North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[rmelrose@bluemoo.net]

Pre PS. There is a mention of fruit at the end!

Okay Donna, a velvety brown russula -- I will keep an eye out for
it. Mostly we get ones that look suspiciously like russula emetica and I
have never bothered to try to get them all straight; there are some green
ones a bit later, in mid-August.

I tend to add a couple of `new' mushrooms a year. Ten years ago I knew
absolutely nothing so it has been very slow and pretty much all from
books. My general rule is to positively identify mushrooms on five separate
occasions before trying one. Now, I claim I have never poisoned anyone,
myself included, but there was one incident when a visitor put an uncooked
boletus (a rare one but big and meaty that I knew had to be cooked) into
the stuffing of a chicken unbeknownst to me. We all suffered vigourous
upchuck in the middle of the night (nothing worse) and due to renovations
there was only a half bathroom between three! This was not the power of
suggestion, but that can be strong. The feeling of a stomach filled with
glass ball-bearings is not one I will forget quickly.

Our chanterelles are about the same as yours I would say. Rather delicate
in flavour but very good with eggs.

Florida is very close to my idea of Hell. Strip out the tropical and
subtropical fruits, and the orchids, (I think the birds have already gone)
and you would have the real thing.

You should try to find out what is wrong with your fruit trees. Poor soil
is an excuse, but not a very convincing one since apples will do quite well
in most soils, given water and the right rootstock. Do you have something
seriously eating the roots? It is in fact another of my questions:-

Just how seriously should I take Japanese beetles? (I doubt that the
Japanese are really to blame.) They are just now into leaf eating but
presumably are busy the rest of the year on the roots and the numbers seem
to be going up, no doubt in gratitude for my planting large numbers of
fruit trees. Is the milky spoor approach the way to go? I have tried
pheromone traps, but all I get is butterflies -- which just makes my heart
sink further!

Richard



On 30 Jul, Kieran and Donna wrote:
> So, Donna, a russula eater eh. We have 'em but I pretty much ignore them --
> I have eaten several lactarius, the blue one for fun mostly
> YES, VERY AMUSING, WE HAVE THOSE TOO.
>  and so-called
> `deliciosa' which isn't really, to my taste.  I HAVEN'T FOUND ANY OF THEM
> AROUND US ANYWAY, MOSTLY ACRID ONES.  WE HAVE A LACTARIUS THAT I REALLY
> LIKE, NEVER DID DECIDE WHICH OF 2 SPECIES IT IS, BUT IT'S ONE OF MY
> FAVORITES.  SOFT BROWN AND VELVETY LOOKING.
> My primary exposure to
> russulas is as the big white/brown monsters that come up first in late June
> or early July. WE DON'T HAVE ANY BROWN RUSSULAS, AND NONE ARE ESPECIALLY
> LARGE.  MOSTLY RED ONES ALL SUMMER LONG NO MATTER HOW HOT AND DRY, AND
> OCCASIONALLY A DARKER WINE COLOR.  THE GREENS ARE BEAUTIFUL, LIKE CRACKED
> GLAZED POTTERY. Whenever I have keyed them out they are non-edible. Pity
> since they are around in big quantities (and I am not Italian enough to
> just try them; somehow my Italian mushrooming friends seem to have kidney
> or liver problems). OH DEAR, I DON'T LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT AT ALL!!!  ARE
> YOU SERIOUS?  I HATE KEYING OUT NEW MUSHROOMS, SO I PRETTY MUCH STICK WITH
> THE 20 OR SO I KNOW, THOUGH LAST YEAR I ADDED A COUPLE THAT I KNEW WELL BUT
> DIDN'T REALIZE WERE EDIBLE. ( NOT THAT THEY WERE MORE THAN EDIBLE.)  BUT
> ANYWAY, BACK AT THE BEGINNING, WHENEVER I'D TRY A NEW KIND OF MUSHROOM, I'D
> ENJOY EATING THEM, BUT THEN SIT AROUND AND WAIT TO DIE AFTERWARD.  NEVER
> HAVE EVEN GOTTEN SICK FROM THEM, BUT DAMNED IF I DONT GET A BOUT OF GUT PAIN
> AND PROBLEMS EVERY TIME I EAT LETTUCE THESE DAYS OR ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE RAW
> OUT OF OUR GARDEN.  DOES THAT MAKE SENSE???  We do get lots of other,
> smaller russulas. I suppose
> someone may complain that these are not fruit and this discussion is
> off-topic on NAFEX, but they are fruiting bodies! We have many different
> fine, not just edible, `boletus' in the wide sense. Best is boletus edulis
> but `leccinum aurantiacum' (excuse my spelling but I am too lazy to look it
> up) is a close second right now and there are several more later in the
> year. We also currently have plenty of chanterelles, don't you get those in
> TN
> YEAH, ANOTHER FAVORITE, BUT IT MADE ME GREEN WITH ENVY TO HEAR MY SON TALK
> ABOUT HOW BIG THEY GET UP IN WASHINGTON STATE WHERE HE LIVES.  THEY SELDOM
> GET OVER 2" ACROSS HERE, OUR SOIL IS REALLY REALLY BAD.  (and the bugs seem
> to leave them alone)? EVEN HERE, IN DISEASE AND PEST RIDDEN TN, BUGS DON'T
> EAT THE CHANTARELLES MUCH.
> Still, this does not make up
> for the lack of cherries and shortage of blueberries.DON'T FEEL TOO BAD, I
> AM STILL WAITING FOR CHERRY TREES TO GROW, MUCH LESS CROP.  I HAVE FRUIT
> TREES THAT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR 8 YEARS THAT ARE STILL SHORTER THAN ME,
> WITH TRUNKS 1/2" diameter.  I NOW THROW EVERY BIT OF SPARE ORGANIC MATTER
> AROUND THEM IN HOPES THEY WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE OFF.  I'VE PLANTED 6 DWARF
> APPLE ROOTSTOCKS IN WHAT WAS GARDEN IN HOPES OF FINALLY GETTING ANYTHING AT
> ALL THAT WILL GROW ENOUGH TO FRUIT.  ONLY THE PEACH TREES AND THE
> BLUEBERRIES SEEM PRETTY HAPPY, THOUGH THE FROSTS AND CURCULIOS ALWAYS WIPE
> OUT THE PEACH CROP.  THIS YEAR IS OUR FIRST BLUEBERRY CROP.
>      SOMETIMES I THINK MY HUBBY IS RIGHT, THAT MAYBE TENNESSEE IS NOT
> PARADISE AFTER ALL.  COMPARED TO FLORIDA WHERE I GREW UP, THE SOIL IS SUPERB
> AND THE CLIMATE VERY PLEASANT.  I REALIZE THAT'S NOT SAYING MUCH.  FLORIDA
> IS LIKE HELL, ONLY MORE HUMID, BUGGIER, AND WITH NO TRACE MINERALS.
> 
> The weight of opinion seems to be coming down on the squirrels as mushroom
> transporters. By the way, they behave as though I am a war criminal, with
> some reason (story suppressed for the moment), so I shall not hold it
> against them.
> 
> Now DMSO is a rather high-tech approach to winter freeze. How persistent is
> it I wonder.  NOT VERY
> Could this just be another spray regimen, in December, to get
> things through the Winter?I THINK ONE TIME FOR A VERY BAD FREEZE, NOT
> SOMETHING YOU'D WANT TO DO TO GROW SOMETHING WAY WAY OUT OF IT'S RANGE.
> Mind you, I think this might be a little
> controversial; perhaps it would help my arthritis as well.  I KNOW EVERYONE
> SWEARS BY IT, BUT I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO TELL IF IT DOES ANYTHING FOR ME.
> I DO THINK THAT IN GENERAL EVERYTHING WITH SULFUR IN IT IS GOOD FOR ME, BUT
> SULFUR TENDS TO BE BAD FOR MY HUBBY.  ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS ARE NOW ON HIS
> AVOID LIST, ESPECIALLY ANYTHING THAT IS AN IMMUNE SYSTEM STIMULANT.  THAT'S
> WHAT I SUSPECT ANYWAY.  SHIITAKES, THOSE TASTELESS THINGS, MAKE HIM FEEL
> TERRIBLE THE NEXT, DAY, BUT SULFUR SHELF GOT HIM THE WORST, JUST ONE LITTLE
> PEICE.  I DON'T LIKE IT ANYWAY.  VERY PRETTY THOUGH.
>     THERE'S NO ONE TO TALK MUSHROOMS WITH AROUND HERE.  I SAW SOME ABOUT 10
> YEARS AGO THAT LOOKED FAMILIAR BUT I COULDN'T PLACE THEM, WE HAD BEEN DOWN
> LIVING IN HELL FOR 18 MONTHS AND I'D FORGOTTEN.  TOOK THEM OVER TO THE
> COLLEGE HERE AND ASKED IF THEY HAD A MUSHROOM HUNTER, THEY POINTED OUT A
> PROF WHO SAID HE DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THEM AND THAT I KNEW MORE ABOUT MUSHROOMS
> THAN HE DID.  TOOK THEM INTO THE COLLEGE LIBRARY, COULDN'T FIND THEM IN
> THEIR BOOKS EITHER.  THEN FOUND A BOOK WITH A RUSSIAN AUTHOR'S NAME, I
> THOUGHT IF THE RUSSIANS DON'T KNOW IT, IT DOESN'T EXIST.  I FOUND A PICTURE
> JUST FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES, WE USED TO PICK LEPISTA NUDA, THEY HAVE
> CHANGED THE NAME, BUT ANYWAY, THIS WAS ANOTHER LEPISTA.  NOT NECESSARILY AN
> EDIBLE ONE.  L. NUDA ACCUMULATES LEAD I HAVE READ, AND SINCE IT LIKES
> LEAVES, AND THE LEAVES FROM THE CITY ARE COLLECTED FROM ROADSIDES WHICH
> PRESUMABLY WERE HEAVLY LACED WITH LEAD FOR MANY YEARS, I'M NOT OVERLY
> THRILLED TO FIND THEM NOWADAYS UNLESS I FIND THEM IN COMPOST PILES FROM OUR
> OWN LAND.  BUT IT HARD TO TURN DOWN MUSHROOMS THAT GROW AFTER KILLING FROST,
> WHICH THEY DO HERE.
>     WHEN I MENTIONED DMSO ONCE BEFORE, A NAFEXER EMAILED ME TO ASK IF IT
> COLD BE USED TO HOLD THE TEXTURE OF FROZEN MELONS.  I THOUGHT THAT WAS A
> HILARIOUS THOUGHT, AND SAID IT WOULD WORK, BUT THAT IT WOULD RUIN THE
> FLAVOR!   DONNA
> 
> 

-- 
Richard Melrose