April in upstate New York is always an exciting time! The forests and fields come alive with so many shades of green. Magnolias blossom into gorgeous pinks and whites, forsythia and red bud bloom, and all the early spring ephemerals pop! Our team got out there to forage prolific invasives for our 5th year of Foraged New York! So many other great things happened as well!
Chef Ric Orlando served up an incredible dining experience on an absolutely gorgeous evening in the Indian Ladder Farms’ Clear Mountain Room. Four courses of absolute decadence while Nick Bisanz provided an entertaining soundscape.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension bucket growing workshop was on a chilly April Sunday, but we had so much fun touring the mushroom spots across Indian Ladder Farms and making take home buckets for future blue oyster fruiting!
The Monday after the workshop, the team from Cornell and Avery plotted out an experiment using Black Walnut shells as a supplement and as a substrate to test whether the shells as an agricultural byproduct of walnut processing could be used to grow mushrooms. We’ll be progressing with the experiment over the next few months and recording the results! Our team is very excited to be partnering with Cornell for this first of several experiments.
The Troy Farmer’s Market indoor season wrapped up in April! Saturday, May 1st is the first outdoor market of the year! We’ll have the fresh mushrooms and additional products available. This summer season we’ll also be at the Wayward Lanes Brewing outdoor market on select Sundays. (Their market is the first and third Sunday of every Month) We’re also looking for an additional market person to help us sell at markets! We have the opportunity to be in the Rensselaer Market as well on Thursdays, but need another person to help! Email AVERY if you’re interested!
Our first few log-grown shiitake of the year have come in!
We are working on inoculating more logs with Shiitake and Chicken of the woods for our outdoor Forest Plot.
Foraged New York 2026 is underway! During April we planned, foraged, and delivered wild ingredients to all our tendril restaurant partners! Now we feast!
Foraged New York always kicks off internally with getting into the forests and fields to hunt for ingredients. Our good friend and ramp-patch owner, Adam Shelmerdine, allows our team to invade his property every April to harvest ramps for all our restaurant partners. He has one of the most impressive wild leek patches we’ve ever seen!
Watch our conversation here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17eX6X8VF8/
The Magnolia Mule cocktail using magnolia syrup, magnolia infused vodka, and seltzer.
Avery was interviewed on Sanctuary Radio by Marrow.
New Event added! Tuesday, May 5th. Pop up a la carte menu by Chef Matt Olley.
See FORAGED NEW YORK for all the details.
Amy and Avery have put together the New York Wild Mushroom Committee with mycofriends from all over the state and Cornell Cooperative Extension in order to refine the wild mushroom program in New York State. Over the next few months we’ll be advising the NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets on the rigor required for a program that would certify foragers to sell wild crafted fungi in New York and which mushroom belong on the approved-for-sale list.
Mr Blue Sky is now energized! All the framing is done, wall coverings are going up, outlets and switches are going in, we are almost fully online with our second container.
Amy and Avery took some time to visit the Mary Banning Exhibit at the NYS Museum one last time before it was taken down. These gorgeous illustrations certainly deserve to be enjoyed. We can’t wait until the book is finally published!
Our mushroom book club concluded discussing Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian. Our next book will be Eva Gordon’s Animal Mycophiles. Stay tuned for our next meeting. It will most likely be in June.
PSILOCYBIN CORNER
During our April NYMHA meeting we discussed the upcoming Capitol Educational Showcase and talked about how we can make the most impact during the day.
You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/tj-fVJLfidE
There will be NO May Meeting. Join us in June!
NYMHA Co-President Avery Stempel and Dickinson-Avella Lobbyist Mike Avella had an interview with a reporter Mona Zhang from Politico. A piece on our discussion may come out in the next month or so.
Tom Eschen from News Channel 6 reported on the executive order clearing the way for further research into psychedelic substances. He interviewed Assemblymember Amy Paulin about her work creating access in New York.
Watch the brief news clip HERE .
Join us on May 12th to help educate law makers and their staff about why creating a legal pathway for psilocybin-containing mushrooms is critical to citizens of New York.
COMING SOON
FORAGED NEW YORK 2026 Saturday, May 2 through Sunday May 10. This will be year 5 of bringing wild crafted ingredients to the Capital Region and Beyond. We’ll have a host of restaurant partners, a variety of foray walks, and a workshop or two! To register for walks, talks, and other activities see our website FORAGED NEW YORK . Wild Hudson Valley, The GIving Trees, Catskill Fungi, and Spore to Fork are all doing foraged activities around New York as well (see our website for details)
Foraged New York has also expanded outside the Capital Region! There are so many wild crafters all across New York independently wandering the wilds and gathering tasty ingredients to add to their meal planning, health and wellness routines, and craft and tool construction. For year 5 of our festival we want to showcase the network of knowledgeable gatherers exploring their local habitats. This year we are joined by experts in the Catskill Region and Central New York who will be hosting walks or talks and coordinating with restaurants to serve up some of New York’s non-cultivated edibles!
New Event added: Popup a la Carte dinner at Naughter’s in Troy by Chef Matt Olley! Tuesday night, 5/5. 5pm – 8pm
A Mushroom Experience Dinner: FORAGED EDITION featuring Chef Matt Olley, Saturday, May 9th,CANCELLED. Pivoted to a la carte menu at Naughter’s on Tuesday, May 5th.
What to Know About Mushrooms, Tuesday, May 19th, Berne Public Library 1763 Helderberg Trail, Berne, New York 12023. 6pm – 7pm https://www.facebook.com/share/1Gw5viLM5S/
https://www.bernepubliclibrary.org/
A Mushroom Experience Dinner at the Adirondack Experience Museum featuring Chef Matt Olley, Friday, August 21st, ADKx Museum. Details coming soon.
A Mushroom Festival at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, September 11 – 12, dates and times still to be finalized. This celebration of all things fungi will feature book talks, film screenings, workshops, and foray walks! Mark your calendars now! Stay tuned for details
Collar City Mushrooms 