# How do I propagate puffball mushrooms?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 25, 2001, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665 "2001-09-25T12:00:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665/1 "2001-09-25T12:00:30Z")

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We just had some puffballs appear in our lawn. Last night we harvested and ate a couple of them. They were so darn good, I started wondering: is there anything I can do so that _more_ mushrooms will appear next year? Dig it up and spread it around? Let one puffball mature and hand-spread the spores? More water? Less water?

And, a related question: There’s two or three puffballs left on the lawn. How do I determine the optimum time to pick them, where they are a decent size, but not too old?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665/2 "2001-09-25T12:14:05Z")

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leave a couple of them to ripen fully; they will burst open and release their spores, hopefully some of these will grow into new colonies nearby.

How big were the puffballs?

FTR they need to be harvested while the inside is still completely white and firm; as with any fungi, [there are no ‘rules of thumb’ about whether it is edible or poisonous](http://www.eat-it.freeserve.co.uk/fooddata/fungi.htm) (although _most_ puffballs _are_ edible), the only way to be sure is to positively identify the species.

The real prize of puffballs is the [giant](http://www.eat-it.freeserve.co.uk/fooddata/food0013.htm) puffball - these can grow to such a size that they have (reportedly) been mistaken for sheep (at a distance, I presume).

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**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665/3 "2001-09-25T12:51:26Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*  
> How big were the puffballs?  
> FTR they need to be harvested while the inside is still completely white and firm…

Mais oui! Je mange tout le mushrooms!

The puffballs we ate were about fist-sized; the ones left are about golf-ball-sized. I’d still like to know if I can tell that the puffballs are done growing _before_ they turn brown on the inside, so I can maximize my harvest.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-propagate-puffball-mushrooms/83665/4 "2001-09-25T12:58:39Z")

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The only way to do this reliably will be to positively identify the species; a good book on the subject will tell you the maximum expected size.