My first class with the golden teacher

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
i made a big bulk bag out of them with some added sub, i figured i toss it in the garage in a week when it warms up.
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
Well, you've got some great flushes there, to be sure.

I will leave the topic on this: your opinions on this matter are just that,
your opinions....and clearly they work well for you. There are other,
most excellent, cultivators who swear that casing layers are not needed
for cubes, and their yields equal yours.

For my part, I have never gone for huge harvests, and so cannot say
definitively where I fall on the matter. I have done both cased and uncased
with success.

I do suggest that the OP use one because it makes the effort more forgiving, IMO.

I tend to avoid definitive statements regarding this hobby, but then
my approach seems to be continually trying new species, and so I am
always lost. :0)

I am getting my first G. lutefolius pins and purpuratus is right after it. (only
got juronus and dilepsis before). I even have the unusual-active C. smithii
on agar, and the bleeding Pluteus as well.

Check out this furry Volvariella....it busts out of an egg like the Alien!
View attachment 2569993

So, good luck OP, I am sure that you will rock!

JD

I pride myself on my open mindedness but you seem to have bested me on that.


Nice picture, nice project. I did some studies to determine the efficacy of casing vs not casing for myself, and could never manage to get the same production in the first three flushes - I set a limit there. I would love to work with some of your items. I am looking for production methods more than anything else as you seem to have divined but oysters on Palm waste is my pursuit now.

So I am more opinionated than you on this subject - and.... PF tek as so many here already know.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
No worries. I saw only good in your stuff.

As to Oysters, this is good too, as Pleurotis eats anything, and
is as reliable an edible fruiter as there is.

What species? (Ostreatus is what might be called the "plain" variety ;0)

I can send you an agar wedge of something if you do not have
genetics to start from.

Good luck,

JD
 

technical dan

Active Member
that second jar looks promising. all you need is one good jar with grain and your good. g2g transfers arent as complex as they seem and once you have fully colonized mycelium going into a new jar it takes hold fast...much faster than using a syringe. in my experience.
Yep thats the plan. I had been originally thinking to fruit the two pints and g2g the 1/2 pint assuming no contam which is not the case. Now I think I'll g2g that second jar (assuming colonization and all that) into three or four pints and go from there.
 

MJG420

Well-Known Member
i have been shakin the rat piss out of mine to mix up the colonized kernels as much as possible and withing 2-3 days i see new mycelium growing.

what did you say your temps were? may be on the low side so growth is slower.
I have been using a seedling heating mat to keep my jars warm so of anything they are to warm. I shook the jars real good on Friday(had lots of healthy growth) and checked them again yesterday and it almost seems as of the growth that was there has now died off? Will give them a few more days and see what happens, but probably going to start more jars to be sure something happens....
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
I have been using a seedling heating mat to keep my jars warm so of anything they are to warm. I shook the jars real good on Friday(had lots of healthy growth) and checked them again yesterday and it almost seems as of the growth that was there has now died off? Will give them a few more days and see what happens, but probably going to start more jars to be sure something happens....
if there was growth in there it should pop back up...i dont know alot about this shit though just my experiences
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
just an FYI guys internl temps will always be several degrees hotter than the external or ambient temps.
I competely agree, when I first built my incubator I had it set to 81-82, but once I got 24-30 jars of myc going in there I had to lower it about 3-4 degrees because the ambient temp went up from the colonization.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
Agreed. The metabolism of the fungi will create additional heat.

Really room temps are good for cubensis growth.

Incubators cause more problems than they solve in my experience.
(they can rock if well controlled, I am sure)

When a cube strain is shaken, and it does not recover in a few days,
then it was likely contaminated (usually with bacteria).

Some species are sensitive to shaking, for example those of the genus Panaeolus.
(ever heard of "pan cyans"? This is a Panaeolus)

Not cubes. Shaking at 20% should finish a quart in a week or so.

Good luck,

JD
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I've read about cyans, they sound awesome I'd love to try some none cubensis mushrooms. I've heard that the cyans can be a bitch to grow though, and that they do better outdoors? Have you ran them java?
 

MJG420

Well-Known Member
Agreed. The metabolism of the fungi will create additional heat.

Really room temps are good for cubensis growth.

Incubators cause more problems than they solve in my experience.
(they can rock if well controlled, I am sure)

When a cube strain is shaken, and it does not recover in a few days,
then it was likely contaminated (usually with bacteria).

Some species are sensitive to shaking, for example those of the genus Panaeolus.
(ever heard of "pan cyans"? This is a Panaeolus)

Not cubes. Shaking at 20% should finish a quart in a week or so.

Good luck,

JD
Yeah I am worried I had/have some sort of contamination that may have killed off what was growing. Will unplug the heating mat right now as that is probably another issue. Any chance of them recovering if it was to much heat? Starting another couple jars tomorrow, boiled my corn tonight and am letting it sit over night to dry (unlike the last time hence the use of vermiculite...) so growth should be much easier to see this time. Grrr bit of a setback but still shooting for at least a few caps by 4/20. So disappointed right now but all part of the learning process! :-). Just glad I have spores left over from my first attempt.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
Patience and persistence are the two keys.

I have a tent of superb AK-47 budsicles at 5.5 weeks...and I will not be
even thinking about touching them for another month, two with drying
and the start of curing. This all takes patience! lol

As to Pans, I found them to be relatively finicky, but if you can get
a strong strain, then they work pretty well.

This is Panaeolus tropicalis (left way too long and sporulating all over):
PanTrop-outofcontrol!.jpg

This is Panaeolus cinctulus (third flush):
Pan-Cinc-ThirdFlush.jpg

You can move to pans, and Gyms (Gymnopilus are cool, and active ;0), as you move to more
advanced techniques.

If the bug really bites you, then I would recommend a laminar flow hood. :0)

Take care,

JD
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
How much difference would you say there is between the different ? species? with regards to the effects, noticeable that your eating something different?

Those are some beautiful mushrooms for sure!
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
Yeah I am worried I had/have some sort of contamination that may have killed off what was growing. Will unplug the heating mat right now as that is probably another issue. Any chance of them recovering if it was to much heat? Starting another couple jars tomorrow, boiled my corn tonight and am letting it sit over night to dry (unlike the last time hence the use of vermiculite...) so growth should be much easier to see this time. Grrr bit of a setback but still shooting for at least a few caps by 4/20. So disappointed right now but all part of the learning process! :-). Just glad I have spores left over from my first attempt.
yeah i would leave the verm out of it....just boil the corn till you see them splitting. then toss in a colendar and into the fridge overnight to dry..then fill jars up no more than 3/4 of the way. 1lb of popcorn should fill up 12 1/2 pint jars. then PC them and your in business. the popcorn will expand more in the PC so you dont want to fill them right up.

let us know how you make out man, hope all goes well for you.....sending good vibes your way!!
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
went over to the grow yesterday and the pins have doubled in size in 1 day...hope if i go over today they have doubled again. i should be starting to fruit my 2 bigger totes today or tomorow just waiting on mycelium to work its way through the peat/verm so i can get a more even pin set on first flush.

the smaller tote that had the non cut up hay in it colonized really well on the bottom of the tote, so to remedy this i put the lid on the tote and gave the straw/pocorn "cake" the fliperoo....so the whole tote is upside down and the cake is sitting on the lid....i then covered it in dry vermiculite and misted it with distilled water. should see some pinning sooon i hope. these are all my trial pans...the 2 bigger totes are going to be my "real" pans so im trying to go by the book on them...the others im just messing around with.

once i get some money flowing i need to buy some more pans, totes so that i can utilize all 12 of my jars, each lasagna pan is good for 1 1/2 pint of sub to go into the shredded straw, this seems to colonoze really good within 5 days. then another 5 days after the casing layer is put on and that seems to be about the going rate....the 2 pans i cased the other day were starting to show mycelium through the casing layer on day 2 so im guessing by day 5 they will be ready to fruit.

if i can get 12 lasagna pans and 6 totes (each tote fits 2 cakes, or pans) then i can have 6 FC's going each cycle...i do need to get one more 1/2 pint jar so i always have that extra one kicking around for my G2G transfers after i use the other 12 for my bulk sub.

this round i was a bit hasty in using jars when they became ready instead of waiting for the whole group to finish.....next round i wont be so hasty and everything will get used at the same time...this way i can figure out a good system and keep this project rolling.

anyways we got 12+ inches of snow here where im at so i may not make it out to my grows today but if i do bet your ass there will be pics coming later!!

good vibes to everyone who is having a hard time with thiers....i havent seen a drop of contams yet and im thanking the mushi gods...

a quick overview of my process.....

-Incubator-
Mini fridge incubator..cost around 40 bucks to make and that includes all the little perk things i added to it like a LED on the outside to monitor when the light is on and off..
~you can prob find a cheap junk mini fridge somewhere...craigslist, dump....just look around
~Home Depot carries the analog thermostat, its made by honeywell and its 20 bucks..I am having luck with large temp swings due to the inacuracy of the analog timer...took me a bit to get the settings right on it but eventually i got it to where i want.
~Home depot also carries the light bulb fixture, its a buck and some change.
~A CFL light bulb
~indoor outdoor temp humidity monitor so you can monitor the high and low of the incubator. 10 bucks
~ A small piece of ply wood, free just look around.
~ some black high temp spray paint 4 bucks
~ A PC fan and old AC-DC charger to push the heat around...this should be free too...just head to your local PC repair shop and ask if they have any used ones...they usually have handfulls of them...for free or really cheap.
~ Some wire nuts and heat shrink tubes...can get a small kit for around 5 bucks if you dont have this stuff already.

ill put up some pics and a small tutorial on how i built my incubator...i think the incubator is the cause of alot of my sucess....also if you dont want the 10 degree temp swings i think a more expensive digital thermostat will remedy that.

-Pressure Cooker-
If you dont have one...get one. wal mart sells 6 Qt PC's for 32 bucks.....you should be able to do 6 1/2 pint jars in it. i got the 8 qt one and can do 8 1/2 pint jars...so to do my 12 jars i have to do 2 runs...if i had the exp i have now i would have just gone with the cheaper 6qt one because i have to do 2 runs anyways.

12, 1/2 pint jars, i drilled holes in the lid and i use mine rubber seal down.

heavy duty aluminum foil.....dont go cheap...its not worth the hasssle of dealing with paper thin foil.

yellow popcorn...

a glove box that broke but i think it still did the trick

lysol disenfectant spray....3 cans 10 bucks..

Bleach and some spray bottle

rubber gloves, a buck at wal mart for them yellow ones mom used to clean the toilet....re usable.

now i will say this..you dont want to shell out a few bucks for the bare necesities and try and 1/2 ass shit....your setting yourself up to fail. i dont mean to be mean...but it is what it is..

ok.....heres what i did.

1) I boiled my popcorn (way too much my first run, like i said above a 1 lb bag should do 12 jars.) untill it was splitting, left it out to dry over night. then filled my jars and placed the tin foil on top
2) sterilized my jars in the PC at 15 psi for 1 hour..let the first batch cool in the fridge while i cooked the second. the second batch got cooled in the freezer to cut down on wait time.
3) Placed EVERYTHING....i would be using for inoculation in the glove box. syringe, jars...and well thats about it. sprayed with a strong bleach water solution and let sit for 10 min..
4) This is when i broke my glove box...it ended up not being 100% air tight and this is where i would like to suggest just getting a big tote, cut a couple holes in it, and place some plastic wrap over them before you spray with bleach. then have some nice long gloves on, spray them iwth bleach and just go right in and work through the holes...this makes it easier to work without the gloves being attached to the box..anyways...i knocked up my jars because at this point i was past the point of no return.
5) took jars out and placed them into my incubator.....after i seen some clusters of white i shook, kept shaking every time i seen clusters..untill i had clusters on most of the outside then just left alone.

before i started any inoculation process i sprayed the holy rat shit out of the room i was working in with lysol disenfectant spray and let sit for a couple hours...then sprayed again lightly 20 min before i used the room....i think this helped alot with any airborne contams....

now im not saying my method is 100% fool proof...but taking them few extra steps like using the glove box even though it wasnt 100% air tight it was still filled with a strong bleach water mist all over everything..spraying down with lysol a few hours prior then again 20 min prior.....i feel that these few things helped me be contam free...you have to imagine these contams are everywhere so you want to make it so that if they enter your enviorment they will likely die before they get into that tiny little inoculation point (holes in jar lid) i had bleach water covering every surface of the glove box and the surface of the tin foil. be carefull with the bleach though as it will kill your spores as well.

now, i want to make a disclaimer. I am a newb, maybe im having some beginers luck, maybe im doing things right....either way i am seeing all of you guys having bumps in the road and i wanted to share what I did. my methods may not be the best and most suggested way but they have proven to yeild results for me.

Lysol is some killer shit...use the fuck out of it......work in your bath tub because the hard surfaces can be disenfected much easier than walls. or even build a small grow box muxh like you would for a Mj grow..line the wals with plastic, put a small light in there and go in and disenfect the entire place, with all your inoculation stuff already inside...then when its time for you to go in, take the lysol with and sray behind you as you go in...seal it up and give a quick spray again (not so much you cant stand to be in there)

anyways....Im about done with my long ass post...i will end it with saying one more time that you need to have PC, bleach, gloves, lysol and a easily sanitized area to work in....bathrooms usually work well...a glovebox works great even if it isnt 100% built to medical standards. the cover keeps things from falling into your work station and the plastic is easily sanitized.

sorry for such a long post...i just want to see you guys get better results....something is going wrong. again i think alot of my sucess is due to the incubator (providing i do a good job keeping it sterile till then)

peace n chicken grease homies
 

technical dan

Active Member
nice write up matt the only thing I have issue with is when you said "you have to imagine these contams are everywhere". That gets the idea across but I think it would be more accurate to say "you have to realize these contams are everywhere". They say nearly the same thing but the word imagine implies (at least when I read it) that the contams are in the corner or otherwise present somewhere around (like hiding in a corner watching you) while as we know they are absolutely everywhere (air, skin, breath, surfaces ect.) around/ inside/ on you. I think the second statement reflects that a bit better ..... just my 1.8547 cents.
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
yeah, but i guess what i meant is because you cant see them you have to imagine or visualize them in your head.....if you look at the air when the sun is beaming you can see them floating all around....like Cando said they are not all free floating themselvs they are attached to dust, dander, pet hair and other non microsocopic particle. anyways you are right they are everywhere and its impossible to make them go away so the only thing you can do is kill them and then block live ones from entering your work station.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
How much difference would you say there is between the different ? species? with regards to the effects, noticeable that your eating something different?

Those are some beautiful mushrooms for sure!
Well, I have to admit that I have not had the chance to try Pans yet.

I need to gather my flight crew and do this....but honestly trying Gyms
is a higher priority right now. They are reported to be....different...from cubes.

I hear that Pans can be around 3X as strong as cubes, so start off with a
half gram to a gram when you start. I screwed around with penis envy
and got my head kicked in...metaphysically speaking, of course. :0)

Take care,

JD
 
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