Anyone hunt mushrooms in Sonoma?

Hi folks,

Can anyone put me in the right direction to get some info about mushroom hunting in sonoma cty? My wife used to do it all the time in europe where she is from (Slovakia) and we would like to do it here. We need to know whats good and whats bad as well. Can someone recommend a book for us ?

We did some hiking around salt point and that came to an abrupt halt when we came upon a pile of poached deer pieces. someone was up there killing deer and taking the meat home. they left a pile of fresh heads and legs off very young deer. ; (

right accross from stump beach.

TIA and please let us know if you can offer any tips!

john

First tip. Be careful!!!  Mushroom hunting is a great way to spend the day but can be DEADLY!!! You do not want to here a doctor tell you "all we can do is make you comfortable untill you die." They really can't. Second tip. Call Dept of fish and game and report exactly where and what you found. Untill we speak up, poachers run a slim risk of getting caught. Some poachers, like pot growers, will do stupid things when suprised. It's a shame that It's dangerous to now do what our families used to do all the time. We have pics of my grandfather with burlap sacks full of Morrels and Truffels harvested here in Butte County. I am sure there is more then likely a group or blog for the Sonoma area. Google it. And like most other activities the farther out you go the better the pickins. Randall
 http://somamushrooms.org/foraging/rules.html
http://mushroomobserver.org/

Hi folks,

Can anyone put me in the right direction to get some info about mushroom hunting in sonoma cty? My wife used to do it all the time in europe where she is from (Slovakia) and we would like to do it here. We need to know whats good and whats bad as well. Can someone recommend a book for us ?

We did some hiking around salt point and that came to an abrupt halt when we came upon a pile of poached deer pieces. someone was up there killing deer and taking the meat home. they left a pile of fresh heads and legs off very young deer. ; (

right accross from stump beach.

TIA and please let us know if you can offer any tips!

john

Depending on where you live, there are mushroom clubs all over the bay area. They sponsor Fungus Fairs, conduct forays, and often have free classes on identification. Also, authors and experts like David Arora have weekend classes where they collect lots of mushrooms and identify them. This is especially important for somebody from another country. Every winter, people are poisoned by death caps. They are often immigrants from another country, and they pick death caps because they might look a lot like an edible mushroom from their home country. Death caps actually taste good! By the time you experience symptoms, many hours after eating them, severe liver damage is often already taking place.

man, i am met with happiness that there are mushrooms and timidness as i hear of these deadly mushrooms. i think that the poisonous ones should have to grow up with a sign on em: )

thanks for the tip, i think i need to get some nor cal mushrooming books.

john

man, i am met with happiness that there are mushrooms and timidness as i hear of these deadly mushrooms. i think that the poisonous ones should have to grow up with a sign on em: )

thanks for the tip, i think i need to get some nor cal mushrooming books.

john

The two best Norcal mushroom books are by David Arora:

"Mushrooms Demystified"
"All the Rain Promises and More"

man, i am met with happiness that there are mushrooms and timidness as i hear of these deadly mushrooms. i think that the poisonous ones should have to grow up with a sign on em: )

thanks for the tip, i think i need to get some nor cal mushrooming books.

john

The two best Norcal mushroom books are by David Arora:

"Mushrooms Demystified"
"All the Rain Promises and More"

thanks for the info. i will see if i can get a hold of the books and pick the right ones: )

john

man, i am met with happiness that there are mushrooms and timidness as i hear of these deadly mushrooms. i think that the poisonous ones should have to grow up with a sign on em: )

thanks for the tip, i think i need to get some nor cal mushrooming books.

john

The two best Norcal mushroom books are by David Arora:

"Mushrooms Demystified"
"All the Rain Promises and More"

thanks for the info. i will see if i can get a hold of the books and pick the right ones: )

john

The books are just the starting point. You still need to go out in the field with an expert before eating any wild mushrooms. I'm not sure where you live, but a mushroom club in your area is the best way to start. Go out and collect some samples and bring them to the club meeting for identification. Here is a list of clubs:

http://www.namyco.org/clubs/index.html

Better yet, go on a scheduled club foray and see how it's done.

I will usually collect a species for a few years before actually being confident enough to identify it and eat it. Remember the saying: "There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."

I always hear advice that you should not rely on books alone.  There are too many species that look very similar.  Try to hookup with an experienced shroom hunter for hands on training in addtion to the books.

Hi Yaker:

    You might want to visit Mendocino for the Mushroom Fest. next year
                                                                                       Ernie

http://www.gomendo.com/events/wineandmushroomfest/

Have you seen the show "Cash and Treasures" on Travel Channel?  They've got a brilliant truffle hunting episode in which the host shows how to dig for truffles, including how to spot fertile, likely soil.  At $75/lb, a couple hours productive work could really add up to decent coinage.

The bottom of this article has numbers to chains who buy direct from hunters/vendors.  Might be worth calling the chains to find out who their vendors are, then piggy back a foraging trip.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/07/FDGVFNTD6S1.DTL

But of course, you've probably heard about the Santa Cruz family of six that got horribly sick this past christmas after foraging.  There was one fatality, and the others were royally f'd.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/January/14/local/stories/01local.htm

But of course, you've probably heard about the Santa Cruz family of six that got horribly sick this past christmas after foraging.  There was one fatality, and the others were royally f'd.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/January/14/local/stories/01local.htm

It happens every year. Amanita phalloides is the culprit. They can also look paler, greener, or whiter than the photo. They taste good, and you don't feel sick until you already have liver damage. Those are the stakes in this game, so all players should come to the field prepared.

What are these?

What are these?

Hard to tell, since they're kind of old. Also, the stalks aren't visible, and I need to know if they are growing in dirt or wood, and what kind of trees they are near.

Great article about the Santa Cruz family.
I have always wanted to go 'shroom hunting but would rather not take the chance of getting the wrong one.
Like identifying fish, every now and then one can throw you a curve ball. I don't want to take that chance.
I would go with someone with YEARS of experience who, unlike me, wasn't color blind. Other than that I will stick to the what the stores have to offer.
That said I can't wait for ab season to start; even though the risks are greater. My reasoning makes no sense to me either. It is what it is.

They are growing in a huge pile of leaves no trees just lanscaping brush.