Autumn is the time to pick mushrooms. Of course, they grow both in summer and spring, and some species even in winter. But the most correct mushroom is autumn. At what temperature do mushrooms grow in the fall? To answer this question, you must first figure out what weather these forest gifts love.
Seasonal Mushroom Growth Features
Mushrooms are complex organisms. Their main part - mycelium or mycelium - is hidden from the eyes with a layer of forest humus, and only fruiting bodies appear on the surface, which attract mushroom pickers. Mycelium grows year-round, so answering the question of what temperature mushrooms grow in the fall is not easy.
Along with humidity, one of the most important fruiting conditions for most species is warm land. Therefore, the first mushrooms appear in the spring. In April-May, when glades, clearings, and forest fires freed from snow are heated, morels and lines appear. It is they who open the mushroom season, and then other mushrooms pick up the baton.
Toward the end of May and the beginning of June, after the warm rains, the first moss fly, brown boletus, and even white appear. But these are only scouts, the main layer will be later, when rye rumbles. By the way, these mushrooms are popularly called - spikes.
Boletus, or as they are also called, beauty, red-headed, appear a little later, when the aspen blossoms. At the same time, colorful hats of russula peep out from the grass, and, like orange beads, funny flocks of chanterelles scatter into moss.
But the summer layers are short - a week, at best two, and the mushrooms disappear, as they were not. But a real mushroom will only grow in the fall, when the braids of birch trees begin to golden and splash red on aspen leaves.
Mushroom growth calendar
To cover this issue in more detail, we will use visual material. Below is a table that tells you when and for which "beast" it is better to go to the forest for lovers of "quiet hunting".
Mushrooms of the autumn forest
Almost all types of summer mushrooms grow in autumn, but new ones also appear, those for which it is too hot in summer. This, for example, autumn honey agaric, greenfinch, rowing and others. Moreover, the growth of mushrooms in the autumn is the most intense, since they do not like the heat, and in order for the fruit body of most species to begin to develop, 5–10 ° C is enough. The temperature at which mushrooms grow in autumn affects the rate of their development: what lower degrees, the slower they grow.
However, not only temperature indicators, but also humidity are important. If autumn is dry, then you can’t count on a good “catch” of mushrooms. However, they do not like long rains. An experienced mushroom picker will see how another bad weather splashes on the roads in puddles, and he will sigh in dismay: “Oh, the mushroom picker will get wet!” The mushroom picker, of course, will not get wet, it will remain under a dense forest litter from the fallen needles and moss, but there really may not be mushrooms.
But light frosts, which are not uncommon in autumn, are not scary for mushrooms. Sometimes on a cold October morning in the forest you can find literally through-frozen white, brown boletus, red-headed, butterfish, honey agarics. Determining at what temperature mushrooms grow in the autumn in the forest, one should focus on the average daily values, since the warming of the soil in the afternoon plays an important role.
When the frosts hit
Few of these forest inhabitants can survive a severe frost, and most mushroom pickers believe that the season ends in November. But this is not so.
One of the most cold-resistant mushrooms is honey mushrooms. The best temperature for their growth varies in the range of +8 ... +12 o C. Their cheerful families grow in the forest and after severe frosts. At what temperature do mushrooms grow in the fall? Winter mushrooms, for example, can be found at sub-zero temperatures, even under snow.
Winter oyster mushroom, which is not only in November, but also in January, can be collected is not afraid of frosts.
The conditions for the growth of ceps
No matter how full the mushroom picker basket is, its luck is judged primarily by the number of porcini mushrooms.
White, or, as it is also called, boletus, is a cunning and finicky mushroom. Sometimes, half a forest must be circumvented to attack a mushroom place. But if the conditions are suitable, then on a small patch you can dial more than a dozen strong boletuses.
And at what temperature do cepes grow in autumn? First, note that for white it is important not so much the state of the air as the soil. The optimum soil temperature for it is 15–16 degrees of heat.
But with regard to air, the conditions for the growth of ceps in summer and autumn are different. In summer, mushrooms do not like excessive dampness and prolonged rains and prefer a temperature of +18 ... +20 ° C. Therefore, they hide in moss and under the thick paws of fir trees, where it is not very hot.
But already in the second half of September, weather in central Russia rarely spoils with warmth. At what temperature do mushrooms grow in the fall? Starting in September, the optimal regime for the growth of porcini mushrooms will be 10-15 degrees Celsius. Moreover, night frosts do not interfere with them at all. The main thing is that during the day the air and soil warm up.
When to collect boletus in autumn
Boletus, especially young and strong, are in no way inferior to whites - at least boil, at least dry, at least fry. And if they go in layers, then you can collect them in a relatively small forest more than one bucket.
According to popular belief, the first birch trees appear when the mountain ash blooms, and then forest glades and birch groves do not leave all summer. Unless, of course, the summer was not too hot and arid. But the summer boletus booster has one drawback - it really loves this delicious mushroom worm. So the mushroom picker has to reluctantly throw one mushroom after another.
In autumn, brown boletus trees are clean and strong. And besides, their special appearance appears - with a thick leg and a dark hat, which tastes almost the same as white. Finding it, however, in fallen foliage is not easy. But if one is caught, then a dozen more can be found around it.
At what temperature do mushrooms grow in the fall (brown boletus)? The temperature regime they have is almost the same as that of whites. 10–12 degrees of heat is quite enough for a boletus, only these mushrooms like more humid weather, and not prolonged rains, but thick autumn fogs. And if the autumn is dry, then boletus must be found in moist places, in lowlands and even in a swamp.
A good mushroom picker knows at what temperature mushrooms grow. In the autumn, he will quickly pick up a basket in the forest, or he will even get a bag - not to leave white and butterfish under the Christmas trees and birch trees, aspen and boletus, chestnuts and thrills! And if he attacks the honey agarics, then there may not be enough packages.