Floydian

I've been finding them since late April, but only a few small ones at a time, not in the quantities I was getting last year. But we haven't had a lot of very cold days this Winter so far, so I'm hoping things will improve over the next month or so.

I went out yesterday and collected a nice bag of mulch from an area where the subs grow. I was going to collect some matter from my garden but figured I would likely have better results with mulch that I know the subs already grow. I was careful not to take directly from where the subs are so as to not disturb what already might be growing. This stuff looks really healthy and looks like it may have a few bits of myc already in it (hopefully sub), although it was quite dry so I've placed it in a large plastic tub and soaked it overnight. It should now be ready to put in my bits of cardboard with prints on it. I also picked two subs with a bit of myc on the base, I cut off the myc and have those inbetween pieces of wet cardboard and will add those to the mix as well. And, as you suggest, I'll grab some chips out of the garden where I squirted the spore water and put them in the cardboard/mulch mix. Will post pics of any results.. Cheers!

Thanks for the great advice guys! I just wish I had checked in and read this a few days ago. I collected some really nice spore prints over the last week and just did the "Blindly Squirting Spores Across a patch on the ground" trick last Sunday. The patch of ground is very damp, cold and gets little sunlight at this time of year, and it is covered in woodchips and matter collected from the woodshed over the last year. I did notice yesterday though that there are white patches forming where i spread the spore water ... but I don't want to get too optimistic just yet. But having just read about the cardboard etc. I'll try that with the next lot of spores I collect. Thanks chaps, Happy pickings!

Hi Dreaming ... Sorry, I should've been a bit more descriptive. I usually have my camera with me but forgot today. Quite a few of the pins were only just breaking through, but several others were about 20-25mm tall with a 10-12mm cap and unopened veils. The forecast doesn't look very promising for rain anytime soon but they're in quite a damp, shady spot. So I might look in a few days to see if the larger ones have opened more. Yeah, I'm on the NW coast still, but not in Burnie ... although I might be tempted to drive over for a look if I get too impatient waiting for the ones I found today Sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh about your little accident but I couldn't help it! Still, it could've been worse if you'd gone picking and then gone dirt biking Thanks for the info ... Cheers!

Went down to the woods today ... was in for a big surprise! Lots of little pins, not quite ready yet (dammit!) but shouldn't long now. How long do pins usually take to open? I was going to give them a few more days and hope no else nabs them before I do ...

Hi Dreaming... nice find! There's some great looking subs there. I went out for a look this morning in the place on the NW Coast where I did quite well last year but nothing showing yet, not even any non-edibles. Can't be long now though judging by what you've found so far. I might go back next week for another look. Have you had a chance to get any habitat shots yet? Cheers!

Thanks Ace!

Those are incredible specimens, good work! This is my first post on this forum, so I'll briefly introduce myself. I'm also from NW Tas. I've been educating myself at the Shroomery about what to find and where - and what to do with the wares! I started taking an interest in all this last year, but at the wrong end of the season, around late September. So I had to wait until this season to try again, but I didn't start looking until late June - so while hunting has been reasonably successful, next year I guess I should start looking around late April. So far my hunting has been in the Dev area, and I've found the whole experience quite enjoyable - both the hunting and the results. Ideally I'd like to accumulate enough stock to last though the off-season .. but I don't think it will happen this year as the patches already seem to be dwindling. Yesterday I was in the Burnie area and took the opportunity for a quick look around, first stop was the 'air freshener' with no luck, I then had a look at 'BP' (hint .. waterfall) and found 2 little subs, sorry there's no pics, I took my camera but the batteries were flat. I might go back for another look sometime this week ... I'd like to find the 'R' park! Anyway .. it's good to meet you all, I'm glad to be part of this community and to share any info with you that I might find. Cheers!!