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I’m hoping there will be no objection to some mushroom topics, I will try to give relevant additional info where appropriate.
With the rains coming we will start to see field mushrooms popping up all over. Best picked from fields that don’t have spray pesticides used, have been just grass for a number of years and generally not ploughed but, grazed. The mushrooms will be located near lush green areas within the field, there is a symbiotic relationship between them as the mushrooms breakdown nutrients in the soil that the grass can then use. Other than the field mushroom there is also the Horse mushroom and the yellow stainer mushroom which can be mistaken as a field mushroom. The horse and yellow stainer will discolour yellow when bruised, but only the yellow stainer is yellow if you cut the stem through the base. The field and horse mushroom taste lovely just like super fresh shop bought button mushrooms.
The field mushroom will look like a button mushroom when small and a portobello when large the gills are pink when picked and will darken to a similar colour to shop mushrooms when cooked or left a day or two.
Don’t pick immediately after rain as mushrooms absorb a lot of water and will be slimy, it’s much better to pick later in the day when they have dried in the sunlight. I will post some pictures of these on my next forage. These are probably the easiest mushroom we can identify as it is visually identical to the shop options. They will grow and open completely flat giving you a mushroom upto 12 inches in diameter.
This is out there now and for about another 2-3 months, they come in flushes following rain and sunshine cycles. You could find 8-10 pounds in a single field and a couple of weeks later find nothing only for them to return again in another month.
These are a reasonable first time mushroom as we so easily recognise it, avoid the yellow stainer as this will give some people a serious stomach upset for upto 24 hours. Some however get no negative response from it, if you are completely new to picking mushrooms pick one, take it home and check it against images online, taste a small bit and if you feel fine collect some more. It’s perfectly normal to have a jittery response to wild mushrooms that you have picked yourself as we are taught that so many are poisonous, if you follow best practise you will be fine. A good book to get if you are thinking of doing more is Roger Phillips ‘Mushrooms’ it’s a bible to many budding mushroom hunter.
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Spot the difference?
