Collection standards
These are some of the basic rules and tips for mushroom picking that you need to keep in mind if you want to get started with the activity:
- It is not allowed to remove the soil or use tools that allow indiscriminate lifting of the existing vegetation cover.
- Use razors, knives or scissors to cut the mushrooms. Once cut, cover the base of the feet to encourage the mycelium.
- Use baskets or containers that allow their aeration and the dissemination of their spores to transport the mushrooms. The use of plastic bags is not allowed and will result in a fine.
- Make sure that the mushrooms collected are edible species, harvestable, to avoid any intoxication. In case of doubt, refrain from picking them.
- It is recommended to collect only the quantity of mushrooms to be used and never collect mushrooms at an advanced stage of maturation and juvenile mushrooms.
- Respect existing gates, fences or stone walls.
- Collaborate with the agents of the authority in the conservation of natural resources, complying with the regulations.
- Avoid going alone to look for mushrooms, or let someone know where you are going. A GPS can be helpful.
- It is not allowed to pick mushrooms at night.
- Most importantly, enjoy nature.
Safe mushrooming
With the arrival of autumn and the arrival of mushrooms, the number of rescues for lost and disorientation in the mountains increases. Let’s review some tips to get back to the car safe, sound and on time.
Going for mushrooms is also "going out to the mountains".
Autumn imposes its conditions on those who go out in the mountains (fewer daylight hours, colder weather and the possibility of snow and ice in the middle and high mountains, among other things).
Often the “mushroomers” do not consider themselves hikers, although they develop their hobby in the mountains and preferably off the trails.
That is why at this time of the year, rescues due to loss are common; a mountain rescue that can be very complicated to solve. Taking some basic precautions can make all the difference.
Rescues due to loss: the most frequent in this activity
Mushroom hunters who get lost usually cannot give a location of where they are, because they do not know where they are. The objective is to find mushrooms and to this end all attention is paid, walking through the forest off trails or roads.
Rescues due to loss usually end with the location of people in good condition, perhaps a little tired or cold (from September onwards, minimum temperatures tend to drop more and more). But we must appeal to individual responsibility to ensure a day in the field without the need to activate the 112 services.