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MessagesSteve, you must be low if you found chant's!
MessagesYes but in eastern Washington like around yakima
MessagesWell pretty good day got a little over 10 pounds of Chanterelles in just 2 hours. August were the pines in Washington? I thought it would be a little early here in Oregon. I guess if I get time I will have to go higher on Hood. Sundancekid I sent an email about the Chanties.
MessagesA good day picking, I picked 38lb's of yellow's and 9lb's of blue's with 15lb's bolete's and 6lb's of hen of the wood's and now for the best part of the day,two basket's of pine's are 42lb's of one's and two's and not a worm in them. I may not even have time to pick on the other side of the hill's tell the end of the month. I seen a lot of baby's popping up where I have never seen them before. I'll just have to pick more soon to keep thing's clean.
MessagesNo Chuck... lol Funny thing is I'm letting them rot in the woods. If I cant make 1k a day I have other more important things to do. Was fun for a few weeks though.... You guys should be loading soon!!! km
MessagesFresh Pines with my t-bone steak tonight!! yahoo.. happy hunting everyone.
MessagesNice Pickin Randy... You aiming to change your nickname to KingoftheShrooms?? lol Great job!
MessagesTWITCH im at tantric9@yahoo.com let me know how its going and how much your pullin out maybe i can help
MessagesA few people were asking for lobster mushroom photos!!! Plz give photo credit if you use... thx... km
MessagesI have updated my summer mushroom blog. http://www.myspace.com/kingmorel
MessagesMoe, Three buyers.Very little volume coming in.
MessagesSorry there marin, you and your half know more then I do . They must have been your basket's you said someone left. By the way we know pitchzilla is your other name, have you foregot that I know where the ip come's from and who you are?!!.
MessagesThanks Morris, where would Peter be? goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesSo...... after the dust and spores settled...how did the Rattlesnake Rape go?
Messageshey moe look for peter,the only one that will pay more than the cartel
MessagesMarin, I'm not lol but the only worm's found well be in what you pick and not in my patch's and maybe what I well leave you if I decide to leave you any at all lol.
Messagesanyone buying in Kitwanga yet, patches are waiting. Goodluck everyone
MessagesAny buyers in the Comox Valley? What are the prices at?
MessagesGood job August, but maybe the worms will come back! lol
MessagesWell said Keith! Happy new mushroom year everyone!
MessagesWell hello shroomdogs! Hope everyone is amazing! I need some Chantys for Monday ....anybody have any...please email me at : whistlerskibum@gmail.com include price and how many pounds you have...i will take atleast 100lbs... Thanks!! asap replies appreciated...cheers to all!
MessagesA Great job pickin. You know what happens if the matsi year is good........?? more complaining from us pickers! I hope this year, we can keep this sight friendly and have a great time to post and communicate information on the season.....
MessagesGreat to see board running again; thankyou. Im in Terrace area and wandering what prices for pines are and who should I sell too? can't wait to see my first of the season. Goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesGreat to see board running again; thankyou. Im in Terrace area and wandering what prices for pines are and who should I sell too? can't wait to see my first of the season. Goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesJust got home 30 min's ago after picking 38 lb's of chant's on the west of the hill's, look's like a really super year for chant's but not for lob's. The ground is super wet and needs to dry out for the lob's but I still have not looked at my bolete patch's and no need to with the ground so wet. It really look's to be a very,very good year for pine's as well and one we have not seen in mine year's. buckittogo to you all...................Madmorel
Messagescranberrydawg, i posted a couple of months ago when this forum came back up. remember where we met near horne lake. that spot that an old picker showed me... he had picked for nearly 25 yrs.... all clear cut. i was camping with my boys in may and you could see the whole hillside... dam i hate Island timberlands and timber west... i know i sound like a broken record... they are locking all thier gates... i guess i have to rig up the mountain bike... are you still interested in scouting out some pine (or chantrelle) country mid island? post back or e-mail me at tzabo@shaw.ca.....zed.
Messagesgot $27 for # 1`s (pines) good luck finding pickers as your at 12 ,give it a couple a day`s you`ll be down to 6 or 8 bucks,if that,if it flushs 2 or 3 again as you alllllllllllll did. now you can blow some more smoke up everyone`s azz.no wonder the pickers are pissed.its only the start .KARMA
MessagesMushroom season looking very good for Nakusp. Pine prices $12.00 per pound for 1's, $8.00 per pound for 2's, $4.00 per pound for 3's and $2.00 per pound for 4's and $1.00 per pound for 5's. Chantrel's and Lobster's just starting. Picker's needed.
MessagesI for one..... will be holding up the Chanterelle price this year. ---Price of Fuel---Loss of Patches due to logging---Gated Roads, something new under Bill 30--- add up to min $12.00LB to my customers. Pines are another story --- most likely $12.00 across the board for all grades except #1. C
Messageswell its rained days straight here now,the chantys i saw the other day are loving it,oughta be a great season:)
MessagesI want to thank all of you who have posted what you have about our small operation we have tried to get going here. I am deeply touched by the compliments and recommendations you have given. And you are right CD, no one is above criticism in the ntfp industry (or life in general) and there is always room to improve. Being an independent has its advantages but also has its limitations as we too are impacted by the price structures (and in many instances price fixing) that are in place not only in mushrooms but also in the salal and evergreen industry. We also get undercut and in some cases back stabbled by some of the smaller distributors. There is a limit to what we can do to maintain the prices we would like to see at the scales due to a lot of things totally beyond our control. In this area the prices for chanties are dropping now and I am trying to find a consensus among our pickers at what price point this year the buying should end. At some point we need to learn to say no more below this price. All of our costs of living and cost of picking and operating have gone up and somehow the inflation that we all live with day to day have to be adjusted for. At the end of the season, whatever that season of ntfp may be, we all carry into the next year the knowledge of how we treated each other as human beings. Some of the larger companies we deal with understand that and those are the ones we try and work with. To some companies we have tried to deal with all that matters is the bottom line and those ones we will not do business with. I truly believe, and I know many of you do as well, that in the end of it all it is relationships we build along this journey of life that give our unique way of life the quality of living that we all desire for our love of the forest and providing a beautiful product that end users can find adds to their quality of life as well. Money is important but when people are treated as a commodity in someone's spreadsheet, and when the dignity of human relationships become a non value in business practices, things do need to move beyond what it is now and I think we all in this discussion agree on that.
MessagesPickers opinions one way or another concerning field buyers have always confounded me. Buyers that I find to be decent folks with honesty and integrity, invariably get blasted and dissed by others - these preferences are extremely subjective. On the subject of Kieth Hunter, I've no doubt even he is not immune to these types of criticism, however, I will say that I have sold to him on numerous occasions and not only do I find him to be a very honest and decent person to do business with, but also a very fine human being also. It's not really my style to blow smoke, but I do agree wholeheartedly with KM - - - - when in Alberni, the choice is KH. Enough, CD
MessagesThanks King Morel, you just made my day!!! :-)
MessagesGarf.... I have been busy at the store.. not picking , but may go grab another bunch of pines this week... km
Messagesrain again today and my pile of firewood logs seems to get bigger and i gotta get out to the woods .... course i am right there but its not an early spot.... i know now for sure that theres a few around .... i hope not an early flush all over and then they are over by mid october.... i've picked here til 11th of december one year.... and that was from about sept.11th .... thats how many different little ecosystems there are.... i always get a yearning to see the seven sisters and maybe hit the harper this time of year but with gas and mushroom prices think i'll stick with the picking here and doing the firewood shake thing .... randy still picking??? ger
Messagestest@
MessagesA" just phone me then.... dont have to type... btw I cant keep up to myself sometimes lol
MessagesVG.... Joe and Joe will not talk to me anymore..... lol... and thats very fine by me. Tell me which buyers round up to the nearest hundred and I'll show you a whole lotta pissed off pickers. I have sold to the vast majority of buyers in Canada and the USA over the last 25 yrs. I also pick quality, clean product, and I might add volume!!!! Nvr yet have I seen a buyer round up to the nearest hundred in the last 10 or more yrs. I have paid $2.00 a lb with $35 a lb under the table though.... At least till the other buyers at the Zoo ratted me out to Tony... Even with your rounding 30lbs would still be 1 hundred with the exporter pocketing the extra $50.00. BTW mushroom picking was a real job for over 20 yrs. a dang hard job at that....... whats a real job IYO? km
MessagesKingmoral..obviously you are not selling to the right buyer..If a buyer offered me an extra $.50 for my mushrooms... I wouldn't be back..I'm talking about rounding up to the nearest hundred dollar...I've been around this circuit too many times and for too long..to think that the pickers are going to change the price of the mushrooms..Trust me the Buyers can't change the price..Talk to Joe & Joe..if you want the price to change....Good Luck...
MessagesHey, danielofthewoods. got an email or contact number thanks twitch.
MessagesKingmorel, slow down dud I can't keep up with you and your writeing but I can side with you at what you are saying!. Pick your word's and spell the them your way loll!. By the way just picked ten lb's of Matsi today and not one worm. It look's to be a good year and the eastside of the hill and still no sign for the westside. Marin eat your heart.
MessagesVG... most of the good pickers are not picking right now......... round up does not make any dif. For example: If you sell 29.5 lbs of mushrooms @ $1.00/lb thats $29.50 rounded up to $30.00. WOW thats an extra 50 cents. Compared to the $5.00/lb you should have recieved ($150.00) Dont blame the pickers for bringing in product like they do when they are being paid garbage prices. If you pay garbage prices they you must expect garbage product. Whats silly is, the fact that people even bother to sell at low prices and perpetulate the problem. I will save my primo for buyers that respect me and pay me fairly. To each thier own. km
Messagesheart transplant indeed.... I was more thinking of cutting out the cancer, then a little chemo..... lolI agree on not wanting the same old thing to happen once the change happens. For me I think it will be after my shift...... little steps for now and alot of public awareness. Carla you are an exception. thats why we respect you!!!! For those that live on the island I would respectfully suggest you sell to Keith as he like Carla care about u... Keith is also an independant so you supporting him helps in the big picture... Keith its time to hit the resturants in Whistler!!! maybe even give them some free product!! km
MessagesI also want to say once again that the buyer in the buy station does not have control over the price and there are many times that if they do round u up it is coming out of their pocket... Not the companies
MessagesAs a buyer i can truthfully say that part of my time is spent keeping my price a secret from the other buyers... It may sound silly but it keeps them so busy trying to figure out what i am doing that they don't have time to concentrate on their pickers ...
MessagesPerception is an interesting thing. Some view things with the perception of a fish or a mouse. There are few with the perception of the bear or eagle.
MessagesIt all seems so silly...a good mushroom picker always cleans and takes care of their mushrooms...and a good buyer usually rounds the price up for a good picker to keep them coming back..if you like mushroom picking then pick mushrooms..if you want a steady income then get a real job..and pick mushrooms because you enjoy it...HAPPY SHROOM PICKING TO ALL...
Messageshey kieth looks like some sunshine for kennedy lake is in the forecast.... whats the volume like commin out..... just waiting to get in there.. safe season everyone!
Messagesjc,how the hell are you ice man.?
MessagesIf those's picker's that pick clean where not to sale to those that buy unclean mushroon's and make a point of it to them ( the buyer's) then maybe one wound stop buying the durt and pay a better price for clean. Only the picker can decide what he won'ts from the buyer's and the buyer's must stop buying unclean shroom. I have alway's clean as I pick and still bring in as much as the picker with unclean mushroon's. It's not all that hard to do and you get in and out fast. The buyer's should post a sigh for all those to read and decide if it would pay more to have people to clean for him are pay more to the picker's whom pick clean, and the more the buyer pay's the better picker's well come his way.
MessagesWhen a hurricane threatens a very small percentage of oil production on the Gulf Coast what happens to the price of oil. When weather threatens the yield of any food commodity the price immediately goes up. When weather threatens the crop of wild mushrooms the price incredibly still drops with the same BS fed from the buyers of a bumper crop somewhere else. Dig deeper into the BS stories you are fed and you will find their stories are just that. The whole mushroom industry smells of it. No offense to you Keith. You are one of the few honest ones out there.
MessagesKingmorel, Matsiman and Garf. Great interpretations of your ideas of wild mushroom pricing dilemma. Wouldn't it be interesting if each mushroom had a futures pricing on the stock market the way wheat, corn and soy do???... The whole issue of wild mushroom picking needs to be raised to the surface, with world market and climate conditions studied on a broader scale. To look at the daily price fluctuations of let's look at oil per say... A wormy crop should price Matsi higher. As with morels.. a lack of rain and poor growing conditions should affect the futures price. As should a wet summer with few or no forest fires. Commodity pricing needs to exist for wild mushrooms in order for the picker to make what they deserve. In order for this to happen the industry itself need to be on the table with no underground cash transactions. Do any of you know any market traders that could raise the issue?? Good Luck. I will remain retired to picking until I can make what I am worth picking (as much as I love walking through the woods)... unhappily retired, but I will survive.
Messageskingmorel, Sounds like your talking about a heart transplant, replace the buying sector with a new one. That has a very good chance, but the right heart, new buyers, must be a strong perfect match and timing of the transplant appropriate. Don't want to run into the same problem in a year or two. Later, Matsiman
MessagesMatsiman..... very good job I.M.O. that you have done trying to explain a complex problem. I hear ya on being careful not to distroy future markets. I beleave that must happen so that the big players move on to other "exploits" Pickers are already facing times of "unfair" trade and the majority of pro pickers are doing other things. I know many that have the talent and knowledge to take over exporting when the time comes..... There is a dif between one company setting the days starting price to "ALL" companies fixing the days price....... Such a practice is not market driven and is classic price fixing. Its very hard for pickers to bring in quality, clean product for "sweat shop" prices and thus support the exporters with an even larger windfall as they dont even make enough to fill the gas tank for tomorrows pick. km
MessagesStormy, how do we get in touch with you regarding mushroom baskets?
Messageskingmorel, garf, Thanks for helping out with price explanation. I do believe price fixing is a practice, but did it effect today's prices?? Before all of hit the roof, remember who I am. I'm not an authority, but I do know something about the industry. I'm not trying to convince anybody anything. I'm just offering an optional explanation of the same situation, prices. A mentioned before about the evening calls. Those of us who picked in the early 90's remember the buyers evening calls and cut throat habits. Dumping lower grades on another buyer was a good one. Any way, the point is this habit has always been there. The price was good during this period. So we have price fixing with a fair price and price fixing where pickers get almost nothing for their product. I'm just asking you step back and look at what has changed in the industry which might have effected price to the picker. We all want prices to improve, but if we focus on the incorrect cause, then the effect will continue. It's like treating an Illness by treating the effect of the illness. Diagnose and treat the illness incorrectly, and the disease will continue. Most everybody has come up with a general treatment, starve the illnes affecting us. Meaning don't supply buyers with mushrooms. Certainly this will work, but this treatment may have an unwanted effect. Starve the whole body, mushroom industry, and each part will suffer. We as individual pickers cannot function without nurisment, picking and selling. Who do you think will survive longer? Once again, I am not the one with the solution, only providing another explaination for the state of prices. Later, Matsiman
Messagessure are getting a lot of rain here.... feels like fall and i know there are mushrooms out there.... the meadow mushrooms popped in less than a week in the horse field.... other mushrooms are all over the grassy areas....i will go look at my chantrelle patch and maybe go look at the early matsu sunday or so .... just for the pleassure of being in the woods.... if i find a bunch great,but i won't sell to a mushroom station unless its a good price... simple as that.... eventually with the gas prices and that less and less people will pick... suits me.... i love the solitude... i can always sell my mushrooms without depending on the big exporters ... watch what happens if their volumes go way down..... and eventually they will.... ger
Messagesstormy, i am looking for 5k baskets. if you do have them contact me and we can talk. kingbolete@hotmail.com
MessagesTHEY PRICE FIX... Thats not a secret to anyone that has bought or still buys, or the pickers that listens to their ph calls on thier scanners. Prices in Japan have not changed, infact on avg. they have increased. Field prices have dropped on avg. off the scale.... What has led to this is there are few importers in Japan and those that are left have found a way to cooperate in thier price fixing...... with-out a few renegade exporters like Beever they can control what they pay out, add in some of the things that Matsiman mentioned like poor quality, dirty mushrooms and shipping junk and then hiring 100 cleaners in Vancouver. Subsidizing thier fish plant operations on the back of thier mushroom operations. Everyone forgets about the other grades of matsutake........... imagine the profit line on the lower grades. Remember when they would buy the # ones at higher price and make thier bucks on the lower grades?....... even when the Japan price was lower than we now see today... Its all about greed..... if you dont like the price just dont pick or better yet pick but dont sell to the export buyers. thats what I do... km
MessagesThanks Tommy..Have you heard how the picking is going? I just talked to someone that had found a few buttons and was wondering...
Messagesare there any buyer stations in the nakusp area?
Messageshey vg , jan and dan are opening this weekend. tommy
MessagesAre there any Buyers in the Nakusp area?
MessagesAndy, When you have sometime call 509-594-1397
MessagesHi stormy. Depends on the size and if u have lids with them or not. With lids 5k's go for 2.00-2.50 each used, 3k's go for about .60-.75 used with lids.
Messageshave couple hundred mushroom baskets anyone have an idea what the going price is
MessagesMatsiman thank you for sharing your historical perspective and I would think that the same scenarios would apply to other ntfp products as well. I think this discussion taking place is good to have and brings up many factors relating to our evolving industry. The increase of harvesting pressure in areas that previously were more local in nature not only impacts the markets but also the local uses of some of these same species. The adverse impacts of some of the commerical activities with the more mobile commercial harvesting activities, such as sundanzkid posted about wild berries, raises many challenges from a pure sustainable resource management point of view. At times, as a buyer that operates with various ntfp in addition to wild foods, I am very hesitant to try and market some products due to the pandora's box that opens when word gets out that an area is producing a marketable resource. Once the genie is out of the bottle it is impossible to put it back in. I agree OBVIOUS that each area, and each product, has its own unique situation and I think the commonality exists when the products enter into the larger global brokerage markets. We deal mainly with chanterelles where we are at and are influenced by production and pricing from other areas. Last year for example we were able to maintain a somewhat decent price structure on berries until Oregon started producing, and the same thing happened later in the season with Oregon's late flush and the prices that were being paid in Oregon to pickers being lower than what we were paying here. And this doesn't even begin to account for the market influences of products coming from other countries such as Russia or Europe. I think also what affects us today is the internet which I don't think as small producers we have been able to fully develop. I know we have tried to work with smaller companies who sell wild foods at farmers markets to provide them a niche market product with varying degrees of success. What is occuring on the smaller scale of that type of market development that I have seen is that there are many people trying to buy and sell mushrooms that are doing so without making any money what so ever. The drive to the bottom on pricing to undercut competition has created a situation where some of the smaller brokers are buying and selling products knowing they are undercuting prices without making any money which results in driving the prices down. There seems to be this race to be the cheapest which makes no sense at all from a business point of view and does not do the industry itself any good as far as I can see when business basically try and compete by giving away products at cost. Sport3 also brought up a very valid point about contamination issues with wild foods. As we know here in BC, the forest companies are using pesticides for brush control. The Ministry of Forests has also encouraged timber companies to use a more intense fertilizer regime to speed the growth of timber. These forest practices increase the risk of contamination areas due to the arial application of some of these chemicals being done by boom spraying or helicopters. Although some of the packing plants and distributors have a HAACP based operation in their processing plants there is no industry standard of HAACP based harvesting or buying stations that occurs downstream from their plants. The potentials for contaminated products to enter the food markets in the wild foods sector is just a matter of time for almost every wild food product since most buyers and wholesale distributors operate on a "don't ask don't tell" basis of harvesting practices. Food tracibility is something that is required in every other sector of food products and is something I strongly believe should be incorporated into the wild foods sector as well to protect our customers but also to prevent situations where products from BC or the Northwest in general are stigmatized when a contamination issue does happen, which it will at some point in time. Our business has invested literally thousands of dollars this past year into developing the GIS capability to begin to track the areas of forest operation contamination in an effort to do our due diligence to begin to assist our pickers in developing their own tracibility records so that we can market our products knowing that food safe issues are incorporated in the picking practices. I know this is a long post and I want to thank all of you who contribute to this board in the discussions and networking I deeply appreciate. And thank you Matsiman for putting this site up and congratulations on the 300K hits. That is awesome.
MessagesI just want to make the point that the Terrace/Hazelton/Cranberry/Nass pine market was destined to decline - it had to. I was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed the good times, but, along with many others, I saw the writing on the wall. The industry in this neck of the woods was doomed. It's like the oil sands in Northern Alberta - enjoy the good times while you can folks because this prohibitively expensive sector will soon be on the decline too. What it boils down to is the REAL cost of getting our prized BC pine out of the bush and into the hands of the final consumer - there is no way we can compete with China or Korea or for that matter the USA. We are just too many backroads, highways and flight paths removed from the middleman to have a fair shake. And, generally speaking, we will not work for peanuts either - as is evidenced by the conspicuous absense of the majority of the old time pickers in this area - we are simply not coming to pick anymore. The only way to make our industry up here economically viable again would be to implement a subsidised or two tiered system, which we know will never happen. It used to be that we did enjoy higher prices than our US friends, but alas, that is no longer the case. And, from a pure business standpoint, I agree with OBVIOUS - why on earth would Chung or any of the others want to pay more for OUR product when they can get the same thing down the road for half the price? I'll hop off my soap box in a second, but just a quick comment on supply and demand - up here it is a moot point, because like I said, the picker force has dropped off so dramatically in the last several years that there really is no supply anymore anyway. I suspect even last year, which was a bumper crop - maybe TC or someone can correct me if I am wrong - the volumes were down considerably, and yet all the cartel could manage was $2/lb. I suspect I'll catch some flack from the purists here, but it is a sad day in my books when a matsutake fetches less than practically every other mushroom in the forest. End of speech - CD
MessagesNot gonna banty back and forth. We are not talking about the effect of the price change. I tried to explain the cause. As for the evening calls and uping the price, that's been going on since I started picking in 1990. Later, Matsiman
MessagesSport 3, your bang on, I too have watched that price game in buyer stations here numerous times.
MessagesI too appreciate you taking the time to respond to my entry Matsiman, and am able to wrap my head around most of that concerning a certain % of the type of mushrooms picked for commercial sale. I cannot agree when it comes to Pines, they still demand and get a decent price, but the picker only receives a half decent price at the beginning and end of the season. This "I believe" is due to the buyers just trying to get people to come to the area early, then they have to pick all season just to make enough money to pay expenses and buy gas to get home. Late in the season many have gotten tired of picking for peanuts and the price is raised in order to get pickers back in the bush and increase volume, but by then the majority of Pines have started to open below ground, and it's even tougher to make a buck. As most are aware, prices in Japan were posted here many times in previous seasons, and when it's $50lb in Japan, and $2lb in British Columbia, someone's getting bent over without the simple benifit of a reach around. The question of cleaning and picking a decent product is somewhat like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, when being paid so poorly people tend to take less pride in their work, this is OBVIOUS in almost every industry in Canada these days. I won't bother trying to influence anyone on whether to sell or not, that boat sailed about 6yrs ago, I am simply stating "my take on things". One other thing that most should realize on this board, certain comments apply to certain area's, I'm speaking of the Terrace B.C. area. I have no idea of what goes on in other area's, let alone the good ole U.S.A. Hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe season regardless, I would simply encourage all to treat the bush with respect.
MessagesThe price of pines are fixed in a conference call usually around 3 pm Pacific.I was in the front office....heard with my own ears !They book their shippping together too.And buyers squeal on one another if one raises their price.Company called other company.....buyer that raised price is called and told to go back to the agreed price !Heard this too.Other shrooms...there is more competition....but not with pines !We used to get another dollar a pound for "clean" pines,companies stopped doing that....so why clean them while the next guy in line is getting paid for a couple pounds of dirt ?The price of North American and Swedish pines was "high" in Japan last year due to insecticide found on China pines.....the field price was low here !Price fixing !
MessagesMatsiman...Thank you for your clear and concise explanation of the prices paid for mushrooms. I agree with everything you stated. It has always been my contention that supply and demand was the main reason for low prices. That holds true for any kind of product, not just mushrooms.
MessagesGreetings All, I apologize for not posting my views on the state of prices to the picker. Had to deal with campers coming in until 11PM last night. I still hesitate cause I'm not a buyer and have almost no input from the buyers and brokers. The subject is not easy for me to discuss without input from those who buy from pickers. We have 3 buyers who regularly read and post on the board. All have offered good explanations. Didn't do much good to explain cause they weren't believed. I assume I'll receive the same response. Any way, here we go with a few factual influences to field price. Supply and demand is almost always the primary influence to prices. Take a look back to the mid and early 90's. Picker force significantly increased between 91 and 97. 97 was the best year ever in the Oregon Cascades. By the end of the season, prices fell to 5 for buttons. This was probably the beginning of low prices. Supply was greater then ever, but markets were on the decline. Decline likely associated with Japanese economy. Now there is a work force collecting more than the market can absorb and keep the price up. This was the beginning, but not the end. This situation may not have had a perminate influence cause every year is not a 97. However, the next influence embedded a change in supply. The same time period was tough for pickers established in patches for many years. The patches they picked were over run buy the new picking force. They solution was to find new patches. We did just that. Didn't take long before we were found by others. The competition was so great, we looked further and further from traditional areas. Still we were found. You could keep areas secrete for, at best, 2 years. Then found again. Now we have a large picking force with all the area needed to keep volumes hi regardless of production in 1 area. The 3rd influence was quality on top of quantity. The industry insisted on clean quality product. New pickers were not successfully trained in handling mushrooms brought in. Many pickers would not clean and brought in anything matsi found. It became evident buying practices needed to change to buy quantities and quality brought in. Buyers and brokers elected to buy everything at a low price, and sort through for the quality. The remainder was sold cheap, made into soup, or discarded. An investigation by agencies of the US government in about 99 concluded no price fixing. I was personally involved in the investigation. Price fluctuation was attributed to supply/demand and broker expenses. Ok that's a brief explanation. Maybe Carla, Tom or Keith can correct me if I'm wrong. As I said, I'm not a buyer. Later, Matsiman
Messageshey steve was wondering if you went back to the car prowler zone yet ----- had a chance to preview some of the grand canyon footages from a couple of the boaters, radical stuff, they missed the flood by 5 days at havasu creek - still many hours of tape 2 go, not sure when the party is,after all the trips - next weekend is the thompson river in canada and sept 13 tieton river, the rogue river permit is up also, not sure of that date.
MessagesThanks Keith. Leave the crap in the bush pickers.
Messagesdaniel of the woods, it wil need a week to make it worth while. know any bamfield patch? leave me your email and I'll let you know how it goes. no buyers in tofino just hungry pickers with baby bottons
Messageschecked 7 water sheds August, drove 350 miles, east side is 5x drier than the west side, what counted was long term wetness and not random cloud bursts, most all places i visited only had 1 inch of total moisture penatration in the duff and no mycelium present between the dirt and duff, it is setting up but im goina wait a week or 2 and let things grow, patches seem late and smaller than usual, i was eating and giving away lots of chantys by this time last year
MessagesHey Sundanz, Had a few free hours on Saturday found about 2 or 3 pounds of Chanterelles also lots of hucks. We should hit some old spots soon.
Messagessundanzkidd, Maybe you need to look on the eastside for I picked 20 lb's today of peach chant's.
Messagesmountains are slow, checked many patches not much to look for, got 4 lobsters and 8 baby chantys, was a real waste of gas for 3 days of checking patches, best hunting we did was 56 lbs of fresh sturgeon from the nez perce clan, they wanted to trade fish for our berries, naw, berries about gone commercial guys bout raped it all off, got lucky at a few of my off the beaten path spots but still hammered, illegal berry camp eye sores, cant wait to see the garbage them jokers leave behind woods still need a few more weeks to set up for mushrooms - not seeing any mycelium in great quantities yet
MessagesOBVIOUS, you called me out LOL. Well Keith said it all, but his explanation may be hard for some to understand. I don't have time at the moment to clarify, campers are coming in, but I'll find time tonight. Basically buy large quantities low, pick out the good stuff and sell the rest cheap or throw it away. What's interesting is how it got this way. Hey everybody, 300,000 on the home page!!!! All of you made it happen. Later,Matsiman
Messagescarla, did didn`t say all, was directed to certain buyers in the north west.like i said ,it was a cut-thoat business.ps been telling pickers for years that a clean produce will get the better $$$$$$$$$ as weeeeeeeee do . buckets to all
MessagesChuck I have no idea what the other stations are offering now. We are paying $5.00 per pound for yellow chanterelles at this point in time.
MessagesSo what would I be getting per pound of Chanties today at the buying stations On the Island?? If you cannot pick clean you should not bother picking. Everything the picker can do to keep a high price should be done. That is until the price hits the bottom. Then just quit picking. Good picking to you all
MessagesHi keith, thanks for the good wishes! I also have a helpful bunch around my buy station, our soda machine would not work and sure enough one of the pickers knew how to fix it and went right to it, so it was fixed almost before i knew it was broke...lol I didnt even understand what was broke even after he told me... ;-)
MessagesThanks Carla. We have started to get chanties in and today I feel like it does when standing in the calm before the storm. I hope things are going good for you and that you have a great season.
MessagesWhy argue about the price again, it's simple and obvious. If there were two large screen TV's for sale, even though they were both worth 2k, if one was for sale for $100, or 5% of it's worth, which one would you buy. Oh yeah right, we as a species are so honourable we would all buy the 2k tv, yeah. For years pickers have been willing to sell for 5% of the products value, who's fault is that. Would love to have Matsiman clarify his entry about prices, since this topic usually dominates the board. My only entry this year, will read from now on, maybe.
MessagesHi Keith, good to see you. :-) It feels good to see the regulars all coming back!
MessagesCarla you are right that many of our best pickers just come in too tired to do the cleaning of the mushrooms that needs to occur. When they bring in good quality mushrooms that makes the grading faster and easier it makes the cleaning process go better which helps keep the cost down for our station. That allows us to keep the prices we can pay higher because one way or the other the products have to be picked, cleaned and accepted by the point of sale customer as being something they want to spend their hard earned money to buy. At time when we have been in a crunch some of our pickers have stayed around to give us a hand in getting caught up. The relationships formed and the willingness to work together to make it work for everyone is awesome to see happen.
MessagesMatsiman you bring up a very good point about cleaning of mushrooms. At some point along the line from bucket to plate the product has to be cleaned. Last year we tried a tiered pricing system to where we paid one price for cleaned product and another price for product we had to hire people to clean. These people working for us cleaning also need a fair wage for their labor. What we found was that most pickers we bought from seemed to prefer the lower price due to the length of time it took to clean the mushrooms. Some brought their products in ready to go directly into the end use point of sale market distribution but those individuals were the exception. What I see as hurting the wild food industry in general is that the industry standards for quality control are very lax and due to that the prices are kept low due to the cost recovery factors of low standards. Some of the distributors are set up to do their own cleaning but then they have the freight costs associated with paying for shipping of discards and waste. From a business economic point of view their prices are based lower to account for these costs that are not recoverable in the market place so the cost recovery occurs by lowering their field prices. One way or the other the products have to be cleaned and that adds value to the product. It comes down to where in the value chain that value is added and where in that value chain it makes more sense for that to occur. We have chosen to try our best to only market products that we add the value of clean products to and not engage in the bulk volume markets that have driven lower prices due to the waste cost recovery that occurs from the larger companies and their poor quality based buying strategies. Somewhere along the line these companies recover their costs and that is one reason I think that there is such a difference seen between the picker price and the end price.
MessagesHi Matsiman. As for the cleaning in the buy station, i luv it when most of the guys clean their stuff for me but there are some that will devalue their product due to lack of knowledge of the proper way to clean and retain the veil properly, so i tell them not to...lol There are also times when i have a really good picker who is just trashed after his or her day in the woods and need a hand to get home to the family so i help them out. ;-)
MessagesHi RJ. I am a mushroom buyer and if i do say so, a darn good one. I have a very happy and helpful bunch that sell to me. I am not sure why u seem to hate us buyers so much... but not all are as u described...
Messageshey twitch whos buying in ucluelet right now and whats the price thanks see you in a week
Messageshey does anybody know if butch is still buying in ucluelet
MessagesEvening all !! well we're sure gettin our rain now !! south coast BC. went out for a couple of strolls... cibarius are lookin good...http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3041.jpg http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3042.jpg and the black bears were plentiful .... http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3044.jpg drove right up to them, they were gorging themselves in blackberries. beautiful creatures to admire from a safe distance :) full buckets to everybody !!! Sam in BBY.
MessagesAmen Keith. I rarely sell commercially, as I said, but I do go to the buying station. Quality picked and picker handling is very poor. Those who do pick good quality, rarely clean. Taking pride in your product is rarely seen where I've been. I've been asked many times why do you clean them, you don't have to. Pride in my product is the answer. Later, Matsiman
MessagesMushroom Doom it will be interesting to see how the market forces work out this year. Not only are the picker expenses higher as you mentioned, but so are the costs of hydro for running our cooler, the freight costs for things like baskets and shipping of products, the ferry costs, and now even text messaging of all things. In the end of it all I am thinking that it comes down to whether or not the prices at the point of sale to the end users can increase to absorb these additional costs. It seems other food sectors have been able to pass the cost increases along to the end user and hopefully the wild food sector will find a market that is willing to absorb these costs as well. In the crunch to cut costs and increase efficiencies to reduce costs I would think that the quality of product factors are going to become even more strict due to trying to reduce the costs associated with waste and discards. That is just my guess and I hope things work out for everyone along the value chain to where everyone`s increased costs can be met.
MessagesBlaze2 hopefully this will help answer your question about how we operate our business. You are right, that mushroom season is a seasonal product, just as is christmas greenery and salal seasons, moss and berries. We operate a four season business and buy products when the market conditions, as well as the growing seasons and abundance of resources makes sense to do so. We ran seven days a week for over a year and what I learned the hard way doing that is there is a need (at least in my own life) to have a life outside of running a business. Small things like being a grandpa, working around the house, giving our shed employees time off so they can have a life, you know all those other things that go into running a business other than just trying to see how much of something we can buy. I suppose there are more than one ways of looking at a ntfp business. Are we in business to provide a service to pickers or or we just one of many potential customers of the pickers i try and see the pickers as being self-employed people who have a product that they are wanting to sell and that I am a customer, just as I sale products to our customers. With that thought in mind, I don`t make demands upon our customers as to when they should be open to suit my schedule. In fact, it is up to me to try and meet the quality standards and provide a product that fits in with the operations of our customers. Most of the pickers we buy from understand that and we don`t have a problem with it. If they do, then of course they can sell their products to whomever they want to. I am not trying to buy every mushroom I can or trying to build our business based upon volumes. We are not a commission based buyer. Hopefully this answered your question.
MessagesHey all, i'm back on the board again looking forward to another exciting season of pickin'... Lookin' forward to watching all the dramas unfold here too, almost as much as i'm looking forward to the actual picking ;-) Last year I couldn't even find a buyer in Victoria but at $3/lb (or less) offered by commercial buyers for worm free #1 pines and a buck a pound with picky grading for chanties it wouldn't have been worth selling what I picked anyways. I ended up eating most of my picks last year and selling the rest to some of my mycophilic neighbors and a chef friend of mine. With the price of gas being almost 30% higher than it was last year at this time, it will be interesting to see if we have finally reached the breaking point this year? I just can't see picking actually making anyone any money anymore, if the prices keep going the way they've been for the last half decade. Will the bottom finally fall out of the market?!?!? Stay tuned!
Messagesraining cats n dogs here :),went out with the wife n i think 2 more wees n a picker can turn a buck at this around here n hey Tory! get a grip on the spam eh !
MessagesKeith Hunter...Mushroom season is just that...a season. Closing on sunday??? Whats up with that? People pick every day, not just the days you are open. Its up to you but i would think that the pickers would sell to a station thats open 24X7 considering that most real pickers pick every day of the week
Messagesjust goes to show... for all...that the internet...creates the marketing benefits...that were not available 10-20 yrs ago which has diminished the SALAD (GOOD-OLD) Days when the Shrooms were like the price of GOLD!!! It's a CUT-THROAT...MONEY HUNGRY WORLD WE LIVE IN....and the lowest offer gets the sale...cheers T.C.
Messageshows kennedy lake doing looks cold and too wet . damn pines are prob poppin out there cold enough hey
MessagesGreetings All, went to the study yesterday. Very few fungi coming up. Found 1 baby matsi, and almost nothing else, No chanties. I see name calling is back. "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Remember that saying when you were a kid? Well names do hurt and are inappropriate here. Some day I'll try to explain why we are where we are with prices. It has nothing to do with individuals, picking crews or any one country. It's simply brokers change in buying practices around the world. All I'll say for now cause I don't want to add fuel to the fire. I rarely sell commercially for the last 5 years. Guess what, I'm still having fun, but picking costs me 1500 to 2000 US dollars a year. Can't find better entertainment or exercise for the same price. Later, Matsiman
Messages
MessagesGreetings: I wanted to let the West Coast Vancouver Island pickers know we have opened our buying station on the Tseshaht Indian Reserve near Port Alberni (where our shop and office is located. We are NOT buying out of the old sproat school this year.) We will have the buying station open for buying between 4pm and 8pm Monday thru Saturday (Closed Sundays) When the volume picks up from Uclulet and Tofino we will be opening a station down that way. I will post that location when that happens. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at our office 250-720-8907 or my cell phone 250-731-3998 or my email at FirstNationsWildcrafters at shaw.ca Take care and I hope everyone has a good and safe season.
MessagesBuckit's to you rj
Messagessorry but many people getting screwed over the shrooming business. my apologies for the remarks.not directed to you or any other pickers.just stating the facts,as those buyers know who they are.back stabbers,two faced,Lairs. hope you all find someone to do business with and if i can help just ask.garanteed the true.glad to help. Sorry A' no t directed to you. happy pick`En
MessagesSorry there rj, but I'am retired because of P.T.S.D do to being in Nam and I'am 57 and an hep-C and more. I love to pick becase it give's me a peace of mine and freedom and it's a good exersize. Yes I have been a small time buyer but those that know know that I'am for the picker and not the joe's.
MessagesSorry how some of you feel but most of you buyers think only of your selfs,the poor pickers trying to make ends meat,while you fill your pockets ,on the backs of the picker.most of you are profitting very handsomely. those of you that know me ,know the trurth.i`m no buyer but have helped out many pickers in the past and will continue to help out, a fair days pay for a hard days work.never burn any one,as the buyers can`t say that,most ly bul-shit.hope you all do good.hope i can help out more in the near future. As for you greedy corperations,you done nothing but rape and pilage the land, of it`s resources,for personel gains. Its a REAL CUT-THOAT BUSSINESS,the pickers earn every penny too. Hope you all ,the best to 2008.
Messagesyou working for joe Roadblaster.Figures ,i`m sure i know who you are,i don`t half to hide.the true will prevail.only here to help those who work hard for there money as some of you get off on scaming of the backs of the pickers. called LOW-LIVES or snakes in grass,call it what you want ,but thats theifery
MessagesA " who`s bed you sleeping in,it shows.
Messagesthanks hangtime,roadblaster says every one was happy making lots of money ,my azz,how misleading .watch it`s going to be the same again. mostly boils down to greed,ripping off the pickers.some have no choice ,as they are filled with bul-shit from those of you that know the bussiness very well.the main causes why the industry has fallen ,where it has,is poor quility shrooms reaching the market places,4 or 5 days old.not very fresh,thats the reason why. who`s to blame,the picker. HAAAAHAAA.it`s joe and his bed Buddy`s(the buyers)making the good Buck`s as they shell out peanuts to the pickers.. The only time the Dollars where up in the past was guys like,Beaver and others rocked the boat,squeezing in on the market places,pissing off these rich ,greedy companies.only for them to squeeze,the little guy out of there action.called controll.but it hasn`t for some of us.no fair rules out there to protect you. A" as for you thats fine but others relie on this income.I know the First Nations do as there is not much employement here for them,sorry but many us don`t feel the way you do. for some it is there only income, Just think of others not as lucky as your self to have a job. P.S you been into it long enough,what more can you learn,fool,you got to be pretty slow if ya don`t understand.
MessagesIf one dose not like the price's then they should move on to something ele's for there exter money but for me I just like to pick them and have fun trying to find the best price for what I have and looking for new patch's is even more fun then saleing them. Some people only go for pine's just to sale and then there other's that just pick for them salf's. I look to learn what I can on how they grow and what it take's for them to grow and how affin they show up oven the year's. With what I sale it just pay's for gas and exter that can also pay some of my bill's but I well not call it my only income and not depend on them as so like so many do. .........................Mad Morel
MessagesBeware of the Bait and Switch scam!Prices in the Northwest were high to start last year until some volume started coming in.I was just looking at a receipt $3.00 per pound for number ones,and bubblegum money for the others.The only time the prices went up in this area was when they were close to done.It was about maybie one or two weeks.The volume was so slow that three buyers had moved on.
Messagesgood money my azzzzzzzz.you buyers made the bucks, what 800 1000 pounds aday @ 1.50 to 2.oo buck pound as the picker made2 to 4 hundred . very little.get some of then pickers on here as i have three sitting here now just as i typing this ,calling you a liar.have not sold a shroom to you guys in what ,7 or 8 years. only reason prices went up was there are more people DOING AS WE `VE DONE,FINDING OTHER COMPANY,to deal with.local markets still fetching 3-4 times and more,then the buyers offer,even more at times.most of us call you a liars,talk to them.i`m from the area,don`t bul-shit the board
Messagesspeaking only for myself i won't go to a mushroom station unless i get a good price .... there are others who will buy so why bother with the price of gas and all i still want to make a buck for my efforts even though i love it.... guess i got spoiled..... sigh .... joe chung want firewood ??? only 1000 a cord for you buddy ..... randy how goes the battle??? i know how you respect the woods .... nuf said .... have fun and pack out what you take in ,,, maybe a little extra .... no trace ,,, no find patch ger
MessagesRJ. Who cares if my pictures are old or from last year. I come on site just for the enjoyment of seeing and hearing about others experiences. So what, complaining about the prices won't bring the prices up. So tired of hearing about that. Like last yr. Alot said the prices wouldn't jump up. Most pickers in the Naas areas were making good money. Good luck yourself. I went out today and ended up with a half plastic bag of hard buttons. Go figure!
MessagesAbsolutely nothing up north (Nass/Cranberry)EXCEPT a few wormies.I recieved this info from an reliable source.
MessagesGreetings folks., August you better don't think you are out of the woods yet ., I need to find a just punishment for you., running away and joining Chris Three Ring Circus ., however I think the right punishment will be Mattie spanking your rear end , at least 5 times ., since she is the wisest of us all ., she will be absolutely entitled to do so ., and regarding Skepticalgeezer ., This ain't not joke this is real ., you should get out in the woods more often.
MessagesIf the price is low then you should ask the rain god to take a hike. It look's to be the year of the fungi and that just say's there well be alot of them popping up in the great Northwest an Canada.
MessagesWay to go RJ! It would be nice if everyone boycotted chung,but most likely that'll only happen in our dreams!
MessagesHey Forest Harvest, are you on drugs? If not, I don't understand your joke.
Messagesthe dump it is with my gps. thanks again, see in the patch
MessagesTHOSE PHOTO`S ARE SO OLD,ROADBLASTER . GET SOME FRESH ONES. WE HERE THE PRICES YOU OFFERED LAST YEAR WILL BE THE SAME THIS YEAR,ACCORDING TO THE HENCHMAN CARL ,YOUR SIDE KICK .THATS JOE CHUNG DETERMANING FREE MARKET PRICES AGAIN,BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS. YOU WILL BE LOOKING AT VERY LOW PRICES ,PREHAPES CHUNGS BUYERS SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED.THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN COMPANY`S THAT HAS DISTROYED THE SHROOMING CULTURE,FOR THE PICKERS. THE OUT DATED PICTURES FROM LAST YEARLOOK TEMPTING,AND THE PRICES MAY BE $15 NOW,FORTHE FEW MUSHROOMS THAT AREN`T WORMY,WATCH IT DROP TO 2,3,4 $ WHEN THE CROP COMES IN. SNAKES IN THE GRASS. GOOD LUCK ,DEALING WITH THESE DEN OF THEIF`S
MessagesNew page, Roadblaster Photos (9 Photos)
MessagesOopps , not sure what happened there !!
MessagesEvening all !! hey Garf ! ya it's been raining pretty good down here too. I'm itchin to get out this weekend.... not sure which way I'm headin yet , will probably have some pics. to post. I think I can hear em pop too ! later. anybody read the article on wild mushrooms in last Saturday's Vancouver sun paper ?? full buckets to everybody !! Sam in BBY.
MessagesWild Side,thanks for the info.Good or bad I'm out of here Friday.I need some time in the bush to regain my sanity! lol Full buckets to all
MessagesI have return to my Home, the bull board and have alot to say well maybe some!............Mad Morel
Messageswest kootenays are getting a good drink. many pines are wormed, chanti's are young, and lobsters are perfect but not many. check in towns for buyers. try to remember a compass and matches and careful with the shroom fever. peace.
MessagesHi everyone ., What a day ! I was planing to go up north yesterday, but I got detained by farm work and when we were moving shitake logs with the tractor ,. I saw a patch of Black trumpets. I though the season was over but I went the check this patches near my house., this second flush was almost as good as the first one., I got 5 FULL., bushels., A weird thing , a mouse was calling and whistling and going around and around the patches for almost two hours , maybe he did not like me to pick his patch , well now I wont leave until Friday .
MessagesI was starting to wonder where the board went but I found it. Yay. Found some recently sprouted chanterelles Sunday. Not a lot of activity on my part or the mushrooms.
MessagesLooking for pastic mushroom basket 6lb and 10lb. jarvis493@aol.com
MessagesHello to All buyer and pickers I'm looking for huckleberries, lobster,morels and all wild mushroom etc. For my New York Market, to distribute wholesale. Please email jarvis493@aol.com or 718-230-5040 ph
MessagesGood day everyone. Raining in the Naas. Checked matsi prices yesterday. Rob's just opening up, he is @ $15/lbs. Picked a few buttons the other day, mostly flead out still. With the rain and cooler weather this week.., who knows! Good pickin all.
MessagesTable Topper...rape and plunder?LOL...I think you're being a little bit of a drama queen! Any buyers open in the Kootneys yet?
MessagesWith all the rain we're getting here in Tacoma I'm looking forward to a weekend trip to some favorite places I know. The spirit is alive and kicking!
MessagesKeith Hunter I like your intro to your website, very cool. I think everyone will like it. I also beleave there are many people who are or would like to be wildcrafters. The Spirit's of the Wild, calls many in this time of the dawning of the New Age.
Messagesthe sellers name is butch nice enough guy there is also kieth in port alberni relly nice guy twitch just poke around the dump i will probally run into you in the next week very tricky ground very easy to get lost it just spins a guy in circles lol
MessagesHavent picked on the island much, The grounds a little differnt still learning. Im not from edm im from the interior but live here now. Thanks daniel thanks bill at least i have a starting point to try and look. Rained cats and dogs yesterday, should do the same today. Who do you guys like to sell to in that area, i here theirs 3 or 4 different buyers. hopfully chant's come soon. Didnt see anyone set up yet thanks again twitch!
Messagesking there seems to be alot of people in here who are just slightly jelous of your good fortune omg people less talk more chop i wish everybody in here a really good season no bugs in your pines full bukets and play nice and safe
Messageshey twitch you from edm, anyhow twitch the area you are looking for is huge i cannot understand how you can not find it go down west main road before the junction follow it 10 km then turn right and you are in the best damn picking
MessagesHey twitch The area between Kennedy lake and Long beach park is very flat. There are a lot of old downed logs to climb through and some places are ruff to get in and out of. Bill
Messagesmore rain here Sam .... there too i guess..... cool too , so much more hopeful than a week ago.... the crickets are starting to come out more and the swirling winds are a sure sign that the summer is almost gone at least the real hot spells..... pop , pop, i can hear them forming now... ger ..... anyone got any prices so far
MessagesGive it a rest QueenMorel. If someone leads an expedition of yuppies into forest land to rape and plunder they should be prepared to receive criticism from other parties whom may be affected.
Messagescan any one tell me where the huge flat that every one picks in tofino is. Cant seem to find it, cost me a lot in gas so far, Nothing really coming yet but this rain will help, would like learn the area before they hit, any help would be appreciated.
Messageswell Sam thats a good sign and especially after yesterdays deluge.... thunder and lightning and the strikes were pretty close to me .... less than a second between seeing it and the thunder.... and did it rain.... saw one smoker on a sidehill coming home .... that looks pretty nice seeing the little chantrelle heads peeking out..... i will have to go have a little look in a few days..... just bout finished this pile of birch..... then i start on the dry twisty fir ......ugggggg the rain will sure help ...... nothing in an early patch two weeks ago but i would bet in less than a week the boletes and early pines will start.... heres hoping ger
Messageswell sam :) seeing your pics is givin me the bug again!,gonna try n get out this week with the wife n see if i can rustle up a few lbs.its raining over here in the ridge again n at least i dont have to find patches this year
MessagesEvening all !! first of all thx. again Andy for keeping this board alive & kickin ! out this past weekend , pemberton.... white chantys barely showin... http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3039.jpg http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3038.jpg zero lobsters yet... need a couple few days of rain! Garf have you been out at all ? full buckets to everybody !! Sam in BBY.
Messageslol btw I have some wonderful TEAK hand carved buddas for sale in my store..... great deal...
Messagesforest harvest ..... im one of those old timers. I can offer zen councelling, but not in this format. I prefer to offer my advice, experience, and support. My comment about "continuing negativism" was directed at those that continue to make comments about August, when they hypocritically do as he does ...try to make a buck. I dont think you were included but if the shoe fits????? Its the same thing year in year out with trolls and mentally challenged low lifes spread their vile negativisms on the board, thus ruining the intent of the board (a format to help us discuss matsutake and other mushrooms to aid the research and understand of mushrooms) What do you choose, Peace and understanding that allows us to share on a mature level or discord and abuse where many people are afraid to post in fear of being ridiculed? My self esteem is very good so I can deal with being the subject of those that feal they need to pick on someone.... but when they pick on someone like August whos writting skills are very limited I must speak up against such a low life act.... km
Messagesthats a haul for sure.... nice ger
MessagesHi there ., Well Kingmorel . I think I'll take the bait ., what do you mean when you refer about peoples critical continuing negativism ? ., It's though out there , mushroom picking it's a lot of hard work, pickers need a body made of metal and we love to complain ! , my deepest respect to the old timers ., what are you providing ? , Mushroom Picking Zen Buddhist Philosophy ?
MessagesWell , Andy my opinion is 3 boards are too many, one board is plenty, the forum board takes some getting used to for some and this page here is much easier to navigate and follow, go with what you think works best and less work to manage.
MessagesYou the Man Randy!! Nice pick!! You are a mentor to us all.
Messageswild side ... will do now... :)
MessagesI added more photos from this weeks pick..... on my myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kingmorel What a day it was..... going to pick for 4 day nxt time... found a walk in cooler!!!! KM
MessagesAll I ever use is the messages boards..I wouldn't mind if you got rid of the forum..It really isn't even necessary..That's our view, anyway....
Messagesmatsiman, I like this format much, much better! Let's ditch the other registered forum. I'd be happy to help out if you needed a hand with combating spammers etc.
MessagesThat's right when push comes to shove we all stick together! I love it! As for the forums, i hate forums...lol
Messageskingmorel, please email weilerhart@shaw.ca when you have a moment. wife's family is from kirland lake. peace
MessagesGreetings All, I need some feedback on the Forum. I can't get in to post as many of you. I don't like the set up ether. The forum was suppose to be a message board like this one. The difference being registration before posting. This was to stop the spam posting and unwanted posters. Well the image number set up is working just fine. No spam since I started using this method. SOOO my question is, Do we scrap the forum? Oh yea, August is welcome here. If you guys need someone to rattle, Randy has volunteered, and so will I. Later, Matsiman
MessagesCarla.... can you have August call me @ home or the store may be better....416 850 7378
MessagesHi everyone, i talked to august a lil while ago and he will be back on monday, his isp will be installed ;-)
MessagesR.... that ole matsi patch runs right down into Guate but I think its a bit early yet..... maybe see ya in Pana dude. keep pickin dat banjo!!
MessagesHi Randy, thanks for the thought bro!!! I would if I was near, but right now Im about 8000 km or more from the patch....only thing Im picking here is my banjo......Im off to Mexico on sunday to check out a spot near Tlaxcala where aparently there´s pine mushrooms this time a year...do you know anything about that? see you in the old burn!!! peace R.
MessagesMary...... B Ed may grow on the island but I have yet to confirm that... I keep hearing it does but every time someone brings one in it was some other bolete.... I did hear thru a reliable source that they grow at the saratoga/Black Creek beach camp grounds....... Duncan.... you and your family are always welcome in my home.... peace bro.... km
Messagesjumbocat, not ever having picked on the island, I can't say what is the best habitat there for you. Where I live is SW Montana and the elevation where I was picking those in the videos is 6,855 or so asl. They usually come on in early July but everything has been a good 2 weeks behind normal schedule this season. I did learn a few lessons regarding how quickly they can grow! There had been nothing and then a week later after we'd had a good dumping of rain (just a few days before), there were huge blown out flags all over the place, just in one little week. So I started going back every 4 days and it was perfect to keep finding nice buttons and mid sized with white pores and firm with no worms to speak of. The trees where I pick are Douglas fir but that's not the case most places. Where I used to pick on the coast in northern California, the formula was to go after the first full inch of rain and wait a few weeks then go pick. If I'd waited 2 weeks after the dump of rain we had here, I'd have missed the whole darn thing! I was up there on Monday morning after having picked another 8-10 pounds on the previous Friday, and this time only found 6 little buttons. All in all, I picked about 50 pounds and that was without really trying. If I'd wanted to really push it I'm sure I could have easily doubled that or more. I think that's it for this year. .... I'm not certain the island really has good Boletus picking. Randy? I recall you telling me one time you didn't find much in the way of B. edulis on the island...is that correct? Good luck jumbo!
MessagesHey Mushroom Mary, any tips on picking porcini? I live on the island can rarely find them ):
MessagesHey all, Long time no posting from me eh! Anyway I have been hiding in Toronto for the past week with Randy and Pauline. Oh man what a vacation, shopped around Toronto and then went to Randys. Man he is not pulling your legs on these mushroom!!! I was witness of the load that had just brough in. All I can say is wow, these mushrooms are freaking awesome. used them in 3 different dishes over the past 3 days. Well I had better run, need to finish my peameal bacon and roasted chanties. Heading down to the falls for 2 days and then back into the States. Hoping I get the job I just interviewed with. Then I could drive back and pick for 2 weeks. YEAH! Oh and Randy and Pauline you folks rock! Duncan in Toronto!
MessagesHangtime .............. srry almost missed this post.... The sprayer is for cleaning the top of hard to clean lobster mushrooms.... This does two things... cleans and cools the mushroom down. Its a new sprayer that has only had water in it... and "only" spring water!! Resulting in top quality shrooms (my buyer says these mushrooms are the best he has ever seen and are getting huge demand from chefs) Easy to pick 200lbs. a day... did i mention I need baskets.... lol........ KM
MessagesHey sundanzkidd, those 8 chanties just might make the record over here... lol
MessagesOkay Tinker, second book called "hogging all the mushrooms".. and i have forest harvest added along with Randy... ;-)
MessagesRex give me a call if you want to help me pick....
MessagesCarla...don't forget the mushrooms! lol ;o)
Messageswent out a few days ago and documented some stuff, got a task force going to help fight to protect a timber sale iam protesting..... I did find 8 lil golden chantys, a few oysters and a handfull of puffballs, but with temps nearing 100 today and friday, the woods will be cooked and the mud puddles boiled to death - late and wrong time for events
MessagesHi Forest Harvest. Okay, me and tinker are gonna put your name in the book titled "hogging all the rain" along with randy... ;-)
MessagesHi TC, good to see yah around again :-) Say hi to Tracy for me :-)
MessagesThx for the info TC.
MessagesCheck out the "Terrace Standard" yesterdays newspaper online about The Northwest's record breaking tempratures for July! I hope for us all that facts most of you tinkers and garthers seem to prevail as facts come true...but i sure hope my logistics are wrong...checked several (lots of patches) no mycillium in English, means,( no tree= no fruit (shrooms))but hopefully it's just late....we're in forcast for a heat spell,,,,But as all of us have been waiting for several (3) months our Bestfriend "MotherNature" has not provided the necessary weather patterns,TOO COLD + WET But We Still Have To Keep The Faith!!!! If nodda Happens...Talk 2 You Folk In 10 More Months!!! T.C.
MessagesHi everyone got back from the White Mountains N, H., Trying to avoid the rain here and It was raining all the time. there, I even caught a hail storm.at the very top of a mountain every thing it's water logged., only the lobsters an Matsutakes are in good shape., Matsutakes are here ! I never seen them this early., they are almost a month early.,, Last week I had trow away about 5 or 6 bushels of mushrooms too saggy ., and this week it seems the same .,Lots of rain ., who says too much of a good thing ., it's bad., I think The mushroom Gods are laughing at me ., or maybe just testing my commitment .,
MessagesCarla,I think you could be right! lol
Messagesoops, meant to say Tinker
MessagesHi timker, i believe we could be out of luck for the rain... Randy is hogging it all!!! ;-)
MessagesHi oregonridgewalker. This area is not getting squat as for mushrooms... I lost all of my phone numbers for a little while... They are in a phone that i cant find the cord for sooo it is dead and i have no phone numbers in my new one LOL Leave it to me!
MessagesCarla hows the weather in Coos Bay it was 92 in the shade in Sutherlin today. I had what looked like zeller boletes come up in my yard around my garden today go figure. is Arlis still on the road? and are you staying sane? a picker found some pines around Diamond Lake yesterday also some white chanties speaking of chanties are you getting any lately? David
MessagesRex get a hold of me . mushrooms will be available
Messageswhoops wrong board for that post meant to post it on Mad Morels board..crap...
MessagesSure wish August would come back..it's getting pretty boring here lately..howdy, Carla..haven't even seen or heard from Alice lately..what's up with that..did those two run off to wonderland together?
MessagesHi Andy, Could you send me an invoice for the ecto we received form you. Thanks Amanda Reforestation Technologies International 1341 Dayton St., Unti G Salinas, CA 93901 831.424.1494 amanda@reforest.com
MessagesWOW...nice pics Randy.How about sending some of that rain our way!
MessagesWhere is everyone? the board seems to be lonely... ;-)
MessagesGood day to all! I am a previous user~ Oregon Rose, and am back, this time-mushroomwhisperer. I have added paul staments video to my-myspace.com/mushroomwhisperer, for anyone to enjoy that might have not had the chance to see it. Also available for viewing is my book cover. Yes, a shameless plug. My book is not just for people out there who take there friends and family and are trying to teach them what each of the "harvestables" look like, it is for everyone who enjoys the hunt of wild edible mushrooms. There are 150 pictures of the most common mushys... A must have for newbees. The season will be here soon enough, I better get back to the garden. Have a great summer and "full buckets to all"!.
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