11 votes
Dirtmaker
Posted 30 September 2021 - 06:00 PM
Evening Sun...
It might even be safe light for the Dwarves.....crazy beautiful to look at IMHO
What a SWEET mushroom.....it was a good idea to try and grow these methinks...
You get almost 100% to cook and eat this way.......a welcome change from most wild picked......
No bugs either...
(With flash below, I use a flashlight after I'm done grooving in the blue, yeah I'll always be completely amazed by the fungi I grow)
A
Dirtmaker
Posted 02 October 2021 - 11:05 AM
How do they say it, I'm tickled pink, in this case mottled cream and tan.....?
This is getting harvested VERY soon.....
When I started this experiment I didn't know if it would work.....but isn't that the point in experimenting....now I KNOW.....
I do admit to having made a fairly educated guess though....copying Asian shroom farmers techniques, at least learning from them via the web....
Then applying that learning to the materials I have readily available......taking advantage of the use of professionally made commercial spawn helped..
Not just like a fungus does but in direct concert, participation, with that function...
I might let this go to spore and gather a few.....for posterity...
Then again I might just cook it....wow....NICE HEN!
A
Dirtmaker
Posted 03 October 2021 - 02:24 PM
This is a pretty big mushroom....wouldn't fit in my bag so I had to carry it by hand....but I did it...
That scar running down the tree and root into the ground is from lightning......
A wild Thunder Hen....that grows on a lightning struck tree....
It's been hit more than once....I don't go there if it's threatening storm...
Has to stop some time....
The rest are out there about a week off from picking....
A
Edited by Arathu, 03 October 2021 - 02:33 PM.
Mycotopiate
Posted 03 October 2021 - 03:33 PM
Dang Man... I have HEN Envy goin' ON right now. Diggin' whatcha' bringin' to the Table. 
Dirtmaker
Posted 07 October 2021 - 06:45 PM
The scent of this mushroom is different from the wild ones I've picked for a long time.......
I remember this smell from a long time ago, the woods were still big most everywhere then.....
My oldest kid's first house was in a development......that was once some of my hunting grounds.....
My old tree stand, at least it's remnants, was still in the tree and visible from his from porch at the end of a cul-de-sac......
I'm probably one of the only people on earth that know what that is in the old tree.....
I used to get these mushrooms from those woods too...they smelled just like this one....I'm getting hungry...
A
Dirtmaker
Posted 12 October 2021 - 07:10 PM
Wild Hens are gone...spent for another year.....
A's famous ten mile mushroom walk (one of several I'm sure)....
There was a nice collection of hens out there to choose from a couple of weeks ago......,
For the first time in my life I picked cultivated (cooked more tonight) Maitake and only picked one wild one...
But I saw so many other mushrooms it didn't matter either....
I was out to see what I could see...
I have to get a WAY better portable lighting...thingy....set up...gear stuff.....
I think I'm gonna buy another camera too....just cuz....
A
Mycotopiate
Posted 13 October 2021 - 03:52 PM
WOW... your wild shots are amazing, those wild turkey tail, and looks like maybe some Brick Caps, Chanterelles possibly, We aren't Worthy! 
Mycotopiate
Posted 13 October 2021 - 07:43 PM
Dirtmaker
Posted 14 October 2021 - 06:39 PM
.......I am in mushroom heaven.......
It's incredible at times..
...... 
......
~~
~~~
A
Posted 15 October 2021 - 08:39 AM
There are times I think the mushrooms put on their best display, when they know Arathu will be out to appreciate their display....
and they sing....
"He walks in the woods, hale and blessings to the dirtmaker. Lets give him a show."
You are indeed blessed my friend. You are a friend of the forest, and welcome in its most secret gardens......
Dirtmaker
Posted 15 October 2021 - 07:30 PM
Funny what happens when you try......to seek beyond the "normal"
In nothing more or less than a respectful manner of approach....
Dwarves are keepers of the shrooms...
They like silver and coins of all kinds, ale, gemstones and crystals, tools too....
The blind and asleep walk right past such things, step on them......without even saying hello...they throw garbage out as their offerings....
And most simply miss the things beyond a simple fairy ring.....
I've been in the woods well over fifty years now.....I can feel where to go, and I know that the woods know that I'm there....
I think they call me with spores and scents.....it's uncanny for sure....a completely intuitive knack for finding massive fruiting's....
Indeed I consider them gifts, very much chance meetings, as in hanging out for a while, it gives me great pleasure and happiness.....peace and also solace......
And I return the favors and share the bounty aesthetically, medicinally, and nutritionally.....while keeping the secrets....secret....
The only way to gain the deep trust is to be trust worthy....and not greedy at all...
I hope to remain worthy....
A
Edited by Arathu, 15 October 2021 - 07:31 PM.
Mycotopiate
Posted 15 October 2021 - 07:49 PM
I miss Penn's woods so much. I found so many lost treasures over the years exploring. Eventually the woods do tend to have a sirens song that draws you to some deep old spot. I've come face to face with great bucks that seem to just bow and let me explore their domain (maybe I was a bit closer to the city).
I assume you got pawpaws out that way. Must be about time!
Edited by rockyfungus, 15 October 2021 - 07:49 PM.
Mycotopiate
Posted 06 January 2022 - 05:23 PM
Bump... Just because I love Maitake.
Mycotopiate
Posted 06 January 2022 - 06:03 PM
I'll take what A's serving. No disrespect!
They fruit along the edges of the bag from what I saw with Southwest Mushrooms.
Edited by rockyfungus, 06 January 2022 - 06:04 PM.
Mycotopiate
Posted 06 January 2022 - 06:53 PM
All good, I know the video and he goes 4 months with HUGE Blocks. My block is at the Brain Formation stage and will change with time(I'm going to wait 4 months for the other 9.29.21 Block which isn't showing Primordia). Takes a long time to fruit Maitake like Turkey Tail. Damn Polypores take forever!
MushL
Edited by MushLuvR, 06 January 2022 - 06:55 PM.
Mycotopiate
Posted 07 January 2022 - 06:54 AM
In my green days I tried a reishi. As that block changed orange I tossed it. If only I knew then what I knew now. Polypores were way too much of a test of patience then lol.
Now I don't mind waiting a year plus for fruits. Sorry to derail A.
Mycotopiate
Posted 07 January 2022 - 10:18 AM
@RockyFungus.... The first time I grew Turkey Tail, I was like.... This is crazy looking.
Dirtmaker
Posted 07 January 2022 - 06:32 PM
You're not derailing anything....this is GOOD STUFF for the members here and those out there lurking.......the thread is about edible and medicinal mushroom growing......
I have natural logs of Turkey Tail so close and abundant that I haven't even tried to propagate it......maitake of course fruiting only once a year in the wild IME....
Polypores are definitely very interesting mushrooms, watching maitake grow from spawn through "brains" and subsequent fruits coming up through the soil was super cool.....
I have not successfully fruited the Hemlock reishi yet.......but I will....
Regardless patience is absolutely paramount.....I'm now praying that I have repeat maitake fruiting each fall for a few years.....trust me I'll be making more blocks of maitake.....
I too LOVE this mushroom.....hell, all of them.......
We are ALL making dirt.....who is training who?
A
Mycotopiate
Posted 07 January 2022 - 10:08 PM
I awoke last night in a panic. Didn't know why or what was happening. I was pulled to the basement and my tent. As I went down the flight of stairs I heard the dreaded low water alarm. The humidity was 30% (set to 99%).
They've reprogrammed me and speak to me? I've been drawn outside in the night to my discard pile many a times to find golden tops waving back. Never seen them fruit during the day, but at 2-3 am the elves are busy.
Edited by rockyfungus, 07 January 2022 - 10:09 PM.
Dirtmaker
Posted 08 January 2022 - 07:02 AM
Edited by Arathu, 08 January 2022 - 07:12 AM.
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