The speed causes a problem so it needs a way to store the nutrients it gathers, it does it by forming sclerotia. The wash water is the start from spore to myc if conditions are right, once that spore forms a myc thread it's off and running looking for SHALLOW rooted type trees (Symbiotic relationship). This is the greatest way for it to get the nutrients it will ever need. But as the myc is running and looking for these types of trees it's forming sclerotium along the way. Sometimes it finds its host and sometimes it doesn't, but either way the first year you will find some morels that fruited from the virgin run from the sclerotia that formed. Once it finds it's host in your case the apple tree that tree will provide all the nutrients it will ever need and no need for running anymore....until that host dies. Happy Scouting!
 
#33 ·
Redfred, When I hunt an area for morels I first look in those obvious places if I don't find any I move on. But If I do find some than I look in the not so obvious places. One example would be deer runs, what I think happens is the deer disturb the soil and break up the MYC threads which triggers fruiting. The steep ravines have tree type change which changes soil types, also water runoff moves soil around when you have elevation changes. So you have to be always thinking barriers and nutrients. Happy Thinking!
 
#39 ·
#36 ·
I found some help on the internet on areas that have limestone bedrock in each county in pa. Which I feel could have the right ph for morels. Hot spots should be found where limestone or dolomite areas meet with sandstone or sandstone conglomerate, as long as you have the right trees. To find the website just google pa dcnr website and then click on county rock maps. That will take you to a website that has all the counties then just click on your county. This doesn't mean that these are the only places that you should look but it may be a starting point for new areas.
 
#48 ·
This book is a true masterpiece. Worth every penny. Think I bought it when it first came out, and read it at least 10 times. Every time I read it I learn something new. Not a morel, book forsay, but ya it’s great. Check out the front cover picture, that stream is a great MYC barrier. View attachment 12262
Thanks for the tip. I' have the Mrs. searching for a copy
 
#43 ·
Beagle, I find a good number of morels around apple tree's. I STOP AND LOOK AROUND EVERY APPLE TREE I SEE. I live in a non limestone basin and every yellow morel I find is apple tree related. The morel MYC came along with the tree on it's roots when it was planted. It's crazy I'll find yellow morels under a single apple tree with oaks all around. But get me in those limestone basins and it's game on! Happy Hunting!
 
#44 ·
trahn, do blacks like neutral ph soil or doesn't it matter with them. I have only found them when they were in the same areas as the greys and yellows and that isn't very often. I have a few spots that I have found while deer hunting that look like the habitat you showed last year, but I think they might be a lower ph because they are a higher elevation than my normal spots.
 
#45 ·
Blacks can handle higher PH's. You have to target them on those transition stress points. You really have to hunt those edges to find them. Other mushroom MYC can cause edges, even different strains of morels. You put two different strains morel tissue cultures on a agar dish and they grow right up to each other and build a defense wall on each side and never grow into each other. Happy Hunting!
 
#51 ·
I had looked at some of them last year but the ones that I had I couldn't determine where the alkaline soil was. I might have looked at 4 or five different ones. Usually the limestone bedrock means there is some sweeter soil in the area. There are other bedrocks that make the soil alkaline too like gypsum but there isn't any in my area that I know of.
 
#54 ·
I think the USDA maps are worth a look. One thing is they are aerial photos so as your looking for soil type you can Look for trees too. ( of course not what kind) there’s a lot of info and a matter of sorting threw it for what helps. I’m get more of a Geology lesson then I wanted and I need to find a 10 year old for help..still looking...
 
#55 ·
So I’m looking out back at a bunch of robins bouncing around in the yard. The weather is warming up . I’m ready to trade my cabin fever for some spring fever. The icing on the cake...... old Phil yesterday told us we would have an early spring. All good news until I read Phil is wrong 60% of the time.... Anybody got any good ground hog recipes...........no ?.........that right there ain’t one. My apologies to all the PETA (people eating taste animals) fans somewhere out there someone likes ground hog...
 
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