# Saint Louis area 2020



## the original morelmama

Been out a couple of times getting my legs warmed up the the season. I kept my eyes peeled for the first morel of the season but so far have not seen one. Can't get to one of my early spots due to the parks being closed. Arrgh! I usually use that spot as a barometer to the beginning of the season.

Anyone else had any luck yet in the St. Louis area? I believe it should be a good season as long as the rain levels stay good and no hard freeze hits unexpectedly. Good luck to all!!!!!


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## Shroomin Dude

Hey Morelmama I spent a couple of hours in the woods today...NADA! Can't hunt in my regular spots either so I was hitting some new areas i been wanting to try for a couple of years. Really think it's not going to be long now. Hope to hear from other shroomers - what's happening?


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## Shroomin Dude

So Morelmama, is that pic by your name for real yours?


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## Cal1089

Hey I am a 100% newbie. I went out this morning into the woods and was looking near what I believe would be a decent area and saw nothing, I would love
Some tips If possibly from you veterans. I figured this would be a great tradition to start with the kids. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to produce one yet so kind of hard to share knowledge lol


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## wade

the original morelmama said:


> Been out a couple of times getting my legs warmed up the the season. I kept my eyes peeled for the first morel of the season but so far have not seen one. Can't get to one of my early spots due to the parks being closed. Arrgh! I usually use that spot as a barometer to the beginning of the season.
> 
> Anyone else had any luck yet in the St. Louis area? I believe it should be a good season as long as the rain levels stay good and no hard freeze hits unexpectedly. Good luck to all!!!!!


Good Hunting Thank You


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## the original morelmama

Hi Shroomin Dude Yes, that's a photo after a hunt I did several years ago. Hubby and I had a good hunt. Figured people would rather see a photo of morels more than a photo of me!


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## the original morelmama

Hi Cal 1089 There's a lot of good info on the internet as to types of trees (with photos), timing of the season based on temps & foliage, terrain, etc. so there's no point in me repeating all of that here. 

What I'd like to tell you is don't give up. There's really no magic to mushroom hunting. The magic is to get out there and just do it. Be sure to take time to actually enjoy the hunt. . . the smell of the woods, the animals, snakes, & turtles you'll come across. Watching the woods come alive each spring as the season moves forward is almost a religious experience - at least for me. The thrill of finding those elusive morels is great but really it's just one part of the fun. My mom started taking me when I was five. Sometimes dad came along too but mostly mom & I and I cherish those long ago memories. Good luck to you. Just remember the more you do it, the better you'll get. Have patience. Let me know how it goes for you this year!


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## funGuySTL

Found my first of the year in St. Louis county yesterday.. Game On!


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## the original morelmama

Ooooh - it's a beauty. I'll be going out in the next few days will keep ya'll posted.


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## Canofveggies

How much rain did west county get? I got dumped on briefly but left the area and it was clear by the time I got home.


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## the original morelmama

I live in west county and it rained fairly hard for about 15 minutes. I don't have a rain gauge so I can't give you a specific amount


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## shroomdawg

funGuySTL said:


> View attachment 27592
> Found my first of the year in St. Louis county yesterday.. Game On!


Cool pic!


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## vroomshroom

Went on Friday and found 3 little ones about the size in the previous pic..
2 of them were pretty dried ....


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## funGuySTL




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## MoShroomer

They are starting to pop around town but the blondes haven’t come up quite yet like I would like them to... regardless an amazing day to get out in the woods...


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## MoShroomer

Walked about an hour on field edges this evening... they are still early but the half caps keep me in the woods... I think this time next week will be getting really good around town...


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## wade

Wow.. Yall are Bringing in some Beautys
Thank You for Your Excellent Reporting and information..
We are Finding in Indiana Now..
almost State Wide.. its About to get t Really Popping Here so get ready to see lots of Findings and pictures Posted here on Our Indiana Thread


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## the original morelmama

Finally got a chance to go out yesterday. Found a few grays. Most small to medium size. No yellows yet. Unlike a previous poster, we found no half frees at all. Also no blacks. I've really been on a black drought for the last couple of years. Has anyone done well in the last few years around here with blacks?


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## the original morelmama

very nice early season find!


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## funGuySTL

Great finds MoShroomer. Thanks for sharing the pics...they give me hope
I'm a newbie to the hunt and definitely have a lot to learn...but I'm a searchin'. 
..barely found these little guys yesterday...a first for me!


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## morelmaniac78

Found some in St. Louis county on Tuesday. Not mant spots starting this early. Found these around 1 tree with full sun all day. I figure by next weekend, we will be in them pretty good.


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## MoShroomer

the original morelmama said:


> Finally got a chance to go out yesterday. Found a few grays. Most small to medium size. No yellows yet. Unlike a previous poster, we found no half frees at all. Also no blacks. I've really been on a black drought for the last couple of years. Has anyone done well in the last few years around here with blacks?


Three years ago I really got into them but I haven’t come across any since... I’ve been looking this year though... it seems like it could be the year for them... I’m still having trouble getting into the blonds thick this year but I know they are coming...


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## beowulf75

the original morelmama said:


> Finally got a chance to go out yesterday. Found a few grays. Most small to medium size. No yellows yet. Unlike a previous poster, we found no half frees at all. Also no blacks. I've really been on a black drought for the last couple of years. Has anyone done well in the last few years around here with blacks?


I’ve been without black morels for many years now. Finally stumbled on a big patch last Monday...right behind my house.
One small ash tree amongst a thick honeysuckle patch. Had to combat crawl through it to get to them.
Morelin’ ain’t for wussies.


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## MoShroomer

funGuySTL said:


> Great finds MoShroomer. Thanks for sharing the pics...they give me hope
> I'm a newbie to the hunt and definitely have a lot to learn...but I'm a searchin'.
> ..barely found these little guys yesterday...a first for me!
> View attachment 28664


I think middle of next week through the end of April should be on fire around the St. Louis area... keep in the woods and you’ll fill bags ... it’s going to be a crazy good season from the looks of it


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## the original morelmama

That's always been the way with blacks in my experience. If you find a patch there will probably be quite a few but the patch only lasts a couple of years and then they never come back whereas other types of morels once you find a good area it probably always has them. Unless, they're due to a dead Elm which will eventually dry up too.


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## the original morelmama

I used to have a huge ash tree next to my house that produced 10-15 mushrooms of various sizes each season. They grew from the very base of the tree to about 3 feet from it. I never picked these mushrooms. I just observed them. Believe me that took a lot of self-control when they got to the picking stage! I did this for about 15 years until the tree was struck and burned by lighting. It died over the next two years. It was heartbreaking to lose that tree. It was a beautiful old tree and the morels were kind of my “pets”.


Here’s what I learned:

1. When the pits at the top became the same size as the pits at the bottom, the mushroom was done growing.

2. They all started out grayish and changed to various shades of yellow as they matured. I’m not saying every gray will turn to a yellow in time but that’s what happened in my patch.

3. Spells of cold weather above freezing slowed the maturation rate but didn’t stop the growth or hurt them.

4. Freezing weather was a death blow. Mushrooms above ground that took a hard freeze got soggy, shriveled, and quickly molded.

5. No rain stunted the growth and produced less morels all together. (We all know that!) A few times during especially dry springs, I tried watering on one side of the tree and the mushrooms grew nice and large while the ones on the other side of the tree remained small.

6. Overly rainy weather produced morels but they quickly rotted and died.

7. It varied quite a bit by year depending on the weather but in a fairly good year, on average, the morels would grow over a 10-15 day period before just beginning to look old. How long they remained pickable (is that a word?) depended upon the weather but usually another week or so. The tree was at the very edge of the grass in my yard so received a lot of sun. I think that probably increased the growth and death rate a bit faster than if they'd been in a shaded forest setting but I don't really know that for sure.

8. When the ash tree started dying from being struck by lightning, it produced about ½ the number of morels the first year and none the year it fully died. I was hoping for a huge crop like you’d find around a dead elm but no such luck.


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## vroomshroom

That’s interesting info on your pet morels....so in your opinion it takes 10-15 days for a morel
to fully grow? What was your experience with the variability about when they would start to appear.
Was it always same dates or what was the range ?

I went looking in St Charles County yesterday and found zero in a spot that produces...
Same spot I found the 3 small ones 10 days ago....it was awfully dry....so based on your post
trying to figure out if it’s over and wasn’t much of a year or if we get some rain, that we can still flush...


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## the original morelmama

Hi Vroomshroom I've read that they take about 21 days to grow on average but that's not what I experienced. Usually they peaked at about 10-15 days. As I mentioned though, the tree was located at the edge of my yard with full sun and I'm sure that affected how fast the morels matured. As to when they appeared each year - that varied by two to three weeks depending on the weather and how early in the season it warmed up.

We went out today and found yellows. The last time we went out before today was Saturday and we found mostly grays so you should have some time yet to hunt yet. We're not finding them in some of our best spots either. I think there are a lot of hunters this year. (I tried to post this yesterday but didn't do it right so I'm posting it today.)


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## the original morelmama

Well today was disappointing! After wishing for rain, now we've had too much rain and almost every mushroom we found was moldy and too far gone to bother picking it. Now tonight and all tomorrow - solid rain. Bah!


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## funGuySTL

Finally, getting on a few in St. Louis county this morning...soaked to the bone but a great rainy morning for me! Yippee!
I've been lurking, listening and learning. I love this site. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and experience ✌


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## MoShroomer

Found some that were at the end of their days and some fresh ones just coming up... here’s to hitting it hard tomorrow and filling a few bags...


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## MoShroomer

They are finally here in the area thick... found these out at Busch... under honeysuckle on steep southern slopes in wood debris and leaf litter... five pounds cleaned and trimmed... there out there y’all


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