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I’m very happy to see a forum like this. Thanks Daisy & Selco!
My husband and I (and chocolate lab) have a house in an in-town location with not much land, but I do my best to forage for wild plants and am just starting to learn about mushrooms. They’re everywhere when you start looking! Four years ago I started hunting white-tail deer with my husband, with no success yet. I’m going out again in November so wish me luck! Regardless of whether or not I shoot anything, I’m learning a lot about the outdoors and am experiencing what it’s like to be really cold with no car or house in the immediate vicinity to duck into. It makes me appreciate having heat and what it would be like to be without it.
I haven’t looked yet, but I’m hoping to find other people who hunt wild mushrooms (the medicinal and culinary kind) so I can trade information.
Sorry to be so wordy!
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The idea of picking and eating wild mushrooms scares the beejeezas out of me.
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It’s a slow learning process, but I’m being cautious. 🙂 There are some that don’t have any look-alikes so those are good ones to start with.
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Hi Summer Bee. Welcome!
Years ago I lived in a town in Northern Ontario and there were lots of Polish ladies in the area. Most of them spoke no English and I spoke no Polish. However, they invited me to go out foraging with them for mushrooms one spring. We had a lot of fun and they felt convinced they had taught me how to find good ones, but because of the language barrier, I was scared to go do it by myself after that. I hope you’ll share more about foraging!
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Thanks Daisy! What a great story. On the last mushroom walk I went on, there was a woman from Russia who said that everybody over there hunts for mushrooms. She said she “only” knows about 10 different types of mushrooms. I’d be happy knowing that many. 🙂
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Hello, Hello from Vermont!
I am from your “Sister State” – a veritable stone’s throw from Vermont, in fact.
While I agree with most here that foraging for mushrooms scares the bejeezus outa me, I actually used to do it in my school’s football field when I was young. Only one type grew there… the white mushrooms seen most often in grocery stores… so the risk was minimal. In any event, it didn’t kill me. I’m still here. However, I’ve read the stories of entire families (Asian and living in the SF Bay area) being wiped out when they made soup out of Deathcap (or whatever they’re called) mushrooms. You have to be careful.
I *am* interested in growing Portabella mushrooms one day. I have land and trees. I gather it isn’t too hard if I have a tree that’s fallen in a shady location (and I do). Drill into the wood and implant the spores. I’m sure there’s more to it… the type of tree for instance… but that’s what I remember…
Gotta love the internet. It’ll tell me how.
– Roger
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This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by
Decomposed.
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Hi Roger! I’m in your state just about every weekend – more convenient shopping on that side of the river.
Someone I work with said he inoculated a log with Shiitake mushroom spores but no mushrooms have appeared yet. That’s great that you have land where you can try it. Good luck!
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Summer Bee:
I just posted about Shiitake and Death Cap mushrooms on the Foraging forum (within Food). I was mistaken about growing Portobello mushrooms on logs. What I’m finding on the internet says that they grow in compost, but Shiitake grow out of hardwood logs – of which I have plenty.
I’ll have to see if implanted Shiitake spores can survive the cold New England winters. One video I saw spoke of temperatures being critical – with 10℃ being the lowest that will be tolerated. There’s obviously more to it, though, since I see mushrooms growing up here. That temperature may only apply to certain kinds of mushrooms or to mushrooms growing in compost. I really don’t know, but I intend to learn!
I’ll continue with this topic in the Foraging forum…
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This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by
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Welcome here Summer Bee!
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Thanks Selco!
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Summer Bee:
My wife and I have owned property in NH for a long time but only moved here this year, so I don’t yet know the area very well. We do, however, visit Bellows Falls frequently and Brattleboro occasionally. From your reference to “the river” I’m guessing you might live nearby.
I haven’t lived in a rural area before or experienced a New England winter, so I’m sure this is going to be quite an adventure. My goal isn’t to get off the grid but to BE ABLE to get off the grid if I must. So I have an enormous amount to do and learn. If you remember the television show ‘Green Acres,’ I often tell people that I’m a modern Oliver Wendell Douglas. That gives you an idea of how inexperienced I am at trying to create a farm, even a tiny one. I’m sure my efforts are going to be just about as funny and successful as his (which is to say very funny and mostly disastrous)… but I am enjoying myself!
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This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Decomposed.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Decomposed.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by
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I live about an hour’s drive north of Brattleboro so I don’t get down that way often. It’s a hip town though. 🙂
It sounds exciting to be starting your new venture! Winter in New England is not as bad as people sometimes make it out to be, except if you’re near the coast. Portland, ME down to Boston really got hammered with snow last winter.
I’ll check out your mushroom post.
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Summer Bee,
If you check out Vermont’s Front Porch Forum, you should be able to post there and find someone who can show you the ropes. It’s pretty common in this state.
There’s also Vermont Roots (a wilderness survival group) , VOGA (VT Outdoor Guide Assoc), Doe Camp (wilderness training for ladies), EarthWalk VT, and Peak Survival (I think they may be near you).
Good luck!-
Thanks John! I’ll check out those organizations.
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