Morel Mushrooms ?
 

Soon ?
Poplars are budding out at my place.
Had some frost the last two nights though.

Little rain next week then so heat, it should be good picking for the long weekend. Hopefully.

Another week or two should be perfect in central Alberta.

Last year we found first ones may 11. I would guess it will be similar this year. GP area


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Are lots of these found in Kananaskis?
Not looking for any particular spots.

There are some - but you want to be careful where you go to look. I have only seen them in the provincial parks, where collecting them is illegal. Usually late May.

K country does have them. I glean abunch up there.

Checked my dates last year and we were into them pretty good in central Alberta on May 19th. I am curious to see how this year compares, I will post up my findings but I think we need another week at least.

Was wondering about this today.
I normally judge when to go out by grass growth & when the Poplars are popping.
Looks to me any day now....Westlock.

Picked a good amount of verpas south of Edmonton today.
What are your thoughts on these as edibles?
I eat them, but some swear they are toxic. Some say to par-boil first, some not. Thoughts?

Morels and Verpas have a chemical that has been used as rocket fuel, and should be lightly boiled to remove the chemical, and drain the water.

Otherwise, watch out for false morel and enjoy!


Drewki

Good cautionary info wrt Verpas.......para 2.

https://www.madaboutmushrooms.com/ma...oms/verpa_101/

Morels to follow in a day or two.

If you boil the verpas to remove the toxins the fumes from the boiling should be well ventilated.

My patches west of Calgary are still bare. I’m thinking this weeks sun and next weeks moisture will have sprouting starting mid next week.

I monitor my prime spots closely and we are definitely behind by 2-3 weeks from the last few years. Its been a cool spring. But they will be out in force soon.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...98ba5accb7.jpg
It’s on like....diddy Kong


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Well????? Is it too soon?

Morels should be good to go within 30 minutes to 72 hours. :) I can point you in a direction if you want to go. Closer to Drayton Valley.

That’s a 3 hour drive! I’m gonna look around here. ALthough I think your spot is probably pretty darned good.

I think I've told you this every year since I signed up here. :lol:

Yes! Too soon for Calgary.

Maybe a rare few will pop up next week.
I start looking for them around June 1.
Peak season seems to be June 5-15.

Morels start and finish much earlier around Edmonton.

We don’t bother with verpa stems, and eat the caps only.
As the stems have the white web inside, said to contain the toxins.
The caps are great, fried up they have a smoky flavour,
Good in eggs and stir fry’s.

TBark

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3038245a0b.jpg
Still a bit early here but getting close


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Yup you have.... I’m going for a look anyway!

I found 5 verpas in 20 min of searching just east of Valleyview on the 12th. They were just peeking through the leafs on the forest floor.

Nothing west of Edmonton yet. :rolleye2:

Morels
 

We picked 2 bags of them today, and 2 yesterday. It was pretty good haul, as we were out for about 2 hours each day.
They were so good cooked with cream last night!

So... I am really wanting to get to the morel patch but am not driving presently.

If anyone from Edmonton area wants to go pick some morels they just have to pick me up and be willing to drive 40 minutes. I know with social distancing picking someone up could be a concern. Depends how bad you want some morels I guess. If anyone wants to go Wednesday would be the day. PM me and we can make it work.

Rain here by Saskatoon should be good pickings, but I did save 1 and a half quarts dried and in freezer from last year just in case.

Checked Friday none... ground temp is was only 49 degrees good ground mosture so maybe start this week X fingers.

They’re coming good now
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0dc08cdc50.jpg


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