Foraging excursion yields tasty morels and wild asparagus
May 17—There are many things I love about the outdoors this time of year — not the least of which is the annual Minnesota Fishing Opener — but foraging for morels and wild asparagus ranks right up there, too.
So it was that I set out Monday afternoon, May 13, to do some exploring and see what I could find. I had the day off after spending an enjoyable weekend fishing with friends up at Lake of the Woods out of Ballard's Resort, and conditions for finding at least one of my two target wild edibles were favorable.
As usual, finding wild asparagus was easy. Wild asparagus is perennial, and grows in the same places year after year. So, as a general rule, once you're lucky enough to find a patch, it will show up pretty much right on schedule every year thereafter.
That was the case Monday, as well.
I'm no expert, but every patch of wild asparagus on my foraging route grows along the edges of small patches of trees adjacent to shorter grass. The window of opportunity is short-lived, and asparagus that is too short to pick one day will become asparagus that is too tall and fibrous a few days later.
With minimal effort, I picked enough to fill a resealable plastic sandwich bag. There'll be at least that much more in my future.
Morels are more of a mystery to me. I've always read that they grow best adjacent to dead or dying trees — elm trees being a particular favorite, apparently — but I've never found that to be the case in the areas I pick.
Instead, they tend to appear more randomly. Two years ago, while mowing the lawn, I found four morels growing in the front yard of my Grand Forks residence — go figure — but that was a one-time occurrence.
On Monday, more or less by accident, I found three beautiful black morels growing on a trail with trees on either side — an area where I hadn't encountered them previously. Meanwhile, a couple of other spots where I've found morels in the past — though not every year — had none.
Again, go figure.
Oddly enough, the most productive morel-picking spot I found Monday was along a gravel township road. These were yellow morels, and while they lacked the size and beauty of the black morels I found, they will still taste good sauteed in butter.
All told, I picked probably 20 morels along the edge of that remote township road, and some of them literally were growing right out of the gravel.
That makes absolutely no sense to me, but who am I to argue with Mother Nature? If tasty wild morels find the edge of a gravel road to their liking, I'm more than happy to pick them.
I received an email Wednesday night from a partner in a northwest Minnesota deer camp who said morels seem to be less abundant this spring. They picked about three-fourths of a pound on Wednesday, he said — a mere drop in the mushroom pail compared with the 50 pounds his brother picked last year.
That's not a misprint. Personally, I'd be thrilled to find three-fourths of a pound, much less 50!
If history is any indication, foragers in our part of the world should be able to find wild asparagus and morels at least through Memorial Day, and perhaps even into early June for the asparagus.
Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, they will be gone, the asparagus bushing out into large plants that will go to seed and hopefully spread the tasty goodness even further in coming years.
One more thing: Be on the lookout for ticks. There seems to be an abundance of them this year. I'd recommend treating clothing worn outdoors with
Permethrin spray
before venturing out — don't apply it directly to your skin — or buying a set of Permethrin-treated
"Lymeez" 3D Mesh Tick Gaiters.
I bought a pair several years ago, and can't think of a time when I've worn them that I've had ticks crawling on me at the end of my excursion.
They work.
With open-water fishing back in full swing on both sides of the Red River, it's time to replenish and resurrect the
Trophy Room, the Herald's online gallery
of fishing and hunting photos.
It's been several weeks since I last posted a photo to the Trophy Room, and it's time to change that.
Photos will be posted to the Herald's online Trophy Room, and some will be printed in the Herald as space permits.
So, if you've got a photo from a memorable outdoors excursion to share, send it to me at
. If it's a fish, be sure to include the angler's name, town of residence, where it was caught — no need to get too specific if it's a secret spot — the size of the fish if that info is available and whether it was caught or released.
It's that simple.
