Anybody growing mushrooms willing to talk???

Fangthane

Well-Known Member
I opted for 4 x 1" holes in my 12qt dubtubs. In spring when I was fruiting, RH was probably 25-30% outdoors, maybe 35% in the closet I fruited in. I had to mist once a day, but otherwise didn't seem to have any issues from the low humidity, even with not having the two tubs sealed together in any real way. I never actually fanned.
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A.k.a

Well-Known Member
It’s all about dialing in the coir hydration and the air holes.

most of the year my RH is 5-10%, once I got things set up I no longer had to mist or do anything besides wait for shrooms.

I was having to mist once or twice a day for a long time, and then realized if I made my coir slightly wetter the tub kept perfect conditions on its own.
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
just figured it out : so the liner isn't to keep light out to prevent side pinning. the liner clings to the substrate which prevents the side pinning.

some of the pre-made monotub kits have a plastic tub with black colored bottom and sides. guess that's not needed at all. just hype.

It's not hype. Light is a significant trigger.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
It's not hype. Light is a significant trigger.
not from most of the sources i've found.

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.
 

A.k.a

Well-Known Member
I used clear or no liners forever and rarely had side pins. IME they’re 90% caused by sub par surfaces. Occasionally I’ll get a culture that just pins the entire sub, top bottom and sides no matter what i do. Seems to be more common with wild cube genetics.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
You might learn that amount of breather holes in a shoebox is too much unless you have a sealed lid. But if your humidifying the room it shouldn't be an issue. If you keep the moisture just right in the tub from the jump then misting/fanning and high airflow won't be a requirement, I learned this early on and now can get 2-3 flushes without misting at all or opening my bins.

I started out in 10x20 propagation trays though and learned really quick having the top ports open was too much airflow considering the seal on the lids to the trays was not perfect.

Unrelated: Mushroom growing on a mushroom
View attachment 5323857
That's awesome!! Never seen this before.
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member
not from most of the sources i've found.

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.
Right, evaporation has gotta be the main trigger, I've grown these in complete darkness But I do believe At least for me that the light is giving me a more dense mushroom/pinset/canopy.
 

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
Right, evaporation has gotta be the main trigger, I've grown these in complete darkness But I do believe At least for me that the light is giving me a more dense mushroom/pinset/canopy.
You only need ambient light, mushrooms get their color from melanin similar to our skin, light stimulates growth most certainly because I have grown spawn that was in the dark and it always took longer than spawn I left out in the room with just normal ambient window light, no direct light through the window.

I've also fruited in 12/12 and 24/7 lighting and neither performed differently. The moisture on the layer of your substrate if prepared properly is what will stimulate the mycelium to fruit. If you have a substrate too wet/dry especially on the top layer then you will get an uneven canopy. Same with if you have too much FAE Fresh Air Exchange (airflow). Even moisture = even canopy. Fresh air and transpiration is what stimulates the fruiting process the most.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
You only need ambient light, mushrooms get their color from melanin similar to our skin, light stimulates growth most certainly because I have grown spawn that was in the dark and it always took longer than spawn I left out in the room with just normal ambient window light, no direct light through the window.

I've also fruited in 12/12 and 24/7 lighting and neither performed differently. The moisture on the layer of your substrate if prepared properly is what will stimulate the mycelium to fruit. If you have a substrate too wet/dry especially on the top layer then you will get an uneven canopy. Same with if you have too much FAE Fresh Air Exchange (airflow). Even moisture = even canopy. Fresh air and transpiration is what stimulates the fruiting process the most.
a bunch of sites said that the K value was somewhat important if you do decide to use a light. 5000k to 6500k was the range. does a more red light do something that the more blue light does not? ever heard of this?
 

7L!fTeD24

Well-Known Member

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
I suppose if you let some direct sunlight hit the fruits (right before harvest), without the lid on for a couple minutes.. that should be enough to boost the vitamin D levels by 100% almost instantly, according to those studies anyway, right? They pulsed them for a very short time, and was all it took so yeah..

I don't think any UV will make it through the clear plastic totes that is worthwhile from the outside. You would probably have to install the lights under the lid somehow, so you get direct contact.

If mushrooms synthesize vitamin D just like humans, I wonder if they can be deficient too then? The real question is; do psilocybes that aren't deficient in vitamin D produce different psychoactive compounds that otherwise wouldn't be in the dried product, besides the extra vitamins? Would it alter the affects?
 

Fangthane

Well-Known Member
I was having to mist once or twice a day for a long time, and then realized if I made my coir slightly wetter the tub kept perfect conditions on its own.
Even just a year ago, it's kinda hard to remember my exact process, especially since I was kinda wingin' it. I'm thinking it didn't get to the point where I felt I really needed to mist daily to replenish moisture loss until after pin-set. Pretty sure I was operating under the assumption that if I used a fine mister daily after the sub was fully colonized, the individual specks of moisture would encourage more pins as they evaporated.

Isn't going wetter than field capacity asking for trouble? Something you'd recommend for anyone, or just us desert-dwellers that have low RH?

I need to stop reading this thread. Despite having several ounces in the freezer that I have no apparent intention of ever eating, I'm kinda itching to grow more.
 

A.k.a

Well-Known Member
I feel you man I started out intending to grow 2-3oz to stash in my freezer but then never stopped. I’ve given away and thrown out more than I ever thought I’d see in a lifetime.

I definitely recommend experimenting with the coir hydration. What I didn’t realize at first is that there’s a wide range of field cap that will work fine, but a small sweet spot that will maintain its own surface conditions without being so wet it affects the mushrooms. If I had messed around sooner I would’ve saved so much time I spent checking and misting tubs.
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
not from most of the sources i've found.

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.
I have placed boxes half in light and half in as much darkness as possible. The dark side had few primordia, the light, lots.

Now what EXACTLY is "microclimate" and how does one control it?

A problem with light is that there must be light in order to observe the bed and of course the moment you have done so your bed has been exposed to light.

I have never found enhanced humidity or misting to induce fruit.

And of course I have found the best liners to be 4 mil black plastic sheet which blocks light.
 
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