Early Fungi Season, 2025

Now that we're a good way into August, reflecting on the first part of mushroom season seems like a good idea. After a great start, the chanterelles in Galloway seem to have suffered in all this glorious summer sunshine. The damp June really got them popping, but after that they've been somewhat stunted in a lot of the spots I visit. I need to find myself a good riverside spot that not many people visit, as even during hot dry weather the moisture from a river or a burn will keep these beauties growing.

The positive side to this is that it suggests the potential for a truly amazing Porcini season. Unlike Chanterelles, Porcini like the summer to be hot, humid and reasonably dry. Plenty of heat in the ground with a little moisture provides the perfect conditions for the underground mycelium to thrive, and as soon as that hot weather turns cool and damp they produce enormous amounts of fruiting bodies.

Last year in Galloway I found one Porcini (also know as a Cep or a Penny Bun), whereas in 2023 and 2022 I picked hundreds, which in turn represented a small fraction of the number of Ceps growing on location. This is what many fungi foragers dream of, and so I'm holding out hope for another abundant year for these Bolete mushrooms.

I'll be back with another blog later in September, with an update on how my public foraging tours have been going alongside an update on Porcini season.

Until then, happy foraging

Jesse