Mushroom and other wild edible foraging

Did an overnight scouting trip for naturals. Spent more time driving and hanging out at camp than walking but found some in both locations I went to. Enough for a few dinners at least.

Moral (morel?) of the story is, it’s an early year and if this heat continues, it looks like it’s gonna be a quick season for naturals. Soil temp is good and plenty of moisture in the ground to get things growing. Get out there while you can!

IMG_7820.jpeg
IMG_7823.jpeg
IMG_7834.jpeg
 
SteelHeadDave said:
Did an overnight scouting trip for naturals. Spent more time driving and hanging out at camp than walking but found some in both locations I went to. Enough for a few dinners at least.

Moral (morel?) of the story is, it’s an early year and if this heat continues, it looks like it’s gonna be a quick season for naturals. Soil temp is good and plenty of moisture in the ground to get things growing. Get out there while you can!

View attachment 183511
View attachment 183512
View attachment 183513
Click to expand...
How do you store that many? I only know how to pick and cook em in a coupla days
 
John Svahn said:
How do you store that many? I only know how to pick and cook em in a coupla days
Click to expand...
Well, these were eaten with a couple days but.. 😁

For long term storage of bigger harvests, dehydrate with little to no heat until they are pretty much dried (a fan can work for this step). Then finish with medium-low heat until fully dry. They will store in an airtight container for years. I honestly prefer dried morels to fresh for flavor but the texture isn’t quite the same.
 
1000000616.jpg

There are actually at least 200+ in those bowls, but it's very dry out there this year, so lots of them grew only an inch before they stopped and started drying out. Was fun to pick, though we mostly weren't the first ones through the burns we checked. we'll finish some of the already dry ones under super low heat.

We call the little ones "pizza morels", good for pizza night.
 
I’ve been doing a deep-dive into forest-dwelling coralroot orchids lately (more later). That pursuit brings me into clearings under Douglas fir canopies. During one recent expedition, I encountered a favorite fungus, the bird-nest fungus (Nidula niveotomentosa) .
WhiteBarrelBirdsNest6050203Trim.png
For most of its life, this fungus exists as a network (a mycelium) of tubes (hyphae) underground where it digests rotting wood and other organic materials. Under the right conditions, the haploid mycelium initiates sexual reproduction. Haploid nuclei from different mating types fuse (“fertilization”) to form a diploid nucleus (“zygote”) that undergoes meiosis to produce haploid spores. This process results in the genetic diversity of sexual reproduction. Millions of haploid spores are packed into sacks, called peridioles. If you squint and apply some imagination, these sacks resemble bird eggs. At the same time, parts of the mycelium develop into an above-ground cup-shaped fruiting body (the equivalent of a mushroom) that is shaped like a tough bird’s nest (but much, much tinier, less than half an inch wide and tall). The “eggs” sit inside the “bird’s nest”.
WhiteBarrelBirdNestWPeridioles6050206Trim.png
The sacks (and their millions of spores) are dispersed when a fat raindrop drips off the canopy into the nest. The force of the raindrop splashes the sacks out of the nest and into the environment.

Steve
 
Might be more of a gardening post, but it did start with foraging wild blackcap raspberries growing in several patches around the property.

One was right in the garden area. So as an experiment, I did a quick chicken wire wrap to keep the birds out.

20260712_103015.jpg

Berries are ripe now. What they lack in yield they make up for in flavor. Half of these from the protected canes.

20260712_103001.jpg

The rest were from a few wild patches that hadn't yet been discovered by the birds.

20260712_094717.jpg

Was also pleased to confirm this is a PNW native plant (rubus leucodermis)

Gonna try transplanting a few canes this Fall in a row next to the garden patch.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top