Every year, from the last week of August to the first week of November, I record the number of mushroom species fruiting as they reach their peak during September and October. Some years, they appear overnight, especially after rains, in large numbers, displaying many different shapes and colours. Some years during my mushroom workshop in late September or early October we have recorded more than 100 different species during the one-day workshop.
This year, I planned workshops on Sept. 14, 20 and 25 early in the year, thinking that I would hit the peak of the season. However, we experienced a very different mushroom season in 2024.
The first wave usually arrives in the last days of August, but on Sept. 2 there were very few mushroom species at Matheson Creek Camp. We received light rain on Sept.
10, which brought out the first honey mushrooms, and things were looking good for a great mushroom season that should last through all my workshop days. However, things turned very dry with no rain from Sept. 11 to 22.
Few mushrooms were found in this dry season, and I ended up cancelling the Sept. 14 and 20 workshops. Rain did arrive from Sept.
23 to 26, which brought out some mushrooms. However, too late to generate mushroom interest for the Sept. 25 workshop.
People need to see mushrooms carpeting the forest before it spikes their interest in mushrooms. Honey mushrooms in big numbers ringed the base of the trunks of many red pine trees in Copeland Forest on Sept. 26.
The rains floo.