well carla where u been i need number are you open for fiddel or who is
Hehe ;-)
Welcome home Carla... ...the mad Morel has been going bonkers worrying about you... or wuz thet the Mad Hatter looking fur a waskily wabbit??? puzzled mattie sez that she put a gps tracker on the wabbit so that she cun kep up wid it... LOL
Good Morning. How has everyone been?
We wont have a clue about pricing until we actually see a crop or lack of and that will help to set the price ;-)
Hey "A" e-mail is sent! glad to see you in here! They are comming soon! 2 weeks for Va. Yeah!
i was wondering what range a fair price for DRY MORELS would be at this time of year and then in mid-summer. also, what range would a fair price for FRESH MORELS be at any time? shrooms_5@hotmail.com
I am looking for Gold this year. Think about it. The Joes cannot screw me on this one.
duncan, drop me your E-address at augustmoon@charter.net
Whats up all! Had my first morel dream last week! They were in the snow. Anyway just wanted to check in getting to be that time to go hunting them morels in Virginia and then here in pittsburgh Pa. Just wanted to make everyones mouth water I got dried lobster, kings, black trumpets nad dried chanties soaking for tonights mushroom melange and going to saute up some frozen morels to finish off my eye of the round roast! Serving it with garlic-herb orasted fingerling potatoes and whipped hard winter squash! MmMMMM Hey P and Randy! Hey Boletus Joe that movie zietgeist sorry for the spelling is eye opening. King Morel directed me its way a year or 2 back. Hey A where you been hiding? Duncan in da burgh!
pineking you can email me at --tonynicholson@shaw.ca ,,,let me know what you are into
comox valley chef...how does anyone get hold of you? Email address? I can get you what ever you need Blaze3@hotmail.com
spring is on the way ,,looking for wild product.s let me know what you can deliver to the comox valley,,,give me some lead time if you can ,,,if the product is usable and good would like volume ,,hunderd,s of pound,s
Hi Andy, We need 5 lbs of Ecto please. We are out hope you are having good travels. Amanda RTI 1341 Dayton St Unit G Salinas, CA 93901 1.800.784.4769
Saw morels being raked last year (for the first time) by Delintment Lake mushroom camp on the Burns fires. They were cleaning washtubs full of little ones for $6/lb.!
Thanks Wild Side.I figure that it's time to explore new avenues.We also have a farmers market here that might be worth a try.Fifteen to twenty bucks a pound would sure beat the four or five one gets from the field buyers. : )
Hey Tinker, I've been lucky enough to get $15 - 20 Can. per pound for as clean as possible product. Take out any questionable shrooms and keep em for yourself. Check other websites and info. on net to see what they charge and figure out what works for you. I'm involved with a local farmers market and hope to bring product to general public. It'll be my first year so I'm not sure how it'll work but it should be fun, interesting and educational. Hope this helps.
Can anyone tell me what a fair price would be for fresh morels when selling to restaurants?Thanks
done. where'z august hiding? lol
comox valley chef, let me know what you would like , I`m in Comox blaze2@telus.net
would like to here from local people ,,picker,s that have any wild product,s they have for sale ,,that they can deliver in the comox valley
Jennifer; There is a wealth of information available at this link: http://www.mushroomhunting.org/index.php?showforum=9 You can pick your own medicinal mushrooms in the local mountains.
Dew of Heaven, I'm here in Central Oregon..
ignore the mumbo jumbo. there are local groups that will help you. get involved at a farmers market, community farm, preservation organization, culinary tourism board, etc. find other ppl who are in it for the right reasons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist,_the_Movie "Zeitgeist, the Movie is a 2007 documentary film released online for free and on DVD, presenting Christianity, the September 11 attacks, and the US Federal Reserve Bank as being instrumental for social control and world domination."
RE: Z-day and the other links. Take the time to watch the movie/s. There is an investment of time required. All I can say, is that there is a lot of information. What you may or may not believe is up to you.... but have an open and inquiring mind.
interesting insights. where are these vanloads of people from? are they allowed to be in the country? there are avenues to explain the situation and hopefully a file is opened and action taken. is there organized resistance to protecting the industry and its pros and cons. fair trade is fair trade in any country and there ought to be enough people and groups to shed focused light on the situation and with teeth. attempts to understand and try to help where possible for this incredible life-style is to some people, a noble cause.
Reading that z-day page via that link reminds me of legal mumble-jumb-0-droppings found when signing up for some on-line service or on some contract where they hide the true agenda behind a big smoke screen of confusion....... LOL I can see that it must relate to mushrooms because it is posted on the buyer & picker board, I am often most cautious of sites that attempt to promote their cause in such a manner.
"Any company hiring illegal workers should be fined and the officers of the company jailed." You may want to take that complaint up with the Forest Service. They are the ones selling commercial mushroom permits to people who have no federal tax ID number. It is very easy to check and see if someone has a fedreal tax ID number and it should be required before selling permits to work on taxpayer land. "be sure to work your burned areas until the first babies are big enough then take them to a buyer so they can send a few thousand pickers to rake all of the babies in the area" People raking for morels? That is news to me and I'm sure a lot of other pickers. I have never heard of any picker raking for any mushroom besides matsutake or truffles. I have heard complaints from novices about whole hillsides being raked for (insert mushroom they could't find here) though. "Scab" Anyone who picked the mushrooms I wanted to sell.
Truffle Dog.... maybe these sights might hold part of your answer http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/ and http://www.chrismartenson.com/ This might explain where we have been and where we might be going.... enjoy.... BTW sunday was Z-Day worldwide.
You will learn that the current system of marketing wild mushrooms in the US is just scabby. Most companies and pickers have no loyalty to anything but money. When local pickers stop selling to scabby buyers, the buyers bring in scabs to work the fields. Not just one or two scabs, but vanloads. Most buyers are not representing "ethical" companies. Like many pathetic pickers, the ethics of most companies are determined by the amount of cash they can make off of a transaction. Any field buyer that buys for just one broker is at the mercy of that broker. Most brokers compete with each other for price points to their customers by dropping the price to the pickers (it is happening earlier and earlier in the season - be sure to take your first hundred pounds of the earliest morels to Portland so the buyers can call all of their migrant pickers and drop the prices the next day from $22 to $12 and be sure to work your burned areas until the first babies are big enough then take them to a buyer so they can send a few thousand pickers to rake all of the babies in the area in which you are working). When they can find a new, starving or ignorant chump that can produce, they will use them to drive down the prices. Some brokers don't even have to do this. Pathetic pickers will come around to sell their matsis for $2 a pound or their truffles for $30 a pound. The companies cannot outsource the mushrooms year around so they have outsourced the labor domestically. Any buyer purchasing from illegal immigrants should be fined and jailed. Any company hiring illegal workers should be fined and the officers of the company jailed.The current rape of the mushroom industry by the existing companies must stop or I see and end to commercial mushroom collection on Federal property due to the outrage of hobbiests and academics over visible abuses to the forest by untrained, uncaring mushroom harvesters. Outraged hobbiests blame the commercial pickers for the small numbers of mushrooms in slow fruiting cycles instead of placing the blame for the declining availability of mushrooms on the radical shift in timber harvest policies on private land. (translated: no trees=no mushrooms) The answer: Don't deal with company buyers. Call Jessica or start your own "cell" as a buyer that sells to several companies and works for the pickers.
Assuming product is as good as it can be, how does someone get to know and network with "good people in the industry"?
Solution first: Things are what they are until you change them. Do a better job. You know the good people in the industry, be one. Don't be a scab. Don't support scabs or scabby practices. Point: Dried mushroom prices: Most prices are low because: 1. The quality of the dried product offered by many pickers is barely useable or even contaminated. 2. There are hundreds of thousands of people across the globe willing to collect chanterelles for 10 cents a pound, boletus for 15 cents a pound, etc. Many of these mushrooms are dried and dumped on the US domestic marketplace. 3. If the local collectors in coveted production areas in the US don't sell cheaply enough, migrant labor is imported. Directed where to go by brokers and field buyers, huge gangs of roaming morel pickers will produce large amounts of cheap products (when the season peaks in the higher elevations - the "professionals" have been killing all the babies in the early fires). Larger amounts of previously scarce items drives down the prices to the collector because the transnational corporations, the brokers and field buyers only have so much money available with which to buy mushrooms at any given time. The price really drops when the big guys have all of their money tied up in dried product.
joe what town are you in to buy fiddell
looking to buy fresh product, fiddlehead and other wild mushrooms. Please call Rick 360-213-5158
Hey Tinker, I couldn't agree more. Winters here be long especially regarding mushrooms. I do miss the coast sometimes when you can drink the air in the forest. Best of Luck! :o) weather looks promising too.
Looking to buy fresh fiddlehead. Joe 541-306-1478
carla any one buying fiddel head yet
Wild Side,although most of the snow has melted away in the valley, we have had a lot this year.I can hardly wait for it to leave in the hills.Its been a long winter this year,and it'll be nice to get out and search for some morels. : )
brrr ! cold last few days but warmer weather is near. froze up our pipes the other day but there was enough h2o in the esspreso maker to get things goin'. Tinker, the snow amount is low this year in our little pocket. Some snow storms missed us completely so its amounted to a lamb snow season and we never did get a huge dump. March has brought some freshies but no-where close compared to last five years. I've been here for six -Kimberley - and previous years sure kept me busy. No complaints though, made for amazing snow-free skating in early winter and ice-fishing now and then. How's the snow in the Loops?
It's -13 in the Loops this morning.Is spring ever going to come?: ( Do you have a lot of snow in the Kootenays this year Wild Side?
Good mornin everyone -10 here in Hope B.C under sunny sky.Lookin forward to burning off some winter fat soon,Morels should start popping out soon.Knocking the cobwebs off the picking bucket and gearing up for spring!Have a good day anyway!
Have a safe journey Forest Harvest. We sure wish we could hook up and join you guys on some of your journeys. As young parents, it's not so easy to get up and go anymore. We're happily stuck here in the Great White North shoveling white gold. Its been rather good for snowboarding and trying to keep in shape for shrooming. A good day in the bush still proves to be the best work out, especially hauling heavy buskets around if lucky. I hope you find some of those hidden treasures. The only truffle I've found was by pure luck. Crawling up the side of a stream and what do I find gently laying upon a small ledge all wet from spray. Something that looked like a mini-coconut - A truffle. Intact and washed. Neatest looking thing when viewed as a cross section. It would make an interesting poster. Well, it snowed here in the East Kootenays where in winter we ski, shovel and a dream of fungi forages. Take Care to All. Morels soon!...
Hello Mushroom folk it's still snowing here in Ma.. However I will be going to Seattle Wa for a relative's graduation., i am going to be staying in a cabin at mount Pilchuck Wa. from the 20 th. to the 24 th., and I wonder if any one would like to hook up to go truffle or morel hunting or provide me with some information on this regard , I will be able to meet any one within a 300 Miles radius any day except Friday. ( graduation day ) . Good luck to all and thanks in advance. Ps. you can em. at Forestharvest.com
Thanks Tinker. My search for info. continues... :o)
Wild Side,I do believe you just answered your own question. : )
Tinker, is that US currency? The info. I'm truly after is how does selling low affect the market? I suspect its supply and demand. From what info. I've gathered, the industry is going downward as a whole. Is it repairable or let the dice roll and every person for themselves. The harvestors are continuing to receive very little for their yearly efforts while restaurants and brokers are ... well I'll leave the rest to one's observations. If there are enough harvestors who begin negotiating for a fair price, then perhaps a new fair price will emerge. Wishful thinking, maybe eh?... Have a great day all.
Found this vid with matsiman. thought some of you might enjoy it. Funny how most Ameiricans seem to mispronounce Orygun..know what I mean?? See how big the chefs eyes get when matsiman enlightens him.. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx8z2_chef-at-large-wild-wild-mushrooms_animals
Wild Side,there's a big difference between $2.50 a pound and $25.00 a pound.You would be lucky if you could get $35.00 a pound for dried pines.
G'Morning Folks, Why or How does selling wild mushrooms at rock bottom prices hurt the industry? And OOPS! on my part. It was $25.00 per dried pound I meant and politely refused. Thanks for feedback about dried pine prices. Whether it be dried or fresh, shouldn't those who want to do their part in fair-market reject ridiculous prices. Mastiman, sounds great. Outdoor workshop is worth exploring as the field is another great place to share and learn. Happy Trails.
wild side, Thanks for the offer on the book, but I've been doing lectures and public presentations for the past 15 years. Got some pretty good power point shows ready to go. Wasn't really planning on a workshop, but might not be a bad idea. Later, Matsiman
rdawg, Your added to the list. Later, Matsiman
Matsiman, thanks for the links. I have also read that the bulbous shape of the "mountain-pine" traps more air between the veil and the cap. When shipping internationally, space is sold by volume (ie. one crate at a time). This gives incentive to stuff it completely full and you just cant fit as much weight of white matsi as compared to tricholoma matsutake into that same volume size. "sand- pines" as you and I said earlier are more like the phallic matsutake of japan in this sense; you can fit more weight in the same container. Personally though, I would rather not deal with the gritty sand and think I'll stick with those growing out of the omnipresent layer of volcanic ash in the cascade for now.
hey there matsiman i thank you for this opportunity i would love to take you up on this offer just give a shout thnx...
I would suggest that a price of $85 to $100 per dried lb. would be at the low end of the scale... If you want to sell at $2.50 per then I will take everything you have......
Wild Side,$2.50 a pound for dry pines?Why would you even consider selling for such a low price? If pickers started selling for such an outrageous price it would hurt the industry big time.I certainly hope that you tell whoever offered you such a low price to take a flying leap!
Gidday all. I am seeking info. about selling wild mushrooms. Does selling dried pines and other wild mushrooms at very low prices harm the mushroom industry. (eg. $2.50 Can. per pound - Matsutake) Long term and/or short term. Any thoughts, please em: weilerhart@shaw.ca Congratulations to Matsiman for taking a group out for educational purposes. Bummer its too far for us to attend otherwise we'd be honored and delighted to attend. If there's any way we can help, just ask. A helpful book might be: The Interpreter's Guidebook -Techniquies for Programs and Presentations. by Kathleen Regnier, Michael Gross and Ron Zimmerman I have an extra free copy for you if needed. Best of Luck.
Chantrell-o-vision, Good question. Why do the Japanese prefer sand pines? Well it's mostly the shape. The characteristics you described are the reason. Don't want to get dirty here, but the long slender variety are desired because they resemble a penis. Yep, you won't find this written anywhere I know of. Dave Hosford made an attempt in his publication, here is the link, http://matsiman.com/formalpubs/ecology_and_managemencovert.htm. It's fairly good reading, considering it was the first well known formal publication in the US on matsutake. Hopefully it will answer some of your questions.
Genetically different? The answer to that question is also in the pub. Look here for a quick answer, http://matsiman.com/formalpubs/appendix.htm
Another influence is the size. Packaging, in Japan, is the key to sales. Our much larger American variety doesn't fit their packaging. Sounds ridicules, but true!
Later, Matsiman
This is the former Mushroom-Madman, alias just wasn't up to snuff. Anyways, I had a question for matsiman and those well informed about matsutake in Oregon. I was talking to a buyer about matsi prices last season and he quoted a much larger price for what he called "sand-pines" and said that "mountain-pines" weren't as desirable to his California Japanese restaurant clients. All he knew was that one was sandy and the other dirty. Since then I have been looking around for the answer. I had never found any matsi in sand before, but I know where they are supposed to be. I got to catch a glimpse of some and found that on average they seemed smaller and more consistently long and slender with that phallic shape the Japanese seem so fond of from their native variety. They seemed to smell a bit more pungent, not more cinnamon/piney smell, but the dirty sock/vomit type smell. I wasn't able to try them, but they seem significantly different in shape and smell and only grow with shore pine and maybe spruce(at least in Oregon from what I know). My question is: Has anybody tried them both and know what im talking about? And is there any evidence or theories that they may be genetically different? say a different variety or even species from those that come from the mountain ridges and vast lodgepole stands of the cascades? Are there any buyers that have heard of this grading??
duncan and Carla, I'll put ya on the list. Later, Matsiman
Hey Matsiman I would be intrested in find out about the matsi picking with you! I have never found any. Why you ask I live in Pittbsurgh.LOL I enjoy eating them and would love the chance to hunt with a person with your expertise. This is how I learned morel hunting it was my Uncle who taught me in the Mts of Virginia. Now I can pick 50+ species of mushrooms. Hit me back, I think I might be able to come out. Duncan in da burgh
I would love to go but sure enough, I will be working 7 days a week at that time ;-(