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……