'Morels grow around Hardwood trees.' And other types as well. Sometimes under bushes and other times under nothing at all. 'Mesh Bag' There are millions of spores. Many biologists feel that the mesh bag theory, while honorable, is overkill. The spores will flood the air with picking and holding and the opening of any bag. 'grow back from stem' Don't bet the farm on it. 'If the mushroom comes up yellow...' There are several types of morels, including blacks, greys, and yellows (various species in each). Sometimes blacks can appear grey dependent on the amount of sun that hits them. A black or grey will not come up yellow. Only yellows come up yellow. The 'root' is a type of sclerotia, which is a nutritional bank of MYCELIUM which is the growing vegetative body that grows underground. Not all mushrooms have them. Sclerotia is formed under the soil and when times are good the banks are used to create a mushroom. 'manure' The mycelium of morels may gain some nutrition from manure, but more likely this form of patch substantiation will only destroy it. They feed primarily on dead and dying wood and vegetative debris. 'burning' Don't start fires. period. Unless you are experienced with it and have a purpose other than mushrooms (some farmers burn ditches, etc.). Have permission from your local authorities to do so. Wildfires and burn sites are associated with stronger morel flushes. It is currently unknown why this correlation exists, but it is thought that the carbon rich wood debris is stimulatory to them. This post is not meant to be argumentative or degrading in any way to the last poster. Please don't take it that way. But the info is wrong and needed to be corrected. I have added a link with lots of info for those interested. Here is a link that might be useful: Mushroom Expert Morel Mania!

If I was lucky enough to have Morels in my backyard, I would just harvest them with a smile on my face and leave the landscaping alone. IMHO I would forget about pavers or anything else that could hinder or damage the mycillium growing under the ground. I would throw some grass seed down, maybe some woodland wildflower seeds and nothing else. Personally I wouldn't even mow the area until after the harvest was complete.

It is possible to mistake false morels, which are potentially toxic, for the edible ones. If you cut a true morel in half it will be hollow inside. A google search should yield some examples of both so that you can compare. Morels are one of the easier mushrooms to identify but it really is important to be sure before you eat any wild mushroom. If you want to post a picture try opening a free photobucket account. When you upload images it should give you an html code below the image that you can include in a post.

We just moved here 2 years ago and were introduced to morels. We live in central Indiana. The best location I have found is when you find a dead elm and the wild rose in combination. I have been told they have a 20-28 day life cycle before they start turning to mush. I have several marked out and watching the growth rate. They do grow depending on the weather, however sometimes it dose'nt seem like it. I have also found that the season will start with the smaller brown ones and as the season progresses the large yellow ones will be found. Hope this helps. Goldencreek