(Homesteading.news) As you prepare your garden spaces and get ready to tackle various outdoor projects you’ve been waiting to do when it got warmer, there is another spring event that also deserves your attention, especially if you’re trying to so more living off the land – hunting for morel mushrooms.

These tasty morsels are popping up all over the Midwest and East as we speak, but for some reason not everyone hunts morels equally. While they are common throughout a large portion of the country, finding them still requires some skill, and a bit of luck.

So, grab a bag, get your hiking boots on, find that bug repellant and head out. Here are some tips to help you find more of what you’re looking for:

— For one thing, you should know that morels are fickle – the temperature has to be just right for them to pop out of the ground. Sometimes waiting one or two days can make all the difference – so the point is, it isn’t a waste of time to retread previously covered ground during morel hunting season. A spot that is barren one day could be loaded the next. Morels begin popping when soil temperature is between 45-50 degrees; hunting with a soil thermometer is a great idea.

— Check south-facing wooded hillsides first, because soil will be warmer there before northern hillside faces.

— Morels tend to like being near trees, so learning to identify those (with and without leaves) will make you more successful. Think elms, ash trees, poplar and apple trees, as they are morel favorites. But that said, morels can just show up where they show up!

— Loamy soil is what morels like best, so check around creek bottoms and other places where soil is well-drained and moist, but not wet. Soil with a mix of clay, sand, decaying matter, calcium and/or lime is best. Still, some people have found them growing under pine trees in and gravel.

— Oftentimes, burn sites and logging areas – where soil has been disturbed – are good places to search. Check around areas that have been disturbed by heavy equipment or by flooding.

— A nice warm spring rain can also be just the perfect thing for getting morels to pop out of the ground. If the temperatures are right, as in above, following a nice rain is a day you should set aside for morel hunting. Also, keep in mind that where you find one morel you are likely to find others, so scan the area carefully (and watch where you step).

If you want to make a day of it, think about packing a light lunch and some water or a little hot coffee. Take a camera with you to grab some pictures of the wilderness. And keep an eye out for ticks (which you should check for once you get back home).

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