Dave W Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 We've had ample rainfall these past two weeks, and early-morning temps have bot been excessively cold. Yesterday I measured 0.3" in the rain guage, and the night was calm and foggy. It's supposed to become sunny today, and we have had plenty of sunshine this past week. These are all good signs for the appearance of the first morels. Soil temp is getting close to 50F, maybe achieving this today or tomorrow. So I think we may be able to find a couple black morels tomorrow. Today I'm visiting an early spot that actually hasn't produced any morels these past few years. But the spot is easy to access --couple hundred yards from the car-- and it does reliably produce "Devil's Urns", Urnula craterium. Also called "Black Tulip Fungus", these are good indicators that morels want to appear soon, usually about a week after the urns appear. But with temps forecast to get into the mid to high 70Fs Sunday and Monday, things may begin to happen quickly. My best black morel spots also feature annual Craterium fruitings. I'm a bit worried about two things. Heavy rainfall is predicted for Tuesday night. It sometimes happens that the morels get going and the fruiting gets "washed out" by excessive rainfall. More than 2 inches when they're just getting started may do more harm than good. The other thing is that temps are supposed to dip into the mid 20s early Wednesday morning. If the ground is sufficiently warm and the morels have already begun, then this may not pose much of a threat. But if the soil temp is still struggling to get up to the critical level, then prolonged sub-freezing temps can delay/postpone things. At this point I *think* the ground will be warm enough and the morels will have begun by Tuesday. It's always so tricky trying to predict morel fruitings. The fungus often has the last laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Hi Dave, I have a long wait yet. The ground is still frozen 3 inches down. It will take a while for everything to thaw out. I pull my camper up to my seasonal campsite in Manitoba around the 1st of May. The earliest that I have collected them up there has been the 10th of May. Most years, however, the last ten days of May are best. I collect black morels well in to June up there. I collect almost all black morels with an odd yellow in Manitoba. Down here in ND, I collect mostly yellow morels. Around the end of May and the first week of June are best. Last year, it was late in both locations. Last week, I never saw a morel in either location until after the first week of June. I think that we are going to be late again this year but not as late as last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Average start to the black morels down here is around April 16. Right now the season is still running behind schedule. No Urnula craterium seen today. But the next two days are forecast to be in the mid 70Fs. So things could change quickly. But I'm not headed out to me best spot until Monday afternoon. Bob, that's interesting that you get blacks into June. Latest I've found blacks --ones nice enough to harvest-- is around May 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Last year I collected black morels on the 13th of June. I had my nephew from New Jersey up fishing with me and I had to bring back down here to fly out the next day. When I returned 6 days later, I concentrated on oysters and aspen boletes. BTW: Did you see that I article I wrote about? What is your opinion about G. korfii? They don't grow in my area but I do know a few people who eat them regularly in other states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 I just saw the commentary, Bob. As for Gyromitra korfii. I did eat some once. I dehydrated it, rehydrated it, and sauteed for 15 minutes. That's probably putting the mushroom through enough preparation to evaporate whatever volatile gyromitrin may have been in the mushroom. Texture and flavor were good. But I haven't taken to eating these regularly. I think it's good policy to stick with the well established edibles for use as ingredients in meals. Bob, what types of trees do you find your black morels around up there in Manitoba? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Hi Dave, I find most around balsam poplar and quaking aspens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Those are true poplar species. They get (natural) black morels by these type trees in the Rocky Mountains, and westward. We have Quaking Aspen and Bigtooth Aspen (true poplars) around here, but I've never seen a single black morel by any of these type trees. I believe they also get blacks by true poplars in Michigan. Bob, I wonder if your Manitoba Black Morels are the same species as I get here in Pennsylvania and New Jersey? I get almost all my blacks by White Ash and Tulip Poplar, which is not a true poplar. Tulip Poplar, aka Yellow Poplar or Tulip Tree, is actually in the Magnolia family. But no black morels today. My wife and I checked our favorite spot for a little over an hour. I think I underestimated the prolonged effect of the harsh winter we just had. Despite these past 3 days featuring high temps of 69F, 81F, and 75F, with good sunshine, the soil temp is still struggling. Trillium and May Apples here and there. Heavy rain forecast for tomorrow... changing to snow. Lows Tuesday/Wednesday nights 21F/26F. This does not bode well for our black morel season. Progress will be delayed and numbers will likely be down. But I still have hope for my spots that typically begin a little later in the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 In Michigan, the guys swear by collecting near big tooth aspen. The range for that species peters out in SE Manitoba. The tulip poplars do not exist out this way. White ash is probably the most common tree planted by cities in the state of ND. I heard an estimate that 70% of urban forest are white ash. This is funny because it is well outside the natural range of the species. If that emerald ash borer ever gets out here, most cities out this way will be in tough shape. However, I have never noticed it north of the border. (For those of you reading this, it shows how important it is to know your trees. It also shows that there are a lot of regional differences.) I tend to find more blacks near balsam poplars than quaking aspens where I collect but I have found them under both. A lot of the locals in Manitoba, collect in areas that have trees where they pasture cattle. They have reclassified a number or morel species last year. If I remember correctly, they split off several blacks into different species. It could well be that what I collect is a different species than you collect in PA or NJ. They all look the same to me. Those late spring cold fronts really raise with morels. Out this way, we had a blizzard on May 1st in both 2011 and 2013. You may be set back a couple more weeks. The other thing that is a killer is hot, dry, windy weather. We had 5 inches of snow last night and it is suppose to be cold until Friday. It is coming your way. Maybe you will get to collect in June this year! Ha Ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 The Kuo morel study identified a northern NA black morel species different from the common eastern NA black morel, Morchella angusticeps. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morchella_septentrionalis.html Kuo also named a western NA morel that grows under balsam poplar. This type is a sorta cross between a black and a half-free. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morchella_populiphila.html Some of the results of the Kuo team have already been replaced by the Clowez study. Probably still a lot to be learned about Morchella species. 2005 was the only year we picked fresh morels in June, some big yellows. But last year we gathered morels in August... in a high-elevation burn site in Idaho. It seems that the window closes on my early-season blacks, if they're not fruiting by 4/20. These past few Aprils have been either too cold or too hot/dry. Last year was chilly and lacking in sunshine. It was my worst year of morel hunting since discovering my local spots 15-20 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 I checked out those links. It is possible that the ones I collect are the first one. They are definitely not the second. My lone attempt last year at collecting yellows was a disaster. I had a small personal window to collect because I was picking my nephew up at the airport and we were heading up to Manitoba to fish the next day. Due to the late thaw, I thought that I was maybe a week early but being that it was my only chance to collect yellows, I went for it anyway. The final was Morels: 0, Wood Ticks 45. I talked to another morel hunter who had found 1 small morel. This was his 5th time out and that was the first morel that he found for the season. So, I did not feel quite as bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastwx Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Best of luck Dave! Had a chance to hunt offshore this weekend and found wahoo instead of fungi :-)I was able to take a quick hike on Sat and found nothing. Will give it another shot this coming Fri and Sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotabob Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Wahoo sounds like fun! If I had a choice between wahoo and morels, I'd take wahoo or any members of the tuna/mackerel family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 You were well engaged. That fish is appropriately named, and here, 20 miles away, I've found nothing interesting. Hopes for tomorrow after the rain today, and my wife ordered the Audubon book and The SE field guide for my birthday. Wahoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hunter & coastwx, they should be out now, or very soon, down your way. Not sure how cold it's supposed to get in NC, or what effect extreme cold may have on your morels. But up here in PA, the 2.25" rainfall, the inch of fresh snow outside, and tonight's projected low near 20F are sure to slow things down. And likely to obliterate the blacks in the early spots. I've got a nice spot in New Jersey that usually starts about a week after my early spot here in NE PA. If we get another warmup before too long, that spot may be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyflyfsh Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 I heard a report of a the first morel found in Maryland. Not sure what part of the state it was though. It looks like a late year for sure. I'm hoping to get up to PA in the next few weeks if I can get out of here. I'll keep my eyes and ears pealed for info in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 There's a few reports from Maryland, and from SW Pennsylvania. We were just about to get to the point where the blacks would star up around here, and whammo! the return of winter. Yellows probably won't start until May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 The weather went from cool and wet to dry and warm. Then a warm rain followed by last night and tonight at freezing. Still, It's comfortable outside right now and I'm gonna spend the next hour trying again, and then again tomorrow for a couple hours. Gotta put A Field Guide to Southern Mushrooms to some sort of test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dualsetters Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 The weather had me convinced to start looking this weekend until it started snowing again yesterday. I think we will see snow into july this year . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 Checked several early-producing Black Morel spots today, no luck. I spent quite a bit of time walking from patch to patch. The persistently cool/cold morning temps are the likely culprit for keeping the morels from appearing. Saw my first Urnula craterium today, and Hepatica. Mild tonight and rain forecast for tomorrow. So maybe they'll start to pop later this week. But more cold morning temps Wednesday/Thursday, and a cool spell forecast for the upcoming weekend. So it's looking like a down year here for the Black Morels, at least in the early spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastwx Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 It's been one strange year. Best of luck in the coming weeks. In the long term it appears one of the strongest El Nino events in recent recoreded histroy may set up later this year. El Nino brings wetter and warmer winters to the eastern and especially southern US. 1997-1998 was the last really big event. My weather background sparked a thought the other day... impact of El Nino on fungi in the US... sounds like a interesting google search this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 Effects of El Nino seem to cause a period of above average temps here in eastern NA, at least when the peak of the effect ripples through this part of the globe. When the effect approaches during the winter it can also mean above precip, on account of the warm surge working to displace the influence of the south-sagging jet-stream. I recall one year --just looked it up, 1998-- when the surge associated with El Nino overrode cold air in Vermont and points northward resulting in a massive ice storm that brought down lots of infrastructure in Canada. When the warm El Nino surge departs, the flood gates to the north can open, sending cold air to fill the developing void. I recall a very cloudy/chilly summer back in the mid/late 1980s when many summer species of mushrooms failed to appear because of lack of sun/warmth. (Nice for fishing, though.) I believe I recall this being a post-El Nino time period. Coastwx, you just confirmed my recollection that we haven't had a strong El Nino for quite some time now. Could be some interesting weather on the horizon. In my experience, unusual weather correlates with occurrence of unusual fungal species. If this new one kicks in soon, maybe the effect will peak around here in the fall or early winter. El Nino introduces more upper-atmosphere turbulence across southern NA, which tends to suppress hurricane development. Maybe you can tell... I'm a bit of a weather geek :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastwx Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 You've certainly got a good handle on El Nino. When weather intersects an entrenched interest it tends to make one much informed... maybe even moreso than someone that was taught via textbook. It was surfing while young and the many hours watch the weather channel that pushed me into the dicipline. Getting hooked on offshore fishing helped maintain the interest and now fungi forging :-)We've had some weak El Nino events in the 2000's, but nothing like 97-98. It will be interesting to watch this possibly develop as we move into the summer and fall. Just looked back at the indicies and there was a strong event in 82-83 and a weaker one in 86-87 which follows the approx. cycle of 4-5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Looks like you got some good rain this evening, coastwx. 20 miles away we're still dry and windy. Hope this will benefit you and this coming week will us. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastwx Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 I did not catch the part of PA that Dave lives, but tremendous rain totals over the last 24 hours from Central VA to SE PA. Here is a great resource to track the last 24 hr rain totals plus options for a week to month.Hunter, we we got a bit last Fri, but this week should be good for all of ENC. 0.5" last evening at the house, but more than that alread today.. maybe an inch thusfar. With a bit of moisture on Mon, this makes 3 days of wet ground and the dry air holding back until late Thu or Fri. I'm definitley going to browse around Fri and Sun morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Coastwx, looks like good conditions for Oysters developing down your way... rainy, not too hot, not too cold. Probably getting toward the end of morel time in NC. But this has been a late-developing season on the east, so you may want to check... once it dries out. Thanks for the precip site. I also use Intellicast, as well as a NOAA site that is specific to PA. http://www.intellicast.com/National/Precipitation/Daily.aspx?region=bgm But I like to compare info from different sources. Precip estimates are made using different methods. Sources do not always agree. So additional input is welcome. We have received between 1" and 2" here during the past 36 hours. Looks like another 0.5" will pas through tonight. As long as we don't get any more excessively cold mornings, I think we are set up for a real good season of Yellow Morel hunting. I do a bit of travelling, within a radius of about 120 miles. So now I need to start thinking about which spots generally start up first, which spots need time to dry. If 2-3 inches of rain falls onto a spot where the mushrooms are already fruiting, the mushrooms tend to blow up real quickly, get moldy, and deteriorate. But if heavy rain falls where the mushrooms have not yet started, then I like to wait approximately 1 day per inch of rain before exploring the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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