How should I start to harvest Chaga?
This is the most common question I get asked. Which is fine because it’s an easy question to answer. Or is it?
I don’t want to be corny but everyone has a different reason why they decide to harvest their own mushrooms. No “normal” human being would rather get into a lot of trouble to maybe find something that they can buy online and have it packed and delivered within 5 business days.
Find The Reason Why You Harvest Chaga
Do you have a major health issue and want to have the mushroom as close to nature as possible to benefit more of its powerful nutrients? Do you live a simple life and harvest everything you consume? Do you simply enjoy the outdoors and love to walk in the forest?
Whatever is your reason, it’s important to know why you are harvesting your own Chaga because your why will influence your how.
Most people reading this will decide to harvest their Chaga directly in nature because they enjoy the outdoors and they are looking for a reason to go out in the sticks.
How To Harvest Chaga?
For the casual harvester, it’s usually a 5 steps process:
- Find a birch patch
- Find Chaga on the birch trees
- Remove the mushroom from the tree
- Dry it out
- Consume it
Find A Birch Patch
I won’t go deep into where to find a birch patch because I wrote an entire blog post on this subject which you can read if you click HERE.
Find Chaga On The Birch Trees
You must look for a black tumor on the white birch trees. The Chaga mushroom is a really dark and relatively easy to spot in winter when the tree has no leaves.
Side note: Aside from being easier to spot, there are many reasons why you should harvest Chaga in the winter. I suggest you read why by clicking on this LINK
Remove The Mushroom From The Tree
You need a saw or a hatchet to remove the mushroom from the birch tree. I strongly suggest you use this hatchet you can find on Amazon. Since I bought this hatchet I suggested and gifted it to all of my immediate circle of friends. I feel like it’s my duty to tell the world about this hatchet.
Anyway, enough about the hatchet. You need a tool to remove the Chaga that is integrated on the tree. Chaga is not like the other mushroom that can be harvested with a knife, you need a better tool.
Dry It Out
The best way I found to dry the Chaga mushroom is to cut it into 1 to 2 inches chunks and spread it on a perforated surface. You should let it dry for 3 to 5 days.
Consume It
Well that the easy part. If you want to know how to make the best decoction in a crockpot, you can learn how to do it if you click HERE.
Finally, How Should We Harvest Chaga?
Even though you have to do the 5 steps explained above, there is no better way to harvest Chaga. All you have to do now is to go out and find the precious mushroom.
Good luck!
