Happy Hunting Tips

by Karen Ryan

Rain, yahoo!

If you are like me, I am ready for mushrooms way ahead of the right time to forage. By the time mushrooms are appearing, I have exhausted myself for the real deal. Even though rain is wonderful for fruiting bodies of fungi, it isn’t enough on its own. The soil temperature could be all wrong, or the slope of the hill could be facing the wrong direction, even when the sun starts to shine.

Morel season is approaching, so here are a couple tips to help with patient morel hunting:

TEMPERATURE:
Morels like the temperature to be around 60 degrees and above during the day, and for night temperatures to hover around 40 degrees. Morels also start peeking out of the ground when soil temperatures are between 45 and 50 degrees. Soil thermometers are actually easy to find and great to use. Target, Home Depot, Amazon and other online sources all carry soil thermometers.

SLOPE OF THE HILL:
South-facing slopes get the most sun, so they, of course, get warmer before the other side.
Even though I have focused on morels, these two tips, TEMPERATURE and SLOPE OF THE HILL apply to all mushroom hunting happiness.

And, don’t forget to bring a friend, water, and snacks for your own happy hunting.