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- Mushrooms - why?
- Chaga mushroom - medicinal
- Red reishi - medicinal
- Chicken mushroom – food
- Puffballs - food
- Maitake mushroom - medicinal
- Chanterelle mushroom - food
- Lobster mushrooms - food
- Honey mushrooms -food
- Shiitake mushroom – medicinal and food
- Morels - food
- Oyster Mushrooms - medicinal and food
- Common poisonous mushrooms in NC
- How to grow oyster mushrooms at home
- Blog
I started this small book with the intent of finding a mushroom that would build my immune system since it is out of whack that within the last 4 years I have developed severe allergies and am getting worse every day. What I found is that in the western North Carolina Region I live in a smorgasbord of medicinal and great tasting mushrooms. Coming from Illinois I have seen people get crazy over morel mushrooms. I had no idea they were just as abundant here.
I have stated medicinal and edible by each mushroom, all are really edible and you can decide if you want to collect medicinal. Beta glucan is a big immune booster that will keep you from getting colds
to a whole lot of other areas. I am not going to include all the research that I found into this book but anyone
can spend a lot less time than researching for this book looking at all the claims for the medicinal mushroom.
The chaga mushroom was the piece that got me really digging. It’s other name is Tsi-ahgatsi. Looking for the mushroom already packaged and ready for sale had me reeling from price shock.
I was so excited when after digging and digging I found it under chaga and it is right in my own back yard.
This information was created for my personal use. However after getting into multiple pages, I thought it would be great if I shared what I found. There are pictures. I tried in almost every
instance to find photos shot in North Carolina for the most accurate photo for identification purposes. There is a descriptive of what the mushroom should look like, and there is information on what the mushroom should smell like. I myself am an amateur and make no claims to the exactness of the
mushrooms. Some experts are really stating in this area there are at least 3,000 specimens and only a small handful are poisonous or can make you wish you were dead. Other experts are check double check and then check again. Use all three identifiers: looks, location, and smell.
I am sharing this information because it did take me a lot of time that I had thanks to my latest bout with allergies. Most people don’t have the same luxury. Also the information had been shared by
others who are professionals and are generous with their information. It just wasn’t all one person or in one
website. When we first moved to the area my husband got the rock hound fever.
There are two area rock hounding groups but his time is limited and not consistent so he could never make one of their outings.
Wanting to look for himself he had me search the internet there was no help or very little and it was like pulling teeth.
I am still frustrated with all the time spent for as little information as I actually obtained. Bought the
two most have books for this area. Most of the areas listed aren’t even open to the public anymore or cost
to use. So having gone through that headache, I thought the only neighborly thing I could do for others living in the area is share what I found. Sorry if some things are duplicated.
If you find more than you will use for the season you can always try selling surplus to health food stores
By the North Carolina county extension if a farmer sells less than $5,000 worth of produce as organic, he/she does not need to be certified. He/she, however, must abide by all the NOP rules to use the word "organic". This is a way to allow small scale growers to participate in the organic industry but
not have to pay for certification.
In North Carolina, specifically western North Carolina where mushroom hunting is popular, the primary season is between July and October, when warmer weather brings higher yields. However, there are a few varieties that can be found off-season, like reishi in May, morels in April, and sulfur shelf in June and oyster mushrooms in the wintertime.
In general, where can you typically find mushrooms in the wild? Where to start looking for mushrooms? Wherever it's moist, sometimes that's higher in the mountains, especially in mature woods or in people's front yards. With mushrooms you never know. There is a picture I found of reishi mushrooms that was taken by a deck of a homeowner in Hendersonville.
Definitely need boots and waterproof gloves to move around dead logs etc
Pick only fresh-looking mushrooms to put in your basket and take home to your kitchen. When picking them, use a sharp folding knife and dig up the entire mushroom. Do not tear them from the ground as this can disturb the formation of new mushrooms. Also do not put them in a plastic bag as this increases the chance of molding and formation of bacteria. Never put a questionably edible mushroom next to the ones
you know are edible.
If you go looking for mushrooms good luck and happyhunting. Maybe I will see you out and about.
Kyall99
I have stated medicinal and edible by each mushroom, all are really edible and you can decide if you want to collect medicinal. Beta glucan is a big immune booster that will keep you from getting colds
to a whole lot of other areas. I am not going to include all the research that I found into this book but anyone
can spend a lot less time than researching for this book looking at all the claims for the medicinal mushroom.
The chaga mushroom was the piece that got me really digging. It’s other name is Tsi-ahgatsi. Looking for the mushroom already packaged and ready for sale had me reeling from price shock.
I was so excited when after digging and digging I found it under chaga and it is right in my own back yard.
This information was created for my personal use. However after getting into multiple pages, I thought it would be great if I shared what I found. There are pictures. I tried in almost every
instance to find photos shot in North Carolina for the most accurate photo for identification purposes. There is a descriptive of what the mushroom should look like, and there is information on what the mushroom should smell like. I myself am an amateur and make no claims to the exactness of the
mushrooms. Some experts are really stating in this area there are at least 3,000 specimens and only a small handful are poisonous or can make you wish you were dead. Other experts are check double check and then check again. Use all three identifiers: looks, location, and smell.
I am sharing this information because it did take me a lot of time that I had thanks to my latest bout with allergies. Most people don’t have the same luxury. Also the information had been shared by
others who are professionals and are generous with their information. It just wasn’t all one person or in one
website. When we first moved to the area my husband got the rock hound fever.
There are two area rock hounding groups but his time is limited and not consistent so he could never make one of their outings.
Wanting to look for himself he had me search the internet there was no help or very little and it was like pulling teeth.
I am still frustrated with all the time spent for as little information as I actually obtained. Bought the
two most have books for this area. Most of the areas listed aren’t even open to the public anymore or cost
to use. So having gone through that headache, I thought the only neighborly thing I could do for others living in the area is share what I found. Sorry if some things are duplicated.
If you find more than you will use for the season you can always try selling surplus to health food stores
By the North Carolina county extension if a farmer sells less than $5,000 worth of produce as organic, he/she does not need to be certified. He/she, however, must abide by all the NOP rules to use the word "organic". This is a way to allow small scale growers to participate in the organic industry but
not have to pay for certification.
In North Carolina, specifically western North Carolina where mushroom hunting is popular, the primary season is between July and October, when warmer weather brings higher yields. However, there are a few varieties that can be found off-season, like reishi in May, morels in April, and sulfur shelf in June and oyster mushrooms in the wintertime.
In general, where can you typically find mushrooms in the wild? Where to start looking for mushrooms? Wherever it's moist, sometimes that's higher in the mountains, especially in mature woods or in people's front yards. With mushrooms you never know. There is a picture I found of reishi mushrooms that was taken by a deck of a homeowner in Hendersonville.
Definitely need boots and waterproof gloves to move around dead logs etc
Pick only fresh-looking mushrooms to put in your basket and take home to your kitchen. When picking them, use a sharp folding knife and dig up the entire mushroom. Do not tear them from the ground as this can disturb the formation of new mushrooms. Also do not put them in a plastic bag as this increases the chance of molding and formation of bacteria. Never put a questionably edible mushroom next to the ones
you know are edible.
If you go looking for mushrooms good luck and happyhunting. Maybe I will see you out and about.
Kyall99