Wild Leeks and Morels [General]

2009 May 6
Just wondering if anyone knows the real story of wild leeks. They grow on my family's property and we were told over the years that it is illegal to pick them, etc. Does anyone know the real story? (property is in Quebec). We used to pick them and bottle them in vinegar and people would die to get their hands on them. They are extremely strong (as in~don't sleep in same bed as someone who ate them!!). I like taking a nice trek out in spring and hunting them out.

Also just saw a show on food network where the guy was picking morel mushrooms, they grew in this mountain area in BC where a forest fire had gone through a couple years before. I wonder if around here they'd grow if there had been a fire a couple years before.

2009 May 6
Funny... I was watching the same show! It was on the night before yesterday. Bob Blumer, Glutton for Punishment right?

2009 May 7
In 1995 Quebec ruled wild garlic (plant above) a vulnerable species. It has rebounded in Quebec but, if harvested, it is limited to 50 plants per season for personal consumption only. If caught with more than that, the fines are based on the plant numbers and it is more than $1 per bulb. If you do harvest some, please leave a decent amount in the ground undisturbed so that they can multiply. This should apply to anywhere the harvesting is done. Ontario has no such law and so there is quite the illegal trade and illegal poaching of wild leeks in this area, not to mention a great depletion in plants. If buying from a vendor at one of the markets, ask where their plants come from and how they harvest. (source for info from April 2009 Canadian Geographic and www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca)

2009 May 7
Gardener mom covered it well (with sources no less!)

I know there are some signs around gatineau park mentioning (with threat of a fine) that it is illegal to pick wild leeks because they are at risk.

As for morels.. I have personaly never picked them but I see them all over the place when in season, no need for a fire, though that may help the abundance.

2009 May 7
Peter - old forest fire regrowth areas are hot beds for mushroom growth, which is to say that finding them elsewhere isn't impossible either. Just take a walk in the bush and keep your eyes peeled in the next few weeks...