drspudbear Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 This weekend I went hunting in a new location, and found basically nothing. There were some mushrooms here and there, and large swaths of land that had absolutely nothing at all. Aside from the trees that were predominantly in these areas, the terrain was much similar to other places I've gone to. Bad luck? Bad trees? Something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitog Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 I suspect that it has more to do with soil conditions than tree species, unless you are dealing with a monoculture. I live near a forest of mostly alder, cherry, and cottonwood trees that has practically no mushrooms growing from the ground; but I've found plenty of mushrooms in similar habitats in other parts of the Lower Mainland. Conifer and mixed conifer/deciduous woods seem to produce more mushrooms than deciduous only, at least for fall mushrooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHNY Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 I have heard that it can takes decades for mushrooms to grow in an area previous grazed by cattle. In our area Aspen and white spruce quickly grow in field that is abandoned. Eventually, lesser numbers of red maple, small willows, balsam fir and occasionally ash or oak will follow. There is a ten acre area on my property that was obviously grazed by cattle 20 years ago. It is filling in quickly with trees but there are zero mushrooms still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 I would wonder about Black Walnut. It produces a toxin that kills plants around it, but I don’t know if that toxin effects fungi. Also wondering if cattle grazing causes soil compaction which inhibit spore inoculation. Horse grazing does not seem to have that effect. The most heavily grazed part of my pasture produced a plentiful supply of meadow mushrooms after each rain (very dry summer here). Obviously the mycorrhizal species would not likely colonize until their associated tree species appear. And even then, spores would have to be blown in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rondayvous Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 40 minutes ago, Kevin Hoover said: Obviously the mycorrhizal species would not likely colonize until their associated tree species appear. And even then, spores would have to be blown in. This seems to be the most obvious reason for there being mushrooms in similar wooded settings and not in others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 And most edible polypores seem to grow on more mature trees. And getting mature trees takes many years. I’m lucky to have a mixed property of pastures, yards, pine swath, mostly deciduous woods, and floodplain. In the last year since I stated hunting mushrooms I’ve found chanterelles, oysters, chicken of the woods, reshi, meadow mushrooms, mica caps, puffballs, suillus and milkies on my property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCn15 Posted October 29, 2020 Report Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 10/27/2020 at 9:52 AM, JOHNY said: I have heard that it can takes decades for mushrooms to grow in an area previous grazed by cattle. In our area Aspen and white spruce quickly grow in field that is abandoned. Eventually, lesser numbers of red maple, small willows, balsam fir and occasionally ash or oak will follow. There is a ten acre area on my property that was obviously grazed by cattle 20 years ago. It is filling in quickly with trees but there are zero mushrooms still. I've had really good yields in pastures containing aspen and spruce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHNY Posted October 29, 2020 Report Share Posted October 29, 2020 Hi GCn15, How many years after cattle left the field did it take for you to find mushrooms? I see many types of mushrooms in my fields. But they are cut for hay and have not had cattle for 40+years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitog Posted October 30, 2020 Report Share Posted October 30, 2020 Prime habitat for Meadow Mushrooms, Agaricus campestris, is a field actively or recently grazed by cattle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mushroom Whisperer Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Here's an article that may help. Trees play a massive role in what grows. This is a quote from the article: "A successful foray depends on successful hunting. Successful hunting demands an understanding of your prey. Identifying the area trees and plants can save you countless hours of fruitless searching, for mushrooms that wouldn’t dare associate with the habitat you’re foraging in." Chris Herrera https://www.fungimag.com/fall-2014-articles/TreesOfNWLR.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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