Speak for yourself! In the past week I have dreamed about hunting mushrooms (don't remember if they were morels), and playing golf. Am I ready for winter to end?

 

I just remembered that I have some dried Morels in the basement!

 

2025, let's go!

Bad luck for me last year for morels and chants!

 

Same here friend, I got 72 tics and 25 morels. Not this year! Lol fingers crossed

 

Same here! The morels were my fault as I got out too late, though I did manage to get some. Few chants was the drought's fault. Just not enough water to keep them popping. Oddly enough it turned out to be a great year for hens, and I found five separate places that flushed chickens last year, although I only found one log where they were fresh. The rest I found late after they were all dried out and gone white. But this is the most active chicken spot I've ever found, and I remember where all those logs are! They may not flush again this year, maybe ever. But, there seems to be some active sporulation going on in there, and it's not that big of a woods. I just know that I need to spend more time there this year.

 

It looks awesome when theres multiple chickens in the same area. My sister has a spot where theres a large standing dead fall with huge limbs laying around it, and they all flush like crazy in the summer. A sight to behold!

 

I will say that a log full of chickens is a sight to gladden the heart of any forager! I will also say that if your sister's spot flushes again this year, grab all you can. I have no scientific data to support this, just personal observation, but it seems like chickens burn up the nutrients in whatever they are growing on really fast. The vast majority of my chicken flushes have been one and done. I did find a small chicken growing at the base of a live tree. It will be interesting to follow the progression.

 

♥🇺🇸🦅🤠🍄‍🟫🍄🍄‍🟫🍄Any of Yall gonna be in the woods this weekend?

 

Soil is over 50° @ 5" depth in my yard. I measured where the sun was hitting it this afternoon but that's the temperature I look for before I start looking. Fungus could be among us early this year. See what happens next week after the rains. 🤞

 

❤🇺🇸🦅🍄‍🟫🍄🍄‍🟫🤠 OK MON 🇯🇲 ✌

 

I hear that. Been out walking around and looking twice so far, but it is WAY early for NE Ohio. We're a good month away from even getting started. The air temps have been really nice, but the soil temps are a long way away from ideal.

 

What are your average 5 days soil temps? Central Ohio area is 50 degrees. May start finding blacks in a week or two.

 

Current 5 day average is 44 degrees, and it will probably drop a little from there. Now that the cold front went through with the thunderstorms, the low tonight is going to be near freezing and the high tomorrow is only getting into the low 40's. Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to be really nice, but then we're looking at a whole string of cooler days with overnight lows running in the 30's.

This seems to be an old story in Ohio. I once read a comment that, as far as weather goes, Ohio is like two different states. There's Ohio north of I-70 and Ohio south of I-70!

 

Theres always the april curveball, when everything looks ready to pop. Southern and Central Ohio are going off. That random guy in the northern miracle microclimate is chirping ...then it drops 4" of snow or a random week of crippling frost mornings then Im out there collecting ticks, yelling at dryad saddles and wearing myself out.

Might just go by the calendar this year, last week of April and first week of May I always find 75% of whatever I find for morels.

 

Theres always the april curveball, when everything looks ready to pop. Southern and Central Ohio are going off. That random guy in the northern miracle microclimate is chirping ...then it drops 4" of snow or a random week of crippling frost mornings then Im out there collecting ticks, yelling at dryad saddles and wearing myself out.

Might just go by the calendar this year, last week of April and first week of May I always find 75% of whatever I find for morels.

I hear this! I've never understood the idea of dryad saddles as a "consolation prize" for a failed morel hunt! They taste like melon rind, and I don't eat those! I fell into that trap exactly once and never again!

It's the same "skull job" that deer hunters go through every year, except it's self inflicted. Deer hunters have all kinds of glossy magazine covers, with pictures of gigantic bucks, to drool over and fantasize about. We do it on boards like this. As a deer hunter I came to the conclusion that I was NOT a trophy hunter, I was a meat hunter. I would rather take a nice fat doe that ate really well, rather than a stringy old "Lord of the Forest"!

I don't know if I will ever come across a "mother lode" like some folks do, or be in a situation where I can sell my "excess" morels. But I usually find some, I have discovered some spots that produce regularly for me. And I have done the same with chants, meadows, hens and now chickens. And I found a dynamite ramp spot! Those are enough to keep me happy.

 

thanks for good information

 

And something else occurred to me while I was out and about running errands today. I haven't yet heard a single lawnmower yet this year! When people have to cut grass, you know the soil tamps are getting right!

 

Woods are waking up in central Ohio. Ramps are up about 3-4 inches

 

Ah! There's that I-70 magic at work again. That kind of looks like a creek bottom area. That's the kind of place my patch is in. Being a creek bottom makes it kind of a cold sink, but that's a good thing since it's also kind of out of sight. It's in a county metropark, and in their wisdom there is no foraging permitted in the parks!

Yeah, right! There are foragers all over the place. We trade knowing looks when we encounter one another out there.

 

Ah! There's that I-70 magic at work again. That kind of looks like a creek bottom area. That's the kind of place my patch is in. Being a creek bottom makes it kind of a cold sink, but that's a good thing since it's also kind of out of sight. It's in a county metropark, and in their wisdom there is no foraging permitted in the parks!

Yeah, right! There are foragers all over the place. We trade knowing looks when we encounter one another out there.

It is a creek bottom area, good eye! Lots of elm, maple and black cherry.

 

It looks a lot like my spot. The soil is sandy loam and the whole place is a gigantic ramp patch. Oddly enough I've never found a morel down in there, but I did once find a gigantic log full of chickens. It's not the easiest place to get into. The main creek is to the left, but there is a small tributary that I have to negotiate to get to where the ramps are. If we've had any wet weather at all the bottom is like quicksand!

 

❤🇺🇸🦅🍄🍄‍🟫🤠 I hope i find more Ramps..
I Only have 2 patches... each is only about 6 feet in diameter

 

Pickled Wild Ramps on Pizza.

I'm going to give this Columbus, Black Dog Pizza Shop a try tonight with my sweetheart.

I've already lined up my favorite Columbus Pizza place (Grandad's) so it's ok to bring in Morels or Chanterelles and they will make a Mushroom Pizza for me with them. I took some Morels with me on a trip there last year, but alas, my favorite bartender was not there. So I didn't ask anyone else. This year, I've asked two different bartenders and they both said ok, bring them on in.

Wishing good Early Hunting to everyone. 😀🍕🍕

 

❤🇺🇸🦅🍄🍄‍🟫🤠 I hope i find more Ramps..
I Only have 2 patches... each is only about 6 feet in diameter

Well, I guess that you use what you can find. The more I keep my eyes open, the more is revealed! I've found ramp patches all through this metropark that is miles long! I think in the one spot I've found that I could haul wheelbarrow loads of them out there every day for a month and do no harm, but the authorities think otherwise. And I can understand it, yet not agree with it!

Pickled Wild Ramps on Pizza.

I'm going to give this Columbus, Black Dog Pizza Shop a try tonight with my sweetheart.

View attachment 50018


I've already lined up my favorite Columbus Pizza place (Grandad's) so it's ok to bring in Morels or Chanterelles and they will make a Mushroom Pizza for me with them. I took some Morels with me on a trip there last year, but alas, my favorite bartender was not there. So I didn't ask anyone else. This year, I've asked two different bartenders and they both said ok, bring them on in.

Wishing good Early Hunting to everyone. 😀🍕🍕

That's interesting! I tried to have a local breakfast spot that I frequent make me a morel omelette, but they said no! All their food must be delivered by a licensed food supplier, even if I'm the one delivering my own edibles! Weird!

 

Well . . . there's Rules
and . . . there's Reality!

Wishing great woods adventures to all! 😎 🌅

 

Ramps are the BOMB! Tried them for the first time last year. Can't wait for 2025 ramps! Currently on Carnivore but gonna have to cheat while ramps are in season.

 

I went to Black Dog Pizza last night only to find that the Ramp Pizza was a month-long special of last year. The now gone Ramp Pizza was titled Lady and the Ramp

I ordered the current Monthly March Special which in honor of St Patricks Day was "Rubin Pizza" called St Patti's little Helper.

 

I've said in other replies that a wanted a slow, gradual warm up rather than a sudden blast of hot weather, and that sure is what we're getting up here! I was having my coffee this morning and when I rose from my seat to get another cup I happened to look out the kitchen window to see it snowing a blizzard! It got all the way up to 40 degrees today, and is heading down into the mid 20's again tonight! I guess I wouldn't mind a slightly quicker warm up. I think I'm just tired of winter! Oh well, that's life in the frozen tundra of NE Ohio.

 

Shroomsearcher,
Thanks for the anectdote.
A few years back, someone posted, asking on where to hunt for morels in SW Ohio as they were going to be visiting there from out-of-state for a period of time. On that person's behalf, I called a more local SW OH park (not a state park, which as I understand it, all allow morel hunting in OH) and I asked the person answering the phone if hunting Morels was allowed in that park. He answered that technically, or according to the rules no -- but in practice they did not bother anyone as long as it was not commercial foraging.

Very early in my Morel hunting history, my wife and I, as well as friends were hiking John Bryan State Park and my wife found Morels. We counted 26 and left them all because we thought picking them was not allowed.

After returning home to Columbus, out of curiosity, I called the John Bryan State Park office and to my surprise the person said, yes Morel hunting was allowed. Well . . . I have never made that mistake again. Ha!

I've eaten Morel Fettachini at La Tavola Restaurant in Columbus and Chantrelle soup in Inn-at-the Falls Restaurant in Hocking county and the Refectory in Columbus had Chanterelles on the menu several years in a row.

For several years there was activity in Michigan on cultivating Morels that was partly funded by the owner of Domino's Pizza. I'll give you one guess what he had in mind for those Morels? Morel Pizza at Domino's!!

It didn't work out, though. As I understood it, there was a fungal outbreak that required shutting down all production and sterilizing the facility and upon restart the same thing happened again. After that the investors would not put in more money.

Have a great Spring. 😎 ⛅

 

Okay, I can't figure out how to copy something from PM's to the general forum. I can usually figure that kind of stuff out, but no luck this time. sb and I were having a conversation that was going quite well, and we decided to bring it back here.

Here in NE Ohio we're finally seeing some warmer weather, and thing have started to green up a bit. Ramps are finally getting started. I checked on them the other day.

I was able to join a nearby fish & game club some years ago, sponsored by two friends. I am now a lifetime member, and this was where other members informed me that morels grow there! I knew about the elm/morel connection, but that was about it. My first season hunting was a total bust! Talking with one of the members during the Summer, he asked me if I had checked the apple trees. I said no, as I didn't know about that connection back then. That's when I started to find morels, even though my first find happened under a recently dead elm that had just started to slip its bark!

 

I am really liking this slow gradual start. Last year came fast and early and was over before I knew it. At least in central Ohio, as long as this weather pattern holds and doesn't get hot too quickly, we are in for a very nice season!

I have spent this winter scouting for new spots and really working on my tree identification skills, which is looking like it will pay off. I found a handful of new spots closer to home which is a huge plus.

This will be my 4th year hunting consistently and finding stuff, wish I had started way earlier, but better late than never!

 

I am really liking this slow gradual start. Last year came fast and early and was over before I knew it. At least in central Ohio, as long as this weather pattern holds and doesn't get hot too quickly, we are in for a very nice season!

I have spent this winter scouting for new spots and really working on my tree identification skills, which is looking like it will pay off. I found a handful of new spots closer to home which is a huge plus.

This will be my 4th year hunting consistently and finding stuff, wish I had started way earlier, but better late than never!

It was the same up here in NE Ohio. Plus I was stupid and waited until I thought things looked "perfect", and I was way late! But we get a lot of lake effect from Erie up here, and it's been keeping us pretty cool. Heck it was snowing a blizzard up here one morning earlier this week! We are, basically, Lake Erie's bitch!

 

Found some devils urn this morning