Buyer expecting large morel crops in Northern Sask.

Morels are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and are known to bloom in large quantities following wildfires. The heat from fires triggers dormant underground networks, ensuring an abundant but temporary harvest typically lasting one to three years after a fire.

Morels are particularly prized in French cuisine, which is where any mushrooms bought by Vinogradov will be headed.

“This season is three or four weeks late, especially because of the last cold wave, but I am 100 per cent sure it is coming,” he said.

“What is happening in La Loche and Dillon is just awesome because they grow really, really well. The thing is the harvest doesn’t just go south first and north second, but west because of chinook first, and then east because of the Hudson Bay cold front second.”

Vinogradov is currently purchasing morels at $10 per pound. He will also be buying chanterelles and ceps later in the year, but prices have not yet been set for those mushrooms. Vinogradov hopes to still be buying mushrooms in August.

“In the last several years, harvests were starting later and also ending very late. Usually it is mid-July, but I’m looking well into August,” he remarked.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Cornet

Buyer expecting large morel crops in Northern Sask.

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