Season's First Find

As we approach the middle of May, it's hard to believe spring is just now in full bloom across central Iowa!

After a long winter, spring weather is finally here! The grass is green and the plums are blooming. Violets and dandelions carpet the forest. Best of all- the morels are popping up!

My first morel!

Reports have been coming in over the last week or so of outdoorsmen plucking little greys and as of yesterday (5/9) I'm happy to report my first finds of the season.

4" soil temps.

Soil temps are now becoming favorable for the Little Grey morels (Morchella Deliciosa). These are the season's first and what many consider the tastiest. When ground temps hit the upper 50s and lower 60s for the first time in spring, conditions are right for morels.

Mid May, but early in the season of Spring.

It's still early! Despite being about two weeks behind "normal" shroomin' season, and almost six weeks later than last year, spring is still young. If your on the hunt be sure to focus on south facing slopes. Sometimes, the steeper the better. It also helps to have sparse vegetation and little canopy.

We let this little guy go to grow. If conditions are right morels
will keep growing. Cool/dry weather and species limit the
maximum size.

Most of the morels we found yesterday were on gentle south facing slopes with few mature trees and thin grass. All were found with dead elms within 15 feet. I like to focus on dead elms, because they're easy to spot when the bark just begins to peel.

This one appeared old and likely popped before the snow!

Another good spot was doe bedding areas-easy to spot for the deer hunter's in the crowd. These spots usually "catch" sunlight and offer a break from the wind. For the same reasons deer congregate to these spots, early season morels can be found there. It's a warm micro-climate, or small pocket of terrain with noticeably different weather than the surrounding landscape.

Dead White Elm with the bark peeling.

Early season morels can be rather tough to find. 75% of my spots from last year were vacant so I focused on east to west oriented valleys which will likely produce more than the north to south running creeks and rivers. Like a solar panel, south facing slopes absorb the sunlight more directly and get warmer earlier. Next week I'll be broadening my search to include more terrain.

Brand new "common yellows" likely from this week.

Average temps will cool the ground this weekend with frost in the forecast on Saturday night. Conditions improve next week, and despite the "dry" heat coming in I think it will cause an explosion of mushrooms in central Iowa. The ground is soaking from above average rain and all we need is a good hot stretch to fill that frying pan with the bigger species of delicious morel.

Heather's First Morel of 2013!

So if you have a craving for this delectable annual treat like Heather does, there's good news in the forecast. You can find the little guys this weekend and great morel weather is ahead next week. With all the moisture we've seen this spring  it could prove to be one of the best shroomin' seasons we've seen in years. Now it's up to the temperatures to make it happen.

Good luck!