# nothing



## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

Tried two places yesterday both of which have produced in the past- nothing but water. most of my areas are under water if I go to higher ground I get into pine trees. Question: if you find a place that just "seems" right but no shrooms, how many times and/or often do you check it before saying it's a no go? Days, weeks, months, years?


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## Morelofthestory402 (Feb 28, 2018)

I'd check every week if it's on way 2here I'm headed


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## wade (Mar 27, 2017)

stripernut said:


> Tried two places yesterday both of which have produced in the past- nothing but water. most of my areas are under water if I go to higher ground I get into pine trees. Question: if you find a place that just "seems" right but no shrooms, how many times and/or often do you check it before saying it's a no go? Days, weeks, months, years?


i do agree @stripernut @Morelofthestory402
"You Won't Know If You Don't Go"
and then after 2 or 3 years of finding ZERO in an area as you describe..seeming to have everything that we all know usually adds up to Morels..
but again, after 2 or 3 years you find ZERO...
Then i have Come to Believe that SPORES are missing, and just never made there..
or have long since washed Away. 
So...bring in your own spores,
Apply them Well.. and now you have Everything.. and should always find Morels thereafter..
Thank You
from Wade


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

wade said:


> i do agree @stripernut @Morelofthestory402
> "You Won't Know If You Don't Go"
> and then after 2 or 3 years of finding ZERO in an area as you describe..seeming to have everything that we all know usually adds up to Morels..
> but again, after 2 or 3 years you find ZERO...
> ...


has this worked for you? Do you just walk around with morels in a mesh bag, hopefully dropping spores?


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## wade (Mar 27, 2017)

stripernut said:


> has this worked for you? Do you just walk around with morels in a mesh bag, hopefully dropping spores?


stealthshroomer has perfected this method...i have seen the results..
yes it works


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

wade said:


> stealthshroomer has perfected this method...i have seen the results..
> yes it works


thanks for the info. Now I just have to find some morels.


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## wade (Mar 27, 2017)

where are you near Man @stripernut


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

wade said:


> where are you near Man @stripernut


Augusta, Georgia


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## pastorj (Apr 4, 2014)

You’re not the only one Striper, I’ve only found about a dozen so far this year and the majority of spots have been under not only standing water but flowing water. My experience in the past is the flowing water from over the bank streams can eradicate morels from an area they once flourished.

our morels grow almost exclusively in flood plains unlike the Midwest or even parts North Ga.

Normally, by this time of the season I would have gathered at least 10+ pounds.

I’ve already come to terms this is just gonna be one of those years I’m happy to have a few for the table.


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

WOW, I feel better! Seriously, I was beginning to feel like I was the only one having trouble. Thank you for being brave enough to admit that sometimes they just aren't there. If I get on dry ground it's mostly pines so no morels here. Thanks again for making an old man feel better!


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## TimG (Mar 12, 2020)

I've hunted SC flood plains like the ones in GA for over 20 years. Several years ago we had very bad flooding which deposited several inches of sand all over the bottom land. The following year was poor but the second year after the inundation was fantastic. Morels store their food in Sclerotia, which are situated in nutrient poor areas of their habitat- namely sand in this case. The fruitng body develops form the sclerotia. That's why it's always a good idea to cut the morel just above the ground rather than pull it. Once a morel mycelium is in the ground it is only a matter of having the right conditions for it to fruit again.


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

thanks for the info. I can't wait for that "fantastic year"! BTW I do see a lot of sand deposits in areas with lots of sycamores.


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## pastorj (Apr 4, 2014)

TimG said:


> I've hunted SC flood plains like the ones in GA for over 20 years. Several years ago we had very bad flooding which deposited several inches of sand all over the bottom land. The following year was poor but the second year after the inundation was fantastic. Morels store their food in Sclerotia, which are situated in nutrient poor areas of their habitat- namely sand in this case. The fruitng body develops form the sclerotia. That's why it's always a good idea to cut the morel just above the ground rather than pull it. Once a morel mycelium is in the ground it is only a matter of having the right conditions for it to fruit again.


I remember you Tim , pretty sure we’ve talked before a while back. Do you live down around Charleston?


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## TimG (Mar 12, 2020)

I do live in the Charleston area. I only look for morels in SC once or maybe twice a yearnow, with a friend who lives near some good areas. I used to g o8-10 times per year, but that was before MANY others found out that morels grow in SC. Now some can get licensed to sell them which has greatly increased competition even more for the limited habitat they prefer. It's about 3 hours to where I used to look and it's disappointing to find stumps so I don't go often. I still go to VA for 3 weeks to look in the Shenandoah area but the best trees- Ash Have been decimated ( killed) by an invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer. 
I haven't had the occasion to hunt Sycamores but have heard of some very good reports for the Large Americana type, but most said they were late season. If there were Sycamores near where I hunt other trees, I'd certainly give it a look.


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## TimG (Mar 12, 2020)

TimG said:


> I do live in the Charleston area. I only look for morels in SC once or maybe twice a yearnow, with a friend who lives near some good areas. I used to g o8-10 times per year, but that was before MANY others found out that morels grow in SC. Now some can get licensed to sell them which has greatly increased competition even more for the limited habitat they prefer. It's about 3 hours to where I used to look and it's disappointing to find stumps so I don't go often. I still go to VA for 3 weeks to look in the Shenandoah area but the best trees- Ash Have been decimated ( killed) by an invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer.
> I haven't had the occasion to hunt Sycamores but have heard of some very good reports for the Large Americana type, but most said they were late season. If there were Sycamores near where I hunt other trees, I'd certainly give it a look.


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## shroomsearcher (Apr 7, 2018)

TimG said:


> I do live in the Charleston area. I only look for morels in SC once or maybe twice a yearnow, with a friend who lives near some good areas. I used to g o8-10 times per year, but that was before MANY others found out that morels grow in SC. Now some can get licensed to sell them which has greatly increased competition even more for the limited habitat they prefer. It's about 3 hours to where I used to look and it's disappointing to find stumps so I don't go often. I still go to VA for 3 weeks to look in the Shenandoah area but the best trees- Ash Have been decimated ( killed) by an invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer.
> I haven't had the occasion to hunt Sycamores but have heard of some very good reports for the Large Americana type, but most said they were late season. If there were Sycamores near where I hunt other trees, I'd certainly give it a look.


Yes, our Ash trees are all shot. Man, they died off in a hurry once the borer got after them! And our elms have been too long dead to be a source for morels any more. I've only found morels under 2 elm trees ever, and that was 10 years ago. 

2-3 years ago I ran into a nice gang of morels in a little patch of woods that had a few apple trees in it. But, they were definitely clustered around a larger tree in the area. Looking at the trunk of the tree close to the ground I couldn't identify it, and the glare looking up at the top of it was the same. Fortunately, it was growing not far from the edge of a power line right of way. I was able to walk out there and get a look at the top. When I saw that white and tan mottled bark, I thought "Holy crap! It's a Sycamore! What is it doing here?" 

You normally find Sycamores in bottomland with rich soil. This is on a hill in relatively poor soil. And it's the only one in the area. God only knows where it came from.


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## TimG (Mar 12, 2020)

Don't count out the long dead Elms. Last year in VA over half our poundage came from Elms that had died years before, some more than 10 years ago. For some reason the old stumps and roots sometimes produce good fruitings. The prevailing theory is that the mycelium is feeding on the dead organic matter and fruit when conditions are right. 
I also talked to a man who owned a restaurant we frequent in Luray. He showed me a picture of 9.5 pounds of morels he found under old dead elms. Surprisingly he told me exactly (specific area) where he found them. It's right next to an area I often hunt.
One never knows how wet the soil is below the surface. It could be an almost spring or how the underground rock holds water near or far from the surface. In the VA mtns. I hunt we know spots that have moisture near the surface due to solid underlying bedrock which keeps water flowing down from higher elevations months after any rain. I can count on some morels there no matter how dry the spring is.


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## shroomsearcher (Apr 7, 2018)

Interesting. I discovered the same phenomenon, oddly enough, while playing golf! It was early season and a little soft. One fairway had a significant "dip" in it. As I was walking down the downhill side, I though that bottom was going to be a swamp! It wasn't. Quite firm in fact. Halfway up the uphill side was where a I hit the goo! I thought about this afterward and figured there must be a layer of rock down under there that water hits, and then runs sideways out of the hillside. I've since observed this in other locales. you never know where the water is going to sneak out of a hillside.


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## Nettie611 (Apr 15, 2020)

Is it too late in the season to find morels in the Columbus NC area? I use to live much further from here. Since moving I haven’t found any or any places to go and even look. We live on a two acres that are wooded on a slope with huge beech, hickory, different types of oaks, some pine, ash, lots of decaying trees, but the ground has a deep layer of leaves throughout. It produced a lot of fall mushrooms and assumed it would be great spring time picking too. I have been looking since March and maybe not looking well enough as it was flooded and cold, then dry and erratic temp changes so I assumed this week until next week would be good as we got a good rain after a dry spell for weeks, and warmer consistent 70 degree weather. The leaves were so dry I figured it was just to soon, now it isn’t crunching when walking out so I know the rain has helped. However, the flowering of dogwood was about last week or so, but again we had no rain for a long time. So could there be morels or am I just way to late ? I’m very disappointed as it is my favorite activity in spring and has been since I was a child. However, I feel I got the area and timing wrong. Please help.


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## stripernut (Feb 25, 2018)

Nettie611 said:


> Is it too late in the season to find morels in the Columbus NC area? I use to live much further from here. Since moving I haven’t found any or any places to go and even look. We live on a two acres that are wooded on a slope with huge beech, hickory, different types of oaks, some pine, ash, lots of decaying trees, but the ground has a deep layer of leaves throughout. It produced a lot of fall mushrooms and assumed it would be great spring time picking too. I have been looking since March and maybe not looking well enough as it was flooded and cold, then dry and erratic temp changes so I assumed this week until next week would be good as we got a good rain after a dry spell for weeks, and warmer consistent 70 degree weather. The leaves were so dry I figured it was just to soon, now it isn’t crunching when walking out so I know the rain has helped. However, the flowering of dogwood was about last week or so, but again we had no rain for a long time. So could there be morels or am I just way to late ? I’m very disappointed as it is my favorite activity in spring and has been since I was a child. However, I feel I got the area and timing wrong. Please help.


Not sure about your area. Check the North Carolina section for local posts. I can tell you with confidence that the morel mycellium does not like to be under water for long. Don't know yet how to define "long". Good luck hunting.


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