Edith’s Mushroom Hunting Tips For Beginners
1. Get yourself some taxonomy books! The most important book is “Mushrooms Demystified” by David Arora. Arora has information on just about any mushroom you might encounter in North America. His first hand accounts of encounters with mushrooms makes this abstract subject easier to digest. His book includes a Latin/Greek Dictionary that really helps to demystify the scientific names of your mushrooms.
2. Get yourself a good knife! Different types of hunters use different tools. For mushroom hunters the weapon of choice is a knife, or more particularly knives. A serious picker will have a quiver of knives. You may need a big buck knife or even a machete to cut Chicken Of The Woods off of a tree. A switch blade or Butterfly knife can not only keep your hands free but also scare the mushrooms into just giving themselves up without all of the hiding. Of course, there are also all of the knives you are going to need in your kithen at home to prepare them, smash them, and cut them into pieces. In the field, the most important knife is a real mushroom picking knife. A mushroom picking knife will have a hooked blade and a brush on the other end. The brush is extremely important for cleaning mushrooms in the woods. If you clean your mushrooms before you put them in your basket you will save yourself a lot of tedious cleaning later. Brushing also helps to knock off some of the mushroom spores and protects future harvests.
3. Don’t get lost! Carry a compass and a map. Every season mushroom pickers get lost because they are distracted and looking at the ground. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented, so be ready for it! Don’t panic! Carry a compass and know how to use it.
4. Get a basket, bucket or mesh bag! Mushrooms are designed to be picked. Picking mushrooms will not destroy their mycelium and can actually help them disperse their spores.
The survival of underground mushrooms (truffles) relies completely on the smells they produce. These distinct and strong aromas attract animals like deer and especially squirrels to dig them up and eat them. After eating the underground mushrooms, the animals wander the forest spreading the spores through their feces. Without the help of the mushroom loving animals, these underground organisms would have no way of spreading their spores.
Above ground mushrooms spread their spores by forcibly discharging them into the air. These varieties are not nearly as dependent on animals as their below ground cousins. However, these mushrooms don’t mind getting a little help from their friends, and being their friends we like to help them out. While picking mushrooms it is best to keep them in a basket, mesh bag, bucket, or some other unsealed container. This will allow the spores to float away and hopefully procreate while you forage.
5. Hide. Whenever possible avoid having people see you picking mushrooms.
2. Get yourself a good knife! Different types of hunters use different tools. For mushroom hunters the weapon of choice is a knife, or more particularly knives. A serious picker will have a quiver of knives. You may need a big buck knife or even a machete to cut Chicken Of The Woods off of a tree. A switch blade or Butterfly knife can not only keep your hands free but also scare the mushrooms into just giving themselves up without all of the hiding. Of course, there are also all of the knives you are going to need in your kithen at home to prepare them, smash them, and cut them into pieces. In the field, the most important knife is a real mushroom picking knife. A mushroom picking knife will have a hooked blade and a brush on the other end. The brush is extremely important for cleaning mushrooms in the woods. If you clean your mushrooms before you put them in your basket you will save yourself a lot of tedious cleaning later. Brushing also helps to knock off some of the mushroom spores and protects future harvests.
3. Don’t get lost! Carry a compass and a map. Every season mushroom pickers get lost because they are distracted and looking at the ground. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented, so be ready for it! Don’t panic! Carry a compass and know how to use it.
4. Get a basket, bucket or mesh bag! Mushrooms are designed to be picked. Picking mushrooms will not destroy their mycelium and can actually help them disperse their spores.
The survival of underground mushrooms (truffles) relies completely on the smells they produce. These distinct and strong aromas attract animals like deer and especially squirrels to dig them up and eat them. After eating the underground mushrooms, the animals wander the forest spreading the spores through their feces. Without the help of the mushroom loving animals, these underground organisms would have no way of spreading their spores.
Above ground mushrooms spread their spores by forcibly discharging them into the air. These varieties are not nearly as dependent on animals as their below ground cousins. However, these mushrooms don’t mind getting a little help from their friends, and being their friends we like to help them out. While picking mushrooms it is best to keep them in a basket, mesh bag, bucket, or some other unsealed container. This will allow the spores to float away and hopefully procreate while you forage.
5. Hide. Whenever possible avoid having people see you picking mushrooms.
6. Cruise for mushrooms. Mushrooms are small and usually only show themselves for a few months out of the year. Don’t waste a lot of time looking for them, look instead for the places where they live. Mushrooms are very specific as to the ages and variety of trees they hang around (mycorrhiza) and grow on (saprophytes). Mushrooms always follow a pattern. Reading your books will teach you about the behavior of individual species. Once you know the habits of your target species, they will be easier to ambush. When you know where they live and what they eat, you can cruise for them. With experience, you will save a lot of time by not looking in the wrong places. It is a bit overwhelming at first, but you will learn to recognize where mushrooms don’t grow and that they only grow in very specific areas.
7. When trying a new mushroom don’t over do it. Although very uncommon, food allergies do occur in the mushroom world. When trying a new species for the first time only try a small amount.
8. Never trust an “expert”. Many mushrooms look alike, some can kill you, some can make you wish you were dead! Don’t trust somebody just because they say they are an “expert”. Double check all your mushrooms with David Arora’s book before eating them.
7. When trying a new mushroom don’t over do it. Although very uncommon, food allergies do occur in the mushroom world. When trying a new species for the first time only try a small amount.
8. Never trust an “expert”. Many mushrooms look alike, some can kill you, some can make you wish you were dead! Don’t trust somebody just because they say they are an “expert”. Double check all your mushrooms with David Arora’s book before eating them.
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Here are a couple of books we recommend reading if you want to know more about mushrooms; "In The Company of Mushrooms" and "How To Identify Mushrooms to Genus"
