Looking down this steep hillside I could see a good sized birch with a nice chaga horn and even larger chaga mushrooms at the bottom of the trunk, so down I gradually slide to the tree. The chaga horn ended up being well out of reach, probably 12 feet up, so the ones level with my belly were the best options.
I decided to harvest the top section of this lower trunk Chaga mushroom which kind of resembles an elephant and weighed 8 lbs, so this will last a while at a tbsp of chaga per 2 or 3 cups of water. This tree has only a few branches producing leaves so this chaga is near the end of its most potent years if not harvested.
Earlier in the day no positional thoughts came to mind when I walked through this floodplain which was under several feet of water just 2 weeks ago. Long strips of bark lay beneath this tree, an unusual sight.
Yes this is the same neighbourhood where beaver’s been chomping down poplars. ciao
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I was under the impression that chaga should only be picked in the winter ?
Some do say only harvest after a number of days with freezing temperatures in late fall through till early spring in our area. They claim all the nutrients are flushed out when the sap runs and the water content in the Chaga increases. Personally I have gathered from all seasons and have noticed no differences in my health and I even have pondered whether a summer Chaga is more in tune with the summer needs of my body as a tonic tea. If I was taking the tea for an aggressive cancer I personally would opt for a January Chaga from a large healthy tree, based on the likelihood of the highest nutrients being locked in during the coldest months. Historically folks in northern areas who drank Chaga for their table tea did their harvesting when they run out and unknowingly reaped its tonic benefits to prevent not all but many illnesses. From my experience chaga from the tree is good anytime and I suspect from what many are saying winter is best as far as nutrient intensity goes. Thanks for visiting Louise, hope things go well on the island
Wished I had known that last summer I had found a big one and was waiting for winter to pick it but by then the tree had ben cut by then . I will hope to find a few this summer . But for now I will happily go try some of my gout weeds .
Merci