Been studying plant-fungal interactions for about 10 years, including a master's degree I dropped out of and never actually finished* so I'm full of fungus facts i don't really get to use ever.

*Actually did all the course work and lab work but didn't finish my thesis in time

  • notwikinotbot [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    My biggest tips:

    1. Learn what kinds of trees your favorite mushrooms form symbioses with. Most of the tasty edibles are mycorrhizal, although there are ones that aren't (I think wood ears grow on dead logs, and honey fungus is more of a parasite). And the mycorrhizal ones will make bigger/more mushrooms if they're associated with a more mature tree, because the more mature trees have more carbon to spare for their mushroom friends.
    2. Watch the weather. You probably won't have as good luck if it's been nice and sunny, a lot of mushrooms will pop up a day or three after a rain because it's wet enough their spores will have a better chance of surviving on something.

    And there are some kinds of mushrooms that like very specific conditions. Like morels (at least the west coast USA ones) will grow like crazy the next few years following a forest fire.