# Get in the woods folks!



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It's mushroom time! Found about 30 grays this morning.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

We used to go out every fall and gather Chantrells.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

cnsper said:


> We used to go out every fall and gather Chantrells.


We hunt Corals in the fall here


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

I would love too, but there is still a foot of snow on the ground!!! But I love mushrooms and can't wait for the weather to change...Nice pics


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## PurpleHeartJarhead (Mar 23, 2014)

What is that green stuff? The only thing I see looking outside is white and brown.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Spring is sprung, the Grass is riz, I wonder were the Flowers is.


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## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

helicopter5472 said:


> I would love too, but there is still a foot of snow on the ground!!! But I love mushrooms and can't wait for the weather to change...Nice pics


What helicopter said. Maybe by June?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Drooling, but not happening anytime soon in this neck of the woods


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

hashbrown said:


> It's mushroom time! Found about 30 grays this morning.


I've never heard them called grays, we always called them morels and they seem to have the best flavor. This time of year we get all kinds of mushrooms popping up with the warmer rains, especially inky caps but they don't keep well and need to be used immediately otherwise they turn into a black slime. We get some cauliflower mushrooms up in the woods sometimes but I always seem to be too late to get them before they start decaying. Mushroom picking is an intense situation here in Oregon, one has to be careful or they could get shot at due to the prices some mushrooms go for. I have truffles that come up in my driveway but I'm not sure if they are anything like the fancy ones that high end restaurants pay big bucks for. Thing is if you're out picking mushrooms you really need to know what you're doing because we hear of people getting extremely sick and often dieing from what they thought were safe mushrooms, usually the culprit is the death angel but there are others such as false morels. Then there are those who look for mushrooms that have psilocybin for taking little trips into neverland.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

In a few months the black caps (wild black raspberries) should be coming on, hopefully the forest fires we've had didn't burn the areas were the most of them grow. I'm concerned with fires getting the blue huckleberry patches as well. What I miss is the abundant wild blueberries I used to pick around the lakes in the North Cascade Mountains in Washington, they were so good that it's hard to describe. Mmmm! blueberry pancakes.:droolie:


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Viking said:


> I've never heard them called grays, we always called them morels and they seem to have the best flavor. This time of year we get all kinds of mushrooms popping up with the warmer rains, especially inky caps but they don't keep well and need to be used immediately otherwise they turn into a black slime. We get some cauliflower mushrooms up in the woods sometimes but I always seem to be too late to get them before they start decaying. Mushroom picking is an intense situation here in Oregon, one has to be careful or they could get shot at due to the prices some mushrooms go for. I have truffles that come up in my driveway but I'm not sure if they are anything like the fancy ones that high end restaurants pay big bucks for. Thing is if you're out picking mushrooms you really need to know what you're doing because we hear of people getting extremely sick and often dieing from what they thought were safe mushrooms, usually the culprit is the death angel but there are others such as false morels. Then there are those who look for mushrooms that have psilocybin for taking little trips into neverland.


The first shrooms that come up here are a type morel they are really small we found the dark colored ones as well today that come up next then followed by the true morel. I found several of the red false morels today also that everyone thinks are poison. I have ate them all my life with no problems. As for the magic mushrooms Ive seen them growing in patches that you couldn't haul off in a box car.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Mmmmm, I can't wait. They should be calling for me very soon here.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It's on!!!!!!!!!!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

hashbrown said:


> The first shrooms that come up here are a type morel they are really small we found the dark colored ones as well today that come up next then followed by the true morel. I found several of the red false morels today also that everyone thinks are poison. I have ate them all my life with no problems. As for the magic mushrooms Ive seen them growing in patches that you couldn't haul off in a box car.


Sounds like Verpas to me, at least the early ones. There are several varieties and like all morels they vary in appearance quite a bit but here is a pic.










http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verpa_bohemica

Nice haul


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

Still a month and a half away. But looking forward to it.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

hashbrown said:


> It's on!!!!!!!!!!


I think that some people around here would kill for something like that.:congrat:


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

It's always around Easter when they come out around here. I went out to check last evening. Still nothing. We got about an inch of snow last night again.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It's almost over here, was a great year! I only found 81 yesterday but I also caught 6 nice bass in the morning as well. It was quite the feast up on the ridge last night!


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It's about a week away here, I can't wait for this season. I hope the morels are as plentiful this year as last.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

hashbrown said:


> It's almost over here, was a great year! I only found 81 yesterday but I also caught 6 nice bass in the morning as well. It was quite the feast up on the ridge last night!


You really are living in a little slice of Paradise....


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## Balls004 (Feb 28, 2015)

What is the best way to safely learn what wild mushrooms you can safely eat? We've got all kinds on our place, but I don't know anyone around here that knows enough to feel safe. This ain't playing around stuff in my book, and the internet and books aren't the way I want to learn about it. Heck, I have trouble identifying some birds from the books, and they aren't going to kill me if I'm wrong!

P.S. Really nice spread there Hashbrown!


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Balls004 said:


> What is the best way to safely learn what wild mushrooms you can safely eat? We've got all kinds on our place, but I don't know anyone around here that knows enough to feel safe. This ain't playing around stuff in my book, and the internet and books aren't the way I want to learn about it. Heck, I have trouble identifying some birds from the books, and they aren't going to kill me if I'm wrong!
> 
> P.S. Really nice spread there Hashbrown!


I would go with someone that knew what they were doing and had not poisoned themselves.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

I have just eaten a sub.
Read your thread, Now I am HUNGRY Again!


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Balls004 said:


> What is the best way to safely learn what wild mushrooms you can safely eat? We've got all kinds on our place, but I don't know anyone around here that knows enough to feel safe. This ain't playing around stuff in my book, and the internet and books aren't the way I want to learn about it. Heck, I have trouble identifying some birds from the books, and they aren't going to kill me if I'm wrong!
> 
> P.S. Really nice spread there Hashbrown!


You have to go with someone that knows what they're doing. Talk to everyone. A guy at the store, your mechanic, a carpenter...Someone knows and will be willing to teach you. OR, send them all to me and I'll tell you which ones were good..Ha
I never did go mushroom hunting, even though some people in my family always have. I just never had time to go with anyone. One day, I was buying my daughter a car. The guy that had the car for sale had a huge spread of mushrooms laying on a table in his garage. We got talking and he showed me the ones that he picks. There ya go! I went mushroom hunting that afternoon, and have ever since.

I still only hunt those two kinds because I've still never gotten to go with anyone that can show me more.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

The woods round here be partly frozen ta a mucky mess. Gettin harder an harder ever year fer me ta get out in the woods as much as I'd like.

When it dries up, I need ta get momma out ta one a the old summer camps an have her brush up on an learn a few new skills.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Balls004 said:


> What is the best way to safely learn what wild mushrooms you can safely eat? We've got all kinds on our place, but I don't know anyone around here that knows enough to feel safe. This ain't playing around stuff in my book, and the internet and books aren't the way I want to learn about it. Heck, I have trouble identifying some birds from the books, and they aren't going to kill me if I'm wrong!
> 
> P.S. Really nice spread there Hashbrown!


Identifying mushrooms can be very complicated, it can be done very accurately from books and online info, but that can be very involved (spore prints, staining, etc).

The best bet is to focus on a few species that are abundant enough to be worth it AND can be easily identified from look-alike species. Some mushrooms, like morels :droolie:, admittedly do have some "dangerous" mushrooms that are similar, but there are well documented ways of telling them apart.

I certainly agree about finding someone with knowledge, particularly about your area and I am sure there are some around everywhere, but I do know some experienced mushroomers that give sketchy advice. Find someone you trust and/or double check with multiple sources. A group can be great because that second guessing is usually inherent.

This might help;
http://www.mushroomfarm.com/mushroom-hunting-info/state-mycological-societies.html


> Mycology is the study of fungi, and there are mycological societies located across the country. These groups teach people how to identify wild mushrooms, how to grow mushrooms, lead outings, and generally function to teach people about every aspect of mushrooms. If you are looking to learn about wild mushrooms, then your state association would be the best place to look at first.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Most mushroom hunters I know are a secretive bunch. They wont give up much advice and damn sure wont give up a honey hole. I'm as bad as any of them, I hunt the same spots as my Great Grandfather hunted been passed down and added to. They will probably take you or give you a mess, but they wont take you to their special spots.


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

Morel hunting is kind of like shed antler hunting. You need to develop an eye for it. There is looking and then there is seeing. Some people will walk right past morels and sheds


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Seems like every year that some mushroom hunter out here in Oregon eats the wrong kind, usually it's a Death Angel because they can look like edible types. Mushroom hunting is very serious business in this state, big money involved, which on more than one occasion has led to shootings. I guess, if I knew what I was doing, I'd go for gourmet mushrooms for the money. We get truffles that come up on our property, don't know if they are a gourmet type, they look like the ones on fancy cooking shows, but I'm pretty sure they need to be found before popping up out of the ground, I'd need to teach my dogs to find them.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Viking said:


> Seems like every year that some mushroom hunter out here in Oregon eats the wrong kind, usually it's a Death Angel because they can look like edible types. Mushroom hunting is very serious business in this state, big money involved, which on more than one occasion has led to shootings. I guess, if I knew what I was doing, I'd go for gourmet mushrooms for the money. We get truffles that come up on our property, don't know if they are a gourmet type, they look like the ones on fancy cooking shows, but I'm pretty sure they need to be found before popping up out of the ground, I'd need to teach my dogs to find them.


IIRC you are in the Pacific NW, other than morels, I think Boletaceae might be a good bet. They are pretty easy to identify as a group because they have tubes instead of gills, tend to produce decent quantities, and some of them (porcini/king boletus, etc) are considered among the best mushrooms.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I've seen a lot of boletus, but I just don't have the knowledge to make sure they are safe. As popular as mushroom hunting is around here, I don't know of anyone that knows enough to teach me. I'd rather be very safe than very sorry,


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

You should have chantrelle mushrooms around you. They apparently only grow in the PNW and Germany for some reason. They also do not grow in captivity very well.










Sometimes you will find an entire herd grazing on a hill side. We did one time and it took 5 of us 2 days to harvest the hill side. Ended up with nearly 1000 pounds that weekend. I was the pack mule taking them back to the truck about 1.5 miles away. But heck, at least I did not have to pick them.... LOL


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

hashbrown said:


> It's almost over here, was a great year! I only found 81 yesterday but I also caught 6 nice bass in the morning as well. It was quite the feast up on the ridge last night!


My last warning guys, you have to stop postings like this is making HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

cnsper said:


> You should have chantrelle mushrooms around you. They apparently only grow in the PNW and Germany for some reason. They also do not grow in captivity very well.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I see them around here and they are a much larger type, sadly by the time I see them they are starting to rot. When I was living up in Washington a friend gave me a piece to taste, couldn't believe what a good peppery taste they had. This is the time for mushrooms to show up in the woods, especially inky caps as they seem to like to pop up just after a little rain. Trouble is so do the weeds and that's what I'm presently trying to keep up with, mowing and weed wacking.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Ive made up a foraging calendar for my area showing the 'seasons' for various foraged foods, what game is legal, and what fish are available (and legal) so I don't miss out on my forage goodies. Nothing irritates me more than finding a patch of forageables that are past picking after looking forward to fresh pickings for months.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

I just finished a 'forage calendar' showing month by month what forage foods are available, what game is in season, and what fish are plentiful and in season. Nothing more irritating than finding a patch of edibles when they are past their prime. The better to incorporate more personally obtained foods into my diet.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It has finally started this year, I expect to be knee deep in them in a couple more days.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Oh man, Hashbrown, those look great. I can't wait til they start around here. I took Friday morning off since my oldest granddaughter was off school. We had breakfast together and then too off to the woods to check for mushrooms...None yet.

We also took a bucket along in case there were any crawdads. It thundered Thursday night. We found one crawdad. She is the one that saw it and boy was she excited. We walked for 3 hours and came home with one crawdad. And yes, we had to eat it for lunch. She was thrilled that we found our own lunch.

Even though it was supposed to be a bucket of crawdads and a bag of mushrooms, it was still a great day and she was happy we had something to show grandma.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

jeff47041 said:


> Oh man, Hashbrown, those look great. I can't wait til they start around here. I took Friday morning off since my oldest granddaughter was off school. We had breakfast together and then too off to the woods to check for mushrooms...None yet.
> 
> We also took a bucket along in case there were any crawdads. It thundered Thursday night. We found one crawdad. She is the one that saw it and boy was she excited. We walked for 3 hours and came home with one crawdad. And yes, we had to eat it for lunch. She was thrilled that we found our own lunch.
> 
> Even though it was supposed to be a bucket of crawdads and a bag of mushrooms, it was still a great day and she was happy we had something to show grandma.


I couldn't count the times I brought 1 crawdad home when I was a kid and mom cooked it for me just like I had a mess of them.

You are making memories that your Granddaughter will carry with her for the rest of her life!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Was checking the cows when something caught my eye  
Didn't even have a hat so I filled my pockets (yes that jacket has big pockets, and several of them) one for verpas, one for morels


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

cowboyhermit said:


> Was checking the cows when something caught my eye
> Didn't even have a hat so I filled my pockets (yes that jacket has big pockets, and several of them) one for verpas, one for morels


Holy crap they have been gone here for almost a month!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

hashbrown said:


> Holy crap they have been gone here for almost a month!


Probably about 1000 miles north of you 

It is strange that the Verpas and the Black Morels seem to have come out at pretty much exactly the same time though (I did see a couple verpas earlier and a few older ones when I was picking).


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

The blacks or grays as we call them are always first here.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

We have at least 2 kinds of "verpas" up here, these ones (ptychoverpa bohemica) are _supposed _ to come out before pretty much any mushroom in this neck of the woods. They also tend to be more reliable but more spread out, they were still more spread out than the morels but the two were almost evenly interspersed with one another :dunno:

I'll take it, just had some fried in butter.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

I had fresh fried wild turkey breast and morels a couple of weeks ago I like to have foundered!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I think our fungi are as bad as every thing else here, look lovely but they just might kill you LOL. I'm so jealous of you guys and your harvests. On my last farm we had a lot of trespassers mushrooming ... the local species was a bit dodgy. We had one mushroom ring about 50 yards across and a yard wide, one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, problem was it was slightly toxic, just enough to make you feel a little off unless you were already under the weather then it would hit you like a freight train. I would confront people and tell them but they wouldn't stop picking, not my problem right? I'm pretty sure most of them became very familiar with the back of the toilet door over the next 48 hours LOL.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

I have NEVER tasted wild mushrooms or hunted them.
I am not sure they even grow here.
But can you make up a bed for them. Like a worm bed or something, so you can farm them????


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

crabapple said:


> I have NEVER tasted wild mushrooms or hunted them.
> I am not sure they even grow here.
> But can you make up a bed for them. Like a worm bed or something, so you can farm them????


Really hard to grow, but I'm sure they grow over your way. If we could figure out how to grow morels we would be rich! artydance:


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

While more times than not ... I'm called to the woods, this time I went with the marsh.

What can I say ...


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Well... Looks like we are doing some serious mushroom drying this year. Ended up picking quite a few gallons of Verpas over the last week, and now everyone is excited about the morels. They seem to be in every single bush I have checked, though the black morels were pretty sparse. All of a sudden  Tons of big 6" shrooms. It is a really busy time of year for all of us but they are just sooo good.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

It's that time again! Started finding a few


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

They are still few and far between. Jacob went out this morning and found 4 of the tiny early shrooms.


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## dlharris (Apr 3, 2011)

hashbrown said:


> They are still few and far between. Jacob went out this morning and found 4 of the tiny early shrooms.


That young man has some good eyes to find that small of a mushroom! It took me probably 3 years of going with a friend to help me find them!


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

dlharris said:


> That young man has some good eyes to find that small of a mushroom! It took me probably 3 years of going with a friend to help me find them!


Jacob has been hunting mushrooms since he could walk. He knows where they are going to be growing.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Mom would slice them length wise. Dip in egg yolk (?). Roll them in cracker crumbs and then fry.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

TheLazyL said:


> Mom would slice them length wise. Dip in egg yolk (?). Roll them in cracker crumbs and then fry.


Thats the best way far as I'm concerned.


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## Homemaker (Mar 25, 2016)

We're still a couple weeks off up here to the north in Iowa. We have the rain, but we need some more heat.


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