Here come the Reishi mushrooms! Easily of the prettiest mushrooms in the forest, Reishi is just beginning to pop in forests in our region. It is important, when you see them growing as pictured above, that you only trim off the white section, so they can grow fully and have a chance to drop their spores. The best time to pick Reishi is when it’s fully mature, with caps being fully red, this also ensures they reach maximum medicinal potency. Reishi grow on hemlock trees and can be quite abundant. This month will see other great mushrooms coming in as well. Coming off a good, spring morel season has me excited for the summer season, but not too fast as we still have some spring to go!

Markets: These are the three markets I’ll be doing all season long.

East Asheville Tailgate: Fridays 3-6 at 954 tunnel rd in Asheville

Weaverville Tailgate: Wednesdays 3-6 at Weaverville community center

Yancey County Farmers market: Saturdays 8:30-12:30 at pavilion off west main st. Burnsville

Monthly Special: This month Reishi tinctures will be $10 off and tea bags $5 off. Reishi has easily been one of the most used medicinal mushrooms throughout time. Known as the mushroom of immortality, Reishi is used for longevity with anti-aging properties. It is also good to detox our liver and kidneys, support the immune system and has calming effects to improve sleep and fight anxiety.

This month will usher in the next set of mushrooms to appear this year. From top to bottom, left to right, coral mushrooms will start to appear, crown tipped corals are the only ones I feel comfortable eating personally, they are whiter than most corals and have tiny tips that look like a crown. Stay away from yellow corals! The pheasant back or dryads saddle is next, with a very distinct cap and a smell of cucumber, these are tasty if picked when young and small, getting tough and bitter with age. Wood ear is common jelly mushroom that is edible. They resemble a human ear when they form. The start of chicken season is here also! Chicken of the wood is best when cooked and eaten in the stage pictured here. As they fan out they can get pretty tough. The bright orange color makes this polypore (no gills) easy to pick out. There’s two varieties, one with yellow pores on bottom and the other with white pores. Many people know oyster mushrooms, these grow on logs or stumps, have a creamy white to bright white color, the gills run all the way to the base. Lastly is the reishi, here’s a look at the stages of development. White edges can be sautéed and eaten. Best practice is to let them grow until caps are almost completely red as shown above.

It’s a great time of the year to get out and camp, hike and find the hidden swimming holes! Happy May to everyone……

April will be peak time in the Asheville area for the morels. It’s also time for ramps, a strong wild leek, that are well known in the Appalachians. It’s no surprise these two early spring delights taste so good together. Finding both of these requires certain conditions and environments to be just right. I do love that the timing syncs into spring perfectly, the change in the air, the greenery and flowers in bloom, and the mushroom hunt under way! If you have been following along it’s been a stellar year so far….

Markets are back! Come support local, small businesses like me!

Markets: Weaverville–Wedensdays 3-6 at the weaverville comunity center

East Asheville—Fridays 3-6 at 954 Tunnel rd Asheville

Yancey County/Burnsville-— Saturdays 8:30-12:30 322 west main st, Burnsville— starts the 13th

Monthly Special: This month the special is on pounds of dried and ground Turkey Tail and Reishi. A pound of either will be $50, usually $60. Dried Turkey Tail and Reishi mushrooms are great for making teas and broths or your own tincture making. Simmering on low temps for at least 45 mins will release the medicinal benefits.

April, all month long, will be prime time for both morels and ramps in our area. There are four kinds of morels, black, yellow, gray and half free. Ramps have two leaves and a red band near the base, it’s important to not over harvest ramps, for example, taking a whole patch, over pulling bulbs, taking one leaf and cutting at the base are two ways of being sustainable. Turkey Tail, Oysters and Dryads saddle/pheasant back mushrooms will also be showing up this month.

It’s that time again!! The morel mushroom hunt is certainly one of the most exciting forages in my opinion. Days full of walking, hyper focusing and child like joy in each and every find. Morels, like most mushrooms, require conditions being just right, there’s a precise science connected to soil temperatures, the trees associated with them, and factors such as sunlight, soil types and lay of the land, not to mention a bit of luck! For me it’s a special time, a scared time, as the window to find these beauties is short, it’s also a time shared with my good friend, who shares the joy just as much as I do. Coming out of winter ignites the fever of the hunt to the mushroom folks everywhere and kicks off the long, wonderful seasons ahead. Follow along on my social media accounts to see how this year pans out.

Markets: Wednesdays 3-6 at the Weaverville community center

March 29th Taste of local at Warren Wilson college 11-1

Monthly Special: $10 off Brain Boost tinctures. This blend of Lions Mane, Cordyceps and Maitake mushrooms, the top three mushrooms for our brains. It’s an energizing mix of brain enhancing, anti-inflammatory, immune boosting benefits. Sale prices: 1oz-$25 2oz-$35

The big four mushrooms to look out for this month are Morels, of coarse, Turkey Tail, Oysters and Pheasant Backs. I often find all these while looking for Morels. Morels can be drawn to soggy areas that have a lot of dead fall, which is where you’ll find the other three mushrooms. Oysters, Turkeys and Pheasants all grow off downed trees, sometimes on ones still standing but dying. Some tips to finding Morels: trees are super important! Look for poplar and ash, apple trees are very commonly associated as well. Drainage areas, old creek beds and hillsides can all be good if the right trees are also there. Timing is important, when ground temps average 55 degrees for five days in a row, they should start to show. We have grays, yellows, blacks and half free morels in our region. The Morel hunt is not an easy one by any means, in some cases you may be lucky enough to stumble on one which usually means there’s more around, however it could take hours of walking and combing an area that seems right. It took me several years to dial in the right environments but once I did I began looking in other areas that mimicked the area I found them in. If you go looking be sure to look out for the other three mushrooms! Happy foraging y-all!!

Winter mushroom hunting has been slow but highly rewarding so far. I spent some time down south in January and am leaving for Florida as I post this for my birthday trip. I foraged lions mane in South Carolina, oysters in Tennessee and chaga in Boone so far and I’m excited to see what Georgia and Florida have for me. So I’m 46 this month, I discovered mushrooms at 31, and these fifteen years have flown by. Learning, living, working, and sharing my passion everyday has been exceptional and I couldn’t be anymore grateful! I can remember finding my first chaga, my first reishi, my first morel and lions mane, I remember my first tour, my first tailgate market, and my first presentation. What a blessing it’s been getting know fungi, each one with it’s own personality, growing environment, color and shape. There’s so much more to know and the possibilities are super exciting. ***Orders may be delayed while I’m traveling. Starting the 26th, I’ll have plenty of product with me so order away.****

Market: The one and only I’ll be doing until March or April is Weaverville Tailgate which happens Wednesdays from 3-6 @ Weaverville Community Center. https://weavervillemarket.com/  I’ll be there all month.

Event: Sunday 2/25, 5:30 at The Pot Stirred cafe 191 Lyman st., inside the art garden. I’ve been wild foraging mushrooms here in WNC for 16 years, I’ll be presenting 50 edible, medicinal and toxic species of fungi that grow here in our forests. This event is on a donation basis, suggested donation $15-$20

Monthly Special: Taking $15 off Chaga pounds, normally $60 are on sale for $45. Also $5 off Chaga tinctures and teabags. Chaga was the first mushroom which pulled me in and set me out on my mushroom journey. (Although there’s debate about it being a ‘mushroom’, I’ll always call it that!) Chaga has well known medicinal benefits including being high in anti-oxidants, being anti-inflammatory, protecting and enhancing our skin, regulating our immune systems and fighting cancers. It’s not an easy mushroom to find and forage and takes some work to process. **Pounds and half pounds come in chunks.

New Product: This year I’m finally dropping a tincture blend specially designed for pets! I’ve been researching this topic for awhile and finally came up with the top three mushrooms for your pets health which combines Turkey Tail, Maitake and Shiitake mushrooms. Mushrooms effect animals in many similar ways as they do humans, our pets often deal with some of the same health concerns we do. This pet blend is made slightly different than my other tinctures, still double extracted, only heavier on the tea side, so less alcohol in each one. The recommended dose is still the same, one to two droppers full, that can be added to your pets food or water. The tincture can now be found in my shop! 2oz bottles are $45.

Here’s some shots of some great mushrooms I’ve found so far this winter. From top left to right: Barometer earthstar, olive oysterlings, late fall oysters, 2nd row: birch polypore, turkey tail, split gill, 3rd row: wood ear, marshmallow polypore (often confused for lions mane), lions mane I found in SC, 4th row: witches butter and the last two images are the deadly galerina, which are poisonous! Spring is near my friends and with that is one of the most exciting times in mushroom hunting, morel season!!

January brings us into a new year, a new start, a whole year ahead full of discovery that’s to come. It’s also my time to reflect on the year that is now past us. This last year was another amazing series of great foraging seasons. Though foraging starts the first day of the year and ends the last day, the real hunting begins somewhere in early March. When the big freezes have just about all passed. The warm sun soaks the soil over days and weeks until it’s just right. Tiny purple and yellow flowers are peeking out, tiny buds are growing on the trees. It all adds up to the perfect conditions for the great morel hunt. 2023 did not disappoint! As has been the tradition for the last few years, my good friend and owner of https://www.grandfathermedicinals.com/ , Steve and I head out seeking the fields of magic, where the wild morels grow in patches spread across the land, hiding under flower petals and tucked beneath fallen trees. There’s something about finding that first one every year, no matter how big or small it is, of coarse there’s something about finding each and every one of them that is a truly special experience. We had epic picks of big yellows and grays, and smaller ones in the hundreds! They come and go so fast and each hunt is exciting, full of anticipation and hope. Morels are not an easy forage, there’s briars, creek crossings, up and down hills and mountain sides, hours and miles of walking but when you do the work, the payoff is that much sweeter. Got in some hunts with other friends as well, my friend Luke from https://www.wildgoods.org/ here in Asheville, brought his truffle pups on a hunt. Besides morels, oyster and pheasant back mushrooms were out and about. Spring also brings the ramps, a wild onion/garlic. The season for ramps is only a few weeks, they can be found in huge patches and it’s best to not take more than you need. Every year I make salt with ramps and pickle them too.

From morels into the next fun forage, Reishi! Reishi are a very special mushroom to me. Perhaps one of the most stunningly beautiful of all. Reishi is also one of the most revered around the world for it’s highly medicinal properties, known as the mushroom of immortality and the queen. I usually start to see little bubbles in May, maturing in June and through July. They grow quite abundantly in our region, found on Hemlock trees, every year you often see large clusters that go uncollected, which is a part of the process, some for us, some back to the earth. A tradition has emerged for the last few years, my first tour of every year is with my friend and amazing chef Audrey, https://gaiachef.com/ , who travels here every year just to collect reishi.

After reishi the gates open, as summer arrives so does the flood of amazing mushrooms! Golden fields of chanterelles, big flushes of chicken of the wood, dripping milkys, colorful boletes, russulas, cauliflower and so many others. It’s a time when just about every time you step into the forest your likely to encounter a wide variety of mushrooms. This year I did a sweet collaboration with my friends at https://www.whaleyfarmbrewery.com/ . My friend Steve and I went and collected 20 plus pounds of chanterelles and delivered to Chris, the brewer, who created a 9.8% golden ale with them, it is so good! Whaley also makes a chaga lager, which is amazing as well. Summer mushrooms fill baskets and baskets to the brim. This year was lush and fruitful for sure.

Another yearly tradition has been going to PA for Mycofest, an amazing mushroom festival hosted by William Brown, https://www.mycofest.net/ . I’ve gotten to know so many mushroom friends from around the country that have been coming to the fest every year and I always look forward to connecting with them. There’s also always great speakers and forays. It’s always great to be the student and participant. This year I stopped in Maryland on my way up to forage and visit one of my mushroom friends, Brandon. We camped and foraged, the biggest prize was an oyster mushroom haven, we found a trail that had logs and downed trees full of them! We even found a big grove of hedgehog mushrooms at our festival campsite!

After Mycofest comes the serious fall mushroom forage. I absolutely love the hen of the wood hunt. For so many years it eluded me, once I figured out it’s habitat and began to find them, I get really excited to see each and every one now, you might even catch me dancing with a maitake in hand. This year brought some amazing finds, on a hunt with Steve, we found an 18 pounder! Besides the hens came lions mane, bears head, honeys, cauliflowers, beefsteaks, and shrimps. Fall can be just as abundant as summer just a few less varieties. While on a hen hunt, finding two that day, I got to witness one the truffle dogs in action, he found several along the way, it was super special to watch.

This year past was another excellent one for mushroom tours. I find it a privilege to be able to teach so many wonderful people the art of mushroom foraging and identification. I vividly recall the first few plant and mushroom tours I took part in, a whole new world seemed to open up to me, noticing what I had not before. Every tour was different this year, different finds, different locations, and getting to know different people.

The final couple of months of each year bring only a few select mushrooms to forage. I love to use the winter to forage chaga, turkey tail, birch polypore, oysters, brick tops and if I’m lucky some enoki. Just being in the cold, crisp environment is refreshing and some of my favorite times in the woods.

I’d like to finish by say thank you, to all of you reading this, to all the people that support me in all kinds of ways. Thank you to all that share this mushroom journey. I wish you all a joyous new year! Find what you love, create something uniquely your own, and live the life that brings you happiness. Happy 2024, let’s see what’s in store in the mushroom kingdom!! Mushlove……

Only 31 days left in 2023! It’s always at the end of the year that my mushroom brain starts fast forwarding to spring morel season. This year I’m taking a new approach, with all of December left to forage, I plan on finding anything and everything I can and figuring out any winter mushrooms that grow in our region. It is also a time for slowing down, enjoying the holidays and some needed rest. I do love some extra crisp hikes as winter sets in. If there’s a gift of advice I can give to all of you, it’s that nature is healing, it provides all sorts of natural medicine through plants and mushrooms and trees, it offers peace in every birds song, every passing wind that rustles the leaves, every dropping acorn, to be out within it takes us back to our beginnings and quiets our ever busy, distracted minds. So go out enjoy it, bathe in it, think of nothing and simply observe. Maybe you’ll find some mushrooms, just bundle up and breathe deep.

Markets

Weaverville Winter market: Wednesdays 3-6 @ Weaverville community center 12/6 and 12/20

Holiday Bazzar: December 3rd 12-5 @ the salvage station Asheville

Kris Kingle Holiday Market: December 1st 3-7 @ Sorrells street park-Canton

Holiday shopping bazzar: December 17th 11-5 @ Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Mills River

Monthly Special: This month Chaga tinctures are $10 off. 1oz will be $15 and 2oz $25 Many people use Chaga as winter begins to set in, to boost the immune system and keep inflammation down. Chaga is often known as the ‘king’ of medicinal mushrooms because of it’s many benefits including those mentioned above plus being anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, intestinal, liver, and heart health.

December still has some mushrooms growing, all of these I’ve found frozen before. From top to bottom: Brick tops, Turkey Tail, Chaga, Oysters, Birch Polypore, Witches Butter, Lions Mane and Comb Tooth. There are also Enoki mushrooms growing in the winter, also known as velvet foot because they have a dark, velvet stem, they are a good edible. Winter foraging can be less rewarding for sure, but still a good challenge and being amongst the bare trees and cold air is healing and rewarding in itself! Merry holidays to everyone, enjoy your families, friends, the season, and end the year with a smile.

November some say is the end of the mushroom season for the year. Though this is not completely true, there are a few winter mushrooms that grow into the cold months and the first few weeks of this month still offer a chance to pick the last of the hens, lions mane and bears head or turkey tail and oysters. Every year is different and if conditions are right, the season grows long, lets hope for that!

Markets: East Asheville Tailgate—- 11/10 and 11/17 Fridays 3-6 at 954 tunnel rd

Burnsville/Yancey county market—11/11 Saturday 9-12:30 downtown Burnsville

Weaverville winter market—11/1, 11/8, 11/15 and 11/22 Wednesdays 3-6 inside weaverville community center.

Ferment Fest—11/5 from 11-5 at 258 carolina lane in Marshall, NC Madison county fairgrounds

Monthly Special: Maitake tinctures will be $10 off all month long. 1oz will be $15 and 2oz will be $25. Maitake/Hen of the wood/sheeps head mushroom is a highly prized culinary mushroom but also a highly medicinal one! It has cancer fighting properties, helps fight high cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes, boosts the immune system, fights off the flu and could be highly beneficial against and recovery of covid.

What’s left this month? Top to bottom: Lions Mane, Turkey Tail, Bears Head, Chaga, Maitake, and oysters. Of coarse there’s always a chance of seeing other shrooms out there. These all are wonderful medicinal and edible mushrooms. The hunt however is a bit trickier during this time of year, with the changing leaves covering the ground and the mushrooms blending in perfectly to the landscape. Into the cold we go…..

18.5lbs found by my friend Steve, I was there to help him lift it!

Saying good bye to summer can be hard, but the fall set of mushrooms make the transition a bit easier! Three of my favorite wild edible mushrooms are out and about, shrimp of the woods (pictured above), lions mane and hen of the wood. It’s also the prettiest season with the changing colors, falling leaves and perfect weather. My tours have ended for the season but I encourage folks to follow my adventures on social media and be out looking for yourself for what’s in the forest this month. We are also moving into the end of regular season tailgate market season and into holiday and winter markets. Come out and support all of us small businesses and get some amazing local goodness while you can!

Markets: East Asheville Tailgate: Fridays 3-6, I’ll be there every week except 10/20

Burnsville/Yancey county: Saturdays 8:30-12:30, I’ll be there every week except 10/21

New Product/Monthly Special: Introducing the Cauliflower/Sparassis tincture! You may know you can eat the cauliflower mushroom but you can also use it in a medicinal way. The Sparassis has a host of benefits including: Antioxidant, Antifungal and Anticancer/tumor properties. Also helps with weight loss and may help prevent strokes. All month the new tincture will be $10 off, available in 2oz size only.

Some of what you’ll see this month in the forest. From top to bottom–Lions Mane, Bears head tooth, Beefsteak, Cauliflower, Chicken of the wood, Oysters, Shrimp of the wood, Golden Reishi, Puffball, Maitake/Hens, and Honey mushrooms. All of these are edible except the golden Reishi which is medicinal. The clock is ticking on the mushroom year, so get out there and check out what’s left of the abundance! Happy harvest, happy fall y’all.

Say hello to the fall and farewell to the summer. Best time to be out in the mountains in my opinion, with cooler temps and changing colors and a great selection of mushrooms coming in. Some exciting things are going down this month, a couple mushroom festivals, a workshop, tailgate markets and the last month of tours. Also a new Chanterelle beer coming soon by Whaley Brewery!!

Markets: East Asheville–Fridays 3-6pm at 954 tunnel road in Asheville–9/1, 9/8, 9/15 and 9/29

Burnsville/Yancey County— Saturdays 8:30-12:30 downtown Burnsville–9/9, 9/16 and 9/30

4M mushrooms ,makers, and music festival–Saturday 9/2 from 10-6 downtown Sylva

Local event: If your local to western North Carolina you might want to check out this event in Barnardsville! I’ll be going but not teaching, just attending. William is an amazing teacher and a wealth of knowledge and this will be a great chance to connect with other fungi lovers here in the mountains we call home.

Something new is brewing at Whaley Brewery in Old Fort, NC! The chanterelle season was booming this year and my good friend, Steve, and myself collected over 20lbs, delivered to Chris at Whaley Brewery who is going to create a chanterelle golden ale! This should be amazing. Whaley also makes a chaga lager with chaga I harvested. Check then out: https://www.whaleyfarmbrewery.com/

I’ll be leading a workshop on September 30th with For Villagers in Burnsville: https://forvillagers.com/collections/upcoming-events/products/9-30-edible-and-medicinal-mushrooms-w-kevin-krzyzaniak-2-5p

With over 4,000 different types of mushrooms in our region, there is much to learn about the wonderful and complex world of wild mushrooms. In this workshop we will explore the woodland areas of the property and have a forage for what edible + medicinal mushrooms are popping. Throughout the class, we will cover mushroom families, identification features, and foraging tips. We’ll talk not just about what we find, but also some other local favorites and easy beginner mushrooms to ID.

Based on what we find, we will share in a cooking demo and light meal together. Kevin will also bring examples of medicinal mushrooms like reishi, turkey tail, and chaga and we will discuss their benefits and applications in their life.

Event Details
Date/Time: September 30th, 2-5p

Location: Private woodland retreat center on the South Toe River in Celo off of Lower Browns Creek. Directions will be provided upon registration.

Cost: $50-70 sliding scale

Monthly Special: This months special is on Cordyceps tinctures, $10 off. Cordyceps has been used for centuries in Asian cultures and are catching on here in the west. With benefits that include energizing effects, many endurance athletes use them, cognitive function, anti-tumor effects, anti-ageing, heart health, managing type 2 diabetes, and anti-inflammation.

Here’s some of the mushrooms that will highlight the fall season. Some summer mushrooms will also extend into the fall such as boletes, milk caps and cauliflower. From the top across—lions mane can be found on dying oaks and beech trees, beefsteaks love oaks, turkey tail grows on downed wood, branches and logs, chicken of the wood grows on mostly oaks, honey mushrooms are ground dwellers also associated with oaks, the shrimp of the wood are parasitic and take over honeys, puff balls grow all over on wood or the ground, cauliflowers like piney environments, leatherback milkies also like pines, and the wonderful maitake or hen of the wood will be at the base of oaks. It’s a great time to be in the forest foraging and camping and wandering around in the world of trees as they change from green to red to yellow and orange. Happy hunting y’all……

The summer is in full blast in the forest and this month is one of the most exciting! Pictured above is one of my absolute favorites to find, the blue indigo milk cap. This little beauty is edible and one of the most vibrant mushrooms you’ll see. Tours will continue on through fall, if interested I suggest contacting me via text or email. I’ve moved to announcing walks the week of, posting on instagram and facebook, if you don’t have or use either of those, reaching out to me works to!

Note: I will be traveling from 7/28-8/7 all orders in this period will be delayed until I return

I will be traveling up to PA for the second year in a row for mycofest, a wonderfully fun and educational mushroom festival. On the way I plan to forage in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Orders will be delayed during this week. I can’t wait to reconnect with friends there and make some new ones as the network grows on!

MARKETS:

East Asheville Tailgate: Fridays 3-6 @ 954 tunnel rd I’ll be there 8/11, 8/18 and 8/25

Burnsville/Yancey County: Saturdays 8:30-12:30 downtown Burnsville I’ll be there 8/19 and 8/26

Monthly Special: For August the special will be $5 off teabags and $10 off tinctures of Turkey Tail. Turkey Tail really gets growing this month in force. It’s perhaps the most researched medicinal mushroom and with it’s many health benefits, it should be! It may be most recognized for it’s cancer fighting properties but also aids in digestion, boosts the immune system, improved cognitive function, fights diabetes and reduces inflammation. Turkey Tail is also a great mushroom to help fight canine cancers.

Here’s some highlights you’ll see this month. From top across–Beefsteak (raw edible), crown tipped coral, amanita (deadly), painted bolete, golden milky, bicolor bolete, cauliflower, smooth chanterelle, blue indigo milky, cinnabar chaneterlle, lobsters, chickens, shaggy stalked bolete and black trumpets. If you live in such a diverse area as I do you’ll see lots more varieties out there right now! As a forager this is the time to be in woods everyday, I guarantee you won’t leave with an empty basket!