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@trametes - I'm not sure what the source of your assumptions are, but you sure seem to think you've got me pegged. True, sarcasm and/or dry delivery aren't always clear online.

C'est la vie.

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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@trametes - I'm well aware of what the limits are on Federal and State lands, but some of us have access to private lands.

If you've spent any time in the woods, and have seen the tremendous amount of biomass available, it's clear that arbitrary notions of "overpicking" have little meaning at the scale of personal harvest.

Overpicking - IMHO - really has meaning in the context of organized commercial picking, buyers, and distribution for market. Focusing on micro-scale personal harvest for table seems a bit myopic.

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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I got into the Hedgehogs last Monday. I was almost up to the Ripplebrook Ranger Station outside of Estecada on the way up Mt. Hood. Look for mature stands of Douglas Fir, little to no underbrush (salal and ferns), and moss covered ground.

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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"MAYBE TECHNOLOGY SHOULD GROW UP?"

Sorry Jacob, but I have to call you out on a spell-check technology fail. Shiitake has two 'i's in it. Google - it's your friend!

As pointed out by cfbednarek, Chanterelles, Matsutakes, and Morels are not grown at commercial scale. While there has been limited success in cultivating morels (patented process) and chanterelles (research trials), the mycorhizal relationship some mushrooms have with plant host species makes commercial cultivation somewhat problematic.

"These are monoculture facilities which are probably safer than risking toxic wild mushroom consumption."

Yes... if you want to live in a world made completely safe for you, be my guest and eat commercial mushrooms exclusively. To offer an analogy, it would certainly be safer to eat factory-farmed beef than to risk acute lead poisoning due to gunshot while hunting wild game. The rate of mushroom poisonings and hunting accidents are both quite low. We live in a world where we have to accept a certain amount of risk in the activities we engage in.

I will continue to forage and consume both wild mushrooms and venison with gusto, thank you very much! Foraging wild mushrooms is only dangerous to those who don't take the time to learn the craft from others with experience.

Incidentally, after collecting over 15 pounds of Chanterelles (cantharellus formosus), Yellowfoot Chanterelles (cantharellus infundibuliformis), and Hedgehogs (hydnum repandum) this weekend, my wife and I made an excellent batch of Wild Mushroom Soup. She referred to it as her "$60 Soup".

I love this time of year.

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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