duffman Posted June 25, 2013 Hey all, I have seen photos and been told of people finding subs in the eastern/south eastern suburbs, and some huge patches close to the CBD. I am from the western suburbs and have yet to see any around my area, conditions are perfect at the moment! Seeing as they are quite proliferant in the mountains I would have thought that they would be more frequent closer to the mountains (i.e western suburbs), but I could be wrong. I dont want (nor would i expect) anyone to give away their locations to patches or even a specific suburb, I find using your senses and experiences is very rewarding. However, i just want to know if I'm wasting my time/weather its worth it looking in the western suburbs in general. Cheers, Duffman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Presidente Hillbillios Posted June 25, 2013 IMO it worth looking pretty much evrywhere round sydney and the suburbs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted June 25, 2013 I assume you are talking about observing these mushrooms. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duffman Posted June 25, 2013 Observing, photographing and just getting a feel for where they are likely to pop up. Have yet to spot them in sydney, only on trips up the mountains. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
holymountain Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) Hey Duffman. Keep looking, they are definitely out there. I have heard of them being found in the western suburbs, been told by a real live person, not just on the internet...so don't despair!In my experience, you have to get amongst it for the whole of the season every year. You need to be possessed with a hunger and desire that makes your friends laugh and your spouse get frustrated! You need to be dreaming of them, you need to be talking to them, making deals with them. 'If I find a massive patch, I promise to ensure that the spores are spread far and wide and that the land is protected and kept clean, I promise to work with the mycellium and spread it to new areas'. They love it when you offer something back. They'll start messing with you and popping up in all sorts of awkward situations, testing to see if you've got what it takes to reach your hand through that fence or duck off from a group of friends like a dog chasing a scent. You need to take walks through areas two or three times a week. One day it's empty, the next it might be full of fruit. You can't make any hard observations unless you are thorough. It helps to keep notes of the weather, the date, amount of rain etc. That way next year, you can compare. Some areas don't really start taking off until July. Some at the start of June. It's rare to find many before June in Sydney, though you might come across a couple of early flushers.It's not unheard of to discover a new patch every year by taking as many walks as you can to different areas that you suspect may have potential. It's all about observing as much as you can and then drawing conclusions based on what you've found. After a couple of seasons you'll be an expert. Keep an eye out for disturbance of woodchips. It could mean there is a patch, but other visitors might be aware of it's gifts. Keep your eyes peeled for all woodchipped areas and be thorough in your searches. I know of one park with hundreds of trees that are mulched around the base. Out of a hundred trees or so, there is only one where subs grow. If you do find a place, look after it, love it, clean up the rubbish and protect it. There is nothing worse than visiting a patch and finding someone has dumped a bucket of BBQ grease and oil all over it.Keep searching! edit: also, In my experience, subs in surburban or urban areas are mainly found in woodchip mulch beds. Have gone on many bushwalks and not found any. They seem to be around areas where people are, normally on the edges of things rather than in the centre. Hope that helps, might save you hours of going on bush walks when they might be growing in the car park all along. Edited June 25, 2013 by holymountain 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duffman Posted June 26, 2013 Holy mountain, once again you have left a detailed reply that answered everything I asked and more! Much appreciated man. Only this year have I observed them growing in mulch beds in the mountains, having spent previous seasons knee deep in pine forests, which were fruitful enough, but a bit of a pain to get to. I have definitely been keeping tabs on weather, temperature and been searching likely spots, drawing on knowledge and experience of past hunts etc, and its nice to know I'm definitely on the right track. Its fair to say Ive spent my fair share of time searching and am dedicated enough to finding a local patch. I have always said that every time you don't find any, the information and experience of each time will only serve to better educate you for the next time you go hunting, to sharpen your senses and to get a good feel for where they will pop up next. The search continues! Cheers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted June 26, 2013 It's been too wet round here lately too! in general target the south facing, sheltered beds that collect water. The water fell too hard for too long for fruits to have began, I recon tonight and the next few days its on for real! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duffman Posted June 26, 2013 Well, you wouldn't believe it . . . I shit you not I'm not making this up I promise. After posting that reply at about half past 3, i was on the way to a friends house and decided to stop at a few parks on the way. The first 2 were promising with a few strophs around, but no such luck. Then i was driving past this particular park that I had ridden my bike through as a kid a hundred times, and had this ridiculous feeling about it. I take a stroll through, and lo and behold right there amongst this woodchip bed I see the unmistakeable caramel caps amongst the mulch! It wasnt a huge patch by any means but there were ones that had clearly been there for at least a week and pinheads popping up too, so definitely an established bed! It was raining a fair bit and I left my phone at home so i didnt get a chance to take any photos, but i might swing by there tommorow to get a few snaps. Needless to say I was and still am speechless, the timing couldnt have been any better and less than 10 mins drive from home! So grateful to the universe for showing me her secrets! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonny Jim Posted June 26, 2013 congrats but definitely post picks if you are inexperienced with subs. I often find lookalike species close enough to be considered the same patch as nice subs. try to bruise a small but visible part of each stem in photos if you post some. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
holymountain Posted June 26, 2013 (edited) Duffamn, that is just awesome to hear. Good vibes and blessings from the MycoGods yesterday it seems... Just to top it off, a few hours after posting my reply I got a message from a friend asking if i could come and investigate a suspicious patch for him. For the last year I'd been giving him similar advice to what I gave above. He'd been checking out all the places near his work etc, getting frustrated, sending me pictures of lookalikes etc...Just last week I'd said...'next time you speak with the mushroom, ask it to help you find a patch, ask to work with it'....So he picks me up from a train station and shows me this area he has found in some parklands. Sure enough it's crawling with subs, giant old king subs and hundreds of tiny pins popping up everywhere. Probably the biggest patch I've seen. When I confirm that these are indeed the subs he has been searching for, he jumps for joy and laughs like a little kid. Can't top the feeling of seeing hundreds of subs, it turns you to jelly. Turns out just last weekend he had asked the mushroom for assistance. Sure enough, the mushroom followed through. Bonus lesson in karma: Feeling sorry for this friend I had offered him that day to take him to my patch just to show him what they look like in the flesh so that he could get a better understanding of locations and appearances and so he could succesfully identify them if he did come across a patch. I debated weather I should show him the patch for a while before thinking 'fuck it, it's more important that he learns'...so I made the offer but instead, he takes me to HIS patch and it's loaded. Very fun experience with enough coincidences and moral lessons and humour to know it was all set up by the MycoGods.PS. I know the pic is a touch blurry but just for kicks see how many you can count. This was only one section of a massive area. Edited June 27, 2013 by holymountain 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duffman Posted June 27, 2013 I got home from work too late to take a decent photo, but there were some pinheads yesterday so by tomorrow I should be able to get a decent snap. I Definately have had a few seasons of experience I can spot them in a patch of gallerinas from a mile off, its safe to say I am more than confident that they are subs, but i do appreciate the heads up Sonny Jim, cheers for looking out for a brother You can never be too careful . . . Finding a local patch in sydney was the last thing to tick off my list, having observed them in every other substrate/area that I know they exist in within a few hours drive. Holy mountain that is an awesome story and a great way to solidify confidence in the universe repaying a good deed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
