[old henry]

Look at the weather thru the nxt couple of weeks the conditions are prime. Good luck to all. I'm hoping to be finding them by the first part of April

 

[wolf claw]

Southern Illinois I presume? Horrible weather in Northern IL everything is flooded and the temperature is up and down. Sunny and warm one day and cold and frozen the next. I am guessing End of April or Beginning of May up here.

 

[old henry]

Yep I down at the bottom of the state the ground temps are moving in favor of a fruitful season

 

[metal]

Finally most of the snow is gone around here in Chicago area. 60 plus degrees tomorrow, first time for that since late November. Spring forecast is for temperatures to be below normal for around here. I'm hoping by May 1st, unless we get some real warmth through April to make me want to go out before then. This winter can kiss by butt. I'm so ready to hit the woods and enjoy spring, it aint even funny. Hope everyone has a stellar season, but I guess that's up to Mother Nature to determine that. Please don't liter in the woods.

 

[wolf claw]

Im up in Wisconsin for the weekend the weather has been sunny but cold. I was checking the tempreature for Chicago and it looks like we have a cold front coming in with possibly more snow (sigh). I went for a hike and the woods are still covered with a good amount of snow. When will this nightmerish winter end! I only found one morel last year at Kankakee State Park. Last year was my first year hunting I ended up finding lots of chickens and various boletes and a couple red chantreles. I always bring an extra bag for trash I find while hiking or hunting! I dont understand how people can be so careless and litter!

 

[makeroftoys]

I'm around St.Louis I haven't found any yet...
going out today, in the afternoon.

 

[draggin1]

I'm in champaign and was wondering when best times and conditions are this will be my first season.

 

[duke]

I'd say about 2 weeks in Champaign draggin1. I'll be down there next weekend for the state bowling tournament and I can get a better idea tho. Good luck!

 

[david - sw il]

I'm not expecting a real good season in S IL unless things pick up quickly in the rainfall department. It was a dry winter around here, there were even dust storms back in February and last week the humidity was in the teens with strong winds which really did a number on the soil moisture. We did have above average snowfall here, but the water content was low and it mostly ran off when it melted due to frozen ground.

It does look like we'll get some rain later this week and a more active pattern the first week of April. But it's going to take a lot of rain to end the drought we've been in since 2012.

N IL could be a different story, you guys have had a TON of snow. Harsh winters are usually favorable for good morel crops but I'm not feeling it in my neck of the woods.

 

[duke]

You are so right David, I'm thinking bumper crop here in Central IL all we need is spring!

 

[david - sw il]

Another red flag warning this afternoon, 18* this morning. Hoping the rain that is forecast comes to fruition...

 

[pikemen7]

Still lot of frost in ground here in northern ill\wisconsin

 

[bud]

Accuweather is calling for 70's from 4/7 to 4/13 here in Macon County. Ought to get them ground temps up if they're right. If we get the rain it won't be long! Hope you guys get some good soaking showers down there, David.

 

[outlawatheart]

Hamilton County has been getting plenty of rain and has been a fairly wet winter...won't be too long now!

 

[kb]

David, I would not give up hope due to the dry conditions. If you still get rain when the soil temps. get right you may get a bumper crop. S. Kansas was in a terrible multi-year drought, then last spring they caught rain and the right temps, and Bam, we picked boxes full for days. We all decided the drought cycle actually helped. It's all in the timing. We thought N. MO. was going to blow up the same way, but the heat and moisture did not come together and it sucked. Is south Illinois Dolomite limestone? if so it is the same type of setup as S. Kan.. Check the CEDAR. By the way I live in NW. MO.

 

[david - sw il]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing off this season at all. Just thinking we are going to need some well timed rainfall since it's been so dry lately. We did recieve a few tenths of rain a few days ago, which helped out. Hopefully the system this week will bring soaking rains. It's looking like a late start to the season, we have another 10-15 days before they start around here.

I agree with the theory about droughts. The best season I've seen was 2008, which was a very wet spring that followed a hot and dry summer. It makes sense that the mycelium would flourish during favorable conditions after a period of stress.

 

[shroomdandy]

Speaking of perfect or not so perfect conditions. Last year I picked several shrooms from a creek botton which had flooded a couple diiferent times in the early spring last year before the shrooms popped. The shrooms I picked left a greenish oily residue in the soaking bowl. After cooking the shrooms and eating them, and I did think twice about eating them, we both became sick. My question is, and I'm assuming so, but can morels soak up toxic field chemicals and other fluids, gas, oil etc. from the flood waters? I think I'm going to stay clear of the bottoms and focus on hillsides and areas that do not flood.

 

[david - sw il]

Yes. Mushrooms readily absorb toxins. This is why burlap bags of mycelium are being used to clean up oil spills and other contaminants.

 

[justin]

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go morrell hunting in nw IL?

 

[justin]

And due to this fluctuating weather, does anyone have a thought on when the season will begin? What are ideal conditions? New to this hobby, and thus message board. Just want to say I appreciate people with similar interests making this site, and adding to these message boards. Thanks all!