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cali_nz
I don't need nostinking title

Registered: 04/30/08
Posts: 6
Loc: South Island, NZ
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Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter
#8383750 - 05/09/08 11:24 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hi All,
Looking for a bit of advice as to what I might be doing wrong. I have been looking for subs in the Christchurch area for the past 3 weeks for likely over 15-20 hours total search time with very little success. Here are the obvious questions/answers:
1) Are you looking in the right habitats?
I think so.. I am concentrating my searching to Radiata pine forests and wood chip mulch gardens in local domains. Searched various age class of pine from older near harvest sections to recently replanted areas and everything in between. The site has sandy soil if that matters. As far as wood chip beds go these have been various types and consistencies. Likely around 10 different domains have been covered.. many other species found but no subs (except one small one with no other examples around 2 weeks ago)
2) Are you looking in the right conditions... are other mushrooms around?
Yes! This has been after cool weather recently (several frosts after heavy rains) I saw at least 20-25 different species with literally several hundred individual examples today in a pine plantation. Several seem to be indicator species like Amanita muscaria and Stropharia aurantiaca. Still no luck. People seem to be finding subs north of here and south of here as well, so it seems like the season should have started here as well.
3) Do you know what you are looking for?
Pretty sure.. I have found and correctly identified one example during all of this time. I have looked and hundreds of "close but not quite" examples missing at least one key trait (not brusing blue being the most obvious when almost everything else matched). I am a trained biologist so I hope that identification shouldnt be that much of an issue after all I have read and images I have looked at.
4) Has someone else gotten them first?
Quite possible in the domains, but not likely in the pine plantations... I covered *way* too much ground today in 4 hours searching with no signs of any recent traffic.
6) Have you angered the mushroom gods?
It certainly seems that way...
I was under the impression that subs were at least fairly common in NZ, but after all of this time I am thinking they either arent out yet or are actually rather rare and must just occur in very limited areas.
Any suggestions? I Have pretty much decided to give up for a few weeks and see if I have more luck later... but I would love to know if they actually are about and I should just keep despair at bay for a few more searches.
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Evets
Stranger

Registered: 01/05/08
Posts: 197
Loc: Midwest
Last seen: 14 years, 7 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: cali_nz]
#8384153 - 05/10/08 01:35 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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“A good fortune may forbode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune.”
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undergrounder
fluffy bunny



Registered: 11/10/06
Posts: 1,394
Loc: Sydney
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: cali_nz]
#8384156 - 05/10/08 01:35 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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You'll get there eventually man, sounds like my experience too until i found my first patch. Just keep at it, after you find your first it becomes easier. I don't know about pine plantations especially, but for the woodchipped areas focus on old neglected parks or bushland areas, train tracks etc. Where councils are regularly topping up with fresh chips, the mushrooms don't tend to pop. But a really thin spread of old, grey, weathered chips tends to be best.
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RIP Bigger and bolder and rougher and tougher in other words sucka there is no other...
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BigJonMud
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Registered: 05/08/08
Posts: 184
Last seen: 9 years, 4 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: undergrounder]
#8384468 - 05/10/08 05:31 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Its rather 'magical' thinking.. but I still cant help but notice the perfect synchronicity of how and when one gets to meet with the mushroom. I looked for years until one day I just met someone who already knew where they grew.
Meditating, or getting a little stoned first always helps me have a better hunt. They kind of lead me to them. Drinking strong ass coffee and keeping the hunt under an hour works for me too.
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cali_nz
I don't need nostinking title

Registered: 04/30/08
Posts: 6
Loc: South Island, NZ
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: BigJonMud]
#8386233 - 05/10/08 05:27 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Well hopefully it won't take years. Definitely will keep up with the hunt, but perhaps back off on the intensity a bit as the last try was getting more annoying than fun. I think that makes the ones you are looking for hide away just around the corner.
One more question.. in woodchipped areas with shrubbery and the like do you need to be specifically looking under/within low shrubs? It seems like many of the photos had them out in the open, but perhaps those are just the rare photogenic non-shy ones.
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BigJonMud
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Registered: 05/08/08
Posts: 184
Last seen: 9 years, 4 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: cali_nz]
#8387053 - 05/10/08 09:07 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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They could be anywhere and everywhere. Its good to have a little gentle dig every here and there, to look for signs of mycelial growth.
Also, ask the other mushrooms you find to help you to the magick ones. Theyre usually more than happy to help.
Like I said, thats why I like being in altered state to find them. Another trippy thing that I thought of while munchin on a pinner one day.. was to 'act as if' I was finding them. I would hold an image in my mind of finding them.. and then 'stalk' about as if I was going to find a huge patch at any moment. I swear this was making them appear, where there were none just moments before-lol
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Ozzy_shroomer
Mystery Machine



Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 911
Loc: Summer All Year
Last seen: 5 years, 7 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: BigJonMud]
#8387715 - 05/11/08 12:29 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
BigJonMud said: Another trippy thing that I thought of while munchin on a pinner one day.. was to 'act as if' I was finding them. I would hold an image in my mind of finding them.. and then 'stalk' about as if I was going to find a huge patch at any moment. I swear this was making them appear, where there were none just moments before-lol
My god there are some real tripers on this forum
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undergrounder
fluffy bunny



Registered: 11/10/06
Posts: 1,394
Loc: Sydney
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: Totally frustrated NZ sub hunter [Re: BigJonMud]
#8388040 - 05/11/08 02:41 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
BigJonMud said: Also, ask the other mushrooms you find to help you to the magick ones. Theyre usually more than happy to help.
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RIP Bigger and bolder and rougher and tougher in other words sucka there is no other...
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