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Anybody here into picking them? One of the guys I hunt with ( goes under the name Muskyhunter here) has gotten into it and the stuff we have been walking by for years is fabulous. Im thinking its time for me to get in on this. Can anybody recommend a good book to start?
I know a few and started more so this past year. Not a book but good website that will get you started.
http://northernbushcraft.com/guide.p...region=ontario
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I go a lot. Really enjoy it, I am actually about to have a meal of some beautiful oyster mushrooms I found while steelie fishing at a local trib. A great book I reference is Mushrooms of Ontario & Eastern Canada (can be found on amazon)
Here's a pic of a small haul I did with my father (my original mushroom teacher)
Attachment 33893
Yea I put a hurtin on the morels every spring found them randomly turkey hunting and the bush turned out to be a gold mine
Terry,
I use a few different books but this is the best book that I have found by far.
You can find it at local book stores as well as the gift shops at Provincial Parks etc.
https://wordery.com/mushrooms-of-ont...FcpMDQodIBsNCQ
Perfect. I have forwarded the link to Santa's elves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mount Sweetness
That book is good but I like the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms though it is best to have a few books to cross reference. Just remember, all mushrooms are edible, some only once... so tread lightly. I collect around 25 varieties of edible mushrooms here in Ontario. Happy shrooming!
book is a one thing but a experienced person is another . i would try to find a person to teach me .
i have a good book but there is so many poisones shrooms that look a like .
there is a person in Thessalon , you can find him on facebook .polish guy i think. see if he can help .
Baha is spot on - the best way to learn is to go with an experienced person but if you can't find someone to teach you a couple of books for field IDing and the internet back at home are pretty powerful tools. There is a wild mushroom hunting forum where very knowledgeable folks hang out and talk all things shrooms. Check it out @ https://wildmushroomhunting.org/
I have picked mushrooms ever since I was a kid. But honestly there are still times when I'm not sure best advice I can give you is if not sure don't eat it.
This fall was good for mushrooms. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...ac2c39ce1d.jpg
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Polish guy in Thessalon.....should be easy to find! :) lol just kidding Baha
yes us poles do know our mushrooms as picking is really big in our culture. I have been going every year for the last 30 years! As others have said, even tho im pretty good with identifying them, I still come across ones that I am not sure and always wise to leave them alone if that's the case.
This fall was only good for one kind of mushroom which one Mike posted a nice pic of them. They are a good mushroom but definitely not the best and not my first or second choice if I have the choice of course. All other mushrooms that I usually pick there wasn't a trace of them this year. It could be a number of reasons, but I am thinking the extremely dry summer didn't help.
cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baha
I found the other types too but they were earlier this year and further north in denser / older forest growth. I think there was more moisture in the thick moss.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpole
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Nice to see some fellow shroomers - been a pretty bountiful year this year other than a lack of morels and my chantrelle spot getting deforested :/ Heres to 2017
A few edibles
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...psyxhlhhtp.jpg
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...psmlohk7sy.jpg
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...psiurd9cer.jpg
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...psxcaztmgq.jpg
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...psthlogxhw.jpg
http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps0q4uh8ft.jpg
Nice pics. What is the cluster you are holding?
Honey mushroom... a big, older one.
From the top - oysters, black trumpets, blushers ( do not pick these until you are confident in collecting, this group of mushrooms - the amanitas, are mostly deadly poisonous ), honeys, Russells bolete and chicken of the woods.
Right on. I pick a lot of birch and king bolette but I have never found the russels up my way. I have asked Santa for some oyster spore plugs and I am going to try and grow my own this year.
Are those oyster growing on a conifer?
I have to admit there were very little grouse up my way this year. Mushrooms really made our hunting trips a lot of fun. The wife and daughter in law were having a great time looking for mushrooms. I bet we even walked past grouse - lol.
haha. Mushrooms can save a day. I'm not a hunter and have the opposite problem, bunch of grouse blowing up in flight only feet away from me scaring the bejeeezus outta me... ya ya, laugh at it all you want, I know I wouldn't make much of a game hunter
Good luck with the spawn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muskyhunter
I've had decent success with Shiitakes on Red Maple logs.
Also had a decent harvest of Wine Cap Stropharia grown on a mix of downed twigs/branches/fall leaves and sunflower shell remnants. Spawned a patch in the shade of a lilac bush in the backyard last spring and we were harvesting by mid August.
Did a lot of Oysters on logs and stumps but nothing produced yet. Maybe they take a full year to produce , same as shiitakes.
Next year I'm sacrificing a single oak from the farm and trying Maitake on some larger cut blocks. I'll leave a tall stump for Chicken of the Woods. The rest of the branches will go through the wood chipper for another bed of Wine Cap Stropharia.
Johny it sounds like you are an old Pro at this mushroom cultivating. I know a suspicious package arrived in the mail the other day for Ms Santa. I asked her for the dowels and from what I have read they usually take a good year to take hold.
Have you used wood dowels for your oysters?
You sound like you had great success with Wine Cap Stropharia. What form do the spores come in?
Started with shiitakes 4 years ago.
Sawdust spawn from Dominion (WHPerron) Seeds. It was poor quality spawn
Red maple logs about 4feet long and 5-6 inch diameter.
Monthly I would throw them into a cattle water tank that collects rain water under the roof of the barn.
Just an 8 hour soak, monthly.
In spite of poor quality spawn and insects eating the saw dust I got a decent amount of shiitake mushrooms spring and fall for a few years.
That inspired me to expand the mushroom plantation.
Wood dowel spawn is superior to sawdust spawn. Ants and other bugs can’t eat it.
Be sure to spend a short bit of time to wax over the spawn plugs. It prevents drying and prevent invasion by other undesirable species.
My first year for oyster mushrooms was spring 2016.. Noting produced yet but I’m hoping for a harvest next year.
I drilled maple and aspen logs with Italian, White and Blue Oyster mushrooms.
Several aspen tipped over in high winds last summer--- same as every year.
I cut them off to a two foot stump and drilled them with left over Oyster mushroom spawn.
Most sources say stumps take longer to produce but last twice as long as logs. So I hope for 6-8 years on all the stumps I drilled.
The Wine Cap Stropharia are the fastest and easiest to produce.
I Rototilled a 6x6 foot patch of ground in the shade of a cluster of lilacs.
Raked out the dirt and spread it to the side. Hole was 6x6feet and 3 inches deep.
Early April I filled it.
Spawn was a 5 pound bag of sawdust impregnated spawn.
This was in my back yard at home.
I have Wallenstein BXMC32S chipper/shredder. All yard waste shreds beautifully through it.
Fallen branches of oak, willow, maple, lilac, apple, basswood, poplar, fall leaves, sunflower shells under bird feeders was what I shredded for the WineCaps.
Spread an inch of chips into the hole. Sprinkler over a layer of Stropharia spawn. Another inch of chips—more spawn. Repeat….
We had enough rain last summer that artificial watering was not necessary.
I was impressed by the quantity of harvest on such small patch.
We could not eat them fast enough.
I cut multi-pounds of them small and fried them into a Duxelle rendition. This stored well in the freezer and was a wonderful addition to scrambled eggs.
Attachment 34081
That is a six inch blade.
Attachment 34082
Wine cap Risotto
Johny,
I noticed when they talk about waxing your plug holes they talk about using beeswax. That stuff is pretty expensive and hard to find. Have you used paraffin wax?
Dam those wine caps look great. I have a small area behind my garage under a Manitoba maple that might just fit the bill in the spring for a mushroom garden. Who did you buy your sawdust spores from?
Thanks,
Field and Forest Products.
They are based in Wisconsin.
They sell wax-- one type is a brick that you need to melt and daub the liquid wax with a special dauber they also sell.
Other type is an oil thinned paraffin. Carry close your body to keep warm and it spreads easily with a finger or tip of a dinner knife.
They also sell a sweet drill bit with a collar. It lets you drill the perfect depth every time.
So far all my shiitake and oysters have been plugged into cut logs.
But every year, high winds cause several big aspens snap in half at the farm.
If I find a new tree fallen over, I cut the lower portion to keep a 3 foot high stump.
I'll return with my Dewalt drill, spawn plugs, hammer and the oil/wax. 20-30 minutes and the stump is fully spawned. I just started this last year but am hoping it'll result in years of sustained harvest.
I'm ordering some Maitake spawn from F&F, soon.
More complicated that spawn plugs. You innoculate oak blocks in sterilized bags. Let the spawn run happen indoors. Bury the log/blocks late spring. 1-2 years later Maitakes show up.
Thanks Johny. I placed my order this morning with F&F. Bought the sawdust wine cap spores, wax and a couple of small house kits (miataki and oysters) as gifts. Going to be fun. I bet I will take a hit on the exchange rate. Oh well - you got to have fun in life and can't take it with you.
Santa bought me the oyster plugs already (unofficially) but I will wait to buy the special drill till I see if I like growing my own. From the F&F website looks I shouldn't use dying trees. I need to use freshly cut trees.
Thanks for the great advice and Merry Christmas.
Your location says Northern Ontario.
When are planning on "spawning"?
For me that would be late April-Middle May for plug spawn of logs. Same for Sawdust Spawn into ground like Wine Caps
The Maitake I am doing start mid winter because they need several months to incubate before burying.
I am North Bay so kind of North - lol,
I was eyeballing a few poplar trees on the property to cut yesterday while out bow hunting. I will cut them early April as the snow melts and the sap content is higher.