Mushrooms!

[Heltor Chasca]

Absolutely. Society has cleansed us in the extreme. Civilisation has gone the wrong way. So much so that we crave the ways of the old and end up paying a fortune for foraging courses, firewood, old tools and transport under own steam. Getting back into horticulture especially edible growing is a way of us inching back to our agricultural roots. All of this stuff is good for us and people you meet foraging, growing, cycling and dabbling in self sufficiency are all generally good deep down in side. I find that anyway.

I do get asked ALL the time about 'magical' plants and fungi simply because of my day job and my hobbies and interests. I don't mind. It's the people who ask me weird stuff because of my long hair that frustrate me.

This Halloween I kitted my youngest witch out with a besom made using genuine traditional techniques. The tines were birch and the shaft hazel. A couple of yummy mummies seemed genuinely surprised I couldn't make it take off.

And we wonder why we can't change the culture of vehicle users. [emoji848]

[MikeF]

Thank you. Taken with an old phone. This isn't old grassland, it's just unimproved. (An old slag heap or colloquially a 'batch') It hosts some spectacular species of flora and fauna. I'm pretty keen and active as far as conservation goes and besides these little beauties are only just big enough to feed a colony of fairy folk.

Ah that explains it. I was puzzled why there are two stems of the moss of Polytrichum juniperinum (or P. formosum perhaps?) in the bottom left hand corner and all the grass seems to be Red Fescue (or is it Sheep's Fescue?).
Pignut, I think, leaves as well just by the distant waxcaps.
Must have been there some years as Waxcaps usually take a long time (up to 20 years for the mycelium to establish and produce a fruiting body (mushroom).

[cycleruk]

It's the people who ask me weird stuff because of my long hair that frustrate me.

This Halloween I kitted my youngest witch out with a besom made using genuine traditional techniques. The tines were birch and the shaft hazel. A couple of yummy mummies seemed genuinely surprised I couldn't make it take off.

sorry about the O.T.

[Heltor Chasca]

Ah that explains it. I was puzzled why there are two stems of the moss of Polytrichum juniperinum (or P. formosum perhaps?) in the bottom left hand corner and all the grass seems to be Red Fescue (or is it Sheep's Fescue?).
Pignut, I think, leaves as well just by the distant waxcaps.
Must have been there some years as Waxcaps usually take a long time (up to 20 years for the mycelium to establish and produce a fruiting body (mushroom).

Very good. Mosses and grasses are VERY tricky and an area I've only touched on in my horticultural upbringing. They and lichens are for later life for me. I've only just started in the last couple of years on butterflies (easy) and dragonflies (hard)

I assume the batch has been around for 20+ years after they closure of the mines...b

[Heltor Chasca]

It's the people who ask me weird stuff because of my long hair that frustrate me.

This Halloween I kitted my youngest witch out with a besom made using genuine traditional techniques. The tines were birch and the shaft hazel. A couple of yummy mummies seemed genuinely surprised I couldn't make it take off.

witch.jpg

sorry about the O.T.

Now I have a project for next year [emoji23]

[kylecycler]

sorry about the O.T.

Heltor might have seen this but it's quite entertaining...
http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/1 ... ed-to.html

Also this, from a couple years earlier...
http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2010/1 ... -tale.html

[Heltor Chasca]

sorry about the O.T.

Heltor might have seen this but it's quite entertaining...
http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/1 ... ed-to.html

Also this, from a couple years earlier...
http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2010/1 ... -tale.html

Fantastic! My eldest daughter 'wants and needs' one! She's following in my footsteps acquiring unnecessary, irrationally purchased bicycles. Obviously my Big Dummy doesn't fall into that category [emoji849]

[MikeF]

Very good. Mosses and grasses are VERY tricky and an area I've only touched on in my horticultural upbringing. They and lichens are for later life for me. I've only just started in the last couple of years on butterflies (easy) and dragonflies (hard)

I assume the batch has been around for 20+ years after they closure of the mines...b

Mosses aren't easy and there are hundreds of them, but a few are distinctive and sometimes it's easy to identify to the generic level eg Sphagnum. Grasses are much easy if they are flowering and also by the fact different groups flower at different times of the year. For dragonflies and butterflies a camera and/or binoculars can be extremely useful. Pentax Papilio binoculars are the binoculars to buy and beat anything else. They will focus as close as your finger tips at arms length. However they cost now about £120 new. I don't know of any other binoculars that compare to these. They are even useful indoors to look closely at things where you are barred from getting too close for example If you visit a stately home!

[cycleruk]

On our lawn at the moment- (click on to enlarge.)
Pure white.

No idea whether safe or not eat and wouldn't even try to find out.

[Heltor Chasca]

The 'whites' are a tricky group. There are lots of pitfalls with white fungi, especially old fruiting bodies like the photos above. It could be anything. People associate white mushrooms from the supermarket with anything white in the field. The field mushroom is of course the granddaddy of the cultivated mushrooms. I think someone may have mentioned the foraging rule 'If in doubt, leave it out'. [emoji88]

That said I've just had 2 boletes, fried in butter on a seedy Lidl's roll for lunch. It may be the sheer pleasure that kills me.

[kylecycler]

Mushrooms eventually came to South Ayrshire in late October, after the two driest months since records began, although it's made up for it since (it was a rubbish year for mushrooms otherwise)...

These appeared just across the drive from the gatehouse I mentioned in an earlier post - Shaggy Ink Caps and (I think) Common Ink Caps - the only place I've ever seen the Common Ink Caps. I picked the larger Shaggy Ink Caps after I took the photo, then the plan was to avoid alcohol for the next couple of days (I don't drink much but I don't like being sick) then come back and pick the rest of the Shaggy Ink Caps and the Common Ink Caps. Unfortunately some jobsworth of a gardener mowed them all down, either that or some enlightened posh git who lives on the estate swiped them; either way they weren't there when I went back.

However, all of a sudden, this week, these appeared...

I picked a bagful after I took the photos...

,,,but there are enough to feed an army - the log is longer than a car. What I need to know is (before I eat them), are they edible and safe? I figure they're Oyster Mushrooms, but the ones in the shops are fawn and these are grey. AFAIK, bracket fungi (those that grow on trees, as opposed to out of the ground) are safe. I've seen Honey Mushrooms growing on a tree stump in similar numbers, also an impressive sight, and they didn't agree with everyone although they were ok with me.

[661-Pete]

Firstly, the smaller mushrooms growing alongside the shaggy ink caps are not common ink caps, I think - so probably just as well your friendly neighbourhood gardener mowed them down! Can't tell what they are from the photo, but I wouldn't have eaten them....

Secondly, oyster mushrooms, especially ones growing in the wild, vary a lot in colour, from buff to dull grey, so you're probably OK with those. They should have a pleasant taste and smell when fresh.

[kylecycler]

Firstly, the smaller mushrooms growing alongside the shaggy ink caps are not common ink caps, I think - so probably just as well your friendly neighbourhood gardener mowed them down! Can't tell what they are from the photo, but I wouldn't have eaten them....

Secondly, oyster mushrooms, especially ones growing in the wild, vary a lot in colour, from buff to dull grey, so you're probably OK with those. They should have a pleasant taste and smell when fresh.

Thanks, Pete. I just kind of assumed the smaller brown ones were common ink caps because they were just along from where I saw them before, but it was a while ago and I'd forgotten exactly what they looked like. The ones that were there a couple of years ago were definitely common ink caps, though.

As for the oyster mushrooms, thanks for the reassurance - I went back and picked a whole carrier bags' worth, but that's still only a tenth of what's there! On closer inspection, the ones growing under the treetrunk are light fawn; those on top of the trunk are dark grey, so it might be down to how much light they get.

I've used them in a couple of stir fries, using up leftover turkey. Next step will be to use up the turkey stock and make mushroom soup - I'll just make it up as I go along and throw the leftover (uncooked) vegetables in as well - onion, garlic, carrot, potato, celery, brussels sprouts...

Well, maybe not the brussels sprouts.

[AlaninWales]

It's the people who ask me weird stuff because of my long hair that frustrate me.

This Halloween I kitted my youngest witch out with a besom made using genuine traditional techniques. The tines were birch and the shaft hazel. A couple of yummy mummies seemed genuinely surprised I couldn't make it take off.

witch.jpg

sorry about the O.T.

Ahh, the problem there is in fact due to trying to ride it in reverse! Tines need to be forward (it is not rocket science ). Heltor may have been missing the candle too - or had the wrong ingredients!

[gaz]

DSCN0219a.jpg

These are clearly growing in the most traditional of mushroom fertilisers. Anyone know which type they might be?