Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan

6822 Views 52 Replies 14 Participants Last post by chadhandshoe999, 1 mo ago

Heaven Lentine

Discussion Starter · Mar 17, 2022

Heya, fellow shroomers!
I'm from St. Joseph County, IN and all of the forums for my area are pretty much dead. It'd be refreshing to see even a little activity from my area...just a lil bit? Lol.
I prefer to hunt in Southern Indiana during the earlier part of the season and work my way to Northern MI. This past year, I swear I've packed twice the amount of research into my brain than any other year. All types of info from spore prints to chemical absorption. So, any information at all won't be shot down, even if I am already aware.
I honestly just want to see people in my area share the same hobby and love nature as much as I do.

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Regionnaire

· #12 · Mar 24, 2022

Heaven Lentine said:
Heya, fellow shroomers!
I'm from St. Joseph County, IN and all of the forums for my area are pretty much dead. It'd be refreshing to see even a little activity from my area...just a lil bit? Lol.
I prefer to hunt in Southern Indiana during the earlier part of the season and work my way to Northern MI. This past year, I swear I've packed twice the amount of research into my brain than any other year. All types of info from spore prints to chemical absorption. So, any information at all won't be shot down, even if I am already aware.
I honestly just want to see people in my area share the same hobby and love nature as much as I do.

Hey there. I'm from NWI, and hunt all over the place. I have plenty of personal spots, so I'm willing to team up on excursions to my larger hunting grounds, including by you Heaven Lentine.

I doubt I hit my southern spots this year due to knee issues, but I'll be out every day I'm able once they pop north of Indy.

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Regionnaire

· #13 · Mar 24, 2022 (Edited)

jaybo said:
Do you find black morels in St. Joseph county? In the Chicago area they're few and far between. If so, they shouldn't be long for starting, as they start earlier than yellow morels. In fact, SW Michigan black morels aren't usually that far behind southern Illinois as it's a similar hardiness zone as southern Illinois due to the lake. No rumors of southern Illinois starting yet, but should be any day now.

We normally get peckers more than anything else due to lake effect, but last year was crazy for blacks. I found some damn near every time out, including late season. I have a bunch of pics of them in the 2021 thread.

If you remember, we had an early warm-up that woke up the foliage. When that happens, you tend to get more blacks. The nice weather also translated into a ton of early greys. Then, the cold came (sub-freezing temps) and stifled the peckers (I found maybe 25% of what I would normally find), the rest of the greys, and the early yellows. ..was still finding tons of blacks, though. Had a nice push of yellows late, but the forests filled in before the yellows could go crazy. Still had a great season, despite.

I had my first find in NW Indiana on April 13th last year. It'll be later this time cuz there are no more 60s or 70s on the horizon. That should mean less blacks this year, and more peckers. Still have a few weeks, so maybe April will pleasantly surprise us

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Regionnaire

· #21 · Mar 27, 2022

capn morel said:
Hey fellow shroomers. First post of the new year. I'm another NW Indiana hunter living in Porter County. Wild ramps are starting to pop, the shrooms are usually 2-3 weeks after. But we need warmer weather. I'll keep you updated.

Hey there, capn! Nice to see you back.

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Regionnaire

· #22 · Mar 27, 2022 (Edited)

noskydaddy said:
Nice to get some details on the elusive black morel.
I have to admit, I am terrible at finding them.
So thanks for all the info.

I did know about the zone in Michigan being "more tropical" because of the lake:
It's known as the fruit belt because of all the cherries and blueberries
and peaches that can be grown there.

Imagine a 25-mile wide strip of land from the state line
all the way North to Traverse City.
That's the zone.

But I never thought to apply it to black morels! DUH!

Hey there, Nosky...good to see you

It goes even farther inland in NW Indiana because we get wind blowing directly off of the lake all winter. It takes longer for the ground to heat up because of it. That's why Lake, Porter, and La Porte counties can be so finicky.

Blacks are genetically identical to half-frees, greys, and yellows. They're black because they need to absorb more light to compensate for the colder ground.

I start to search for them when the ground temp is in the low 40's, and leaves are budding. With all others, I look for partial shade...early in the season, blacks tend to pop where there's more constant sunlight, and colder/darker pockets later. When I am searching for them, I start on the SE side of the forest working west, and hit most any sunny hill or open patch I can find. They are tough, but once you figure them out in a forest, you're golden for the entire season. If I find a patch, I tend to find more (peckers/greys/yellows) later to the north and west of where I found the blacks.

BTW, not sure why, but I have the best luck with black morels near Ash trees. Maybe they wake up faster than other species...I don't know

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Regionnaire

· #25 · Mar 29, 2022

noskydaddy said:
Hey @Regionnaire, good to see you too buddy. Thanks for even MORE detail. "Ground temp in low 40s to begin." That's good to know. Maybe I'm starting too late.

Like you, I do focus on where the ground gets more direct sunlight first.

I read a good article on vineyards and where they plant grapes because, they too, use the "TERRIOR" (the lay of the land as it pertains to soil and climate) to determine best results.

It's very interesting to see the world in that 3D TOPO map. Kinda of like studying those maps to locate fish in lakes. I can study those things all day! LOL

The low 40s is a starting point for me this close to the lake. The farther inland you go, the warmer the ground. Wade was just mentioning in the other thread that he loves the ground temp @ 55-60. I start looking when it's in the 40s, and go out every day I can when it hits 50.

Just wanted to throw that out there. I'm so used to hunting near Lake Michigan that it might lead to some bias.

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Regionnaire

· #26 · Mar 29, 2022

Penelope said:
I'm in NWI, Walkerton area. I've been lurking on this board for a long time but haven't bothered posting. I'd love to team up for a hunt. My personal hunting area was purchased and is now off limits, so I've been trying to scout out some new spots. I love finding them more than I actually like eating them, which in my mind makes for a great partnership! I'd also love to find other women for outdoor activities - I love foraging and identifying wildlife.

Welcome, Penelope! There are still some great forests to hunt in your area. I will help you out when the time arrives. If schedules line up, I have some new forests to scout not far from you, and a couple big forests I haven't been to in a while that could use the extra eyes. Last year, there were others from your area looking to meet, so maybe they'll pop their heads in at some point as well.

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Regionnaire

· #46 · 2 mo ago

r0ck3m333 said:
God it sounds so bad to say half free and blacks in a sentence🙄 We gotta do something about this or we are all going to get in trouble😝

Would you rather us talk about black peckers?

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