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Mushroom challenged


Katie

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I’m starting to get so discouraged. I’m in Rhode Island and went two days after the rain and then one day after and haven’t seen any mushrooms for beginners, let alone black trumpets. Do they like a darker forest of near the edge of water? I’ve looked under oaks away from the path, I’ve looked by moss. Nothing! 

I can’t find Chanterelles either. What am I doing wrong? Please help. Is it better to go first thing in the morning as opposed to 4pm. Help! 

As a beginner I can really only hunt for chicken, hen, black trumpets, chanterelles, etc. Nothing gilled yet until I am more experienced. Someone said boletes but which boletes? 

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In NJ trumpets are in season. But they are not everywhere. Over the years I found few spots but they produce year after year. Most are along trails and not deep in the woods. They are hard to spot when they are mixed with fallen leafs and needles. And I find them in one forest/park but not in others which are similar looking, so go figure. 

In NJ Chants are past season. Most are gone and I do not collect them much anyway. They are usually small and sandy. I can wash sand of trumpets with some multiple vigorous washes but not off chants.

I have not seeing hens this year yet. I do see chickens

You can try boletes. It is rather safe if you pick something what is not bitter, does not have red pore surface, does not have strong blue staining. You can always post pictures here before trying to eat something

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I've been hunting mushrooms off and on for years and this is the first year I've ever seen black trumpets and the first year I've found large numbers of any chanterelle. The best way to find chanterelles in my opinion is just to go out and enjoy looking at all the mushrooms. As mentioned above they can be very spotty. You might find none at many similar places and then suddenly lots of them.

You are not doing anything wrong.  They are rarely easy.

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the trumpets I’ve found were in predominantly oak woods in mossy areas. They blend in so well it’s amazing we find ANY!! Whenever I’ve found 1 standing up if a take a knee and slow down I can usually find a few more. They are really hard to spot!! I’m in northeast Pa. I haven’t seen any big flushes of chanterelles here since middle of August. After that it was just a few here and there. Keep after it. Once you spot a few they seem to come easier. Same with hen of woods they really blend in. One thing that’s helped me find more hen of woods is using binoculars. I can scan base of oaks from a distance and cover more ground and no more excited runs to base of a tree when I think I see a hen that end in disgust when I realize it was a pile of leaves or something. 

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I find a lot of hens by black oaks that are over a foot diameter. It might just be because those trees here have problems. Usually there's no moss at the base either. The lion's mane hericium types are good for beginners too. I find those on logs and standing dead white oaks.

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Best bet for chanterelles- hottest, wettest days of the year. July/August. Early in the day is good, as on the east coast they are bug magnets. I haven’t found any black trumpets this year but last year I harvested them by the bushel out in western md, all in oak dominated woods with lots of moss and not much undergrowth. Not so easy to relate but that seemed to be a particular type of biome they thrive in. In addition to other beginner mushroom suggestions- oysters are very prevalent from October all the way to February in md, a few hours south of you, gilled but still relatively safe for beginners. Cauliflower mushrooms are worth keeping an eye out for, and pear shaped puffballs fruit in October quite plentifully. Really this is the peak of the mushroom season imo, it’s just not great for chanterelles. One of the best resources I’ve come across for beginners is a YouTube channel called learn your land, really fantastic series of mushrooming vids.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 12:15 PM, Katie said:

I’m starting to get so discouraged. I’m in Rhode Island and went two days after the rain and then one day after and haven’t seen any mushrooms for beginners, let alone black trumpets. Do they like a darker forest of near the edge of water? I’ve looked under oaks away from the path, I’ve looked by moss. Nothing! 

I can’t find Chanterelles either. What am I doing wrong? Please help. Is it better to go first thing in the morning as opposed to 4pm. Help! 

As a beginner I can really only hunt for chicken, hen, black trumpets, chanterelles, etc. Nothing gilled yet until I am more experienced. Someone said boletes but which boletes? 

Katie, the first couple years will be the worst ones you have for finding mushrooms unless you are one of the lucky ones who happen to defy the odds and stumble upon a bumper crop. For most mushroom hunters it is about covering ground and finding patches of mushrooms. Take notes of where you find them for the next year. In my first year I probably spent 80% of my time in areas with little results and 20% in areas where I found some. The next year was slightly better, I returned to my old areas, went to new areas and found more. After a few years I was spending 90% going to my proven areas and ALWAYS 10% exploring new areas. Don't give up...you are doing things exactly right. Covering ground and using process of elimination works and eventually you will spend most of your time beelining to proven and successful picking territory. Consistently look for new territory too. Some of my best mushroom spots have been clear cut, bulldozed, burned etc over the years so make sure you're always putting a backup spot or two in your hip pocket.

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