Please post your morel hunting photos!! [General]
2008 May 1
I'm not a morel hunter--my most daring mushroom adventures are in the fall with puffballs (yummy in garlic butter). I have seen people out in droves--I mean alot of people! with (very large pails!) at Morris Island Conservation Area (near Galetta in West Carleton). My kids and I hike here in the spring and fall and I do believe because its a conservation area you are not supposed to take things out by the pailful but I've seen it happen and I'm I'm pretty sure we're talking mushrooms. Maybe you could find a property owner who would let you harvest if you don't want to ILLEGALLY HIT THE CONSERVATION AREA!..there are lots of large places up here. Also, even if you can't find a spot to harvest, the conservation area is beautiful for a family hike and picnic (boardwalks, beautiful scenery--get here before the end of May--the bugs are horrific.)
2008 May 3
Mang, im soooo smoked at work this week, theres no way I can make thursday:( I would love to though. Im checking a couple spots out tomorow will let you know how it goes. Still needs to be a bit warmer, im searching for micro climats eg(place's that are a week or so ahead of us for weather)
P.s, momo I cant stop drinking that cave spring riesling!! I had a bottle with a rabbit, porcini friccasse the other night mmmmmmm
P.s, momo I cant stop drinking that cave spring riesling!! I had a bottle with a rabbit, porcini friccasse the other night mmmmmmm
2008 May 4
Went out this morning with my dog (she's a truffle hunter, LOL), couldn't find anything... it's a bit cold and wet right now, maybe too much so? I'll be trying again throughout the week - I have a large field behind my building with long-grass, decomposing foliage, etc. should be ideal! Alternatively, there's what used to be an orchard near Lincoln Fields transit station, not too far from where I am, I'll likely try there as well.
2008 May 12
Today I scored!!! I had a micro "mush rush" What a time of year to be out in the forest. No bugs, no people, just tha good ole birds and bees!! So we should be seeing this lovely spring treat along with wild leeks for the next couple weeks, and thats it!!! I urge you all to get out and have some fun and go for a "hunt". I'll be taking some groups of people out in the fall for a full on foray... Cant wait till then... But I will still injoy the summer...
2008 May 13
Man, I should try to get out and hunt a little bit this weekend. So the trick to picking is also to be sure you shake them a lot, so you leave as many spores as possible for next time?
And there's nothing else that looks like a morel around here except for a morel, correct? I don't want to incapacitate myself or nothin'.
And there's nothing else that looks like a morel around here except for a morel, correct? I don't want to incapacitate myself or nothin'.
2008 May 13
Dont pick a verpa!! The cap is not pitted like a morel, rather "wavy" like a brain. Also the stem connects to the cap at the top of the stem, unlike the morel witch connects at the bottem.. I have not seen anthing but morels and Pheasant's-back Polypore (also edible see pic attached) out there so far.
www.michiganmorels.com
www.thegreatmorel.com/
www.michiganmorels.com
www.thegreatmorel.com/
2008 May 20
Very nice surprize yesterday morning, searching for morels and pow... A huge patch of oyster mushrooms!!! MMM pleasant anise like flavor and smell. Some of the best ive had (and left enough small ones out there to feed me for the next couple weeks!!) Have not been seeing any morels but have been seeing false morels(Gyromitra esculenta) Dam another one!! ohh look right over there its a, its a, dam false morel...
2009 Apr 24
This was posted the other day in one of the blogs I follow and I thought of you Butcher
cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com
cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com
2009 May 10
Chimi, that looks like a half free morel. When you sliced in in half it the cap attached to the stem from the bottem or halfway up? Those are rare morels! enjoy! I found these tonight in the middle of the city just down a little off the walk way!! There everywhere so keep your eyes peeled!! That photo you have does not look like a trumpet. Is it soft or hard? Could be from last year. More pics!
2009 May 11
I really would like to go a' mushroom hunting but, like Monty, I think I'd kill myself. (Gravestone: "It was a false morel.")
I see plenty of weird and wonderful mushrooms out there but they're usually growing out of/off a decomposing log or (what looks like) a bear turd. Tempted? Uh, no.
p.s. My sister in Richmond has these giant round/baseball-size white mushrooms on her property. No stalk on them really. I picked one - it was squishy and quite loaded with water/shroom juice beneath its thin but almost leathery exterior...then I quickly ran (plowing down everything in my path) to wash my hands. :)
I see plenty of weird and wonderful mushrooms out there but they're usually growing out of/off a decomposing log or (what looks like) a bear turd. Tempted? Uh, no.
p.s. My sister in Richmond has these giant round/baseball-size white mushrooms on her property. No stalk on them really. I picked one - it was squishy and quite loaded with water/shroom juice beneath its thin but almost leathery exterior...then I quickly ran (plowing down everything in my path) to wash my hands. :)
2009 May 11
Cap'n - Some minor misinformation about those mushrooms in the news today (you don't make them with psilocybin like it's some ingredient, it's a compound naturally occurring in the psylocibe family of mushrooms). I found the address of the bust to be hilarious, I hope you will find it funny too:
Source: Ottawa Citizen, www.ottawacitizen.com
'Secret door' leads to $1.18M marijuana bust
Source: Ottawa Citizen, www.ottawacitizen.com
'Secret door' leads to $1.18M marijuana bust
2009 May 11
Chimi> That article is too funny. "Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic organic compound used to make magic mushrooms" hahaha Psilocybin is a naturally occurring compound of such mushrooms as liberty caps, cubensis, blue foots etc... They make it sound like mushrooms are made by combining chemicals! Too funny!
Amr> Sounds like giant puffballs to me on your sisters property. www.mushroomexpert.com
Amr> Sounds like giant puffballs to me on your sisters property. www.mushroomexpert.com
2009 May 18
DB -- i realized (after posting) it was pretty darn presumptuous to ask that of you (or anyone), so i'd like to suggest something that works to your benefit as the organizer / expert.
Could be as informal as some sort of barter transaction, e.g., group pays for your meal type of thing. On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of "knowledge transfer" i'd pay for were it offered at my local community center, so i'd happily pony up a few bucks for the opportunity (and might talk a couple other friends into it, as well). just something to think about.
(((-resumes drooling-)))
Could be as informal as some sort of barter transaction, e.g., group pays for your meal type of thing. On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of "knowledge transfer" i'd pay for were it offered at my local community center, so i'd happily pony up a few bucks for the opportunity (and might talk a couple other friends into it, as well). just something to think about.
(((-resumes drooling-)))
2009 May 22
Hi everyone. This is actually my first post here.
I'm fairly new to Ottawa (hailing from Kitchener originally) and I'm wondering if anyone could point me to some good locations to find morels? I realize this information is often kept secret, but I would appreciate even just a general location as I can do some hunting on my own.
I'd really appreciate any help you guys/gals can provide.
I'm fairly new to Ottawa (hailing from Kitchener originally) and I'm wondering if anyone could point me to some good locations to find morels? I realize this information is often kept secret, but I would appreciate even just a general location as I can do some hunting on my own.
I'd really appreciate any help you guys/gals can provide.
2009 Jul 17
It took a while to find this thread that I had been reading and looking at the pictures (forgot that it was originally a morel thread) as I was wanting to post a couple of my mushroom pictures. My wife and I were on the the Greener Green Acres foraging tour with a knowledgeable mushroom identifier (aka Da Butcher) to help a couple weeks ago to try and get a kickstart on our mushroom picking (we'd only ever been once - found a nice patch of chanterelles in the north end of Gatineau Park). A few days after the tour we headed out into the bush where we live and after a while found a nice patch of chanterelles, mostly small, that I've been mining for a week now (maybe 4 doz, still popping up and growing though some animal keeps walking through the patch crushing a few and knocking a few over) as well as numerous other sites with fewer shrooms throughout the bush. Sadly a lot of the older, larger mushrooms elsewhere were well eaten by the numerous slugs (lucky little buggers). The pic is some of the ones collected the first day.
2009 Jul 17
Finally, something found in our lawn while cutting the grass. In the past we mowed and squashed these ash boletes but didn't this year, looking to identify them and find out if they are edible. Anyone ever tried them? They are about 3 to 5 inches across and I cooked one up tonight and we tried it - we both thought it had good texture and taste; I thought it smelled almost of chocolate but had had a beer which may have affected my sense of smell, and my dw didn't smell chocolate so I'll have to sniff them again - there are at least a half dozen beneath one tree and my dw found more beneath another.
2009 Jul 17
Nice Andy! Those do look like ash boletus but I would have to see the yellow looking pores to know for sure! Ash boletes are a great edible and you should consider yourself lucky to find a nice stash! Those are funny mushrooms that protect aphids in exchange fom the honeydue they produce while destroying the host tree.. Usually ash trees.lol
Im going out tomorrow morning before work to collect my bounty Ive been saving! I will post pics later..
Im going out tomorrow morning before work to collect my bounty Ive been saving! I will post pics later..
2009 Jul 19
Looks tasty Da B!
Now what about those brackets on high? I'm wondering what they are and did you get out to collect them? Or are they still waiting for you?
The picture is the underside of the ash boletes. We picked them yesterday - lost some as we waited too long to pick 'em =:0( ...I dried them for use later and froze some cooked ones to see how we like to use 'em frozen.
Looks like our chanterelles are about done here - slim pickins today. Did find a couple big red-pored boletes but they were a little old and I'm not so sure we would have eaten them anyways from what we read. Any thoughts?
Now what about those brackets on high? I'm wondering what they are and did you get out to collect them? Or are they still waiting for you?
The picture is the underside of the ash boletes. We picked them yesterday - lost some as we waited too long to pick 'em =:0( ...I dried them for use later and froze some cooked ones to see how we like to use 'em frozen.
Looks like our chanterelles are about done here - slim pickins today. Did find a couple big red-pored boletes but they were a little old and I'm not so sure we would have eaten them anyways from what we read. Any thoughts?
2009 Jul 20
Andy- the brackets I posted in a couple posts ago are some oysters I collected!
Those are definitely ash boletes, enjoy. When you freeze them make sure that there covered in butter or olive oil etc... so no air gets to them! They will be great for up to 6-8 months like this.
Those big red pored boletus are beautiful (Boletus subvelutipes) and one of my favorites to find. Use caution when eating any red pored boletes, there best to be avoided all together or pick them and bring them to me!!
Here's a pick of some of what I brought home today. 4kg chanterelles, 2.5kg lobsters, 2kg mixed boletes! :)
Im having a "mush rush" right now. It will be over soon so get out there while were peeking!
Those are definitely ash boletes, enjoy. When you freeze them make sure that there covered in butter or olive oil etc... so no air gets to them! They will be great for up to 6-8 months like this.
Those big red pored boletus are beautiful (Boletus subvelutipes) and one of my favorites to find. Use caution when eating any red pored boletes, there best to be avoided all together or pick them and bring them to me!!
Here's a pick of some of what I brought home today. 4kg chanterelles, 2.5kg lobsters, 2kg mixed boletes! :)
Im having a "mush rush" right now. It will be over soon so get out there while were peeking!
2009 Jul 23
Hey there folks! Great forum! I grew up as wild edible enthusiast and am interested in regaining the passion... I'm in Guelph, ON. and was hoping to get outdoors and conduct some "hunting" of my own. I was picking black morels in Puntzi Lake, BC earlier this May so I know my morels, what else should I be looking for (fungi or otherwise) around now and do you have any suggestions of where I ought to be searching in the Guelph-ish/Wellington County area? Also, I've always dreamed of finding puffballs... they're later in the season right?
Thanks a bunch! I'll keep reading your posts to continue educating myself!
Thanks a bunch! I'll keep reading your posts to continue educating myself!
2010 Apr 27
I am new to mushroom hunting and plan on just starting with morels for now and seeing how that goes as it seems like they are pretty easy to identify. I bought a couple books but haven't read much about other mushrooms yet. I plan on trying to identify other mushrooms, just not eating them. I went out yesterday for an hour hoping the morels would be up but didn't find any. I'm glad the last 2 posters didn't either, maybe there is still hope for me =)
2010 Apr 29
I'll be tweeting my finds (@morelsottawa) to help record when certain wild mushrooms are found throughout the year in Ottawa. I get out at least once a week to check on a few different growing spots around the Ottawa region. Last years yield got me a few pounds of morels, boletes and chanterelles, and I stayed mostly in town. I found a few hedgehogs, russulas, shaggy mane, and lactarius as well as coral fungus. If I have extra supply (as I did last year with morels & porcinis), I'm always willing to barter as well ;)
2010 May 4
Went on a natural food quest on the Carp Ridge-had ramps, wintergreen "berries", blueberry flowers (delicate and delicious)and took home a couple of "puff ball" mushrooms-sorry, we didn't see morels on this outing. Lots of mosquitoes though! Fun if you go with those who know what to look for!
2010 May 5
Yup, that sounds about right. My wife and I had an old grad school friend of ours over for dinner a couple springs ago, and we decided to go all-out for dinner: lobster, asparagus, sautéed morels, butter, butter, and butter. And a little bit of butter on the side, so that the other butter didn't get lonely.
ANYway, I asked my wife to nip out to the Byward Fruit Market to pick up some morels for us. Nothing too extravagant, I said, maybe four per person?
You should have seen the look on my face when she called me from the store to say "It's going to be $66. You knew, right?"
I lied and said I knew all along.
ANYway, I asked my wife to nip out to the Byward Fruit Market to pick up some morels for us. Nothing too extravagant, I said, maybe four per person?
You should have seen the look on my face when she called me from the store to say "It's going to be $66. You knew, right?"
I lied and said I knew all along.
2010 May 6
Morels are tricky little beasts... typically, if it's very rocky with little soil, these are not ideal conditions since the mycelium has nowhere to grow. Though I have seen half-free morels just laying out on some damp tall grass... others have reported morel growth in sand... given the types of trees you have growing around you, I'd venture a guess that you might find some black morels (which are very hard to spot as they blend into the forest floor really well). Go to hard/fruitwood forest to find other varieties... the base of elm trees (especially dead ones) are notorious for morel growth.
2010 May 6
Morels are peeping out in Smiths Falls area. Found these today under a few dead elm trees in our fencerow. Took some; there were lots left to grow a little bigger. I'm pretty excited about this, as these are the first morels I've ever found, outside of some false ones, and one little tiny half-free specimen. And they were spectacular fried in butter and a quick sprinkle of Salty-Don smoked rock salt................mmmmmmm!
2010 May 7
Nice find CountryStyle! I was out last night and found NOTHING (except lots of garlic mustard & burdock) in Ottawa... I think this cold weather might have stunted some growth... saw some underdeveloped ones. I'll be in the Kingston area, typically a bit warmer down there than here... should find a bunch while I'm out there.
re: false morels, some people reportedly eat them... do not do this, it's very dangerous as the mushroom contains a toxin which has been known to cause severe gastric distress & liver failure (some research indicates this toxin also has carcinogenic properties, with higher rates of stomach cancer in those who ingest this type of mushroom). Same goes with fiddleheads, make sure you are picking the right variety of fern, and NOT bracken as they contain carcinogens as well. Ostrich fern is mostly what you'll find here. Don't eat what you can't identify.
re: false morels, some people reportedly eat them... do not do this, it's very dangerous as the mushroom contains a toxin which has been known to cause severe gastric distress & liver failure (some research indicates this toxin also has carcinogenic properties, with higher rates of stomach cancer in those who ingest this type of mushroom). Same goes with fiddleheads, make sure you are picking the right variety of fern, and NOT bracken as they contain carcinogens as well. Ostrich fern is mostly what you'll find here. Don't eat what you can't identify.
2010 May 7
First time poster here... I've been following this forum for a while and I'm very excited to take what I've learned to my parents' wood-lot. We find one or two morels there every year, but I've never been able to find a real patch of them (enough to feed a few people). I've watched a couple of foraging how-to's on Youtube, but these guys just seem to magically stumble on these magnificent morel patches. When I go out back into the woods, it's just this daunting expanse of greenery to me. So here's my question(s). I know I should be looking around the elm and old apple and cherry trees, but what's the most efficient way to forage? Should I be on my hands and knees? Following a grid pattern? Poking around under fallen leaves? My other question is; what's the window for morels? How many days/weeks do I have, starting now, to find these delicious little buggers?
Finally I'm going to have to add my voice to the growing chorus of noobs on this forum crying out for someone to take us all out back and show us where and how to forage for rare woodland treats. I'm willing to pitch in with whatever reasonable bribery/incentives are necessary!
Finally I'm going to have to add my voice to the growing chorus of noobs on this forum crying out for someone to take us all out back and show us where and how to forage for rare woodland treats. I'm willing to pitch in with whatever reasonable bribery/incentives are necessary!
2010 May 15
Found my first ones ever on a camping trip this week. Spotted them while portaging a canoe. It's rather difficult to pick mushrooms with a canoe on your head but not impossible.
I will admit they are tastier than most mushrooms I've had. I'm not a big mushroom person so perhaps I've just not experienced enough to appreciate it. I'd certainly pick 'em if I found 'em again, but I don't think I'll be going out of my way to do so, nor will I ever understand people paying $60 + per pound for the things.
I will admit they are tastier than most mushrooms I've had. I'm not a big mushroom person so perhaps I've just not experienced enough to appreciate it. I'd certainly pick 'em if I found 'em again, but I don't think I'll be going out of my way to do so, nor will I ever understand people paying $60 + per pound for the things.
2010 May 17
Momo - they were pretty clean, I soaked them quickly, brushed the stems off... had a few spiders & slugs creep out, not a lot of dirt... only one of them was really buggy, had an entire ant's nest inside of it... too bad, it looked beautiful on the outside. So far they have all tasted excellent!
2010 May 27
l4f - I think it's probably too late, we've had scorching heat and very little rain. One 'test' patch of morels I keep an eye on, and never fully pick, was brutally shriveled/scorched last week. We *might* get some late season growth if we get saturated with rain & cooler overnight temps... but I wouldn't put too much money on that right now. You could drive north, into Quebec, and maybe find some a few hours away.
2010 May 27
l4f - sorry to break the bad news to you, follow me on twitter to get an idea re: mushroom growth in the Ottawa region, I'm using it to build a timeline of when is best to pick in this region. Cheers! www.twitter.com/morelsottawa
2010 Sep 13
I am offering Introduction to Mycology workshops in and around Ottawa.
Mushroom appreciation
mushroom collection
mushroom identification
for gourmet, medicinal and practical uses. (I am also interested in dye/pigment creation and printmaking) I am also able to help you get started growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home.
Weekly forages in a new location every time.
Mushroom walks are guided in English by an experienced local forager.
Sign up for an afternoon foray($25), or invite me to your favorite spot and I'll teach you what's good and what to avoid.
www.AlexisWilliams.net
Mushroom appreciation
mushroom collection
mushroom identification
for gourmet, medicinal and practical uses. (I am also interested in dye/pigment creation and printmaking) I am also able to help you get started growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home.
Weekly forages in a new location every time.
Mushroom walks are guided in English by an experienced local forager.
Sign up for an afternoon foray($25), or invite me to your favorite spot and I'll teach you what's good and what to avoid.
www.AlexisWilliams.net
Da Butcher
Post your sightings, tips and finds here.
We should be seeing our morel crop within the next week or two!
Look in hardwood and lowland areas ie, oak, water systems etc...
Also check old apple orchards and old roadways, railways...
Good luck everyone!!