IT’S AN old rural truism right up there with sound travelling further and ants building their nests higher before a rain.
Masses of autumn mushrooms are said to be a sign of a cracking cropping season ahead.
If so, farmers in the Wimmera in Victoria should be turning cartwheels.
Countless numbers of fungi have emerged like magic over the past ten days since the seasonal break.
A solid opening rain, combined with unseasonably high soil temperatures has seen one of the best mushroom seasons in years.
Many long time rural residents have bemoaned that changing farming practices, including more cropping, had meant autumn mushrooms are nowhere near as plentiful as they once more, but this year is an exception.
Mycophiles have delighted in picking the seasonal bounty, with circles of field mushrooms popping up in areas where they have not been seen for years.
Rainfall figures show the start was much more favourable for fungi than in recent years, where opening rains have been much lighter and later, when the soil temperature has cooled down.
With light showers forecast and no truly cold conditions forecast for the next week, enthusiasts are hoping for more mushroom delicacies for a while yet.
However, with that comes a caveat.
There has been an equally large flush of poisonous fungi, such as the yellow stainer and even the incredibly dangerous death cap mushroom.
For the inexperienced forager these fungi can appear very similar to common edible species.
Government officials urge those people out for a day’s mushroom picking to remember the simple slogan. “If in doubt, leave it out”.
