How to find Mushrooms!!!
78Picture of the Morel Mushroom
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How to find wild mushrooms
Hello everyone, I have written this hub to give you some idea's on how to find wild mushrooms also called Morels. The first thing you need to know is that they do not grow year round. The best time to find these tasty delights is late April to the end of May.
There are two things that are needed to grow a mushroom during this season. You need RAIN and SUNSHINE or heat. The best time to go is right after a rain and then when the sun is shining down they start popping up like popcorn.
Mushrooms are basically fungi, which explains why they grow well with moisture and heat.
You will need to find some timber or woods. Once in the woods, it is a good idea to find a creek or river to look along side of. If you see May Apples then the conditions are good for Mushrooms.
Also look for some old oak tree's that have fallen to the ground. As the trees decay, they provide great fertilizer for the mushrooms to grow.
I have found morels on the banks of the river and creeks, but tend to find more on top of the banks. I have included a picture to help you know what you are looking for.
Once you have found one morel, stop where you are and look all around you. They usually tend to grow in patches. The little grey ones are the ones that start to grow in the beginning stages and then the big yellow ones come out in May. This depends on the type of weather you are having. The more moisture you have early on and the warmer it is the quicker the yellows start to pop out.
I like to carry a stick with me to help brush back the grass and see the morels better.
There are several things to watch out for while you are mushroom hunting. The first is snakes, mostly harmless, but there are a few Rattle Snakes in Missouri at least that you want to watch out for.
The second thing you want to watch out for is tics. Tics are very small and hard to kill. The best way to remove a tic is by pinching it and pulling it off of you. Be sure not to leave any part of the tic in you as this area will become red and can become infected. Use peroxide and it will help loosen the tic. Once removed, the best way to kill a tic is take a match and burn it. I have heard that if you rub yourself down with a laundry softener sheet before going out, that it will help repel these little critters.
The third thing to look out for is poison ivy. I know at least for me, I am allergic to poison ivy. When I get it in one spot, I end up with it all over me. The best thing you can do is take a shower as soon as you get home from hunting the mushrooms. Calamine lotion is a good treatment for the poison if you get it on you. Take some cotton and rub it all over the infected area. This will try the poison up and it will eventually go away. Another useful tip is to try not to scratch even though it does itch something fierce.
Well this concludes my quick tips on how to find mushrooms. Check back later as I will be writing a hub on how to clean and cook these wonderful treats.
Thanks Shane
Please leave some positive feedback for me as I am new to this.
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Comments
Thanks for the comment. I hope you are not smashing the morels though as these are worth money? Thanks for the comment.
Hey There Drummer Boy! You know I have been thinking about the shrooms for weeks now. I have not gone hunting yet. It is not that easy to find a place in this area to go. We have to travel a few hours and then you know that people will shoot you over a mushroom. I lived in Odessa Mo. for seven years. Love Missouri! Thanks for writing about the mushrooms. Some of my friends found a few pounds 2 days ago!
Thanks for your comment C.S. Alexis. I do love my shrooms as well. They are out thick this year here. People are selling them as well if you don't like to go out and find them for your self, or if you don't have any land to hunt on. I usually go out and find enough for a few servings and then I am done and wait patiently until the next year. I have heard of people freezing them, but am unsure how that really works. Maybe someone will write a hub on how to freeze and preserve mushrooms lol. Thanks again and hope you find some.
Tell you what Drummer Boy. I will write that hub on preserving the mushrooms ASAP. I have the best results from a few years of experience.
thats sounds good C.S. please let me know when it is done, I would like to read it.
An old trick I learned when I was young is the East side of streams or rivers on hillsides--GREAT HUB friend!!
I totally agree with you. The reason for that is that the sun rises in the East and hits that side first. Nice tip.
Can Morels picked by poison ivy still be eaten?? Please settle this dispute my husband and i have.
Thank you
yes they can still be eaten. I hope this was in your favor. I am highly allergic to poison ivy and I can still eat the mushrooms that are picked by the poison ivy. Again make sure you clean the mushroom and soak them over night in the salt water.
Yes this is to my favor!! thank you for the info.
I know it isn't popular lately to use correct English usage and grammar. However, I cringe a bit when I see "tree's" in one sentence and "mushrooms" properly pluralized in another. It is "trees" not "tree's." Tree's is the possessive not the plural. In other words, you can say the tree's bark, or, if plural, you can say the trees' bark. Plural is plural. You don't need an apostropohe for plural. Also, "the little gray one's" should be "the llittle gray ones." No, I am not an English teacher.
Thank You michigan morel hunter. Glad I could help.
Thanks Sue for taking the time to help me with this hub. I made the changes.
good hub, Shane. Love these mushrooms, just don't like the hunting part! Also, be careful of copperheads--they like to hide by those downed trees too--and cottonmouths along the water's edge.
Yep, I am alway cautious of the snakes. Not many poisonous ones up here though.
Having lived in Illinois for 5 years before I came to Georgia, I have become an expert at finding morels by default. I don't care to eat them, but I sure could find them. I had the best luck on hill sides in light timber. An oak or an elm was always nearby, as well. Thanks for the hub and for jogging my memory.
When I had 12 acres of mixed hardwoods on my hilly, creekside farm, everyone told me those 12 acres were full of morels, but I only found one once, and that was on the steep bank (near the top) by the pasture, going to the creek, and yes, near a fallen tree. Someone said maybe I wasn't getting up early enough and the deer were eating them. The one I did find, I didn't know you need to soak them in salt water! Wonder how many bugs my son and I ate that night! Couldn't have been too many. since we each only got half a mushroom. :-) Here's my question. That was in Ohio. Now we live in Northern California. Are there morels out here? Other than those that cost $80 an ounce (maybe it's a pound) in San Francisco? I LOVE morels. Love 'em love 'em LOVE 'em! (improper English intended. :-) )
I am guessing that they don't grow in Northern California which would explain the high price. Come to Missouri, we have plenty and then you can take them back with you.
i just wanted to let ya know the best way i found to save you mushrooms other that dryin them out. i alway fry them lightly in butter for a minute on each side not letting them get fully cooked, soak the grease off and bag them up.when you get ready to eat them just refry and they taste almost as fresh as the day you picked them. if you want to save some for a stew or something like that i string them up with fishing string for a few days to dry them. be sure they dont touch each other until they dry. then bag them up and freeze
I've been going out hunting for 19 years now!!! Latley the darn things haven't been growning well in the past years!! I can remember when I was younger we would be in the woods for hours and walk out with at least 8 pounds of mushrooms but lately its in and out with a handful of mushrooms!!!
I'm into mushrooms also but Boletus and chanterelles seem much more common in CT.....in fact I've never run into morels even though I have been out looking.
Thanks so much Drummer Boy for all the info:)
I have heard that when you are mushroom hunting, you should use a netting type sack so when you are hunting, the spores fall to the ground for future mushrooms. So that is what I do, any comments?
hmmm, you may be interested in my new hub by 2C's, Of Morels and Thrashers
My grandfather and i use to "hunt" mushrooms and it was a great time. We would find many morel mushrooms and my grandma would cook them up. Now that my gramdpa is not here to guide us, my sister and i are looking for some soon and it is good to hear the info that you all are giving! good luck to all the "hunters"!!!!!!
If you want the mushrooms to grow back you will want to pinch them off at the group leaving the root. I have had great success with this.
Recently I had a lady sending me an email asking me to talk about the poisonous mushrooms. Here is the email I sent her just as an FYI for those of you that may have the same questions. Thanks for your comments Kathy. I had someone ask me about the poisonous ones and I told them to just go by the picture that I have. The red ones are ones that you will want to look out for also I stay away from the ones with the pointed tops. The best rule is if in question, don't eat it. If you want to then I suggest asking someone before you do. Thanks again for your feed back. We want everyone to be safe.
Shane
Hey, are there any of these little guys growing here in SW Arkansas? The climate is right, hot and humid. I've never seen any morels, though we live in the sticks. We have woods, creeks, bayous..you name it, we got it. We live close (within 10 miles) of where the Sulphur and Red River meet. I want to find some of these! Any chance on findin em in August?
Hi donotfear, I am not sure if they grow in your area or not. I would think that they would, but I have never looked for them in Arkansas. They will not grow in August any where though. They only come out for a very short period each year. Usually the end of April and the first of May around here. Hope that helps.
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NateRider says:
2 years ago
Well, thanks for the helpful hints. As much as I dislike mushrooms and morels to eat, I love to look for them with my siblings, usually to smash them ;) Now I know how to find them better!