Many fall days are spent raking leaves and looking up at colourful, changing trees, but it can be just as pleasurable to slow down and hunt for what lies below. Over the past few days we abandoned the garden, grabbed the dogs and found a host of fascinating fungi.
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It’s now the season for picking wild mushrooms in the woods. Even though there are pros who make their living finding delicacies deep in the forest, beginners can grab some great hiking boots and a camera and go looking for interesting finds.
A few things to keep in mind:
- If you are not absolutely certain that a mushroom is edible, don’t eat it. Seriously. There are many mushrooms that are deadly poisonous and it’s just not worth the risk. Other may make you sick so it’s best to handle with caution. It not even a good idea to touch mushrooms if you don’t know anything about them.
- Grab yourself a mushroom guide (we like National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides)
for our region) and/or a local human guide if you are lucky enough to find one.
- If you plan to pick edible mushrooms, check that it is allowed in your area. Then practice good mushroom etiquette: Disturb as little as possible, carry mushrooms in a basket (not a plastic bag) to allow the spores to drop and repopulate, and gently cut the mushroom at the base as opposed to up-rooting the whole thing. There are some mushrooms that you remove the full root so it’s best to read up before you head out.
Once you get out in the woods there a good chance you’ll get addicted to the fresh air, relaxing sounds, and visual delights. Happy mushrooming!
November 04 2011 | Photography | 7 Comments »
Again this year I’ve planted wayyy too many vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other edibles in my wee garden. Those who pop by for a visit get something to take away and many times it’s something they haven’t tried before. What drives this lunacy?
Biological curiosity? Yep.
Culinary experimentation? Check.
And maybe a little bit of an addiction?
Ahem, well, “Harvest Monday” seems to be a good time to begin cataloging the craziness so here we go with what I’m harvesting now in my urban yards, container gardens and community garden plots. The links will lead to more information, whether it be a project I’ve been working on or the seeds that I used (almost always from West Coast Seeds):
June-bearing strawberries
Shiitake Mushrooms
Rouge d’Hiver Lettuce
Rouge d'Hiver Lettuce in Wine Barrel
Super Gourmet Salad Blend
Cascadia snap peas
Sugar Daddy snap peas
Mammoth Melting Sugar snow peas
Wild Arugula
Wild Arugula or Rocket / Roquette
Green Onions
Egyptian Walking Onions
Rosemary, sage, thyme
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Hot N’ Spicy oregano
Par-Cel (celery-flavoured parsley)
Sweet basil & Thai basil (from windowsill indoors)
Celery (overwintered)
Super Gourmet Lettuce in Wine Barrel
June 07 2010 | Growing Food and Harvest | 13 Comments »
I was out taking my photos for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day today and was so pleased at how much my shiitake mushroom block was growing after only 3.5 weeks. I’ll be serving up a mushroom dish for dinner this weekend for sure.
May 14 2010 | Growing Food and Harvest and Projects | 5 Comments »
I did find some wonderful goodies at the Van Dusen Plant Sale last weekend despite the fact that I attended the sale solely to get my paws on a mushroom growing kit. The sale was an absolute zoo even with the rainy weather which made it a bit difficult to get to the Western Biologicals Ltd. table but once there it was worth it to see the great display of mushrooms and take home a block to grow my very own shiitake mushrooms. Here is what mine looked like when I got it home.
I’ve followed the instructions so far to the letter and a week later I already have mushrooms forming but I can’t say that I’ve actually DONE anything. I opened the bag, watered the block and then set it under my deck. So far so good. I’m confident that they’ll look like the display mushrooms very soon:
My intention in growing anything is to learn about the biology through home experimentation and I’m not sure watering a prepared fungus block is the way to do that. So I picked up a pamphlet on some upcoming classes that I’m considering signing up for. They offer a farm tour as part of the classes and I’m always up for a farm tour. We’ll see. It’s been fun so far and I’m sure I’ll enjoy my mushrooms. I do see this project evolving into something more though.
Western Biologicals Mushroom Display
If you are in the market for a mushroom block at home, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to try it. Western Biologicals has no website so call them at 604-856-3339 for more info.
May 01 2010 | Growing Food and Projects and Vancouver | 9 Comments »
