bad mushroom hunting form

[Zen Peddler]

Ive seen this before and it REALLY annoys me,

Today i was lucky enough to go to a local location up in the Hills outside Melb where I know there are usually large quanities of Saffron Milky caps and Slippery Jacks. I love the Saffies and when i go to this spot i always cut them at the base, only take enough for me for a few risottos and leave many for others.

But today I go there and its moist, mossy yet NO saffrons at all. I notice the everywhere is all dug up and messed with. Its a large area - about 800 metres square of thick pinus radiata and scrub. Walking through slowly I soon find a number of older saffies that have been ground into the ground by foot.

near the end of the spot I come upon two oldies. I notice they have massive wheel barrow thing/trollie literally full of saffies and sticky buns/slipper jacks. They must have had 200 or so and each one ahd been yanked out of the ground with mycelia still attached. They were forcing their trolly around over all the areas and ripping up the ground, pine needles and generally just being super arsebandits.

I had a strong coffee so I fired up and gave them a lecture about 'fucking up my patch' and being 'greedy low lives and taking too many and leaving none for anyone else' - I said that I took their number plate and would call the ranger (as the spot is crown land).

Reminds me of other spots years ago for 'other' mushrooms that had been cultivated, cared for and improved by friends - even reisolated to ensure quality and then some school kids went and ripped it all out, took the lot and the wood chips.

People suck sometimes...

Edited April 26, 2013 by Zen Peddler BlueGreenie

[Yawning Man]

Good on ya man. What the hell they need with that many mushies? Selling them maybe?

[tipz]

what was their reply zen ?

[CβL]

Good man - standing up for good decency.

I know the feeling. There was a privately owned pond nearby - and it was catch and release for anglers. We used to go, but slowly noticed all the fish being taken... turns out some imported people had been catching the fish and stealing them to cook at home. The owner even put signs up in like 3 Asian languages - but it didn't matter. :|

[waterboy 2.0]

nothing good comes from greed

[Zen Peddler]

So true - re greed.

when I had a go at them they just looked at me like a pair of shocked retards. No response. Just laughing and shoulders hunched.

[seachangeau]

well you can just go and put the blame on anyone at the markets who sells saffies they didn't get from their own forest i reckon. name and shame - sick tracy grimshaw and the ACA team onto them

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

i have seen "gangs" of old German people do the same in the southern forests of sydney> they literally take home station wagons and utes full. im sure tyou could never even transport that many without ruining at least 50% of them

[Marcel]

I had a chat with a bunch of Ukrainians out Oberon way about a month ago. They had big plastic crates that they were filling up with Saffies, all quite professionally. They said that they sell them to grocery stores like Harris Farms. Apparently the tv show Masterchef has made several references to Saffies and they are in high demand, retailing for $16/kg. I was a little pissed, because they had picked quite ruthlessly, but I didn't give them too much shit. They were very defensive and apologetic and even embarrassed. It seems that every non-commercial hunter they cross paths with gives them an earful.

The problem here is stupid fucking free-market capitalism, not the middle-aged Slav in the forest. It's a paradigm in which anything is permitted as long as it makes a buck.

This May Day, march with fellow reds in memory of the workers AND the Saffron Milk Caps.

[AndyAmine.]

The irony of it is that whenever Ive known people to bring back really big hauls of mushrooms they almost always go mostly to waste.
Only on a couple of occasions have I seen someone actualy preserve the haul.
Usually they will have a few 'meals', some of the primo specimens are frozen/dried but the majority is turned to mush from handling and then thrown away.

Its also these guys that damage the patch by taking some mycelium home usualy only to be destoried in the process by lack of skill and fading of interest after a belly full is consumed.

[NSF]

I had a chat with a bunch of Ukrainians out Oberon way about a month ago. They had big plastic crates that they were filling up with Saffies, all quite professionally. They said that they sell them to grocery stores like Harris Farms. Apparently the tv show Masterchef has made several references to Saffies and they are in high demand, retailing for $16/kg. I was a little pissed, because they had picked quite ruthlessly, but I didn't give them too much shit. They were very defensive and apologetic and even embarrassed. It seems that every non-commercial hunter they cross paths with gives them an earful.

The problem here is stupid fucking free-market capitalism, not the middle-aged Slav in the forest. It's a paradigm in which anything is permitted as long as it makes a buck.

This May Day, march with fellow reds in memory of the workers AND the Saffron Milk Caps.

$16 a kilo is a pittance. They must only be selling to markets to then double the price and distribute. They could be selling for $40, then again, that will make hunting more desirable for joe blow cash grabbers.

I understand the frustration of people over picking. I went out hunting on the weekend and I came back with just under 2kg. I saw that someone else had recently been there and cleared it out. I think maybe some dear had been in there too. I guess it was a matter of luck of timing that they got in there and had a huge haul. I didn't need any more than I harvested though and it was kind of fun having to look a little harder than the people who'd been in previously.

What happens though if these people who are taking masses of shrooms intend to preserve them? Does that then make it ok?

[AndyAmine.]

I think its certainly better than them going to complete waste.
I was more noting that lots of waste tends to go hand in hand with people that over harvest.

I dont agree with over harvesting to the point of destruction or selfishness but if there is a lot of fruit thats going to go to waste otherwise I see no problem with harvesting a large ammount and preserving them for the future or for sharing/trading.

I also dont mind if people sell/trade them to a degree, after all they used their skill, knowledge and hardwork getting them.
Its about doing it in a sustainable and unselfish way,

Edited April 29, 2013 by AndyAmine.

[Marcel]

We're spoiled here in Australia. In Poland EVERYONE goes mushroom picking. During season, if you're not deep in the forest by sunrise you're probably too late to find much, and even then, a whole family hunting for a whole day is lucky to go home with one measly basketful between them.

After 30 years here, my folks still can't get over the fact that even in a bad season with relatively huge crowds, there are still so many mushrooms in the pine forests.

[NSF]

Andy - I think we feel exactly the same way, you said it succinctly.

Marcel - I had the good fortune of going to some isolated NSW pine forests last year. I couldn't believe that NO ONE had been there. There were more saffies than I'd ever seen before. In fact, in every bunch of 8-10 saffies we'd take maybe 2 prime ones and leave the rest, simply because we couldn't carry them. Some were also the largest I'd ever seen. It was quite insane. Someone could have filled a wheel barrow 4 times over and there still been more. That was a rare patch of forest though, in Victoria I've never seen anything like it.

[Leaves]

I have heard of people keen to buy up parts of pine forestry just so they own the shrooms growing within them, I don't know what to think about this, how it would be first in first served. They would have to guard their shrooms pretty well because if people find out they would just go and strip the sections they own. It will end up like over in Italy etc with laws telling people when they are allowed to pick mushrooms or not. Has anyone seen the youtube vids made by Italians/Europeans going out at night on black op stealth missions just so they can get some shrooms?? Commercial selling of wild shrooms should be outlawed I think would be most beneficial for everyone.

[Zen Peddler]

In NZ a farmer bought a stand of birch trees for this reason.

[_Cursive]

What were growing with/on the Birch trees?

[Zen Peddler]

Brown birch boletes. You can also buy oak supposedly innoculated with boletus edulis!

[NSF]

From whom can you buy said oaks Zen? Yep, I'd like to have a bash at them! (a bash at growing the trees that is, maybe I should have just said try)

Edited September 5, 2013 by NSF