Ukraine's mushroom calendar: what to pick each month

Many people think mushrooms are strictly an autumn thing. In fact, the mushroom season in Ukraine lasts almost all year: as soon as the snow melts, the first spring mushrooms appear, and in winter oyster mushrooms and velvet shanks hold on on the trees. You just need to know when to go looking for what.

We've put together a month-by-month mushroom calendar so you know what to expect from the forest at any time of year. The weather shifts the exact dates every year, so check the mushroom radar too.

Spring: March, April, May

The spring forest offers special mushrooms you won't find at any other time.

• **March and April.** The first spring mushrooms appear: morels and their relatives. We've written a separate article about them.
• **May.** Morels are joined by the first St George's mushrooms and knights (Tricholoma), and at the end of the month, in warm regions, the first summer porcini.

Spring is the season for those who love a quiet hunt without competition: there are still few foragers in the forest.

Summer: June, July, August

In summer the season gets into full swing.

• **June.** The first porcini, slippery jacks, birch boletes and chanterelles. For the start of the season, see our roundup which mushrooms to pick in June.
• **July.** The height of summer mushrooms, but also their main enemy: the heat. Look for mushrooms in the shade and in low-lying spots.
• **August.** Saffron milk caps and milk caps join in, and a second strong wave of boletes appears.

Summer is the most abundant and varied season, when almost the whole range of mushrooms ends up in your basket.

Autumn: September, October, November

Autumn is the forager's golden season.

• **September and October.** The peak of the season: masses of honey fungus, a strong autumn wave of porcini, saffron milk caps and milk caps. Warm, damp weather helps, especially an Indian summer.
• **November.** The season fades, but cold-hardy mushrooms hold on: late honey fungus, oyster mushrooms and the first velvet shanks.

In autumn, warm days combine with damp, cool nights, so mushrooms last longer and are less often wormy.

Winter: December, January, February

Even in winter the forest isn't completely empty.

During thaws, on the trunks of broadleaf trees you'll find velvet shank and oyster mushrooms, which aren't afraid of frost. These are niche mushrooms for true enthusiasts, but they prove that the mushroom season has no sharp end.

So the mushroom year is an unbroken circle. For which mushrooms are in season right now in your region, the most accurate guide is the mushroom radar, and for an overview of each month, see the pages in our months section.

Sources

• “Vyznachnyk hrybiv Ukrainy” (Field Guide to the Fungi of Ukraine; Kyiv, Naukova Dumka).
• Boletus edulis on GBIF, the global biodiversity database.
• Fungi on MycoBank, the international fungal nomenclature database.
• Mushroom hunting on Wikipedia.