[kobe519]

Hi there I am new to this site. I own a boarding stable for horses, are horses only eat hay and pasture grass. We don't use any drugs or whatever since these are leisure horses and don't show or race. I feel our manure pile is pretty much organic since we don't even feed grain. I have noticed at least 3 different looking mushrooms in my pile but I don't know how to identify them and know if they are edible. I have even had people stop by an offer to pay us for our mushrooms, so I am seeing a small money maker potential here but I don't know how to know if they are edible or not. My husband is ex law-enforcement for a drug team and he says one of the kind is the "magic" kind so I pick those out and destroy them. We love mushrooms and there are so many I could easily sell them but I don't want to poison someone one and I would look stupid if I didn't know what they were. Does someone have a good link with pictures so I can figure out what kind of mushrooms the other two are? Thanks

[StGermain]

Hi there I am new to this site. I own a boarding stable for horses, are horses only eat hay and pasture grass. We don't use any drugs or whatever since these are leisure horses and don't show or race. I feel our manure pile is pretty much organic since we don't even feed grain. I have noticed at least 3 different looking mushrooms in my pile but I don't know how to identify them and know if they are edible. I have even had people stop by an offer to pay us for our mushrooms, so I am seeing a small money maker potential here but I don't know how to know if they are edible or not. My husband is ex law-enforcement for a drug team and he says one of the kind is the "magic" kind so I pick those out and destroy them. We love mushrooms and there are so many I could easily sell them but I don't want to poison someone one and I would look stupid if I didn't know what they were. Does someone have a good link with pictures so I can figure out what kind of mushrooms the other two are? Thanks

Your horses don't get dewormed? No fly spray? No bute or antibiotics if they're sick?

I'm not saying your bedding isn't safe. I'm just saying it's probably not as clean as you think. And you'd better learn about mushrooms before you sell them. You don't want your ignorance exposed in the most horrific way possible.

StG

[JBCool]

As an aside on hunting mushrooms, anyone know the best time to go look for morels in Virginia? Thanks!

[kobe519]

Well non of the horses have been sick so no on the antibiotics and we live on the coast where it is always windy and so the flies don't seem to land or bother the horses so we don't use spray, just fly mask, and non of the horses are old or have problems requiring bute. We do fecal test on the horses for deworming and currently we have not dewormed since our last compost pile was started a year ago. What I am asking for is how to identify mushrooms, not be picked on about my compost pile please. thanks. I mostly just want to pick and eat them myself instead of paying high grocery store prices and not even know where the mushrooms came from and the idea of selling them was just an after thought since we have had people come knocking on the door wanting to buy them.

[Bacardi1]

You can't learn "how to identify mushrooms" by asking on the internet. Frankly, you can't learn it via the internet at all. And looking at all the books & field guides in the world STILL won't guarantee that you won't poison yourself &/or others. There's no quick & easy way.

The only way you can learn to safely identify edible mushrooms is to personally work/consult with an expert on the subject. There are a fair number of mycology (mushroom) clubs in Virginia. Try looking into that.

Keep in mind the old saying: "There are old wild mushroom hunters and bold wild mushroom hunters, but no old, bold wild mushroom hunters."

And the idea of a complete amateur even THINKING of selling mushrooms they picked in their backyard gives me the willies. If something bad were to happen, I shudder to think what the legal consequences might be.

[kobe519]

Well I don't live in Virginia, I live in Oregon and the few people I know who know about mushrooms don't give up their information for some reason. Well I was hoping this thread was a place to get help, but it seems more like a place you have to defend yourself and be beaten down. I won't be back.

[bathsheba8542]

We bought a zillion plugs for three different varieties that would grow on different woods...drilled holes, tapped plugs in, stacked, watered, watered, watered, watered, (and on and on). Finally we saw some shitake, but no others yet. I planted the plugged tree sections in manure. Didn't think twice about it, and the mushrooms were GREAT!

[StGermain]

Oregon Mycological Society

[HungarianHippo]

As for when to go morel hunting, they are quirky and mysterious and like to keep you guessing. This is a good site where people report their finds. So you can kinda see when they're starting to appear in your area. But it's very much a micro-climate type of thing-- my timber has great morel hunting but it's usually 2-3 weeks later than other places right around here. It faces north so the soil takes longer to warm up. Even though I KNOW that my woods are always late, I can't help but go hunt as soon as I see reports of morel findings nearby. And then finding none, I still obsess that they're there but I'm just missing them.

ETA: looks like the map I linked you to is not being kept updated anymore. Just google morel sightings map and I'm sure you'll find others. While 'shroomers are secretive and territorial, they also can't seem to resist bragging about their finds

[michaleenflynn]

LOL, nah, urine is manure, too.
Matter of fact, when my cousin switched from deep litter to twice daily mucking, my aunt was worried how she would get good manure for her cold frame. Nice straw, seasoned for a good week!

Did not know this!

But yeah, Monsanto is worse than the Antichrist....
At least one can cut down on the pain killers when therre is bute in the food chain!

Take two and call me in the morning lol

[pony grandma]

As for when to go morel hunting, they are quirky and mysterious and like to keep you guessing..... While 'shroomers are secretive and territorial, they also can't seem to resist bragging about their finds

Hahaha I opened up the back door of the horse trailer last spring and found the morels growing in the sawdust/old dry poop pile back there! There's a sighting brag for you.

and tasty too

[Equibrit]

Modern mushroon farm; http://www.phillipsmushroomfarms.com/warwick2.html

[Lynnwood]

Fairly certain that the NYC carriage horses Clinton park stables donates all its used straw to an organic mushroom farm.

[michaleenflynn]

Fairly certain that the NYC carriage horses Clinton park stables donates all its used straw to an organic mushroom farm.

Yep, I posted about it when this thread was young....

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

Well I don't live in Virginia, I live in Oregon and the few people I know who know about mushrooms don't give up their information for some reason. Well I was hoping this thread was a place to get help, but it seems more like a place you have to defend yourself and be beaten down. I won't be back.

Sorry we're being big mean poopyheads who won't help you kill yourself or others for fun and profit.

I wonder if this was the problem you had with the mycologists you met IRL? Did you just want them to show you a few pictures and be done with it?

OK. Here's an article. With pictures.

[michaleenflynn]

Well I don't live in Virginia, I live in Oregon and the few people I know who know about mushrooms don't give up their information for some reason. Well I was hoping this thread was a place to get help, but it seems more like a place you have to defend yourself and be beaten down. I won't be back.

I actually thought you got some good advice here - I wasn't even looking for info, and I learned a good bit. Even posted the "old, bold" bit on my FB

[BumbleBee]

I think constantly worrying about stuff like this is more likely to cause health issues than anything in the mushroom compost. Eat up and smile.

[Bacardi1]

I think constantly worrying about stuff like this is more likely to cause health issues than anything in the mushroom compost. Eat up and smile.

I can only hope that that was meant tongue-in-cheek. Mushroom poisoning is a horrible & incredibly painful way to die, or even just to temporarily suffer from.

[Susan P]

I live in south east Chester County where we grow more mushrooms than any single place in the world. I know people in the industry and farms where they pick up. I know the only thing that the people that collect the manure care about is if there is pine shavings in it because it prevent the spawn from developing, ruins a crop. Even the organic mushrooms (if you will) would use the same resources. They collect manure from local racetracks and any large barn. The last I heard they are now charging to pick up the manure but for a while they paid for it. Whatever is in the manure from the horse is what they mix in to make case the mushroom houses with. They also use a lot of peat moss, maybe half. So whatever straw and hay is left in the stall plus manure, urine and surely that would include any drugs or chemicals that the horse's have been given are included. I doubt that they will take the time to test it before using it. It's not profitable unless people start demanding that they sort out medicated horse poop. I'm sure that it's possible but difficult. Most people never think twice about it. I suppose that the poop isn't more than 25% or less of the fill dirt. They do cook the poo and they case the houses with it hot. My husband has a lot of family that grows, cans (yes, they can local mushrooms in NJ and PA)

There are additional chemicals used for growing mushrooms, I think herbacides for one, not sure exactly all. We grow tons of mushrooms here and I and most of us live next to either a mushroom house and or a composting operation or some other mushroom industry operation. As people would cross the state line from Hockessin, DE (near the Dover Saddlery) into PA there was Kaolin Compost and my friend whose husband grew mushrooms at the time said that people complain about the smell but she said, "It smells like money to me."