Volgogradskaya oblast: edible and poisonous mushrooms, forests, weather

The Volgograd region does not shine with the variety and beauty of the landscape, as here steppe and semidesert landscapes are developed. In connection with this, a program was developed for the artificial gardening of the area in order to prevent soil erosion caused by dry winds.

Forest plantations in the Volgograd region

The weather in the Volgograd region is mostly clear and dry, which is not surprising in a very arid climate, so weathering the top layer of the soil is a real disaster for farmland.

Today, the region grows 400 hectares of forests in natural conditions along the banks of the rivers Volga, Don, Khopra and in the beams. Floodplain forests of the Volgograd region are mainly represented by oak, black poplar and woody-shrub vegetation.

In addition, over the past 60 years, work was carried out on the artificial planting of forests, the function of which was to protect fields from dry winds. Not all of them were successful, since the composition of the soil and the species of trees and shrubs suitable for it were not always taken into account.

But there were positive results, thanks to which more than 200 000 hectares of artificial green areas grow today, some of which are soil protection from erosion, and a part - places of rest for the local population.

Mushrooms - a threat to life?

By the number of sunny days in the year, warm spring and hot summer, these places are similar to the Crimea, although short and cold winters remind that it is the southeast of the Russian plain. In summer the temperature reaches 38-45 ° C, due to the hot air masses from Kazakhstan, and there is a sharp lack of precipitation.

Although in summer the weather in the Volgograd region is arid, thanks to new forests people got the opportunity to engage in mushroom gathering. The only problem that they can have is the risk that even in the absence of rain, even edible fungi can be life threatening.

This is due to the accumulation of toxic substances during the drought, therefore, as soon as it rains, and they massively appear from under the ground or on tree trunks, some of them can become as poisonous as grebes or fly agarics.

Collect edible fungi of the Volgograd region should be very cautious and only with the knowledge of this matter or accompanied by experienced mushroom pickers who recognize the danger.

The mushroom championship held in the region encourages people to "quietly hunt," which, in turn, obliges its participants to understand them well. This gambling competition increases the number of professional mushroom pickers among the local population.

Spring mushrooms

Edible fungi of the Volgograd region can be divided by the time of collection for spring, summer and autumn species, so the most reckless "hunters" give their favorite business the warm season. So, in spring mushroom pickers are expected:

• Chanterelles, which are easy to see in the young May grass because of their color from light yellow to orange. They appear first and, as it were, open the "hunting" season. Chanterelles are difficult to confuse with other mushrooms, since they have large hats with wavy edges, slightly impressed in the middle. You can meet them both in pine-spruce, and in deciduous forests, which grow in the Uryupinsk, Olkhovsky and Chernyshkovsky areas.
• After the chanterelles, mushrooms appear from beneath the earth . Depending on the age, they can have a white hat (in young), pink (in mature) or black (for old). Only young mushrooms are suitable for food, which differ in fleshiness and are very tasty, but it will not be possible to prepare them for future use. Harvest should be in May near the compost pits, in the fields and near the vegetable gardens. Most often found in Surovikinsky, Chernyshkovsky and Alekseevsky districts.

• Mushrooms boletus also appear in May, when the whole earth begins to turn green and bloom. They are easy to distinguish among the grass, as they have broad yellow-brown or reddish hats, firmly seated on a cylindrical leg, which can grow up to 20 cm in height as it grows. Boroviki are planted in the aspen forests of the Kletsky district.

Knowing the schedule of each of the species, you can plan a route in advance and go to where the mushrooms are collected in the Volgograd region in May.

Mushrooms in early summer

If the summer turned out not too arid, then the place of harvest of the mushroom crop is the entire Volgograd region. Mushrooms at this time grow up massively, so they are followed by experienced mushroom pickers, and ordinary lovers. The latter, unfortunately, sometimes become victims of their inexperience and greed. As doctors of the region note, most of the patients who came to them with signs of poisoning either mistakenly poisoned the fungi, or incorrectly cooked the edible.

Therefore, before consuming them for food, it is necessary to study the fungi of the Volgograd region. Edible and poisonous are often very similar to each other, and if there are doubts, it is better not to cook them at all. In the first half of summer mushroom pickers are expected:

• White mushrooms that appear in early June. They are easy to recognize by a large bonnet, which in some specimens can reach 40 cm in diameter. When the white fungus under the cap of the tube becomes olive or yellowish, it means that it is ripe and can be eaten. The color of the cap of the white fungus varies from light brown to reddish-brown, and the stem is up to 25 cm in diameter. Massively they grow in oak forests, birch and pine forests of Kumylzhensky, Alekseevsky and Gorodischensky districts.

• Champignons are waiting for their collection at the end of June. This is the most common species, which pleases mushroom pickers in the Volgograd region. Mushrooms champignons have excellent taste qualities and are found not only in spruce forests, but also in meadows, pastures, in the Shakinskaya oak forest and in the "Tsimlyansk sands" of the Chernyshkivsky district.
• The end of June and July are a favorable time for oleants, which often grow in the pine forests of Rudnya, Novoanninsky, Olkhovsky and Zhirnovsky districts.

Less common is a giant raincoat, which, by the way, should be careful. It is edible only in white, so when meeting with a brown specimen, it should be avoided.

What mushroom pickers collect in July and August

The second half of the summer is not an occasion to sit at home, as this period meets mushroom lovers with very interesting representatives:

• Mushrooms - large mushrooms with a hat, in the middle of which there is a funnel. They are difficult to miss. Although the Volgograd Region is rich in a bumper crop, these fungi should be harvested when they are in the maturity stage. And when rusty spots appear on the light hat of the marshmallow, it is better not to touch them. They are found in the pine, birch and aspen forests of the Trekhostrovskaya stanitsa, on the Lebyazhye glade.
• In August, moss-eaters are waiting for mushrooms, which grow in the mosses of pine forests near the village of Kletskaya. They have brown hats, which are easy to determine their age - cracks indicate that the fungus is mature. Determine that this is a moss, you can cut it on the pulp, as it is blue.

That's what mushrooms grow in the Volgograd region in the summer. By the way, it is not always necessary to wait for the rains to harvest a good harvest. In the beams and floodplain forests, where the soil is moistened, they appear massively and without additional precipitation.

Autumn mushrooms

In autumn mushroom pickers are limited to a small number of species that the Volgograd region offers. Mushrooms appearing at the end of August and September:

• Poplar rowing (underfloor). Has a semicircular bonnet of brown or reddish hue, firmly seated on a cylindrical leg. It occurs in forests where poplars predominate. In the Volgograd region it is Svetloyarsky, Olkhovsky, Rudnyansky districts.

• Autumn mushrooms, which can be found in large numbers on stumps and trunks of trees, mainly on birches in the Shakinskaya oak, Chernyshkovo and Surovikinsky areas.
• Zelenushki are delicious yellowish mushrooms with a semicircular cap in young and flat in mature species. They grow in the pine forests of the Kalachevsky district.

This is the harvest the mushroom pickers are offering to the Volgograd Region. Mushrooms grow in almost all forest belts of the region, but there are special places that every lover of quiet hunting knows. And in May.

The best mushroom places in the Volgograd region

The most popular among mushroom pickers are:

• The territory of Tsimlyansk reservoir, where humid lowlands predominate with pine and deciduous forests.
• Volgo-Akhtuba floodplain up to Zubarevka.
• Islands Hungry, Money, Sarpinsky on the Volga.
• Pastures and meadows along the Volgograd Reservoir

Experienced mushroom pickers in these places have trails and have their secret glades.

Poisonous fungi of the Volgograd region

The greatest danger for beginning mushroom pickers is represented by false mushrooms. To distinguish them from the real ones is possible only by the unpleasant smell, since the change in the color of the cut from grayish to yellow is of little concern.

Amanita and pale toadstools are rare, but the ignorance of the shelf life of edible fungi can also lead to poisoning.

For example, mushrooms, which often occur on tree trunks, are edible only in youth, and only an experienced mushroom picker can determine their age.

Rules for the safe collection of mushrooms

Mushroom pickers have a number of rules that should not be violated:

1. Collect only those species that are well known.
2. Overgrown or flabby specimens should not be put in a basket.
3. Never try to taste raw mushrooms.
4. Do not collect them near industrial plants or along roads.

Performing these simple rules, you can enjoy both the very "hunting" and the delicious mushroom dishes.