Recent rain may revive Upper Austria mushroom season

Recent rain could still rescue the mushroom season in Upper Austria, ORF reports, after drought left many foragers with empty baskets. Experts say mushrooms could remain plentiful until mid-November if the wet conditions continue.

“If it continues like this, we could still find enough mushrooms here in Upper Austria until mid-November,” said mushroom expert Otto Stoik of the Association of Austrian Mushroom Advisers.

Mushrooms need moisture and suitable temperatures to grow. Despite forecasts, the drought did not severely damage the fungal networks growing about 20 to 25 centimetres below the ground.

The mushrooms will respond quickly to the recent rain, Stoik said. The moisture encourages the fungi to develop fruiting bodies, which are the mushrooms collected by foragers.

The popular edible parasol mushroom is expected to appear later, but it could remain available into November. The chanterelle season, however, is gradually coming to an end, and the mushrooms were scarce in forests this year.