Mushroom hunting in the Moscow region usually begins in July and ends at the end of September. In the Moscow region there are the most different mushrooms- from ordinary moss mushrooms to milk mushrooms. It's just not so easy to find them. As mushroom pickers say, you need to know the places.
Leningrad direction
To the north and south of Pokrovka station there are porcini mushrooms, boletus mushrooms and chanterelles. Near the Firsanovka and Frolovskoye stations, mushrooms can be found right along the railway track, from which, of course, it is better to move a little to the side for 1-2 kilometers. The same applies to the Berezki Dachnye station. From the station, move west to the Istra Reservoir or east to the village of Terehovo. There you can collect a good mushroom harvest. If you get off at a station called Golovkovo and move north to the village of Ermakovo, then the basket will definitely not remain empty. In the area of Podrezkovo station, on the right bank of the Skhodnya River, there are also mushroom places.
Riga direction
The forests near the Yadroshino and Rumyantsevo stations are favored by porcini mushrooms, boletuses and honey mushrooms. The area near Opalikha station is also rich in all kinds of mushrooms. Only to these places you will have to walk 2-3 kilometers to the south. From Lesodolgorukovo station to the mushrooms you need to walk almost the same distance, but not to the south, but to the north.
Yaroslavl direction
If you move from Sofrino station to the village of Novovoronino, then after 3 kilometers you can find a lot of honey mushrooms, as well as russula and chanterelles. These same mushrooms should be hunted near the Semkhoz station, moving 2-3 kilometers away from the railway track in any direction. The same can be safely said about the Pravda and Ashukinskaya stations. There are a lot of mushrooms in the area of the Yaroslavl highway. It is better to stop at the 76th kilometer station, go to the highway and move along it to the Gremyachy waterfall. Porcini mushrooms will also delight forested areas, located near the village of Sharapovo.
Savelovskoe direction
Not far from the Morozki, Lugovaya and Turist stations there are porcini mushrooms, boletuses, chanterelles and boletus. From Lobnya station you will have to walk about three kilometers east to the Pyalovsky reservoir. And from Nekrasovskaya it’s a stone’s throw to the mushrooms – just a kilometer along the road to the village of Ozeretskoye. Two kilometers west of the stations Katuar, Vlasovo and Iksha there are also many mushroom places.
Paveletskaya direction
Wonderful mushroom place Paveletsky direction located near the White Pillars station. You only need to walk about 3-4 kilometers in a western direction. There are honey mushrooms, aspen boletuses, boletus mushrooms and porcini mushrooms. You can pick mushrooms near the railway tracks near the stations Velyaminovo, Zhilevo, Privalovo, Stupino and Mikhnevo.
Belarusian direction
These places are proud of boletus, boletus and porcini mushrooms. From Sushkinskaya station to Portnovskaya station there is a forest rich in mushrooms, so you can choose any stop on this section. In the southwest near Khlyupino station you can get hold of chanterelles. And if you go to the Petelino station and, having got off at it, move towards the Petelino poultry farm, you can collect a fair amount of honey mushrooms.
The “wet” summer of 2017 also has its advantage, which is worth taking advantage of, even if you haven’t tried it before. Mushrooms, of course. Our forum mushroom pickers are telegraphing from the forest: there are a lot of boletuses, boletuses and saffron milk caps, however, there are also plenty of hunters for them. People wander through the forests with baskets, looking intently at their feet, but so far there is enough “catch” for everyone, and after every warm rain a fresh one appears.
Of course, every mushroom picker knows his secret places and doesn’t tell them to just anyone, but there are destinations in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg where boletus, boletus and saffron milk caps traditionally go. Using the information, we compiled a folk mushroom map - 2017.
You can also take part in it: tell us where you go, what you find, send your photos. Maybe there are clearings where rare specimens grow, and only you know about it? And here’s another question: where are the chanterelles? Based on your information, we will supplement and improve the map. Telegraph to our editorial mail [email protected]. You can also use WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram - their number + 7 909 704 57 70.
Here's some fresh news from the fields.
“We went into the forests along the Serovsky tract for a couple of hours,” writes user I am PILOT))). - There are plenty of cars. People - like on Lenin Avenue. There are a lot of mushroom pickers with dogs this year. They collected them for mycelium. There are 20 white ones and about 15 black ones. The forests are very wet. Everyone Have a good mood and collection!
“There are tons of mushrooms! - user damaskar boasts. - They are eaten mainly by slugs. A lot of worms are just butter. The freezer is already full.”
“Here, apparently, everything depends on the area,” says a mushroom picker with the nickname Perpetuum Mobile 73. “Yesterday we went and brought one and a half three-bucket baskets of white ones. 99% are all wormy. Everything was thrown away. Why did they take these in the forest? But because there were three days ago - and the same one and a half baskets of whites, practically without a single wormhole. Yesterday you cut them, the stem is clean, the cap is strong and beautiful, so as not to wrinkle, they didn’t cut them. And, despite the countless amounts of rain, the places where we walk are surprisingly dry in the forest. Now either change the collection location or wait next layer. It’s good that we already had time to dry it too. It’s bad that she promised to take people to pick mushrooms, but you won’t go for those. Serovsky tract".
"Today. Rudny, - photo report from user Bipatrid, posted yesterday. - There are a lot of people in the forests. Mushrooms - a little less."
If you are not sure what you distinguish good mushrooms from not very good ones, before going into the forest.
When going mushroom hunting, the main thing, of course, is not the result, but the process: warm air, singing birds and unforgettable smells of summer and autumn forest. But if you've never enjoyed wandering through the woods with a basket and leaving with nothing, then you most likely made a mistake in your preparation. To avoid missing out on all the delicious things this season, follow our tips.
Find out the route
You need to choose where you will go for mushrooms in advance. This is called a preliminary search, when you come to the forest specifically for reconnaissance to see where the mushrooms may be. True, only very experienced mushroom pickers can understand whether it is worth returning to the clearing during the season.
Therefore, the best preliminary search is word of mouth. Even from natural history lessons at school, everyone remembers that we eat the fruiting bodies of mushrooms, and they grow on mycelium (mycelium), and that underground the network covers several square meters. It is logical that from year to year you need to go to the same good places to collect. If you don’t have such locations in mind, ask for advice from those who like to go mushroom picking.
These are market sellers, grandmothers, neighbors, users of local forums. See which of your friends had a mushroom on Instagram last year. Don’t think that if you’ve already collected everything in one place, you won’t get anything. The mycelium will not run away anywhere, and in a week the mushroom manages to appear, grow and grow old. You've had enough.
Let's get up early
So, the rains have passed, the thermometer still shows a good “plus”, it’s time to go to the forest. You need to go mushroom hunting for several reasons.
Firstly, it is better to walk through the forest in mushroom picking gear before the heat sets in. Secondly, mushrooms shiny with dew are better visible in the grass and leaves. Thirdly, it is better to go to popular places in the front rows, so that when you arrive, all the mushrooms are left are stems.
Preparing equipment
Shoes must be good. The sole should be dense so that you are not afraid of sharp knots. Running shoes with membranes, mesh and ventilation will allow moisture to pass through very quickly if it has recently rained or the morning dew has not yet dried.
It is mandatory to take a hat with you, simply because it is important rule walking on . The rest of the clothing is chosen according to the weather and situation. The better you cover your body, the fewer encounters you will encounter with insects, sharp branches and other delights of nature.
Take a knife with you to cut mushrooms. By the way, it is not at all necessary to cut them off so as not to damage the mycelium. It’s just more convenient: you won’t accidentally break the stem and spoil the mushroom.
You will also need a knife to get yourself a stick. Seriously, if you are not walking through the forest, but specifically looking for mushrooms, you will need a stick to rake leaves without bending down to the ground every time. If you don’t want to train with bending, you’ll have to walk like Gandalf with a magic staff.
You need to take more and not forget about it, constantly monitor the flow of fluid into the body if you do not want to pay for the walk with a headache from dehydration.
And take a basket for picking mushrooms. Why a basket, basket or other hand-made item? To avoid crushing or breaking the mushrooms, which will definitely happen when using bags or backpacks. Buckets and plastic containers will block air access, and this will also affect the quality collected mushrooms. And since you already have a stick, you should also have a basket: then you can take stunning photos of what you’ve collected.
Search system
Incredible, but true: you can search for mushrooms using a scientifically proven method. A. I. Semenov collected data and structured it into a system back in the days of the USSR. What to do if you just came to the forest?
Depends on which forest you come to. If you find yourself among trees specially planted by man, then a “comb” route is suitable, when you can navigate along even rows of trunks and not miss a single meter of area.
A more complex option is called a “comb with a ledge,” but on the ground you are unlikely to check your path with the accuracy of a tree, so just take the principle into account.
Another search method is a wave, or a zigzag. We walk like this if the forest is transparent, that is, there are few trees.
When inspecting the edge of the forest adjacent to a clearing, use the tension spring principle to inspect the area around each tree.
Start combing it using a zigzag method. Let's take our time, enjoy nature, and don't run around looking for the first hat. Slower, even slower, one step per second - so you will see large area and you will be able to spot the mushrooms.
Did you find the first one? Great. Place any beacon (stick or basket) near the place where you found the mushroom and start moving in a spiral around it.
Choose whether your spiral will twist or unwind, or it is better to go the route in two directions to increase the chances of a successful search.
If you are not traveling alone (and it is boring to go picking mushrooms alone), then combine methods. While one person is inspecting the trees at the edge, another person is following the same course, but along a zigzag path and a little further into the forest.
Treatment
Fresh mushrooms will not last long. Tubular ones (boletus, boletus and boletus) will last three days in the refrigerator, lamellar ones (milk mushrooms, chanterelles, honey mushrooms) - a day or two more. Then - for processing.
But even during these couple of days, you will lose some of the mushrooms if you store them together. If it is not possible to immediately clean and prepare everything that you have collected, try to lay the mushrooms in an even layer in a cool place. dark place to protect them from mold and insects.
It’s probably no secret to anyone that mushrooms, being a natural product and very free of charge, don’t grow anywhere. In terms of their demands on conditions, they are many times more capricious than plants, so give them special, mushroom places. I will try to tell you how to find the latter in this article. But first, I strongly recommend “smoking” the theory, which, despite its futility, is designed to help the mushroom picker analyze a specific landscape and determine its “mushroom potential” by eye.
Conditions for mushrooms
All mushroom places rest on a kind of “three pillars”, which are the three main conditions necessary for the full existence of mushrooms:
It would be possible to add soil composition to the above conditions, but for most forest mushrooms he's not particularly critical. And in general, in any forest land there will be almost all the necessary substances for them. However, some mushrooms prefer soils that are particularly rich in organic matter, such as champignons and dung beetles. I will write more about mushroom soils below - in the section “Where mushrooms grow.”
So, these same “three mushroom whales” are very dependent on the type of landscape, topography and seasonal weather. These factors are also worth considering in more detail, and at the same time their influence on each other. Let's start with the first of them - landscape.
Mushroom landscapes
Over the entire history of the Earth's development, mushrooms have adapted quite well to various types terrain, which is why they can be found not only in the forest, but also in the tundra, and even in the steppe. They also grow in swamps and on the surface of lake rafts. First, let's look at the forest area, as it grows lion's share mushrooms collected by humans.
Mushroom forests
In terms of heat and humidity, all forests, regardless of the tree species growing in them, can be divided into three categories of mushroom places:
small forest
Such forests arise in old clearings or in open spaces that have been withdrawn from agricultural use. The main condition is a forested area and mature trees located nearby, the seeds from which are quickly sown former field, and after a few years a low growth of young trees appears on it.
Artificial forest plantations can also be classified as small forests. You can distinguish them from self-seeding ones by the way the seedlings are located. In artificial plantings they stand less frequently, are almost the same height and are usually ordered, but in natural plantings, as a rule, all the trees stand close to each other and their height varies. Well, of course, there is no order in the arrangement of trees, but complete chaos reigns.
Typically, small forests are young self-sown pine forests, birch forests, aspen forests, or a mixture of various species. Their age is no more than 10 years, the height of the trees has not yet reached its usual value for real forests, and the undergrowth as such has not yet developed. As a rule, such forests are well heated by the sun and evaporate moisture no less well. Therefore, on level ground there is plenty of heat here, but there is usually a minimum of moisture in the soil, which, however, does not prevent small forests from being normal mushroom places under favorable weather conditions.
Open Woods
Overgrown small forests, or forests where the density of trees is relatively low. The undergrowth can be sparse or dense. Examples of such forests are tall, fairly sunlit birch or aspen forests.
The warmth and humidity of the soil here are kept at approximately average levels. These forests are quite successful as mushroom places.
Taiga
Spruce or fir, or mixed. And in general any forest where the tree density is high. Only a minimal part sun rays reaches the surface of the earth here. Therefore, twilight and coolness reign in such forests, and soil moisture reaches maximum values for the forest. The taiga is quite a mushroom place, but special “taiga” species of mushrooms grow here.
Sometimes it happens that a swamp intersects with the taiga and Urman- another type of landscape, different high humidity, and another very good mushroom place. Such forests are less dependent on atmospheric precipitation, and therefore - more promising in terms of mushrooms in dry years.
Summarizing all of the above about different forests, we can say with confidence that the most promising mushroom areas are forests of the second type. And indeed, it was here that the yields of mushrooms (especially white mushrooms) were always high.
Open spaces
This can include all those types of landscapes that do not have trees or have them in minute quantities. There is an abundance of solar heat here, but with moisture it can be different.
- Moss swamps or lake rafts. The wettest and most mushroomy places among all open spaces. All that is required for mushrooms is just solar heat. In terms of symbiont plants, as a rule, there is no shortage, because swamp soil is usually penetrated by the roots of various tree-like shrubs, ranging from small heathers (cranberries, blueberries, crowberries, etc.) and ending with fully established trees, such as small birches, pine trees and others.
- Tundra. There is a slight change in moisture here. However, this doesn't bother me at all this species landscape to be an excellent mushroom place. Including thanks to the symbiont trees that grow here in a dwarf form.
- Dry open spaces, steppes. Mushroom places appear only in favorable seasons - when sufficient rainfall falls from the skies.
It is quite obvious that the first two areas are very tempting for mushroom pickers.
Relief and mushrooms
Height and slope earth's surface also influence whether a particular area can be classified as a mushroom area.
| Terrain type | Moisture | Warm |
| Lowlands (including places near water bodies) | A lot of | Average |
| Heights | Few | Average |
| North side of the mountain | A lot of | Few |
| East and west sides of the mountain | Average | Average |
| South side of the mountain | Few | A lot of |
That’s right - the most mushroom places are usually the lowlands. There are usually more mushrooms growing there than in mountainous area. Near bodies of water, heavy dew falls in the morning - this has a beneficial effect on soil moisture.
Mushroom weather
Summer can be different. Sometimes it’s normal - when there’s a lot sunny days and periodically there are heavy rainfalls (the most mushroom weather). And sometimes it’s cold and rainy. And it also happens that for the entire July-August - not a drop from the sky. But the heat is abnormal and naturally “dries out” everything, even the grass burns out. And once I observed a generally “unique” summer, when there didn’t seem to be much rain, but the weather was cloudy and cool all the way.
The yield of mushroom areas also greatly depends on what the season will be like. In this regard, four types of summer can be distinguished:
| Summer | Warm | Moisture | Productivity of mushroom places |
| Cold dry | Few | Few | Extremely bad. |
| Cold wet (rainy) | Few | A lot of | Mushrooms appear, but with a delay. As a rule, in such summers there are many wormy mushrooms, their overall harvest leaves much to be desired. But it also happens that in the fall nature “takes revenge” autumn views, unpretentious to heat. |
| Warm dry (arid) | A lot of | Few | Everything in the forest is perfectly dry. There are no mushrooms during the summer. They appear only in the fall - when it starts to rain. But the productivity of the mushroom place at this moment reaches its possible peak, which cannot but rejoice. |
| Warm wet (normal) | A lot of | A lot of | Best mushroom weather. Usually in such summers there are tons of mushrooms everywhere. |
Manifestation of weather in different mushroom places
Now comes the most interesting part. It’s not for nothing that I listed above different types of mushroom places that differ in landscape and topography. As the practice of mushroom picking shows, in different seasonal weather they manifest themselves completely differently. And here we get a rather funny sign:
| Summer | ||||
| Cold dry | Cold wet | Warm dry | Warm wet | |
| Forests | No or few mushrooms | Closer to autumn, not particularly heat-loving species of mushrooms, such as saffron milk caps or milk mushrooms, appear. If the summer is not very cold, the area may please you with some boletus harvest. | No or few mushrooms | Usually in such years there are plenty of mushrooms in a given area. |
| Moss swamps, rafting grounds | The lack of heat only affects the timing of the appearance of heat-loving mushrooms. There is always enough moisture here, so there will be mushrooms even in cold summers, but not in such quantities as in warm ones. | These types of terrain are independent of precipitation, therefore there will be a lot of mushrooms here in both cases of warm summer. | ||
| Places near bodies of water | There is moisture, but with heat things are worse. Nevertheless, you can count on some mushroom harvest | Heavy dew in the morning moisturizes the soil well. As a result, it is along the banks of reservoirs that mushroom picking can be very successful in dry summers | There is plenty of moisture and heat - the mushroom harvest will be maximum | |
| Southern slopes of forested mountains | No or few mushrooms | These places are well heated by the sun, as they are oriented to it at a steeper angle. During the cold but wet summer, the best mushroom harvest occurs here. | No or few mushrooms | In this weather there are usually plenty of mushrooms |
| Northern slopes of forested mountains | No or few mushrooms | You can count on a small harvest of mushrooms that are not very demanding of heat | There are no or few mushrooms, but in some cases it is on the northern side of the mountain that in dry summers you can count on some mushroom harvest | There is more shade here, and therefore noticeably colder. There are mushrooms, but there are slightly fewer of them than in warmer places |
| Open spaces | No or few mushrooms | The usual crop of mushrooms such as umbrellas and champignons appears | ||
Another very funny moment here is connected with the time of year, or more precisely with autumn, or with how quickly mushrooms disappear with the first cold weather. As it turned out, nature has its own reservoirs of heat, which can “stretch” somewhat mushroom season in time. These are swamps, as well as large bodies of water. It has been noticed that mushrooms can be picked near them even in October, and sometimes even from under the snow.
Where do mushrooms grow?
Forests are forests, fields are fields, weather is weather, but do not forget that the nature of the soil also affects whether a place is mushroom or not.
Rich organic substances forest floor- the best soil for mushrooms. However, litter differs from litter. It not only turns out to be diverse in itself, but can also retain moisture important for mushrooms in different ways. And well-rotating soil is also a source of heat, because as is known, the rotting of any organic residue releases it in sufficient quantities (remember the “smoking” piles of manure or sawdust in collective gardens).
Fallen needles
Its top layer is blown quite well, so most often it is dry. In terms of nutrients - so-so. The rotted needles are located deeper - that’s where things with moisture and nutrients are much better. This is where the bacteria have worked hard, and this is where the fungal mycelium is usually located. The most common mushrooms found on fallen pine needles are russula and other milk mushrooms, but there are also porcini mushrooms, moss mushrooms, etc.
fallen leaves
It retains moisture better than the previous point, and - apparently - richer in nutrients. There are noticeably more mushrooms here; moreover, their “assortment” is clearly more diverse.
Well, of course, such litter does not arise on its own, but accompanies deciduous trees, all of which are symbionts for mycorrhizal fungi. Such as whites, obabki, milk mushrooms and others.
Moss areas
It has been noticed that where moss (sphagnum moss or something else) has grown on the ground, mushrooms appear many times more readily than on ordinary soil. This can be clearly observed when collecting saffron milk caps, especially in small forests. This is explained quite simply: moss, being a lower plant, and therefore moisture-loving, itself tries to take care of preserving water in the place where it grows. His jackets are organized like dense pillows, well permeable to water from above, but, alas, not particularly permeable to water back. In addition, moss is a good heat insulator - it’s not for nothing that in the old days they put it between logs in log houses, or even covered the roof with it.
From this we can also conclude that moss is one of the external signs mushroom places.
Grass
This means “a natural version of the lawn.” Mushrooms also grow in such well-developed grass, but they don’t particularly like it. Perhaps because of the dense turf, through which throwing out fruiting bodies is a complete hassle. Or maybe the grass somehow competes with the mushrooms, “taking away” moisture, nutrients or space from them? But this is not so important. The main thing is that when picking mushrooms you always notice that they are rarely found in dense grass, with the possible exception of umbrellas and champignons. But if the grass is sparse, mushrooms are often found in it.
However, if the grass does not grow haphazardly, but in occasional clumps, you should know that this is a clear sign of a mushroom area, and in addition to everything, it is one of the signs of porcini mushrooms.
Dense forbs, weeds
Usually, this vegetation occurs in old wastelands, or in low-lying meadows well-fed with water. Sometimes there are such thickets that even walking through them can be difficult. But they retain moisture very well - even the dew at the very roots does not evaporate during the whole day. For mushrooms, this is the promised land. Only here there are all kinds of toadstools growing here, or species that are not usually collected in our area (all sorts of umbrellas, meadow mushrooms, etc.). It turns out that this type of landscape is not included in mushroom areas.
Where to pick mushrooms
Photo 2. The outskirts of small forests consisting of self-seeding young pine trees. Such a forest in a warm, rain-rich season gives good harvest butter in the summer and an equally good harvest of saffron milk caps in the fall.
Now is the time to talk about tactics for finding mushroom places. This tactic most often has to be used in forests, because this is the most “difficult” landscape in terms of gathering. In other places where mushrooms grow, the search is greatly simplified.
The first thing a forest collector should pay attention to is the local (shallow) topography, as well as the density of trees. On small hills such as hillocks, hillocks and “ridges”, average temperature It is always a little higher than in the lowlands. Clearings, “windows,” or places where trees grow less densely or are filled with young growth are more open to the sun, and therefore also warm up better than the rest of the forest. It is here, on the hills and shallow clearings, that you most often come across “witch circles” and other mushroom accumulations.
Photo 3. A typical mushroom place: a loose birch forest with a well-developed rowan undergrowth, with moss areas and a thin grass cover consisting of meadow grasses and stones, as well as with small differences in relief (hills, hollows) and clearings. A river flows a few meters from this place. Types of mushrooms growing in such a forest: chanterelle, milk mushroom, honey fungus, boletus, White mushroom.
If there are large clearings in the forest overgrown with grass, then the mushrooms are concentrated along their edges, especially along the northern edges. The same is observed in clearings. If the latter are oriented from south to north, then the mushrooms simply form plantations along the border of the forest and the cleared area. If the clearing is overgrown with undergrowth, there will be mushrooms throughout the entire area of the thicket, since this is where they have “both home and table” (these places not only warm up well, but also contain symbiont trees, and also retain moisture better). In clearings oriented by latitude (from east to west), as a rule, mushrooms adore the northern edge, since it is better warmed by the sun. In addition to clearings, mushrooms can be concentrated in decent quantities in narrow forest belts among vast fields, as well as along the boundaries between fields and forests.
Photo 4. Dense mixed forest(birch, spruce and fir), or rather, its outskirts, bordering a huge meadow. Good mushroom place. Growing mushrooms: saffron milk cap, milk mushroom, porcini mushroom, honey fungus, honey fungus.
Rocky outcrops in the middle of the forest form partially open, well-heated spaces. In addition, the stone under the forest soil acts as a kind of “bowl” for rainwater, retaining it for some time. Fungi can concentrate in such places, but not always. The main indicator of mushroom spots is moss. If the base of the stone is covered with it, then everything is fine with the mushrooms.
Photo 5. Young pine forest near a rocky outcrop. Moss and ferns grow on the stones, which indicates good humidity, so this is quite a mushroom place.
Cleared areas can turn out to be very promising mushroom areas. Especially if the timber was demolished and the undergrowth was left alone. The clearings warm up very well and contain a long-established mushroom biocenosis in their soil, but in turn, they require more moisture. This should be taken into account in seasons when precipitation is below normal. The situation is almost the same with the places where the fallen man walked through the forest. But most often it is useless to look for mushrooms in fresh burnt areas, since the upper horizon of the soil, in which the mycelium lives, usually burns out.
Another tendency has been noticed - in more or less open places (for example, in small forests), small depressions can become places where mushrooms are concentrated. So, once, when collecting butter in one similar place, a small (half a meter deep) ravine lined with stones and moss turned out to be very promising. This ravine was the bed of an annually drying forest stream, but apparently it contained a little more moisture than the flat area bordering it.
In dry but hot seasons, areas near the springs remain mushroom spots, forest rivers and streams, lowlands with swamps that have not yet dried up, coastal forests of lakes and reservoirs. In short - all those places where there are sources of moisture. They work especially well when cool nights- when dew falls. When looking for such places, pay attention to the moss growing on the ground, stumps and at the roots of trees. It is the primary indicator of moisture.
Now there are no words about places where there are no mushrooms, or if they are found, they are in scanty quantities, unworthy of the mushroom picker’s attention.
Firstly, there is no point in looking for mushrooms in places frequently visited by people, because everything there has been trampled and cut off long before you and me. Distinguishing such places from normal ones is easier than steamed turnips: small forest vegetation here it is broken and crushed, it is clear that a “herd of elephants” ran by the day before. Also noticeable are “stumps” of mushrooms, or cut worm caps lying on the ground. Garbage like cigarette butts, crumpled cigarette packs, and some other rubbish also indicate frequent visits to these places. This is mainly observed in forests bordering settlements or busy roads.
Photo 6. Typical forest, often visited by a person (located near a large city). The grass cover is trampled, the undergrowth is stunted, paths and places where trees have been cut are visible. There is all sorts of rubbish lying around in the middle of the forest. It is useless to look for mushrooms here now, but in the past this forest was probably a good place for mushrooms.
The next competitors of the collector are wild boars. In forests densely populated by these animals, picking mushrooms can turn out to be not only futile (because mushrooms are found and eaten by these beasts many times faster than humans!), but even dangerous. I know a case when a mushroom picker I know came across a whole flock of wild boars with cubs in the forest. Out of harm's way, he left the forest with lightning speed.
Photo. 7. Boars are serious competitors for mushroom pickers. They love to raid mushroom places. Mushroom eaters in action.
Typically, wild boars give out their presence by characteristic marks on the ground (it can be seen that they have trampled and rummaged), heaps of droppings, as well as worn, mud-stained trees. Well, of course - grunting and cracking of branches. However, unlike people, they never litter. Despite the fact that they are the most real pigs.
Important: where you can’t pick mushrooms
I definitely don’t recommend going mushroom hunting within a radius of 30 kilometers from large industrial enterprises, polluting environment with their emissions. Because the entire periodic table accumulates in mushrooms in these territories (an example of this is the legendary mushroom “”). I can also say about places along roads, especially busy ones, and about forests near large landfills.
Photo 8. Beautiful, coniferous forest, which is a good mushroom place. But it is located in the pollution zone of a large metallurgical enterprise.
Collecting mushrooms in such ecologically unfavorable areas can only be done according to the “cut it and throw it away” principle, or for scientific purposes - for a herbarium there, etc. Well, even for collecting spore powder - although it contains all sorts of chemical rubbish, but being “sown” in an ecologically clean place will produce normal, safe mushrooms.
But eating mushrooms from contaminated areas is extremely dangerous. Happens, harmful substances accumulate in the fruiting body in such quantities that the mushroom, although edible and harmless according to its passport, becomes naturally poisonous, and after eating it immediately causes symptoms of normal such poisoning. Keep this in mind when picking mushrooms, so as not to accidentally end up in the hospital or to avoid health problems in the future.
conclusions
Photo 9. Mushroom spot found.
It turns out that the most mushroom places can only be wet, well-warmed areas by the sun, with an abundance of symbiont trees and soil rich in organic matter. Moreover, these places should be as little dependent on weather conditions as possible.
Finding them is a difficult task, but seasoned mushroom pickers develop a “smell” for these places, but in fact this phenomenon is of a purely subconscious nature. The human brain, being a masterly analyzer of situations, over years of experience identifies patterns and develops a specific algorithm for detecting mushroom places based on external, seemingly uninformative signs, and ultimately gives its unsuspecting owner ready-made forecasts. He, perceiving this as a kind of “sixth sense”, unmistakably finds huge accumulations of mushrooms. In my time, I have not only heard stories about such people, but also known them personally. And in all cases they were not just avid mushroom pickers, they have been picking mushrooms since childhood. Some of them were born in the taiga villages of our region - their sense of searching for mushrooms was so developed that it simply aroused genuine admiration.
Hence the main conclusion - if you want to always be with mushrooms, look for them. And the more often you do this, the faster you will understand where the most mushroom places are. And even if you don’t understand, your subconscious will do it for you.
The Bryansk minibuses are crowded - everyone is occupied by mushroom pickers. In the aisles there are baskets filled to the brim with milk mushrooms, russula, chanterelles...
– Where do so many mushrooms and mushrooms come from? - I ask a pensioner with two ten-liter buckets full of mushrooms.
“Yes, I dialed it near Svenya,” the interlocutor boasts. “I came to a mushroom spot and collected it in two hours.” Tomorrow I’ll go again, to Suponevo - there are a lot of russula there.
Komsomolskaya Pravda found out where Bryansk residents can get mushrooms.
To Navlinsky district for saffron milk caps, to Pogarsky district for honey mushrooms
“There are a lot of mushrooms in the forest; there hasn’t been such a harvest for five years,” says experienced Bryansk mushroom picker Svetlana Kuzhekina. – This year the weather at the end of summer and beginning of autumn is the most suitable - warm and humid. The forest is full of boletus mushrooms, honey mushrooms, russula, and chanterelles. Recently we were in the Navlinsky district near the village of Revny. The fields there are overgrown, and there are a lot of butterflies and saffron milk caps in the grass. Even with a sideways scythe!
“This year I picked mushrooms in the Karachevsky district at the turn to Krasnaya Polyana,” says another experienced mushroom picker, Elena Moshchenkova. – There are a lot of mushrooms in the suburbs of Bryansk. Boletus, chanterelles, and black and white milk mushrooms were particularly abundant this year. Milk mushrooms grow in whole “families”. So if you find one, look for others nearby. Sometimes one such “family” can only fit into a ten-liter basket.
“It’s better to look for honey mushrooms near the Vygonichsky village of Novonikolsky,” says Svetlana Kuzhekina. – There are a lot of these mushrooms near the village of Dolbatovo, in the Pogarsky district, as well as in the vicinity of the Krasny Rog railway station. You can also pick porcini mushrooms and boletus there. The other day, a mushroom picker I knew brought seven buckets of honey mushrooms from the village of Odrino in the Karachevsky district!
For boletus mushrooms, mushroom pickers advise going towards Seltso. there in pine forests You can also pick up saffron milk caps.
Freeze, can, dry
“Porcini mushrooms and saffron milk caps have always been considered the most delicious, no matter how you prepare them,” says Svetlana Kuzhekina. – They can be salted, dried, pickled. By the way, saffron milk cap is a delicacy mushroom - you can fry it without boiling it. But finding it is not so easy. Saffron milk caps love to hide in the grass at forest edges. The main thing here is to be careful, one mushroom noticed - there will be others nearby.
Housewives recommend marinating mushrooms with a dense texture.
“I usually pickle boletus, honey mushrooms, russula, boletus, milk mushrooms and saffron milk caps,” says Elena Moshchenkova. – They retain their shape for a long time. For added spice, I add cloves and pepper to the marinade. Moreover, when preserving in one jar, it is better not to combine mushrooms different types. Otherwise, the taste will mix or they will lose it altogether.
Nowadays, housewives more and more often do not put mushrooms in jars, but freeze them.
“It is believed that more nutrients are preserved this way,” says Elena Moshchenkova. “However, before freezing, the mushrooms still need to be boiled. All mushrooms can be frozen. Except perhaps for boletus and aspen boletuses - they “go limp” when defrosted.
Another popular way to store mushrooms is drying.
“When dried, porcini mushrooms, boletus and aspen mushrooms are especially good,” says Svetlana Kuzhekina. “I like to add them to soups for flavor. True, the drying process can be very long - up to ten hours in the oven or several days fresh air. To ensure that the mushrooms dry evenly, they can be divided into slices. After drying, it is better to keep them in a closed glass jar. This way the mushrooms will not lose their taste and aroma and will not absorb foreign odors.
Ask for documents
This year, mushrooms in the Bryansk region can be found at almost every step: both in the forest and near stops along the road...
– Under no circumstances should you pick mushrooms along highways or roads. railways, - they say in the regional Department Rospotrebnadzor. – They absorb and accumulate harmful substances from exhaust gases in the cap and stem: lead, mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals. And they can cause poisoning.
It is not recommended to collect mushrooms in radioactive zones, in areas affected by the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. These are the southwestern districts of the region: Krasnogorsky, Zlynkovsky, Novozybkovsky, Klintsovsky, Gordeevsky.
You also need to be careful when buying mushrooms at the market.
“All mushrooms that are sold at markets and fairs undergo the necessary veterinary and sanitary inspection,” the Veterinary Department of the Bryansk Region told a KP correspondent. – If you buy mushrooms at the market, ask for documents confirming their safety. Periodically, together with the district administration, we conduct raids and check amateur mushroom pickers who sell on the street. If they don't have necessary documents, they are given a fine, and the mushrooms are taken away for examination. But, unfortunately, we cannot control all street vendors, so it is not worth buying mushrooms outside of stores and markets.
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