Puffballs

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Puffballs

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moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 05 3:41 pm Post subject: Puffballs
Last year I found a field where these grow, they were a nice size too, just about teaplate size, unfortunately when I found them they were past their best. What is the best time of year to go looking for these and is there any particular time of day I should go after them?

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28239
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 05 5:34 pm Post subject:
I'd be curious as to how long fungi are at their best for? I assume each crop is only good to eat for a few days, if that? Calling Cab!

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 05 6:04 pm Post subject:
I think ours were late summer last year. You do need to catch them in a very short time frame! Although last year was different because of the weather. Rain/shine/rain/shine gave us a prolonged season for parasols and field mushrooms, about 4 months

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 05 6:58 pm Post subject:
I'm so glad I haven't asked another stupid question. C'mon Cab, where are you??

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 05 10:05 am Post subject:

Sorry, I was out all weekend shopping at the local market, foraging, and working on my allotment. You know, real life rather than computer life

The giant puffball is a wonderful species. Anything between tennis ball sized and twice that of a football and there's a good chance it'll be good.

There really isn't a hard and fast rule for when it'll be at it's best. I've had storming good puffballs between in May, through till the start of December. You're looking for a warmish spell with some rain. The real trick is to be vigilant and visit the spot regularly. I find fewer but larger specimes late in the season.

As for how long they're good for, again it depends on conditions. I've seen one patch mature for a month with a dozen puffballs on it (three years ago, year of the puffball!), whereas on the same patch last year the three or four puffballs I found there were off within a week. Again, it's the conditions; the same conditions that bring about profuse fruiting also bring about rapid over-ripening and spoilage. The very best you can have is a warm wet spell followed by a drier cold patch, but that rarely happens.

As for how long mushrooms are in good condition for, again, that depends on conditions. A blewit in a cold December will stay good (even stay frozen in the field!) all month. Chicken of the woods will be good and soft for picking for a week, maybe two. A shagg ink cap gives you an afternoon to pick and use it before it's off, a horse mushroom will mature all week and get bigger and bigger, but the longer you leave it the more maggots you'll be picking out, etc.

Sorry this is all a bit wooly, but that's just how it is I'm afraid

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 05 12:04 pm Post subject:
You've been a real help, thanks Cab, now I know what time of year I should head over in that direction. It's a bit of a drive for me but worth it to get these monsters

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 05 12:43 pm Post subject:
Bear in mind that if there are puffballs, odds are you'll find something else too. We're just about to come into St. Georges mushroom season, and it's not uncommon to fins them on the same patch of grass (at different times of the year).

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 05 3:25 pm Post subject:
I don't know what they look like though, is it a safe bet to pick anything that looks interesting and bring it home to identify it with my mushroom book?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 05 3:39 pm Post subject:

moggins wrote:

I don't know what they look like though, is it a safe bet to pick anything that looks interesting and bring it home to identify it with my mushroom book?

Yes, that's safe; keep the unknowns seperate from the knowns so you don't get bits of poisonous stuff mixed in, and make a note of the habitat (tree types, is it growing on grass, in rings, on wood etc.) 'cos they're all useful things to know.

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