Mushroom pickers enjoy their first mushrooms
The first mushroom pickers' catches have already been captured on social media. True, they are still very small, but there is a lot of joy. The first monkeys have been found and fresh squirrels have been tasted. „Will it be a mushroom year?“ – I ask teacher Jonas Malinauskas. Last year his predictions – came true.
Already tasted the first chanterelles
When interviewed, teacher and guide Jonas Malinauskas laughs: „If I don't guess, it will be bad“. But immediately he says: „There will be mushrooms this year, which is very good. It will be a mushroom year“.
True warns that there is one problem – it's lack of moisture. This year, he says, moisture will be unevenly distributed. „Some regions will have an excess of moisture while others will lack it“. As people say, it is up to God to provide the rain.
Will there be mushrooms here in Dzūkija? There will be enough mushrooms in Dzūkija," he says. – Only there may not be as many porcini mushrooms as we would like“. But this is not news. In recent years, the number of porcini mushrooms has been decreasing in Dzūkija. „Porcupines don't like too much heat, and since it's warmer here, they're moving to where it's cooler – to the north of Lithuania, to Pasvalys, to Biržai“, – he explains. It is far too early for boletes to grow, although, according to Malinauskas, there may already be one. „However, it will be hot and dry during the germination period“, – he believes. So we won't see many of them this year. That's Malinauskas' guess.
There are already squirrels in Varėna. Malinauskas has tasted them, fresh this year. „I have not only seen, but also tasted. Not enough to fill me up, but I have tasted fresh ones“, – he is surprised.
He hasn't found any beetroot yet this year, but it's quite possible that he may have, especially as they don't grow singly. If they've started, they'll grow where there's more warmth and enough moisture," he says.
Walking in the woods is worthwhile, mushrooming – not necessary
„The mushroom in the forest overwintered well this year, and is already starting to vegetate“, – notes. Mushrooms are sure to come. But for now, he advises not to go to the forest for the mushrooms. It's a great time to go for a walk, to be in nature, to pick herbs, because many medicinal plants are in bloom, it's a good time to pick them, and it's good to breathe fresh air – the pine trees are in bloom, and that's a great medicine. Maybe you'll find some mushrooms by accident," he advises.
We don't know how to pick mushrooms – we don't have the stomach
He points out that mushroom picking is something we do not know how to do and do not learn. „Once we start mushrooming, we lose our sense of self control“, – says Malinauskas. We are the only ones like that, he says. Neighbours know how. "The Hungarians, Poles, Latvians and Germans all collect only as much as a person needs. But we collect, and as much as possible. If I've got a basket full, I'll be sure to look for another one, and if there's another one, I won't leave it, I'll pack a trunk full. I need to – I don't need to, but I will, and then in May or June I need to clean out the freezers: last year's frozen mushrooms are just thrown away, “, – she says. "The more mushrooms we collect, the more they will become scarce in Lithuania."
Another problem: if we see an old, overgrown mushroom in the forest, instead of letting it go, we have to step on it. „Especially young families with small children coming from the city do this. Parents even demonstrate how to kick such mushrooms“, – I've noticed more than once and more than twice. It is as if it is impossible to pass by an overgrown mushroom in the forest, as if there is not enough space, one has to kick it. When people see mushrooms that have been pulled out, they realise that there are mushrooms and that there have been mushroom pickers in the area. The more we kick the mushrooms, the fewer spores come out and the fewer mushrooms there are," he observes.
„Thank God, the law is now in place: chanterelles can be picked by size. You can't collect the tiny ones“, – reminds. Nowadays, mushroom pickers tend not to pick small ones, whereas before, they say, if they found one, they would scour the moss for more and pick them all in a row, even very small ones. The moss seems to have been dug up by wild boars, which is the job of mushroom pickers. It's definitely not wild boar, because they have nothing to look for in such places," he says.
Dineta Babarskienė ("Dzūkų žinios")
