What's good this week (third week in November '04)

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What's good this week (third week in November '04)

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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 11:30 am Post subject: What's good this week (third week in November '04)

The blewit glut continues. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I picked a stone or so on Friday on my way home from work, and I probably could've had another stone had I gone looking. They've mostly been dried for Christmas presents.

Also still finding a few parasols, but the cold weather will probably knock them on the head. Still finding plenty of oyster mushrooms and the occasional Agaricus too.

Fresh autumn growth of jack by the hedge, nettles, chickweed and the like, and there still seem to be wildling nasturtiums in bloom.

Anyone else finding anything interesting?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 11:43 am Post subject:
Loads of fungi. But I need to remember to take the book out with me. There aren't very many that I'm confident about IDing, and I hate the idea of picking stuff and then throwing it away. Absolute tons of crab apples. Cheers, Sean

Mat S

Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 282
Location: Leicester

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 3:33 pm Post subject:
Cab - what type of land are you finding all these shrooms on? I'm finding the occasional parasol & shaggy ink cap but no blewits or oysters.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 3:50 pm Post subject:
Welcome on board Mat, I'm sure Cab will be along soon.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 4:20 pm Post subject:

Mat S wrote:

Cab - what type of land are you finding all these shrooms on? I'm finding the occasional parasol & shaggy ink cap but no blewits or oysters.

Hi Mat.

The land where I've been getting field blewits has been everything from municipal grass (the bits of nice greenery left in by 1960's developers in what is now mostly bought out council estates), old grazing pasture around the City Centre, the ornamental park also in the city centre, patches around the local woods and a big field by a hotel used for outdoor functions. This is all in and around Cabbridge, so the soil is pretty basic with an odd little lump of boulder clay under the city. That said, I've also had reports of monster hauls of field blewits all over the country.

Try walking around the outside of fields; look for patches where there might be rings in the grass, somewhere near the trees, and you've a fighting chance of field blewits at this time of year. It helps if it's been really wet. I find that if the field is a we bit too settled to yield many shaggy caps, there's a good chance of Agaricus and blewits.

As for oysters, the type of land is unimportant. It's dead and decaying wood you want. Recently I've had oyster mushrooms from dead willow on the fens near the city centre in Cambridge, and a whole load from the local patch of scrubby woodland (on dead sycamore and oak, mostly). Same woods have yielded lots of shaggy parasols this year, many agaricus, some puffballs, pluteus, lots of edible Clitocybe, and assorted other odds and sods.

I'm getting lots from around willow trees out on the fen at the moment. Mostly Agrocybe cylindracea. Up by the footpaths in the fens, where there's been digign about in recent years, the moist weather has encouraged a huge amount of Volvariella speciosa.

I'm also finding wood blewits a plenty fir and pine, and it's always worth looking at any areas of wood chippings for wood blewits in winter.

I guess what I'm saying is that this year they're everywhere. I'm told you still can't walk about in Thetford woods without tripping over mushrooms.

Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 04 9:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that. I spend a lot of time on a bicycle which I reckon is the ideal vehicle for perusung land but am still not finding much. Most parks round here are grass, grass and more grass, long and fungus-less. Pedalled halfway across one to find brown packing tape which looked interesting from a distance. Might have to investigate some bridlepaths and woods. I went back for a shaggy ink cap last week (already eaten its delicious elder brother) to find it had gone - think somebody beat me to it. Had a report of lots of fly agaric in a nearby village, will have a look round there for more interesting species - seem to recall that some bolets (boletus?) like similar habitats.

Mat S

Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 282
Location: Leicester

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 04 9:11 pm Post subject:
^^^ That was me.

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