Fall Mushroom Foraging: You Never Know What the Woods Will Give You 🍄‍🟫
There’s something about fall that makes you want to get outside and see what the woods are doing.
The air is cooler, everything smells different, and if you slow down and actually look around, there is so much growing right under your feet.
Lately, that has meant mushrooms.
A Good Day in the Woods
One of my favorite things about mushroom foraging is that you never really know what you’re going to find.
Sometimes you walk for what feels like forever and come home with almost nothing.
Other days?
You find something like this.
There’s something pretty amazing about finding a mushroom this big growing naturally in the woods. Even after years of gardening, homesteading and paying attention to what grows around us, nature still manages to surprise me.
What Did We Find?
The big clustered mushroom in the first photo is maitake, also commonly called hen of the woods.
Maitake grows in large, layered clusters that can look almost like overlapping feathers. It is often found around the base of mature hardwood trees, especially oaks.
The mushrooms in the next photo are boletes.
Boletes are a large group of mushrooms that usually have a sponge-like layer of tiny pores underneath the cap instead of traditional gills. There are many different species of boletes, so careful identification is especially important.
Look Closer
Once you start paying attention to mushrooms, you realize how many different kinds are out there.
Different shapes, colors, textures and places they like to grow.
Some grow from the ground. Others grow on fallen logs, stumps or around living trees.
And honestly, half the fun is just finding them.
I don’t need everything I see in the woods to end up in the kitchen. Sometimes it’s enough to stop, take a closer look and appreciate how strange and beautiful these things really are.
The Fall Haul
Then there are the days when the basket fills up.
Fall can be an incredible time for mushrooms here in New England, especially after we’ve had some rain and cooler temperatures.
But mushroom foraging is also one of those things you have to take seriously.
A Very Important Foraging Reminder
Never eat a wild mushroom unless you are completely certain of its identification.
Edible and toxic mushrooms can sometimes look extremely similar, and a photo or identification app should never be the only thing you rely on.
If you’re learning, go with someone experienced, use reputable field guides and take your time. There’s no mushroom worth taking a chance on.
One More Reason I Love Fall
By this point in the year, the garden is winding down and the farm is getting ready for winter.
But the woods are still full of surprises.
Sometimes you just have to go looking for them.
With love from the farm,
The Hippie Farmer
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