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Central MN Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Central MN

900–1,500 ft · MN🚗 Directions

A

Central Minnesota transition zone between prairie and northern hardwoods. Aspen, oak, and elm in river corridors and state forests. Mille Lacs area, Crow Wing SF, and Mississippi headwaters region. Among the latest morel seasons in the Midwest.

Trees:Aspen White Oak Basswood

Updated Jul 13, 4:09 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Central MN, July 13: Tier A on Paper, Moisture Crunch in Practice** You're getting a Tier A rating because the temperature profile and species diversity are textbook optimal for this region—but that 0.10 VWC soil reading is the real story. Sustained dryness over two weeks has knocked virtually every listed species into "marginal" territory, meaning fruiting bodies are either sparse, undersized, or still dormant underground waiting for a rain event. The wood-decay and leathery jelly fungi (Turkey Tail, Artist's Conk, Jelly Ear, Chaga) are your best bets since they're less dependent on fresh soil moisture; they'll produce regardless, though yields will be modest. Watch the 10-day forecast obsessively—even 0.5" of rain in the next 48 hours will flip the moisture needle and catalyze a flush of Chicken of the Woods, Black Trumpets, and Boletes. Hot tip: Scout the north-facing oak and aspen ravines where leaf litter traps subsurface moisture longer than open forest; you'll find viable substrate there while south-facing slopes are baked.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential80/100

❌Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(5)

Putnam's Pasture

backcountry

MN DNR~4.3 mi from centerFree/night

St. Cloud Campground & RV Park

developed

~4.4 mi from center

Rockville CP - Canoe Camp

backcountry

~9.1 mi from centerunknown/night

Campsite- Bicycle

developed

~9.2 mi from center

Boy Scout Point

backcountry

~9.7 mi from centerFree/night

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

MODERATEPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Black Trumpet

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Wine Cap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Giant Puffball

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Turkey Tail

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Witch's Butter

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Aspen Bolete

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Chaga

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Jelly Ear

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Birch Bolete

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Artist's Conk

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Birch Polypore

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Tinder Fungus

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Frost's Bolete

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Horse Mushroom

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Mica Cap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Bitter Bolete

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Coker's Amanita

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Alcohol Inky

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

False Turkey Tail

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Northern Tooth

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Snow Fungus

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Wood Ear

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Green Elfcup

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Ivory Funnel

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Aspen Oyster

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Oak Mazegill

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Banded Mottlegill

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Common Stinkhorn

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Dune Stinkhorn

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

MODERATEPrimed

Elegant Stinkhorn

moisture marginal (today 0.10 VWC, 7d avg 0.13 — sustained dry)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.