Where the Pink Buffalo roam

420God

Well-Known Member
So how's you grow doing, i heard growing shrooms is a delicate process :P
Not so much delicate as it has to be clean.

Everything has to be very sterile or I chance contamination. I'm just waiting for the cakes to pin now.

Shouldn't be too much longer.:p
 

HeatlessBBQ

Well-Known Member
Not so much delicate as it has to be clean.

Everything has to be very sterile or I chance contamination. I'm just waiting for the cakes to pin now.

Shouldn't be too much longer.:p
we seem to be in the same spot =D

i looked at my cakes last night and i saw a few pins!!!!!!!!
 

420God

Well-Known Member
That's sweet! I've been watching mine pretty close and nothing just yet.

Probably within the next few days. This grows been going forever.
 

420God

Well-Known Member
I decided against the Xmas lights and positioned a 13w cfl (6500K) over the top.

The Xmas lights weren't quite bright enough.
 

someone else

Active Member
You dunk again when cake is dry

Your 2nd flush is after your done seeing the first set of mushies grow ;-)
Just so everyone knows, MANY people who use the PF Tek with great success dunk their cakes IMMEDIATELY after birthing. The spawn is dry after using up any moisture in the jar during colonization.

Mushrooms knot and EXPLODE when you dunk (and roll them in vermiculite) after birthing.

Hell, the guy that pioneered the method, hippie3, swore by it (it's known in professional circles as 'dunk & roll').

Hippie3 (RIP, January 2010) founded Mycotopia, which is the 2nd most popular and used magic mushroom forum online.
 

420God

Well-Known Member
Someone else pretty much answered it.

This was my first shot at shrooms and didn't want to screw up anything or risk contamination.

I might spawn the used up cakes to a bulk substrate later on just to see if I can.:razz:
 

someone else

Active Member
why didnt you do a bulk method?
In the spirit of what Sr Verde was recommending, it would be a good idea to at least try bulk with a nearly spent cake.


I usually recommend people to stay clear of bulk until they've done at least 1 PF-Tek grow.

I say that because I don't like to see people get disappointed in mushroom growing when they fail with the more difficult bulk methods that are out there. The people I've seen throughout my life try bulk mushroom grows (as their first mushroom grow) very often fail, and then they give up because they're permanently frustrated.

But as long as you've got mushrooms, and are able to make spore prints/liquid solutions with what you've grown (so you can hold on to the strain you're working with for years)...I'd give your idea a shot. ;-)



Something of note though is that over time, the dying cakes will become very vulnerable to random mold-spore/bacteria attacks.

Towards the end, the mycelium (that had been protecting the cake) has used up it's food source in the spent brown rice flour, and it's unable to stave off simple mold/bacteria attacks like it did throughout it's life as a mushroom-producer.

Just be careful in selecting your spawn cake(s) of choice.

Something I've done when trying to jump-start old cakes is:

1. meticulously scrape the top 1/4 inch off each cake (it can be messy, but you're scraping off possible future contam points),
2. score the freshly exposed material lightly with a knife or fork (this helps moisture penetrate the inner parts of the cake)
3. soak the scraped/scored cakes for a few hours (not too long, as the cakes are frail enough and can't stand to be too water-logged)
4. take them out of their soak container, then 'roll' the cakes in dry vermiculite.
5. then take some wet vermiculite, and cover both ends of the cake in a 1/2 inch layer. This is called 'DECing' your cake, or 'Double-End-Casing'.

Works great.

I might spawn the used up cakes to a bulk substrate later on just to see if I can.:razz:
For use as spawn, I'd just do Step 1, and then grind the cakes up into small coarse pieces...then add to your bulk subs.



PM me if you want help with that in detail...

I'm actually working on a HUGE bulk Tek guide (which I'm hoping can be made into a 'sticky' eventually) that would help in these exact situations...hehe. It should be ready in a few weeks (still editing it, trying to make it easy to read yet comprehensive enough).

...sorry to hijack your thread! :mrgreen:

:peace:
 

420God

Well-Known Member
It's cool, you're helping me and many others that might want to try moving to bulk.

I figure I could collect a bunch of horse shit and try your method.
 

someone else

Active Member
It's cool, you're helping me and many others that might want to try moving to bulk.

I figure I could collect a bunch of horse shit and try your method.
That's cool man.

HPoo (horse manure) is one of the weirder (and sometimes more challenging) things to come across during your material-gathering efforts for bulk.

Like I said, I'm working on a guide for the bulk tek that works for me.

It should be done soon; just want to make sure I've got what I need in there, yet it's still interesting and easy to read.
 

420God

Well-Known Member
I have 8 horses walking around in the field behind me so finding it won't be a problem.

I was playing with the idea of spawning it back into nature around me so they grow naturally.

I'm deep in the woods so stumps are everywhere!
 
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