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It seems like spring here too. I've been sneezing my head off! Anticipation is building as I and I'm sure everybody else is looking forward to morels. That is a nice photo you took Dualsetters and It sure helps to get me through the last few weeks before the season begins.

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Last year was terrible for black morels here in eastern NA. Ground stayed too cold for too long. My worst year for collecting blacks during the 20 years I've been finding them.

The heavy snow cover we currently have here in eastern PA could be a good thing... if we get enough warmth at the right time. 2nd and 3rd weeks of April are usually the set-up time for blacks in my area.

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Dave, if I may ask you a question ..

I also found very few early blacks last year . I usually do well with them before the blondes and greys pop ..

My question is, since there were fewer last year, does that mean fewer spores planted, and a repeat failure this year ??

Or, are there other factors .. Again, I am still trying to learn ..

Thanks for your time ..

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My understanding is that morel production in any given year does not depend upon the spore drop from the previous year. The Morchella fungus likely survives from year to year in mycorrhiazal association with partner trees, and whether or not the fungus manages to put out mushrooms during a given year depends partly upon the weather conditions before and during the critical time period. (Another factor is whether the partner tree(s) has been damaged, weakened, or has died. This seems to be more influential with the large yellows.)

Conditions contributing to morel fruting is a subject of recent/current research. What I'm saying may be at least partly incorrect. I know that midwestern NA morel hunters use gunny-sacks to carry their morel harvests, due to a belief that allowing spores to drop will influence the next year's production. I think this may be a faulty conclusion. However, in the Big Picture, it would seem like a good idea to encourage the spreading of spores. But the spores dropped this year may result in fungal proliferation that does not result in mushrooms until years later.

I have had consecutive good years of collecting blacks, good years following meager ones, and meager years following good ones. So this seems to support what I've suggested above.

The reason why last year was bad --IMO-- was that the soil temperature increased very slowly up to about the critical level of 50F. The soil temp "teased" the Morchella by remaining close to this level for awhile, and then a cold snap sent the fungus back into an inactive reproductive state. I've seen what I believe to be this same sequence of events a few times over the years.

Almost as bad is the prolonged early spell of abnormally hot/dry conditions. When this happens, there seems to be a short-lived early fruiting which quickly tails off. This last happened around here in 2012.

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I found a few blacks very early on, but the local blacks were finished before the end of the first week of April. During a good year, blacks peak around April 20.

Optimal conditions for blacks seem to be: 1. a slow thaw during March, with either lots of snow melt or rainfall, 2. moist mild conditions for the first 10-14 days of April, 3. a period of warm weather with temps fluctuating between 45-75F and additional light to moderate rainfall.

After they get going, the blacks will continue even if the temps suddenly turn cold or hot. During good years I have gathered local blacks for up to five weeks. But, if they're already popping then a deluge --3" or more rainfall-- will probably put an end to new fruit bodies. Even after the fruiting has ceased, I continue to find some that were originally hiding under leaf litter as the yellows --and some years, the half-frees-- begin to appear.

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Interesting stuff there Dave, thanks for that info . Funny you should mention the gunny sacks, as I also use mesh bags with the assumption that

it would help spread the spore .

Sorry dualsetters, didn't mean to hijack your thread here ..

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It was 80 or near it yesterday. By this afternoon the temps are forecast to plummet into the 30's maybe worse. Snow is forecast for later in the week. I totally agree with Dave. It has been my experience that temperature fluctuations leading up to the morel 'season' can affect it drastically. For me, last year was catastrophic. A long cold winter continued into spring. We had a very late warm up. I think I found less than a dozen morels for the season. It has also been my experience that even when a 'good' spring starts, warms up, morels begin to pop then there is a severe cold snap it shuts the season down.

Just some observations but ... I'll be 66 in the season this year. I've been hunting morels since I was 4 or 5 years old. I've seen a lot of seasons.

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The late-breaking spring --cool until May, like last year-- seems bad for the early black morels (M. angusticeps) and the forest morels (M. diminutiva aka "deliciosas). But the big grays/yellows that come out (east on the Rockies) under recently dead elm and dying apple trees seem to do well in late-breaking seasons. Last year I got only a handful of blacks, a handful of deliciosas, but lots of big late yellows.

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So far things are looking pretty normal here in southern PA. A few days into the 60s, but most in the 40-50 range. And we have a good bit of ground moisture hanging in there. We're hoping for a good year, since we haven't had a good year for blacks in a while.

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I just spent the first full day of spring cross-country skiing... fresh 5" layer of snow atop several inches of old icy crust. So the answer to the question "Is spring here?"... yes, and no.

Weather pattern looks just like last year's, reoccurring trough of cold air poking down through the eastern Great Lakes, into the eastern half of PA, and then up into New England. A week of warm weather in April could change things. But at this point it doesn't look good for the early morels here in NE PA.

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We all want spring to get here asap ! But wishing won't speed the process . Lol !!

We have had a roller coaster of weather the last 2 weeks . Some highs in the 60's, some lows in the 20's .. Snow and sun, warm and cold . No consistent

spring so far .. If I were a morel, I would be confused ! Lol !

I think, mid April here would be the earliest .. North western, Virginia ..

Yeah, I'm chomping at the bits too ! Lol !

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Weather/Spring that used to be extraordinary here has become typical. We get a warm up, things put our shoots, blossoms and buds and winter returns. The weather forecast, which was bad enough a few days ago has went into the toilet. The possible low in the 20's is now the HIGH with lows forecast into the teens tonight (Sat. March 28) and probably tomorrow. There is nothing in the long range models to change this pattern. We could be experiencing record low temps throughout April and May.

If I don't show up for a few days it will be because I'm out burning some styrofoam .................

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lol Insulating your spring mushrooms. Ive considered trying wine caps in hot boxes.

Its 15°F here right now and Im trying to stay positive. And Im positive that this is no good. but seriously; it hasn't been too warm here yet and a few hours of teens isn't enough to refreeze the ground. I don't know what weather lies ahead, but I don't think all is lost just yet.

Here's to some sunshine !!

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Not looking so good now. We should start finding our first blacks in about two weeks. High of 38 today and only two days in the ten day forecast are supposed to be above 60. If we don't get warmer weather soon, our morel season may be late and short. If we have one that is.

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