How To Find Mushrooms In Dry Weather

Any forager will tell you that mushrooms are abundant when rainfall is plentiful.

The reason for this correlation is simple:  fungi love water.

Nearly every stage in the life cycle of a fungus requires water — from spore germination, to nutrient uptake, to reproduction, to spore dispersal.

But water isn’t always plentiful.  Sometimes it’s scarce.  During prolonged absences of rain, many foragers have difficulty finding mushrooms.

I count myself as someone who finds fewer fungi during dry spells, but I’ve also learned how to improve my chances of finding at least a few prized mushrooms when rain is scarce.

In a brand new video, I share 5 tips that will help you find mushrooms in dry weather.

You can watch the brand new video here.

Even when rainfall is plentiful, you probably won’t find many mushrooms in alvars.  Instead, you’ll see rare plants that grow nowhere else.  To learn about a federally endangered plant that thrives in alvars, check out this recent Instagram post.

Thanks for reading and watching!

— Adam Haritan

SUMMER SOLSTICE “BLACK BALSAM”: A DIVINELY FEMININE LIBATION

HSA Webinar: Tea Blending: Creating Herbal Tea Blends with Balanced Flavor

The Herb Society of America's avatarThe Herb Society of America Blog

by  Angela McDonald

Small bowls of colorful herbs on a wooden trayMost of the teas that we drink these days are blended at some point. Even teas that seem simple such, as ginger or English Breakfast. The reasons for blending teas are varied but the most important one is this: blended teas taste good. My favorite reason is that when blending teas, the possibilities are endless! 

There is nothing magical about the process of tea blending. Just like cooking, it mostly takes experimentation and creativity. Though big companies have whole departments dedicated to flavor experimentation and precise tea blending, there is no reason that we cannot all do this in our home kitchens. The hard part is knowing how to start. 

Here are a few tips for blending:

Know your ingredients – not all herbs taste the same even if it seems like they should. Taste each ingredient individually so you can understand it before you start blending…

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Embracing the Magic of the Summer Solstice in Your Herb Garden

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unnamed (2)The summer solstice is a time when the natural world is ablaze with life, when the energies of light and warmth are at their peak. This celestial dance of light and shadow held profound significance for our ancestors. It was a time of celebration and thanks for the coming harvests, and a time to relax for a bit and play. Still today, some cultures celebrate by kindling fires, symbolizing the transformative power of the sun, and many communities gather to dance, sing, and rejoice in the abundance of the season.

Within the realms of folklore, the summer solstice is a moment in time when the veils between the human world and the realm of faeries grow gossamer thin. It is said that on the summer solstice eve, you may catch a glimpse of these ethereal beings, frolicking amidst the meadows and woodlands, their presence evoking a sense of wonder and…

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Intuitive Herbal Sun Teas for Summer Solstice Healing

Love That Lovage

The Herb Society of America's avatarThe Herb Society of America Blog

By Maryann Readal

Lovage flowersLovage, Levisticum officinale, is The Herb Society’s Herb of the Month for June. It can be a difficult herb to find in nurseries where I live in Texas. This spring, though, I did find a nice-looking lovage plant and decided to give it a try. After doing some research, I learned that lovage is native to the Mediterranean area and Southwest Asia. It is an easy-to-grow perennial that can reach a height of six feet and a width of three feet. Needless to say, I had it planted in the wrong place, and I had to move it to give it more room to grow. It dies back in the winter, but returns in the spring. It can be cut back in midsummer to control its height. Lovage thrives in sun or partial shade and needs well-watered soil. If it does not receive enough water during the…

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Strawberry Rose Cake: Ushering In Summer

Is This Edible Mushroom Toxic On Certain Trees?

Greetings,

Before I share a brand new video, I’d like to remind you that Trees In All Seasons is currently open for enrollment until Monday, May 22. 

This online course teaches you how to confidently identify over 100 trees in every season — spring, summer, fall, and winter.  When you enroll, you gain immediate and unlimited access to over 75 exclusive videos that lay the groundwork for successful tree identification.

You can register and learn more about the course here.

Tree identification is an excellent skill to learn if you are interested in foraging mushrooms.  Many edible mushrooms grow in association with trees.  When you learn the basics of tree identification, your understanding of fungal ecology improves.

One popular mushroom that grows in association with trees is chicken of the woods.  Despite its popularity, chicken of the woods sometimes has a questionable reputation.  When this mushroom grows on certain trees (e.g., angiosperms), foragers praise it and consider it undeniably edible.  When this mushroom grows on other trees (e.g., conifers), some foragers vilify it and consider it suspect.

I recently spent some time in a conifer-rich woodland and decided to film a video in which I share my thoughts on this controversy.

Is there any truth to the claim that conifer-derived chicken mushrooms are potentially toxic?

You can watch the new video here.

Thanks for reading and watching.  If you’d like to improve your foraging skills by learning how to identify trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons by Monday, May 22.

—Adam Haritan

Not Every Conifer Is A Pine

Greetings,

Before I share a new video with you, I’d like to mention that I’ll be opening up registration for my online tree identification course on Monday, May 15. 

Trees In All Seasons is an online video course designed to teach you how to successfully identify over 100 trees in every season.  Registration will be open for one week only — from Monday, May 15 to Monday, May 22.  Once you register, you will have immediate and unlimited access to the course.

If you’re interested in improving your tree identification skills, check your email on Monday for more information on how to register.

Two years ago, I explored a remote bog in northern Pennsylvania.  It was the peak of the autumn mushroom season, but I wasn’t there to look for mushrooms.  Archery season had just begun, but I wasn’t there to harvest deer either.

After a few hours of wandering through the bog, I eventually encountered the only person I’d see the entire day.  His name was Bill and he was heading home for the day. 

Taking one good look at Bill, I immediately knew why he was in this isolated part of Pennsylvania.  He was hunting deer.

Bill, on the other hand, wasn’t too sure why I was there.  He noticed that I had no hunting gear, no camouflage, no truck, and no apparent desire to look for deer. 

Instead, I had a tripod, a camera, and a paper map printed off the internet.

After exchanging formalities, I explained to Bill why I was in the bog:  to film and photograph balsam fir.

Bill was a lifelong woodsman.  He hunted.  He fished.  He knew his way around the woods better than most people did.  Bill spent his entire life in Pennsylvania, but he had never heard of balsam fir.

“We call them all pines,” he said as he watched me point out a few balsam fir trees.

Pines.  I wasn’t too surprised to hear that response.  Heck, I could even relate.  Years ago, I called every conifer a “pine.”  It didn’t matter if I was looking at a spruce or a fir.  As long as the tree had evergreen leaves and woody cones, it was a pine.

Today, things are different.  Disciplined tree study has allowed me to appreciate the beautiful differences between conifers.  I now love observing the distinctive Christmas tree shapes of balsam firs.  I love watching fir cones fall apart in the autumn season.  I love smelling fir leaves (they smell better than any conifer I’ve ever smelled).  And I love knowing that firs, despite being in the pine family, aren’t true pines.  They’re firs, and thank God they are.

Noticing the distinctions between conifers is an important skill if you want to learn how to identify trees.  Tree identification skills are important if you want to improve your ecological literacy. 

To get you started, I created a video in which I teach you the major differences between conifers.

You can watch the brand new video here.

Thanks for reading and watching.  If you are interested in learning how to identify over 100 trees, check your email on Monday for information on how to register for Trees In All Seasons.

-Adam Haritan

Exploring the Sacred Animals of the Quarters in the Druid Tradition — The Druids Garden

In the druid tradition, in multiple modern druid orders, we associate animals or fish with the four directions.  The classic ones are: The Great Bear in the North The Hawk in the East The Stag in the South The Salmon in the West Depending on the tradition, it might get a little fancier.  For example,…

Exploring the Sacred Animals of the Quarters in the Druid Tradition — The Druids Garden