# Stupid newbie question!



## deadfans (May 19, 2014)

How can I tell when the season is finished (so as to now waste my time)?

Thanks!


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## wolf claw (Aug 19, 2013)

Newbie to newbie it depends on the season. The late Spring means extended Morel season from my perspective. They are still up. Im guessing this is the last week for them.


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## deadfans (May 19, 2014)

Thanks for the reply. I have heard it goes mid- May to mid-June. I guess my real question is there a signal that foretells the end of the season? My wife and her sisters got 6 pounds near Champaign last weekend. We found a couple in NW Indiana this past weekend. ( and heard of a few others hitting nice numbers) so by my logic, since Champaign is typically 8-10 degrees warmer than up here near Chicago, there is still some season left. Is there a general rule that says "when the soil temp gets above x" or "when Hemlock berries turn black", the party is over. I am going to Mississippi Palisades the first week in June. Is that too late?


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## fun gus (Apr 24, 2014)

Find lilacs when the blooms die the season is over.


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## shroomdonger (Apr 15, 2013)

Deadfan, u should be good for another week or two up that way. I usually stop looking when the vegetation gets too high or when there has been an extended dry period with temps in the 80's and 90's. That ends things in a hurry.


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## fun gus (Apr 24, 2014)

I saw my first dead show in 1973. I've been moreling longer. Morel season starts when the first bud opens on a lilac and ends when the last bud dies on the lilac bloom. My grandpa learned that when he was a kid in the 1920's and taught me in the 60's. Science says first morel when 4 inch ground soil is 53 for 3 days. That is exactly when I see the first lilac blooms. It has been accurate for me for 45 years.


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## deadfans (May 19, 2014)

Thanks for the reply everyone! Gus, I've been a deadhead since my 1980s teen years. Seen a lot so shows including the last Jerry show. Along with camping I have been carving this is the sign I made for my camper and a shrooming stick.   
Thanks everyone, good luck!


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