I was a profesional ( industrial ) mushroom picker for about 35 years and a grower for about 20 years . I read the thread and these are some notes i made as i read . Maybe they help . I hope so .
@ Panaeolus subbalteatus . They come from very weak to weak and its not worth the time fo me because of that . One time one gets a slight effect and another time nothing at all .
@ Yanking them out of the gound . That unformation comes fom edible mushroom pickers . Those mushrooms are bigger than liberty caps , mostly gow in different areas and have a strong conection to the myceleum . That means that when one yanks them out they rip bits of myceleum with them . I seriously doubt that that makes any real difference to the amount of those mushrooms available .
Liberty caps are not growing on a lump od crap or wood that gets ripped out with them = MIGHT do a little damage to the myceleum .
Picking liberty caps with a pair of scisors is not realistic for anyone other than someone who just wants a few trips . It isnt needed . Liberty caps grow in MASSIVE quantitys . In some fields it would be possible to harvest them with a harvesting machine .
@ Where they grow . Cows and horrses trample them and the myceleum to death . Horse piss kills the fields . You should look for hills and valleys and sheep fields . Cows and horses eat them ........ its wierd watching horses and cows tripping because they have eaten them . Sheep cut the grass down so you dont get wet feet and they eat around the mushrooms .
USUALY but not always they grow on fields that have had no machines on them and also no fertiliser . That means that good fields are often steep .
Its better to go in the afternoon so you dont get wet and cold ...... and by that time the most spores have dropped off .
When you find a good field DONT TELL ANYONE . Most people cant keep thyeir mouths closed and try to buy friends by takeing them with them . I made the mistake ......... and after that the spot had loads of people rapeing them . I know fields that others dont know that have had good amounts of miushooms on them since 1974 . Other fields are good fo one season and then never again .
The mushrooms that you pick on a dry day are better than on wet days . Its easily posible to pick enough that your fingers will be black and you will start to trip . The dry one also dry faster and dont go moldy .
If its windy and the grass is longer its better to pick with the wind in your face = you can see them much better than if the wind is in the other direction .
If you eat a few before you go into a field it can make your vision better .
Rain doesnt realy make a difference to if they grow . They grow where they grow and dew is enough for them to grow .
If you find a good field ook at the trees and see in wich direction they grow = wich way the wind generaly grows and go in that diection to find more .
NEVER go in fields where you ae visible . You ae ttespasing on a famers land and the mushooms belong to him = You are stealing them . Farmers know what they ae and what you are doi ng as it was in the speial pres that farmers read over and over again . I have had a shotgun pointed at me and been threatened with it by a farmer .
@ Psilocybe cyanescens . If you live in an area where they will grow they are the best bet for outdoor culture . They are in my opinion by far the easyest psilocybye mushroom to grow and when they grow they produce MASSIVE harvests . When growing them i only ever sterilised one time . All the other times i didnt . I will post some pictures later . I spent about twenty years looking fo them and didnt find a single one . Then i decided to grow a lot of myceleum and plant it outside in the mid 80s and again in the mid 90s . I put some in compost piles in the city garden department heaps and they kindly spread it though the whole city . Now the whole city is full of them . They grow in every park ....... on the green stripe in the middle of the road outside the court ...... and along the banks of the canals = Free for everyone . Where people know about them only a few grow . In other places one can get enough for oneself and all ones friends for a year in a few hours easy picking .
@ Mushroom picking . NEVER PICK BABY MUSHOOMS AS YOU CANT RELIABLY IDENTIFY THEM .
@ " we where chased out of the field by 2 bulls " ........... Bullocks and not bulls ? Bulls mostly fight with eachother . Bullocks are curious and come and say hello ...... and you have a serious chance of being licked to death .........
@ " cultivating semilanceata indoors " .......... Why ? They grow in masses ....... tons and tons of them .
I've never heard of anyone haveing sucsess gowing them indoors . Outdoors its possible but hard . I used to live in a field in a circus caravan and clean my mushooms on a table in the field . One year they grew under that table = They came from the spores of the mushooms i picked .
@ " The erowid.org psilometric scale of comparative potency of Psilocybe mushrooms shows them being the third most potent psilocybin producing mushroom, i agree! "
Unless its been changed read it again . From what i remeber there are several things to read there and what comes out is that the content is variable but the strongest ones are = to the strength of any others and better than most . Liberty caps can be very strong depending on where they grow and maybe the genetics . There is dispute amongst experts if there are several sub types of Liberty caps . Unfortunately i havent found one that is interested in looking at that subject . The customers response was always clear . The libety caps always went firts . The Cyanescens came after that and the cubensis was always the last ......... probably because they are weaker , the bulk and the asociation with pukeing .
@ " level X? experience "....... Dont want to be rude but that is silly . Different mushrooms and different batches have different quantitys in them and one amount one day can do more or less than the same amount on another day .
@ " 3.5kg fresh " . Thats possible on a good Libey cap field or on a good Cyanescens patch in one day . I can say more about amounts if asked .
@ " whats peoples view on the effects of lib caps over cubensis? " ...... Take the liberty caps . They are strronger and you have less bulk to eat and libety caps are not asociated with pukeing . A tea is easyest on the stomach and comes on faster and clearer ........ because its purer .
@ " Golden Teachers " .......... Thats a trade name . Cubensis are cubensis . Most shops grow and sell different customers who want different " types " the same myceleum under different names . Thats an open secret in the world of profesional mushroom growers . If you think about the logistics of growing and the very small market for mushrooms it is obvious . One sees it on a lot on forums where people are complaining about contamination in grow kits . That often comes because the growers grow a charge and then when it stats to run out they break the cultures up and grow cultures from cultures without doing it in sterile conditions .
@ Different psychedelics do different things . I cant remember where it was but it was about the time leary was doing his thing legaly i read a report that said that when people ae injected with traditional psychedelics they cant tell the difference . The difference comes from expectation and set and setting .
@ WOW !!!!!! ....... Go picking on a clear night at full moon in a sheep field when its dry . They refelct the moonlight ........
@ Blueing reaction . It is NEVER a sign of activity . Some liberty caps dont bruise blue and some non Psilocybie mushrooms do . It is a part indicator when other indications fit .
@ Purges #32 Posted : 01/11/2014 18:20:35 ........ Some of those mushrooms dont look like liberty caps . The bottom one on the first picture for example .
@ Psilocybe Cyanescens and frost .......... I have often seen them with snow on their caps .
@ Drying them ........ on a piece of paper on the top of a cupboard it takes a few days . In a cool dark place with no air they stay potent for years . Psilocybe Cyanescens dont last anywhere near as that . After 4 years noone wanted them .
@ Black spots . Throw them away because it is probably bacteria or mold ..
@ " the farmer has decided to let their cattle graze on our prime spots " ...... Thats what they are advised to do in their magazines if they see people picking mushrooms on their fields .
Comments . thoughts and questions welcome .
I am autism spectum ........ please dont burn me at the stake for being honest .