In summer and autumn, meadows and forests not only invite you to take relaxing walks. In many walkers, especially in autumn, the hunting instinct awakens, when tasty edible mushrooms are waiting to be discovered between mosses and grasses.

Harvest only precisely identifiable mushrooms

When harvesting mushrooms, you should only take those specimens that you can clearly identify as non-toxic. A mushroom identification book is not always sufficient for this, as there are sometimes different types of mushrooms in different regions. Local mushroom pickers can often determine this more clearly than a book or the mushroom picking app on a smartphone.

Go into the forest properly equipped

On a collective walk through the autumn forest, the probability of larger mushroom finds is definitely given. Mushroom pickers should therefore always be well prepared for any finds. The basic equipment of a mushroom picker includes the following things in particular:

  • a field guide or a corresponding app on the smartphone
  • a basket for transporting the mushrooms
  • a sharp knife to cut off the mushrooms

A basket for transporting the often very soft mushrooms is important, as otherwise they could easily be crushed in a plastic or cotton bag. There are different opinions as to whether mushrooms should be turned out of the ground with a slight twist of the hand or better cut off near the ground.

Leave mushrooms in the forest

Even non-edible mushrooms have their place in the ecosystem and should therefore not be trampled out of anger at a lack of search success. In addition, some mushrooms that are poisonous to humans can serve as food for various forest dwellers. Maggot mushrooms eaten by snails, like slightly rotten mushrooms, can no longer be used well, but can still ensure that the mushrooms multiply in the forest in the next season due to the production of spores.

tips and tricks

With practical growing sets from specialist retailers, tasty edible mushrooms can be harvested fresh all year round from your own cellar or windowsill. Brown and white button mushrooms usually grow to a harvestable size in about two to three weeks after starting the inoculated substrate. However, you should only pick as many of them as you can use freshly at the moment, since the shelf life of mushrooms is very limited, even in the refrigerator.

Category:

Vegetable garden