Phenology (aka Natural Observations)

Regenerative Subsistence Seasonal & Bioregion Strategies
#41

[quote=“TonyZ, post:39, topic:174”]you’re not hunting matsutake? you probably kicked them over while hunting chantrelles. A perfect specimen will earn a wildcrafter at a mushroom station 50 dollars, and that will be sold for possibly 100. oh, and they may not be worth the money totally, but it sure as hell tastes like a 50 dollar mushroom.

Paul Stamets has said this year was going to be the best year of mushroom hunting ever.

ON a backpacking trip last weekend, I found countless 25lb chicken-of-the-woods clusters, and we made bar-b-q mushrooms. it was ridiculously good.[/quote]Didn’t see any matsutake, and definately didn’t kick any over, though I’m sure some went unnoticed. We have the candy stick sapprophites out on our land, you probably know they are an intense matsutake indicator, however I didn’t find any where they had been growing. We did find an old one a couple of years ago but that’s it. Fine by me I guess, we don’t sell our mushrooms. One major bummer this year was finding a huge cauliflower mushroom for the first time, and not being able to eat it because it was in a sprayed clear cut. Probably weighed at least 5 pounds.
Your luck to still have chicken of the woods available, we found tons of em out here, all falling on the ground rotten. Where in the states are you located?

#42

I’m in Indiana, where the walnuts are just now losing their leaves, adn the ash are bringing up the rear. It’s still technically late summer here. The full moon of the 26th will bring our first real fall crop.

Candy sticks are actually a mycotroph that do not produce their own chlorophyll and Matsutake are a common host. The mycelium of the matsutake delivers Allotropa tree nutrients. How complicated and fascinating!

Cauliflowers are important in Cascadia as a defense against honey mushroom ‘blights’. It’s possible your local forester is using sporulated oil in the chainsaw a la the Stamets model of forestry.

#43

Unfortunately our local forester is Weyerhauser…they have probably never heard of Paul Stammets.

#44

your forgot the quotation marks around ‘forester’ ;D ;D

#45

The carob trees are beginning to smell musky at night. I love that smell. It’s one of the reasons why fall is my favorite season, even here in the southwest where seasonal changes aren’t as pronounced.

#46

Nettle season is here in the NW. ;D

#47

WOW really? In my part of the NW we have a whole lot of snow on the ground and more coming everyday! Maybe I need a road trip.

#48

No snow here >:(

maybe I need a road trip there, I miss it, just got back from Michigan

#49

snow’s here now :(.

#50

Do you think it will set the nettle back?

#51

where?

#52

Stupid Seattle snow. Ice and sludge. The nettle will be fine. New ones will be up in a matter of days.

Discovery park in Seattle usually has new nettle up in early January. I kinda think it might just grow through the winter though. At any point of winter that I’ve gone, there has always been new nettle. It’s strange and awesome.

#53

Just talked to my Uncle in Fort Qu’ Appelle, Saskatchewan. -50 there this morning. He said yesterday he saw just about every kind of animal that lives there out feeding in broad daylight. They were all out trying to get loaded up with fuel to get them through the cold spell.

#54

dandelions!

#55

i planted nettles in my garden last summer, and it amazes me how well the plants resist the freeze. my little plants look stunted, but they still proudly maintain their green

#56

Cool Rix, I’v noticed dis wit som of th nettles @ forest park, bout half a foot up th top soils I can see greens, but go any higher n tey all turn to greyish-brittl stags. Amazin stuf!

#57

hmm, maybe mine have stayed green through the freezes so well because they never got much height on them last year. i planted them really late in June, so they didn’t take off until things cooled off in autumn.

#58

I found nettles in the University arboretum today!

#59

Awesom, SilverArrow! :slight_smile:

N, to clarify, I didn’t only mean ‘nettles’ in my last post here, I meant ‘stingin nettles.’ :wink:

#60

violets blooming in portland