Three springs ago I actually found a morel in my garden -- and it was HUGE!! It was already too ripe to eat, but I was very excited for the future.
Last year, I had two HUGE morel mushroom and a regular sized one. The two huge ones, ironically enough, were too ripe to eat by the time that we found them, but my son and I ate the other - and it was delicious!
This year, I really do believe that dreams can come true. I found 15 morels! They jumped the 20 feet from the white pine shade garden to my main garden and the move really agreed with them! Most were huge again, but there were a few small ones. They mostly took up spots under shrubs, but I found a few out in the open, basking in the sun. When I find them, I keep them well watered. We have even enjoyed a few morels for snacks. Most are going to be left to spore and hopefully take over my garden.
A girl can dream, can't she?
12 comments:
I'm so impressed! For all the various fungi we found here this winter and early spring, not a single morel revealed itself here. I looked, hard, but nope, not a one. They seem to be very happy in your garden though!
Curbstone Valley Farm, I'm happy that they are happy. Now that I have them, I have been searching the internet to find out how to keep them happy. My instincts on watering were good. I figure with so many mushrooms this year, the mycelium must be pretty strong.
I envy you those; I love morels! You see, life just isn't fair. I have dandelions!
The Idiot Gardener, pure dumb luck is how I got these. I use compost from the community site and there must have been spores in some of it. OR it could be the mushroom fairy and the giant morel statues I put in my garden to encourage the forces of nature to send mushrooms. Sort of like duck decoys, but with mushrooms.
That's pretty amazing!
Catherine@AGardenerinProgress, I thought so. If you pass by my house you may see me out in the garden squealing with delight, or crawling around on my belly looking for more :) Although my most recent finds have been so huge, no need to crawl at all!
Wow! Those are amazing. I have never seen morels here. We do occasionally grow fungi that look like they are from another planet. I would be terrified to eat any of them!
DebsGarden, I've eaten morels while living in the Northwoods (of Wisconsin), but until just a few years ago, I have never found a morel either - even though they are supposed to grow all over Wisconsin. The first one I ever found was in my own yard!
As for eating them, I only do because they are so easy to identify and so darn nummy!
The signs are telling me I need to start looking for Morels. I found a Dryad Saddle mushroom yesterday and the Lilacs are beginning to bloom.
I usually find common Morels in grassy areas near dead Elm trees. Another good spot to look is around old apple orchards.
Wiseacre, another nice thing about having morels in your backyard is that you know exactly when to go out looking for them in the wild :)
I will keep these two trees in mind when I go out looking.
It is nice to see that you captured the beauty of those during this time of the year!
dining room tables, there will be more to come.
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