THE BRCC NEWSLETTER
Year in Review 2025
2025 was a bit different of a year on the mushroom forage. Hurricane Helene left it’s mark on the mountains, making some go to spots unreachable, however it also brought with it some unusual flushes and patterns, I haven’t seen before. Let’s take a look back at this past year in mushrooms, it was one full of some amazing finds, many great tours and some of the new products we dropped. The year started off slow, as instead of traveling south, we stuck close to home, foraging mostly Turkey Tail and winter adventuring at some waterfalls and caves. Also took some time to get creative and wood burn some Artist Conk mushrooms. The start of the year brought a new logo, designed by a good friend of mine and I love the way it looks on our packaging and merch! You get tee shirts and hoodies on the shop page. For many of us foragers, including myself, the season really begins when the Morels arrive and waiting for spring to arrive can feel like an eternity! Some times slow winters leave a lot of room for exploring, getting creative and working on the business stuff that often falls on the back burner.
The first Morel showed up on March 28th this year. I always begin the Morel hunt in South Carolina and this year I discovered a few new spots to add to my list. I found that this past year was a bit slower on the Morel front, some primo spots got wiped out by the hurricane, spots on the banks of some bigger rivers and spots that were flooded out on smaller creeks. We also had a pretty good dry streak right in the peak part of the growing season, both factors resulted in fewer Morels overall. Another thing I noticed was that the Tulip Morels, the smaller variety associated with Tulip Poplar trees, didn’t show up very much or not at all in some spots. These little guys usually make up a good portion of what I find every year. On the flip side I found a couple new spots that yielded the ‘Big Yellows’, aka ‘The Blondes"‘, aka Morchella Americana, these are the funniest to find and the biggest in our region. I did a forage with my friend David, who also has a foraging business, he graciously invited me to one his spots, a tiny little area that had some hunky yellows, it was one of the best spots I’ve seen! Every year I’m noticing the plants that show up during Morel time, young Mullein plants seem to like the same kinds of soils, Trilliums, Violets, and Mayapples also hang out in the same areas, these are indicators that help find similar habitats but one of the biggest factors to finding these beauties is in the trees! Tulip Poplar, Ash, Sycamore and Elm trees are four of the top trees to be seeking out, if none of these trees are present you probably wont find Morels in the East region. Also take into account soil temps and rain fall. You can find a real time soil temp map online. Morels need 55 degree soil temp for five days straight before you get out looking. I did notice some other mushrooms on the scene, the Deer or Fawn mushroom, an edible but forgettable, the edible and melon smelling Pheasant Back or Dryads Saddle, this one I like to dry and grind up to use. Morel season also overlaps with Ramp season, this wild, potent plant, usually gets two rubbery leaves and a small bulb, it has a strong garlic like flavor. Ramps only show up for about three to four weeks and can be found in moist, sometimes rocky areas. It’s good practice to not pick too many, especially not pick alot of bulbs, this to ensure the patch stays healthy and giving. Over harvesting can become a problem. The leaves have just as much flavor and taking one leaf from each plant is a good idea. Patches do need thinning sometimes to prevent over crowding. Even though I didn’t find as many Morels as previous years, the hunt is always fun and the excitement of finding new patches is a great feeling! I can’t wait for the 2026 Morels to come along.
Sometimes the Morel season sets the tone for other mushrooms and with that thought the Reishi mushrooms had a challenging year this year. The pickins were slim, many of the places that produce every year, were vacant, others produced but not nearly in the quantity of previous seasons. Luckily we explored some new areas and were able to find enough to keep our supply steady, just took alittle extra effort! I did notice the Reishi that was around was quickly eaten up by the notorious Megalodacne heros, the pleasing fungus beetle, these black beetles with orange spots can be found on Reishi every year. The Reishi seems to make them docile and they prefer to mate on the mushroom. Reishi seems to follow an every other year flush schedule and I’m predicting 2026 will be a good one! As spring goes on more mushrooms begin to show up, the Pheasant Backs come on heavy, these are great when they are young and tender to cook up and as they get bigger, they can be dehydrated and ground up for a nice seasoning. Wood ear, corals and polypores such as Violet Toothed Polypore and Turkey Tail begin their seasons, which last most of the year. The plants and flowers are also out, when you see tulip poplar flowers, you know the Morels are gone. Lady slipper is one my absolute favorite spring flowers and I really do love stopping to admire them.
There’s a space to wait between spring and summer, when the mushrooms are underground, spreading, feeding, doing what mushrooms do, roughly somewhere between late April and late May. After that it’s wide open, when all the many varieties start coming out. We had many adventures this summer, trips to Texas and Folly Beach to visit family, a few back packing trips in Grayson Highlands, VA, Foothills trail, and the great smokies, so much foraging, tours and markets. Some mushrooms really stood out this year, Chicken of the Woods for one, seemed to be out in force, during our back packing trip along the AT, we found 37 separate flushes, hiking around 28 miles, that more than a flush per mile! Among those finds was probably the biggest flush I’ve ever found.. I found several Cordyceps also, these can be extra hard to find, I usually find one or two a season but this year I found at least ten! Other mushrooms like Black Trumpets and Lobsters had an off year, they were here but not in big numbers like the previous year. The Leatherback Milk Caps had a really nice year, I collected them by the bags full. Boletes, Beefsteaks and Cauliflowers showed up in good flushes too. Summer seems to fly by some years and this was one of those years. I’m incredibly thankful to all those who came out to learn and join me on my tours, it’s one of the best parts of my work, teaching others, introducing new folks to the wonderful world of fungi and spread the network a little at a time. All in all it was a great summer on the mushroom forage…..
Fall is always my favorite time of year, I love the weather, I love the fall set of mushrooms, I love the colors in the forest and I love walking on the falling leaves (reminds me of childhood). Honey mushrooms had a huge explosion, although they showed up in big clusters, they came and went in a hurry, usually giving a few times during the season. My theory is that the hurricane shook up the forest, with all the fallen trees shaking the forest floor and that vibration triggered some mushrooms such as the Honeys. With the Honeys came the Shrimp of the Woods, a tasty little morsel of a mushroom, it parasitizes the Honeys to become a white, shrimp looking fungus. Maitake or Hen of the Woods came on strong at the start of fall but strangely produced way less as fall went on, staying true to the weird patterns this year. I did take advantage of the early boom and found quite a few nice ones. October was an exciting month, started off with vending at the Kentucky Mushroom Festival, we met lots of other mushroom vendors and got to spend the weekend getting to know them, along with teachers and attendees. This festival is a small one, just getting going, which made for more personal encounters and more time to get away from the booth and listen to some talks. Mushroom fests are a really great way to connect with like minded folks and learn a bunch, hoping next year to attend and vend more! Lions Mane showed up in force early as well, I gathered a good bit in some new places, which is always too exciting, an absolute treat to find and forage for me. Turkey Tail never disappoints and I always gather a bunch around Fall and Winter time, when there’s little else to forage, Turkey Tail is always somewhere around. I extended my tours later into the season this year and that proved to be a good choice, the groups that came out in mid October ended up with some nice finds. Fall was a giving time and I’m grateful for it….
The end of fall led way to the start of winter rather quickly and with that, the mushrooms made their way underground to recharge and refuel for next year. Despite the barren feel out in the woods, there’s still mushrooms to forage, there’s still peace to be found and for me, I need both of those things in my daily routine. November welcomed in the holiday market season, we did a big show in Myrtle Beach, the dickens christmas market, being invited to participate for free by the host, who wanted to graciously offer a helping hand to vendors from my area. We also did some downtown Asheville markets, being downtown has an energy I’ve always enjoyed since moving here back in 2009. People really came out to support the local economy, which was very uplifting to experience, even had folks from out of state, that drove to Asheville simply to give their support! The Mushroom Spot in Greenville, SC, hosted us for a presentation on medicinal mushrooms, and it went really well. We did a talk, slideshow, sampling of teas and soup blends. It’s a groovy, little store, full of all things mushrooms. My son lives in Greenville and that was an added bonus to have him come. I’ve always wanted to be an example to him that you can live your dreams, create something that is your own, that you can offer to the world and make a positive impact. Being able to teach people, forage mushrooms that help bring healing and good health and create products from those forages, is a dream come true indeed! The year also comes to an end as it began, with a coastal trip to South Carolina. We camped a couple days, got some hiking in a beach stroll and for the fourth year in a row, found some beautiful Lions Mane mushrooms, along with Turkey Tail and some Oysters. Fittingly enough I ended the year with a forage on new years eve, finding a beautiful chunk of Chaga, the mushroom that started it all for me. All in all, it’s been a year in the books, one I’ll never forget and one that has me feeling hopeful for the next, 2025!
