As I write it is August and raining! This could be good for Boletus edulis, otherwise known as the Cep, Porcino or Penny Bun, generally considered the finest edible mushroom. It likes cool wet weather. Look for it now until the weather gets cold. Field mushrooms and Parasol mushrooms are also appearing now. The Field … Read more
We are really looking forward to the 2022 season. The Covid rules in 2020 almost completely stopped our foraging operations by limiting our ability to run courses of more than six people. As two of these were Clifford and I that meant we could only take four people out at a time. As a result, … Read more
It is with some regret that we have had to raise our prices for 2022, after having held them at the same level since 2014. The increases in fuel and food prices over the last twelve months mean that we had to do this in order to maintain the same standard. The four-course lunch is … Read more
The earlier sessions last season were quite productive, the latter ones less so. This was because of low rainfall rather than cold, though some mushrooms did show frost damage. However, we decided that in 2022 we would make our afternoon collections start at and end earlier as low light levels had proved to be a … Read more
It is sometimes said that the U.K. doesn’t have a climate, it only has weather. This isn’t strictly true, we have a maritime climate, strongly influenced by the Gulf Stream. If we didn’t have this beneficial warm ocean current bathing our shores we would have a climate like Labrador’s, as it is on exactly the … Read more
Covid – 19 stopped us running courses during the autumn, which given the weather, would probably have been extremely productive even if wet underfoot. The weather throughout 2020 was record breaking, spring was very sunny – sunnier than most British summers. As this coincided with the first lockdown it was helpful in allowing people to … Read more
2020. It truly had been a year like no other- cliché as this now is! Forest Foragers had three One Day Courses planned for November, and after having virtually no interest in one of the dates, we cancelled it and thankfully persuaded all our clients to come on to the two remaining days. We normally have a maximum … Read more
We are only running courses in November this year. Due to climate change, November is more reliable for finding mushrooms than October, which in past years was the most productive month. For the last two years October has not been good for mushrooms, last year in particular the only ones that could be found were … Read more
This should be the quiet part of the year, when plants and fungi are dormant: but not this year! The weather has been so wet and mild that plants and mushrooms are coming up out of season. As an example, Clifford found Wood Blewits and St. Georges Mushroom fruiting together in Kew Gardens on New … Read more
The wet weather of last few weeks has brought the mushrooms up that were just waiting for the right conditions. Several species can be found now including Boletus edulis, better known as the Penny Bun, Cep or Porcino, and often called the king of mushrooms for its exceptional flavour. Field and Horse Mushrooms, Agaricus campestris, … Read more