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  Richard Loader August 24, 2008 at 10:59am

  I'm with you on this Phil.
  I have a copy of the River Cottage Mushroom book - it's seems very good but I still lack confidence. The writer of the book has a good site http://www.mushroomhunting.co.uk
  I'm going to try and get booked in on one of his New Forest Forays.
  Cheers
  Richard
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  Phil Voice August 24, 2008 at 11:55am

  Thanks for the information Richard - I have sent an email to John inviting him to come into the network and share his knowledge with us.
  
  I have called Brigitte Tee-Hillman this morning and she told me that they would be happy to join the network if it is not too time consuming and she put me in touch with here PR Kate who runs her PR - coincidently from France.
  
  I have called and left a message this morning - fingers crossed I will have some more info soon.
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  Andrew Fereday August 24, 2008 at 8:47pm

  I've not had experience with that type of mushroom but have prepared a log for growing oyster mushrooms that one of my clients had picked up mail order. It was a total nightmare as I had to find a reasonably recently cut log from a broadleaf tree, not a conifer. I then had to drill holes into the log at regular intervals in a staggered diamond pattern. You then gently hammer the mushroom dowels, which are impregnated with spores into the log and seal over the ends of the dowels with wax. I can't remember the exact details but you need to find a damp dark place to put the log (it's under some evergreen shrubs at the end of the garden) for a couple of years for the spores to begin colonising the log. You then have to shock it into fruiting in Autumn, which involves soaking it in cold water for two days before putting it back where it was. I think you can also drop it a few times from head height to encourage it to begin fruiting. This all makes it sound like some very bizarre ritual!
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  Richard Loader August 25, 2008 at 7:07am

  Phil - Sue and I went on a Forest gardening afternoon down in Devon in the spring and during the tour the subject of growing exotic mushrooms came up. Martin Crawford the leader of the group spoke very highly of the technique mentioned by AndrewF. The web site for the dowels that Martin uses is Anne Miller, up in Scotland.
  Rather than applying the dowels to logs Martin was applying dozens , if not hundreds of dowels to complete fallen tree trunks where they had fallen and apparently getting good results.
  
  Currently I have some logs in a shed that have been treated with the granules from a packet and I'm not very hopeful of success - it is very hard to keep the logs humid enough and I cant see much mycelium development. We'll be trying the dowel method next year.
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  Phil Voice August 25, 2008 at 8:12am

  John
  
  I wonder if you can cast your eye over the mushrooms in the photos on this page. We collected them from the trunk of an old poplar.
  
  I must say that they were delicious and I suspect that they will be ready any time now. Mr Bertrand will usually look eleven days after rain and we had a shower about eleven days ago.
  
  I also have a lot of small white fungi growing in our horse manure pile and in the individual piles of dung that still rests on the ground.
  
  Is there a common fungi that grows like this? I will try and get a photo later.
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  Gareth August 25, 2008 at 8:39am

  Wherever you live there is often a great resource of local expertise in all aspects of natural history, both amateur and professional and I think its good to highlight the wealth of local knowledge that can be drawn on. Local wildlife trusts can be a good first call for (specialist) subjects like fungi. Here in Bristol there is a dedicated fungus group that organise forays – the season is pretty much upon us I guess. A good link is the National Association of British Fungus Groups (see website) that can provide local expert contacts – though I don’t know how eating their beloved subjects is regarded!
  On the subject of growing your own, one of my customers mail ordered a hazel shrub innoculated with truffle. It was quite expensive, (and almost fitted through the letter box). They were optimistically hoping for a crop straight away, but I gather it can take up to ten years before the fungus fruits – and I guess the maturity of the host plant influences this? Has anyone else tried these truffle trees?
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  Phil Voice August 25, 2008 at 9:24am

  Thanks for the pointer on the National Association of British Fungus Groups Gareth - I have bookmarked the site.
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  Phil Voice August 25, 2008 at 5:38pm

  Here are a few snaps of the fungi growing in the pile of horse manure. They do not look edible to me and I certainly will not attempt it but if anyone knows what they are then I would appreciate a positive identification or at least a suggestion so that I can look it up.
  
  

  
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  Phil Voice September 2, 2008 at 7:40pm

  The Daily Mail carries the story today about the Horse Whisperer author Nicholas Evans who is believed to have eaten the highly toxic Cortinarius Specisissimus and may now need kidney dialysis .
  
  A warning to us all?
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  Phil Voice September 18, 2008 at 12:05pm

  While we all have a passion to learn about collecting and cooking wild mushrooms and fungi, the news item of this week is a worrying reminder of how dangerous this activity can be.
  
  The Isle of Wight county press and the Ventnor Blog have run the story.
  
  It is Cepes season here and foraging is rife but I am not intending to go it alone unless I can go with a recognised expert