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Finally some rain and flushes


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Downeast Maine has been in a drought like state the last 2 summers. Last summer was really bad, found less than 10 porcini during the season. Others were left alone. All mushroom flushes were way down last summer and fall. This spring and summer have also been very dry. In early July had about 5 inches of rain from tropical disturbances, good soakers and flushes have come out. 


The porcini have had a nice first fruiting but man are the slugs on them fast, like as soon as buttoning up. I guess they missed them too! Still have had a good time over last week, maybe 25 or 30 pounds of prime porcini. Today it looks like the first flush is pretty much over, hopefully we get some more rain and later flushes will happen.  Here is what I found at lunch today, mostly hemlock but also white pine. Left plenty due to size or slug damage. No other gatherers out, fine with me!

 

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I keep seeing all these northern NA posts of beautiful full boletes, while I'm here in the FL swamp just counting the worms crawling over all of the bolete species here. Oh the swamp humidity is such a gift and a curse when it comes to mushrooms!

 

Enjoy!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes, I have spent many a hour is southern swamps and you will not find the kings there or matsutake but man the spillway crawfish.....

Here are some matsutake I found yesterday,  early as normally appear around September. These are best taken before veil breaks, generally have to gently dig them out. They come up in same places if conditions are right. Cooked these in oil with some fresh garden garlic and kale, tossed together as rice bowl with some plum vinegar and soy sauce.

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On 7/23/2021 at 3:53 PM, rbenn said:

I'm somewhat new to the bolete scene but I rarely find them without insect damage unfortunately. Maybe that's why not many look for them here. 

If you can find them in the first day or two of emergence, the worm burden is usually zero.

Once they get bigger the little white worms show up. 

Just ignore them. Slice Porcini and dehydrate them. The worms shrivel up, fall to the bottom of the dehydrator and your mushroom slices are fine to eat

Don't believe me?.....Have a close look at the dried Porcini that you can buy in stores. They are riddled with worm tunnels. 

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Even the ones just popping up still have worms in them here. The worms I find are ususally small and yellow.

I'm not sure if I'm so into eating mushrooms that I would do that, but I believe you! I'm not opposed to knocking a few bugs off, but tons of worms nesting in there is a bit much for me.

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I’ve tossed some more of the worm ridden oysters I’ve found this year. It’s when they are clean on the kitchen counter for a bit then you check and they are all over the place! Those I just find a log / tree and put them into it. But other than that, it’s all good.

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