December Events
Saturday Dec 9 — 2-6pm
Crown Hill Holiday Market – Seattle (https://tinyurl.com/3m3rn2tm)
Meet me in NW Seattle to look at some mushroom-themed gift options or just to talk mushrooms. I will have liquid cultures, grow kits, embroidered stocking caps, stickers, posters, cards, and dried candy cap mushrooms.
Sunday Dec 10 — 10am-noon
Carkeek Park Mushroom Walk – Seattle
Join me at Carkeek for a walk around the park to look for some of the less conspicuous late fall mushrooms. The forecast looks good and I know there are still some interesting mushrooms out there.
Monday Dec 11 — noon-1pm
Open Mushroom Chat – Online
We’ll meet online over lunch to talk all things mushrooms. Identification, book recommendations, cultivation, late-season foraging, Q&A. I’ll try to host this weekly depending on community interest.
Sunday Dec 17 — 2-4pm
Cultivation Workshop – Greenwood, Seattle
Beginners can join to learn how to grow mushrooms at home. Experienced growers can use the time to use my lab, get cultures, make liquid cultures, or assemble a grow kit. Open to members and non-members.
Wednesday Dec 27 — 10-11am
The history of life on earth in 2.7 miles – Green Lake, Seattle
The earth formed 4.5 billion years ago with the first life appearing merely 600 million years later. Having troubles grasping the scale of this. Take a walk with me with key events in earth’s history mapped to the 2.7 mile path around Green Lake
Want more options? Just Ask!
I’m open to meeting in other neighborhoods and at different days/times. Are you available for early coffee or happy hour? Email me with suggestions on locations, days, times, or activities and I will do my best to accommodate.
Fall In Review
After returning from our hike along the Pacific Crest Trail we hosted nearly weekly tours in the Cascades throughout October and into November. I had the most success in mid-September at higher elevations in the stretch from Chinook Pass near Mt Rainier, to Snoqualmie Pass. I think this success was largely due to late summer precipitation and timing. We had a nice, long season due to early rain and a late freeze.
This year I spent most of my time post-PCT near Darrington, Skykomish, North Bend, and Greenwater. I didn’t have nearly the level of success with chanterelles that I expected but I had one of my best years for bear’s head (Hericium) and matsutake.
I will also post mushroom finds on my iNaturalist page (jeremypnw). There isn’t anything very special about the places I choose to go. I go back because I am learning more about these particular areas and I like building on that knowledge over the years.
Looking Forward
I have some new tools that I will be posting to the website in the coming weeks. I am working on a mushroom weather dashboard that will help summarize key weather conditions relevant to mushroomers. I have also started to add details for key mushroom areas around the region with a summary of the tree species, and general roads/trails to explore. I will eventually integrate these with the weather dashboard .
I have weekly online chat’s scheduled for Mondays but you may always reach out to schedule time with me if you have questions.
I will be hosting more formal classes throughout the winter and hope to plan a trip to northern California for black trumpets. Send me a note if you’re interested
I’m ramping up cultivation projects. I have a culture library of most common edible species and am excited to experiment with new species. I have a culture of shaggy mane and chicken of the woods that I would like to try out for the first time. Members are welcome to join me in Greenwood to learn more about cultivation or to pick up cultures. I’m also happy to send out liquid cultures or plates if you are not local.
I manage a mushroom garden at the Fremont Troll in Seattle. We had oysters and king stropharia fruiting this year. I added spawn for shiitake but these might not fruit again until the spring. I am currently growing deer mushroom spawn at home and plan to bring these out to the garden in the coming weeks. Email me if you want to learn more about this mushroom garden, or to help plant throughout the winter
Major tours kick off again in the spring starting low elevation areas near the rivers. As the mountains warm up we will be heading east for burn morels. I have already created maps for the major fires in 2023 which are our main morel spots in 2024.
2024 Membership
Your contributions make these projects and events possible. If you are not currently a member, now is a great time to join. Your engagement now has a direct impact on winter and spring events.