Chicken of the Woods

[Kantuckkeean]

We actually found this 2 days ago growing on a dead black oak in northern Indiana but I couldn't post as I was camping with my family. My wife spotted it during one of our hikes but didn't know what it was. I knew that it was a chicken of the woods but didn't know how tasty it was. I cut a dozen or so pieces from the tender margins so that we could try it. Once we got back to camp, my wife sauteed up a plate full. It was DELICIOUS!! They should call it bacon of the woods!! I think that it even beats morels. We went back yesterday and collected a bunch more to take home since my son and I had spotted several more in other locations during a later hike. Unfortunately, someone else had spotted this one and took the entire thing. We left plenty in all locations so that the spores could disperse. I never take 100% of what edible mushrooms or plants I find in the woods and I propagate them by planting their seeds or distributing their spores and pieces when I can. Caveat: I would not recommend that anyone eat any wild mushrooms unless you are absolutely certain of the species. There are only 3 wild mushrooms that I will eat, because I don't want to join the waiting line for new livers.



Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[Kantuckkeean]

Great find! I got three of similar size in the park across the street from my house. Only had to climb one tree to get one off a trimmed limb. All the trees have been hollowed by carpenter ants and will be dead in my lifetime. I used to only hung morels, but my buddy got me interested in others.

I see that you're from Michigan, so you're definitely in better morel territory than me. I'm envious of some of the finds I see coming from WI and MI. I'm awful at morel hunting. I usually give up and just pull invasive plants while others look. But as to the Chicken of the Woods... I did a little reading about cultivating them and I went out and cut down a 12" black cherry that was leaning out over one of my father-in-law's fields today so that I could cut it into 6' logs and drill them with a 5/16" bit to inoculate them with some pieces of the ones that I harvested. The cherry was gonna go on its own anyway or become a problem for the equipment, so I went ahead and cut it. I'll use the rest as firewood. I was really looking around the woods for some black oak and figured that it would be fairly easy to find some recently fallen, thick branches, but I couldn't find any in decent shape and there weren't any of a size that I was willing to cut for my experiment. If I was short on firewood... maybe... but there are so many dead ash trees in my area right now that I'll be covered up cutting and splitting it for the next 5 years or so. However, after I had given up searching the woods for black oak and was driving home, I noticed that a power line crew had cut some trees next to my wife's grandfather's place. I turned around, pulled over and put on the hazards. They'd cut a black oak and there were some 14" sections about 5' long!! It was a pain hauling them to my truck and from my truck to my woods, but I got it done. Drilled some holes in the ends and sides and filled them with fresh pieces of mushroom and plugged the holes with a little bark. I left half of each log so that I could drill and inoculate those later with some dried pieces that I'm going to soak just before inoculation, just to see which technique works better. It's my first real attempt at cultivating fungi. I inoculated the cherry, the black oak, and some big white ash hunks that I'd dumped in my habitat piles. I guess I'll see what happens...

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[jeff of pa]

I don't mind it when threads drift and I too am sometimes guilty of taking threads a bit off-topic.

It's interesting that you mention a forum on fungi, because I was thinking that a forum on nature in general might be good. Obviously there is interest in hunting all sorts of nature's bounty by the members of TreasureNet. I read a funny post by Kace yesterday about turkey hunting, and another good post by huntsman53 about ginseng hunting, as well as a post by Truth1253 about shrimp and grits. From the responses to this post, there is quite a bit of interest in mushroom hunting as well. In the General Discussion Forum, A#1 posted a question about a plant ID which I'll reply to again in a bit. So yes, there definitely seems to be ample interest in nature's "Treasures". I'll PM jeff of PA to see if a Nature Forum is in order. Thanks for the suggestion!

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

I'm Not Promising anything But will Run it by the Other Powers that Be,
& The Higher Powers that Be

& see what they Think, along with Location & title

 

[Kantuckkeean]

I'm Not Promising anything But will Run it by the Other Powers that Be,
& The Higher Powers that Be

& see what they Think, along with Location & title

Awesome! Thank you! I was just looking back at Kray's "DON'T TOUCH IT!!" post on September 21, 2018 about the puss caterpillar which would fall into the Nature category as well, and it had a lot of interest and replies.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[jeff of pa]

Naturally Though If we Add Turkey hunting, Etc.
there would need to be a Strict Rule of no blood.
to prevent the over-emotional from having an excuse to complain.
would have to be strictly PG-13 when it comes to hunting/trapping wildlife

 

[islamoradamark]

aint gunna be me just don't like things that grow in da dark

 

[Greastart]

I see that you're from Michigan, so you're definitely in better morel territory than me. I'm envious of some of the finds I see coming from WI and MI. I'm awful at morel hunting. I usually give up and just pull invasive plants while others look. But as to the Chicken of the Woods... I did a little reading about cultivating them and I went out and cut down a 12" black cherry that was leaning out over one of my father-in-law's fields today so that I could cut it into 6' logs and drill them with a 5/16" bit to inoculate them with some pieces of the ones that I harvested. The cherry was gonna go on its own anyway or become a problem for the equipment, so I went ahead and cut it. I'll use the rest as firewood. I was really looking around the woods for some black oak and figured that it would be fairly easy to find some recently fallen, thick branches, but I couldn't find any in decent shape and there weren't any of a size that I was willing to cut for my experiment. If I was short on firewood... maybe... but there are so many dead ash trees in my area right now that I'll be covered up cutting and splitting it for the next 5 years or so. However, after I had given up searching the woods for black oak and was driving home, I noticed that a power line crew had cut some trees next to my wife's grandfather's place. I turned around, pulled over and put on the hazards. They'd cut a black oak and there were some 14" sections about 5' long!! It was a pain hauling them to my truck and from my truck to my woods, but I got it done. Drilled some holes in the ends and sides and filled them with fresh pieces of mushroom and plugged the holes with a little bark. I left half of each log so that I could drill and inoculate those later with some dried pieces that I'm going to soak just before inoculation, just to see which technique works better. It's my first real attempt at cultivating fungi. I inoculated the cherry, the black oak, and some big white ash hunks that I'd dumped in my habitat piles. I guess I'll see what happens...

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

Please keep us posted!

 

[Greastart]

Naturally Though If we Add Turkey hunting, Etc.
there would need to be a Strict Rule of no blood.
to prevent the over-emotional from having an excuse to complain.
would have to be strictly PG-13 when it comes to hunting/trapping wildlife

PG-13....OK.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Nice sized mushroom. I like the (in order) Morels, Pheasant Backs, and Hen of the Woods. Morels are the most challenging and fun to find for me. I am fortunate to have exclusive access to 240 acres of private property, and do very well there on a yearly basis. Can't wait for late April !

 

[Kace]

Naturally Though If we Add Turkey hunting, Etc.
there would need to be a Strict Rule of no blood.
to prevent the over-emotional from having an excuse to complain.
would have to be strictly PG-13 when it comes to hunting/trapping wildlife

LOL!...If that Turkey Hunting Gone Wild episode I wrote about would of been judged like a boxing match...That Turkey Would Of Won! I am 110lbs heavier and over 4' taller than his head and he still beat the h**l outta me!! LOL! I was the Only One bleeding! A little embarrassing to say the least.

I personally don't care if there's a Hunting Forum here...I understand there's some folks opposed to it. I don't like trapping myself.

I only told that story due to the comment about Spurs and making sure that Turkey's are dead before handling.

I would like to see a forum on Mushrooms, Ginseng and other edible and medicinal plants though. That would be nice!

Kace

 

[Kace]

Kantuckkeean, this thread seems to have been hijacked and I hope you know I didn't mean for that to happen.

However, there is clearly a bit of interest in wild mushrooms by some members here. How do we petition the Mods on the site to consider a sub-forum for wild fungi? I don't know about anyone else but I firmly believe a freshly harvested King or Queen Bolete, a basket of Chanterelles, or a hand full of Morels all qualify as treasure!

Kace, or anyone else that's interested in growing mushrooms, I'd like to suggest the book "Mycelium Running" by Paul Stamets. Someday, when I have enough time I will put all that I have learned from that book and a few others to begin my mycelium landscape.

I've read some of Stamets stuff...Very Informative!

Kace

 

[smokeythecat]

I saw a big patch of these over the weekend...can't remember where though.

 

[Kantuckkeean]

LOL!...If that Turkey Hunting Gone Wild episode I wrote about would of been judged like a boxing match...That Turkey Would Of Won! I am 110lbs heavier and over 4' taller than his head and he still beat the h**l outta me!! LOL! I was the Only One bleeding! A little embarrassing to say the least.

I personally don't care if there's a Hunting Forum here...I understand there's some folks opposed to it. I don't like trapping myself.

I only told that story due to the comment about Spurs and making sure that Turkey's are dead before handling.

I would like to see a forum on Mushrooms, Ginseng and other edible and medicinal plants though. That would be nice!

Kace

Perhaps I was misunderstood. I don’t think that TreasureNet should have a forum dedicated to hunting and certainly not trapping. I figure that there are plenty of hunting and fishing forums out there, and mugshots of bloody, dead animals would likely alienate some members and potentially new member. I was just thinking that a place for nature’s treasures might be interesting since most of us are out in nature, sometimes having strange encounters and cool photos. I was envisioning a place for puss moths and mantids, photos of squirrels swimming across rivers, ginseng and ramp hunting, mountain lions, bears, mushrooms, plant identification and other cool, natural world stuff. Members could also share tips for staying safe whilst treasure hunting, from carrying animal deterrents to preventing tick bites and avoids chiggers or whatever. TreasureNet will be awesome with or without a Nature Forum and it’s not a necessity, as those types of things could continue falling into General Discussion or whatever. It was just a thought as some of posts on nature stuff are falling into several other forums, sometimes naturally, as was the case for your turkey battle royale.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[Greastart]

Perhaps I was misunderstood. I don’t think that TreasureNet should have a forum dedicated to hunting and certainly not trapping. I figure that there are plenty of hunting and fishing forums out there, and mugshots of bloody, dead animals would likely alienate some members and potentially new member. I was just thinking that a place for nature’s treasures might be interesting since most of us are out in nature, sometimes having strange encounters and cool photos. I was envisioning a place for puss moths and mantids, photos of squirrels swimming across rivers, ginseng and ramp hunting, mountain lions, bears, mushrooms, plant identification and other cool, natural world stuff. Members could also share tips for staying safe whilst treasure hunting, from carrying animal deterrents to preventing tick bites and avoids chiggers or whatever. TreasureNet will be awesome with or without a Nature Forum and it’s not a necessity, as those types of things could continue falling into General Discussion or whatever. It was just a thought as some of posts on nature stuff are falling into several other forums, sometimes naturally, as was the case for your turkey battle royale.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

Agree with Kantuck here. My enthusiasm is toward fungus and plant stalking....get it?...plant...stalk...ing?
Not against hunting. Was a butcher for many years....love me some meat. But it always tastes better with some fresh morsel harvested from the soil courtesy of Mother Earth.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Myself, I could never kill a live spore, let alone a fungus. I let others do the dirty work for me.

 

[VERMONTIS]

Got a good buddy of mine we call him PUFF BALL , He always finds crazy fungi and also led to some great cellar holes !

 

[tomhighland]

Kantuck, I tried the same thing. Put small pieces in the stumps on my property. Only time will tell. The cut limb i climbed up to was only trimmed this spring. I got to watch that one grow for over a week. Bright orange to start.

 

[Kantuckkeean]

Kantuck, I tried the same thing. Put small pieces in the stumps on my property. Only time will tell. The cut limb i climbed up to was only trimmed this spring. I got to watch that one grow for over a week. Bright orange to start.

Well I’m not planning to go anywhere, so I’ll refresh this thread if my efforts were successful. You’re right, only time will tell. I’ve got a friend who spent a bunch of time trying to grow shiitake mushrooms, soaking logs, stacking them... I spoke with him today. He hasn’t seen any evidence that his efforts were successful yet. I think that he began last winter though. I’m in no rush. If it works, I’ll definitely be bringing some logs home for firewood and mushrooms. My “experiment” was haphazardly put together. I tried three species, drilled some holes and filled and plugged them, struffed some pieces under bark, and into other nooks or visibly decaying parts, so I won’t know what worked. Good luck with yours. I hope it pays off.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[Hawks88]

Beautiful display of colour. Thanks for sharing.