Those look wonderful, good harvest.

Second harvest from last Sunday.

Such tastey little treats these hard to find treasures are. We went out last night for a bit and was pleased to find 6. These were our first finds of the season. Will definitely be heading back into the woods to search for more.

I hate you Tom!

kidding

Has anybody ever found morels north of Brainerd? We would like to try a "shroom hunt" but don't know if they grow up here. I know they like dead elms and we don't have any of those around the area. Other options?

Looks like you did VERY well Soilent!

Has anybody ever found morels north of Brainerd?

I do not know anyone up in that area so I can not answer that question, but IMO it all depends on whether the proper habitat exists. Morel Habitat

Morels are fickle creatures, so even if the proper habitat exists that does not necessarily mean you will find them or find very many of them. But if you are looking in the wrong habitat it is guaranteed that you will never find them, so start with the basics - educate yourself, know what you are doing, and be patient and persistent. We get skunked more often than not, but a good year more than makes up for the failures. For us it is more about the hunt - if my group were guaranteed of finding them every year most of us would probably quit doing it. I think. Maybe. Perhaps not.

Have a good day.
-Tom

Tom, Thanks for the "Morel Habitat" site.

This morning I was watching P. Allen Smith on the Create channel. He had a 10 minute segment on Morel hunting.

We don't have the best habitat around here but I think there are a few spots worth checking out. We don't have elms but we do have ash trees in the river bottoms.

A day spent in the great outdoors will always be a special day!

Thanks for posting this message, Tom. With so much rain I haven't been walking around the front gardens much. Recently decided to inspect them to see what was growing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two large mushrooms amongst the wood chips under my deck. As I have never been morel hunting or seen one in nature I spent two days researching to be sure they were morels. Today I picked them, 9 inches each. Washed and dumped the water back in the area so maybe there will be more next year.

mnwsgal - That is great! Sounds like you did your research but to all readers I strongly advise that you be absolutely 100% certain of the edibility of any wild-harvested food before you consume it. And make certain no pesticides or chemicals were applied to any area from which you seek to harvest wild food.

Beware the False Morel. Impossible to mistake for the real thing by anyone with experience, but could cause problems for folks with less knowledge.

Remember the golden rule: "If any doubt, throw it out."