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purple_mule said:
Welcome!

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Thankyou


I checked out my patches, nothing to report yet. Did happen to find what I believe to be c. atramentarius growing on my drive way on the way back from my walk, it was a bit dark but I'm pretty sure.

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purple_mule said:

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repress said:
First time poster, long time lurker.

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Welcome!


What are some people's opinions on pine subs?
are they as easy to find as ones in mulch?
do you think they are stronger?

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purple_mule said:
long time no see!

ok, i imagined they'd be more sparsely distributed that mulch ones.

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I'm not sure either way on the potency question - I imagine you'd have to test a lot of different subs to work that out. However, someone last year cleverly pointed out that, while their density is generally much less than in woodchip beds, pine plantations generally cover a _much_ larger contiguous area, so its easier to score a huge haul.

Last year saw a long discussion on the subject, and no real resolution. Since this thread has so far brought up no actually useful information (why do people always pollute this thread with fuzzy pics that belong in the ID thread, and requests for acid PMs?), this is a good time to talk about their relative merits again, from a hunting perspective. I think. So anyway, IME, although the density is much lower than in suburban beds, pine plantations are the best locations for newbie Melbourne hunters.

Here's my rationale, pointwise:

1. I live in a north-eastern suburb, and I've searched through almost every park, reserve and creek in a 2km radius of my house (and often further locations that look promising + have recent rainfall). Not to blow my own horn, but I've had a lot of practice spotting subs, and not just the ID part, but I'm pretty good at spotting the right substrates, micro-climates, and so forth. I'm out most weekends in Autumn and early Winter. And I'm just one hunter.

If you're new to the hunt, what are the odds that you'll find somewhere before I do, if you're looking in woodchip beds in my area? And how many damn hunters are there in Melbourne. I have no idea, but I reckon that there is at least one in your suburb. Newbie, you're not going to be the first hunter to visit your local park, but you might just be the first person to search a periurban pine planation, because they're not exactly thoroughfares.

The woodchip bed vs. pine plantation arguments often focus on theoretical yields. "What's the biggest haul you've ever had from a pine forest?" "I bet you've never filled a garbage bag in a single trip!". Fine, but most of us just want to get high with a couple of friends, so we'd rather have a guaranteed 100 grams than a theoretical 2 kgs. I reckon that the important question is thus not "how much can each place produce", but "will I find it before someone else does?"

2. Pine plantations are Net friendly. If you're a newbie, and you don't have a good suburban patch yet, you can easily spot a pine forest using Google maps. They're dark green, and the separating rows are clearly visible. Be careful, because eucalypt plantations look much like radiata plantations from google maps, but nothing lives below them. It's a fungal wasteland. Plantations are a relatively long trip away to visit, but you can always use the Bureau of Met to check if they've had any rain in the last few days (http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/vic/melbourne-observations-map.shtml). Check over the last two weeks. Have they had more than 25mm of rain? Preferably 50mm? Have they had 90+ relative humidity at 9am? This can narrow down the places worth visiting.

3. No cops. Suburban hunting isn't exactly dangerous, but you can feel a little dodgy poking around in bushes near a kid's play-gym. I've even been propositioned after hunting near a local beat. Skip that crap, wake up early in the morning, and drive/ride/train/bus to a nearby plantation, be careful not to look too suspicious, and head in. Once you're in, you're safe from inquisitive eyes, and can see a long way in all directions.

4. Many of these same arguments hold for state forests and national parks, but the pine plantation's most valuable asset are the needles. Hunting in national parks involves a lot of stooping down, peering under leaves and at the base of grass hummocks. Stepping over fallen logs and slipping on moss, getting wet from dew and bracken, speared by blackberries. Compare that to the bland uniformity of the pine forest floor. Clear line of sight in all directions for ten metres or more. Mushrooms stick out like sore thumbs. Perfect.

The only bummer is that pine forests are pretty unsightly places, and a little creepy, compared with a nice open woodland. Not quite as joyful to walk through. So, my solution is to choose a plantation next to a national park. Start in the NP carpark, and have a nice stroll through native vegetation towards an adjacent pine plantation. Check out and photograph a few of Victoria's beautiful non-hallucinogenic fungi.



Maybe even pick up a few subs here and there if they present themselves. Then into the plantation!

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The park contains valuable remnants of the most southerly Victorian extent of grassy woodland open forest. The basalt plains flora consists mainly of grasslands, herbs and tussocks with mainly River Red Gum cover. In contrast, the higher areas have an unusual mixture of gums as well as Drooping Sheoke. The remnant Grey Box, River Red Gum and Yellow Box woodland character has, for the most part, been retained.

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