Substrate help

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LoveSteakBlues

Well-Known Member
I'm planning on doing monotubs. I asked the local farmers for some manure and they got back to me with this compost stuff which is a mix of cow poo, leaves and some other organic things. I was also able to get coco coir. Will this compost stuff (known as khaad over here) work well for cubensis or should I look for straight cow or horse poo. Whats a good coir to poo/compost ratio? I'm planning on keeping the spawn sub ratio 1:3.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
LoveSteakBlues said:
I'm planning on doing monotubs. I asked the local farmers for some manure and they got back to me with this compost stuff which is a mix of cow poo, leaves and some other organic things. I was also able to get coco coir. Will this compost stuff (known as khaad over here) work well for cubensis or should I look for straight cow or horse poo. Whats a good coir to poo/compost ratio? I'm planning on keeping the spawn sub ratio 1:3.
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It the ph is right and you can get a decent moisture content - the mycelium you are talking about will grow on anthing from dog food to cheese.
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
I don't even mess with manure anymore. They grow just just fine on coir alone.
 
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LoveSteakBlues

Well-Known Member
Ok, good to know. Should I do a casing layer? The only other materials available are peat moss and straw. No vermiculite.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
LoveSteakBlues said:
Ok, good to know. Should I do a casing layer? The only other materials available are peat moss and straw. No vermiculite.
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YES you should use a casing layer - you can get away with a pure peat moss casing layer if you come up with gypsum and or oyster shell.
 
Alembic

Alembic

Active Member
canndo said:
YES you should use a casing layer - you can get away with a pure peat moss casing layer if you come up with gypsum and or oyster shell.
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Hate to thread hi-jack, but do you know of any good educational (I love details!) how-to's for substrates? I'm looking for something basic and something advanced. I'm currently looking into starting my own small(ish) farm and filling out a notebook front to back so I have the highest success rate possible.
 
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LoveSteakBlues

Well-Known Member
My tub is 15x10.5 inches, about 3 inches substrate depth. 1:3.5 ratio popcorn spawned to 80/20 coir/cowpoo. Has been colonizing for 7 days. Looked at it for the first time today. Its not a white slab like a lot of the pictures I've seen. Its more like white epicenters of mycelium all over (probably from where the grains are) and lots aerial rhizos spread evenly throughout the surface. I don't have a thermometer or a humidity gauge but weather conditions have been about 84% humidity and temperatures between 95 and 70 the past week, and it rains everyday. Is this a good time to put it into fruiting or should I wait longer? I plan on leaving the tub in a room with a large window with curtains drawn, letting the ambient light take care of the light requirement. I don't have pictures because my cell phone cam is very poor quality and there was no electricity so it was too dark for a picture anyway. The tub was also covered in condensation, and there are tiny water droplets on the substrate. Is this something to worry about? I did loosen the polyfill holes a bit.
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
LoveSteakBlues said:
My tub is 15x10.5 inches, about 3 inches substrate depth. 1:3.5 ratio popcorn spawned to 80/20 coir/cowpoo. Has been colonizing for 7 days. Looked at it for the first time today. Its not a white slab like a lot of the pictures I've seen. Its more like white epicenters of mycelium all over (probably from where the grains are) and lots aerial rhizos spread evenly throughout the surface. I don't have a thermometer or a humidity gauge but weather conditions have been about 84% humidity and temperatures between 95 and 70 the past week, and it rains everyday. Is this a good time to put it into fruiting or should I wait longer? I plan on leaving the tub in a room with a large window with curtains drawn, letting the ambient light take care of the light requirement. I don't have pictures because my cell phone cam is very poor quality and there was no electricity so it was too dark for a picture anyway. The tub was also covered in condensation, and there are tiny water droplets on the substrate. Is this something to worry about? I did loosen the polyfill holes a bit.
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No I'd wait until the top is completely colonized. I keep my tubs completely sealed during colonization. The holes where the polyfil would go are taped over and the whole tub is covered with black garbage bags. I've never had trouble with condensation at this stage. When you go to fruit, I'd wipe the sides down though. It's a good humidity indicator. If the condensation reappears in less than 24 hours, then I generally losen the polyfil and provide more fresh air.
 
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LoveSteakBlues

Well-Known Member
Hokay so.....I didn't go with a casing layer because I was unable to find the necessary ingredients. This is how its looking today:
Image076.jpgImage077.jpgImage078.jpg
Very excited as this is my first ever grow. Does the substrate seem too moist? Should I increase the FAE (Currently the polyfill is quite loose, just there to keep bugs and dust out)? If I choose to fan will I need to mist even if there is ample condensation on the sides and lid of the tub?
 
zer0ed

zer0ed

Active Member
Harvest each one after the veil pops, and the caps open up a little bit. (about 24 hours or so after the veils pop)

never cut.
just slightly rock the mushroom back and forth, and you will be surprised at how easily it just pops off.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
Different strains exibit different tenacities. Some will rip big hunks of your substrate out, some will just fall into your hand. They say that you should separate the individuals from clumps one at a time to keep from damaging your substrate - I say to hell with it - if you have a casing layer you can repair the damage as you would a divit in a golf course.

Nice job though.
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
canndo said:
Different strains exibit different tenacities. Some will rip big hunks of your substrate out, some will just fall into your hand. They say that you should separate the individuals from clumps one at a time to keep from damaging your substrate - I say to hell with it - if you have a casing layer you can repair the damage as you would a divit in a golf course.

Nice job though.
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I'm going through that right now. Never had that problem with ecuador but golden teacher fruits are really on there tight. Although the golden teacher are throwing off massive clusters I never had before
 
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LoveSteakBlues

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info. Should a mono tub with fresh mushrooms have a smell? There was a very faint smell when I sniffed it at full colonization, hardly noticeable. Today I sniffed my tub and it had an odour that was noticeable. Its not a gross smell or anything. I'm hoping its the smell of mushrooms, but I don't know what they're supposed to smell like. I'm not good at describing smells so I can't really articulate it. The shrooms look healthy though.

Could it be hazardous to smell a contaminated tub?
 
zer0ed

zer0ed

Active Member
LoveSteakBlues said:
Thanks for all the info. Should a mono tub with fresh mushrooms have a smell? There was a very faint smell when I sniffed it at full colonization, hardly noticeable. Today I sniffed my tub and it had an odour that was noticeable. Its not a gross smell or anything. I'm hoping its the smell of mushrooms, but I don't know what they're supposed to smell like. I'm not good at describing smells so I can't really articulate it. The shrooms look healthy though.

Could it be hazardous to smell a contaminated tub?
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Mushrooms literally smell like fresh mushrooms.
If you smell anything sour, or bad. then there is something wrong for sure.

I would like to say that it isnt that hazardous. . . . but.
watch this video.

[video=youtube;_4dFU1MmL6c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4dFU1MmL6c[/video]
 
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