“Where am I going today?” is the question on Saturday morning, with coffee in hand and two hours of daylight not to be wasted. If you are looking for a map that will show you a forest full of porcini mushrooms, stop here: it doesn't exist, and whoever is selling it to you is selling you someone else's places. What can be done is something else, and more is needed: to choose, between the places you already know, the one where it is worth going today.
The right place is not the same for everyone
A provincial bulletin tells if it has rained in the area. But within the same province there are the valley floor and the ridge, the northern and southern slopes, the chestnut forest at 400 meters and the beech forest at 1,200 metres. On a September morning those places don't behave in the same way, and in fact you make a mistake right there: you return to the woods that last year had filled the basket, without realizing that this year it is still early.
The right place today depends on three things: what was the weather like? in the last two or three weeks at that point, at what altitude is, and how it went there in the same period as other years.
The three things to look at before going out
1. The rain from two weeks ago, not yesterday's
It is the most common mistake. Last night's storm doesn't produce anything for tonight: the porcini mushroom needs the rain that fell two or three weeks earlier, plus the drop in temperature that follows. If it rained heavily yesterday, the forest should be looked at starting from the second week. We talk about it in full in how many days after the rain do porcini mushrooms appear.
2. The quota, which moves with the season
In August the porcini mushrooms are high up; from there they descend, approximately six hundred meters per month, until November. If your woods are all five hundred meters away, in August it's normal to return empty-handed: it's not the place that's wrong, it's the month. Half an hour's drive uphill, on the exact same day, can change everything.
3. What you have already found there
It is the information that no bulletin has and that only you have: in that forest, on those days of the year, in that weather, you found it or you didn't find it. If you remember it by heart it's worth little, because memory keeps the good years and erases the bad ones. If it is written, however, it becomes the most useful thing you own.
How MushScout does it
The app keeps the three things together for each of your places and puts them in order every morning, from the most promising downwards. Next to the number there is always the reason: the day it resembles and what you found in it that time.
Under each seat there is then the twelve day calendar, with the line that really counts: «Porcini: opens Thursday 11th». It's the first day when it's worth going, not the one when the score is at its highest — because the first few days of a trip are the best.
On the free plan you see your best seat, with the real number and not a blurry screen. With Premium you see the complete ranking and receive notification when one of your forests is about to open.
What if you don't have the places yet?
So the right question is not "where am I going today", but "where do I start looking". We start from the woods: chestnut and beech forests can be recognized from the satellite before even leaving the house, and the topographic map shows altitude and exposure. The first lap is used to score two or three points, not to fill the basket.
From then on, every outing you record - even the bad ones - makes the choice of the next one less random.
Before leaving
Where you can collect, how much and on what days is up to your region: card, daily limits and closed areas change from one province to another. The rules, region by region, are collected in this guide. And whatever you bring home, before eating it, show it to a mycologist or the mycological inspectorate of your local health authority.
Frequently asked questions
Does the app tell me where the mushrooms are?
No. It helps you understand which of the yours places best to go today, and from which day. There is no shared map and no other user sees your findings.
How do I know if it's still early?
Look at two things: the rain of the last two or three weeks and the altitude. If it rained at high altitude and it didn't in your place, the season has already started higher up. The app tells you explicitly when it is best to get on.
Do I see all my seats for free?
In the free plan you see the best of the day. The complete ranking, with all places sorted every morning, is Premium.
Is it better early in the morning or in the afternoon?
Little changes on the mushroom; It changes a lot on how many mushroom growers you have in front of you. In the beaten woods the difference between seven and ten is all there — and it's also the reason why the first day of the window is worth more than the best day.
