You open your feed – and there are only baskets, buckets, and bathtubs full of porcini mushrooms.

Familiar?

In September 2026, Belarus was hit by a real mushroom wave.

People are hauling hundreds of mushrooms out of the woods, sharing footage on TikTok and Threads, and some are already calculating their profits.

Let's figure out what's happening and why this season is being called special.

What happened: the mushroom boom in numbers

The start of September 2026 turned out to be so bountiful that even experienced mushroom pickers are surprised.

Blogger Aleksandr Gorbatsevich, who has over 200,000 followers, showed a record haul: a group of five people gathered about one and a half thousand mushrooms in a single outing.

And over two days of trips on August 30 and 31, he and a partner collected around 800 golden porcini.

Others are not far behind.

A resident of the Minsk region, Alexei, told Threads that along with a friend he gathered more than 15 kilograms of mushrooms – honey fungus, butter mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and, of course, porcini.

A resident of Kolodishchi, Evgenia, boasted on Threads about a bucket of oyster mushrooms she picked in just an hour – and that was right in the middle of a downpour.

And one Belarusian woman published a photo of a whole bathtub filled with mushrooms.

"Lovers of mushrooms, run to the forest, oyster mushrooms have appeared!" she wrote.

Why there are so many mushrooms

It's simple: the weather was perfect.

Warm, rainy days and cool nights woke up the mycelium.

With an average daily temperature of around +15…+16 °C, the mycelium remains active, and white mushrooms grow in waves.

But there's a nuance.

The rain was distributed unevenly.

The north and center of the country – the Vitebsk and Minsk regions – received more moisture.

There, white mushrooms grow in dense clusters.

The south, including the Brest region, saw almost no rain.

So the mushroom boom is, for now, a story of the north and center.

Where to look for mushrooms: trusted spots

If you want to try your hand, here's what the experts advise.

North and center. In the Vitebsk region, mushroom pickers note the Orshansky, Sennensky, and Gluboksky districts.

Near Minsk – the Logoisk and Pleshchenitsy districts, the pine forests along the Neman River.

Experienced picker Yuri Busel from Korolev Stan advises heading towards Myadel, Vileyka, or Molodechno – even beginners return from there with full baskets.

Brest region. It's more difficult here – there was little rain.

But the forests of the Brest and Kamensetsky districts are traditionally considered productive.

It is forbidden to pick mushrooms in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha; it's a protected area.

By the way, oyster mushrooms like damp ravines and old stumps, porcini hide in moss, and chanterelles are found in deciduous and pine forests.

How much can you earn

Some mushroom hunters not only collect but also sell them.

Prices at marketplaces are impressive: young boletes can reach 100 rubles per kilogram, chanterelles 12–15 rubles.

Dried boles are sold for as little as 250–300 rubles per kilogram.

Alexander Gorbačevich calculated that after selling his share from his catch at Komarovsk Market he spent 17 dollars on fuel and 15 on renting space and laboratory analysis.

Revenue amounted to 259 dollars.

Net profit – 227 dollars.

What one must remember

Mushrooms are great, but safety is more important.

Here are several points that many overlook.

Radiation. In Belarus, approximately 1.19 million hectares of forest belong to radioactive contamination zones.

Collected mushrooms should be checked for radionuclide content – this can be done for free at hygiene and epidemiology centers.

According to regulations, the cesium-137 content in fresh mushrooms should not exceed 500 becquerels per kilogram.

Rot. In the north, where it is humid and warm, up to 60–70% of adult white mushrooms are damaged from the inside.

A simple tip: do not chase giants, take sturdy young specimens.

Elk flies. They are especially active in early autumn.

Wear thick clothing with long sleeves, tuck your pants into your socks, and use repellents.

Conclusion

The 2026 mushroom season in Belarus turned out to be exceptionally generous.

Social media is filled with photos of "catches," and forests are full of those still hoping for their record.

Some hunt for their families, others for sale.

But what unites all these people is enthusiasm, love for the forest, and joy at finding a mushroom under a spruce tree.

If you decide to go out – do not forget safety and a good mood.

And did you know?

Even if you return with empty hands, a walk through an autumn forest is already worth it.