First Mushroom Grow!

[MJG420]

yay.....nice n white...thats a good sign...

as far as shaking them i would wait till you have a nice sized patch maybe 2" around before you shake...this will allow the mycelium to be nice and strong before damaging it. (shaking does damage it, but not to the point of no return)

as far as the casing goes you may want to wait till the day before you case to get your casing ready. pasturizing only gives you a certain window of time and its not sterilizing so your not really killing off any contams in the casing just "stunting" them for XYZ days. preparing it at the last possible minute will alow you to utilize the amount of days the contams are held at bay by the pasturization prozess and give your mycelium time to colonize the casing layer and get a solid foothold.

at least this is what i have gathered...feel free to wait for a more experienced grower to chime in with thier 2¢

Thanks Matt i was thinking the same thing but was thinking it was worth asking, what are your thoughts JD? I like that name BTW, same name as of one of my brothers long past brothers whom he sent along with me(in a spiritual kind of way) when I left Iowa to watch over me. Coincidence or destiny? Lol

 

[Javadog]

No, that is decent stuff. (this was a reference to Matt's thoughts)

One of the other issues with storing pasteurized casing soils is the
fact that you have already created the best moisture level on the soil,
but if you store this stuff covered.....fart bomb! (more-so for subs, of course)

So, it either cooks biologically, or it dries out.

If you must wait, then store such soil covered, in a fridge, and use
it within a couple of days to be safe.

JD

P.S. LOL, I was typing as fast as I could. :0)

P.P.S. Javadog is a creation of my older brother, so this fits. ;0)
(think of him as Snoopy's cooler older brother)

 

[MJG420]

No, that is decent stuff. (this was a reference to Matt's thoughts)

One of the other issues with storing pasteurized casing soils is the
fact that you have already created the best moisture level on the soil,
but if you store this stuff covered.....fart bomb! (more-so for subs, of course)

So, it either cooks biologically, or it dries out.

If you must wait, then store such soil covered, in a fridge, and use
it within a couple of days to be safe.

JD

P.S. LOL, I was typing as fast as I could. :0)

P.P.S. Javadog is a creation of my older brother, so this fits. ;0)
(think of him as Snoopy's cooler older brother)

Makes sense. If it makes a difference I plan to use Mason jars to pasteurize my casing soil, so in theory I could do so ahead of time and store it with the lids on of I plan to use it within let's say 3-4 days. Just thinking outside of the box and throwing ideas out there

 

[Javadog]

That is the ballpark.

 

[srh88]

i used to run popcorn everytime, til i tried wbs because someone talked me into it... Wild Bird Seed is some hungry shit and its cheap as hell

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

do you just use any WBS? and how do you prepare it? can get a like a 25 lb bag for like 3 bucks cant you?

 

[srh88]

yep... basically the same as the popcorn but when you first soak it scoop out anything that floats and then the same as popcorn pretty much lol

 

[Javadog]

I prefer WBS for initial spawn too.

I like to use rye or wheat berries for spawn most of all, and will
G2G my initial spawn to these grains typically.

I like WBS for getting started (usually with agar wedges) because it
is always a little gooey, and I have the suspicion that this (starch)
helps the mycelium crawl over the grains.

Take care,

JD

 

[MJG420]

I prefer WBS for initial spawn too.

I like to use rye or wheat berries for spawn most of all, and will
G2G my initial spawn to these grains typically.

I like WBS for getting started (usually with agar wedges) because it
is always a little gooey, and I have the suspicion that this (starch)
helps the mycelium crawl over the grains.

Take care,

JD

Hmmm interesting! Will have to give this a shot sometime in the future. Gave my 4 jars a gentle roll yesterday to mix things up a bit, and Ashle slowly starting to see growth on my other 7 jars I inoculated over the weekend. Things are looking great so fats, looking forward to a growth explosion in the next few days.

 

[Javadog]

<the sound of crossing fingers>

 

[MJG420]

Sorry i haven't updated lately been working 12 hour shifts the past 2 weeks and let's just say i am wore the hell out! Things are still progressing but not quite as quickly as I would like to see. Appears I have managed to kill off growth in a couple the jars from my second run, have come to the conclusion that I have been shaking to early. All 7 of my jars from my third batch are showing growth and are doing well, will be giving them the rest of the week before I think about shaking them up if I even do so then. Not looking like I will make my goal of a harvest before 4/20 which sucks but won't be the end of the world. Hopefully by the weekend I have some good pics for you guys!

 

[canndo]

You can't really shake too early. What happens is that if your jar is conatminated with bacteria, the bacteria resides in immobile colonies. If you shake the jar you distribute the bacteria all through your grain and it will either change the ph or produce it's own defenses against mycelial growth. If you don't shake, your jar is still contaminated, it's just that your mycelium will grow further until it meets the bacterial colonies. That is what happens most times if you seem to have wonderful fluffy growth, even on say 50 percent of your jar, shake, and that growth never returns.

 

[MJG420]

You can't really shake too early. What happens is that if your jar is conatminated with bacteria, the bacteria resides in immobile colonies. If you shake the jar you distribute the bacteria all through your grain and it will either change the ph or produce it's own defenses against mycelial growth. If you don't shake, your jar is still contaminated, it's just that your mycelium will grow further until it meets the bacterial colonies. That is what happens most times if you seem to have wonderful fluffy growth, even on say 50 percent of your jar, shake, and that growth never returns.

Was worried about that..... hopefully I can get this under control and actually get some fruit in the near future

 

[Javadog]

Rep'd for good stuff Can-Do :0)

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

that sucks about not having them by the date you wanted but its a learning process and you will get there in due time if you just keep at it.

 

[MJG420]

Finally getting around to uploading pics(the past few weeks have been crazy!) and I am pleased to say that things are looking great! I would have to say I have around 30% colonization in 5 out of my 7 jars, hopefully another week and these babies will be ready to start casing! It appears as though I may have lost one or two more jars but as long as a few make it I will be happy. Thinking about starting another round of jars this weekend, going to do a few things different as far as my grain prep. Also considering trying wild bird seed as I have been hearing good things about it. Probably going to give them another good shake and let them sit for the rest of the week or until their ready.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

do you have holes in the lids? if so you really should have some foil on the top. Looking great though....soon man you will have your verry own homegrown mushies

 

[MJG420]

do you have holes in the lids? if so you really should have some foil on the top. Looking great though....soon man you will have your verry own homegrown mushies

No I did not put holes in my lids, was actually considering trying an FAE in the next day or two to see if that will help speed things up but am worried about contracting contams....

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

i dont know if i would do that but maybe some insight from more experienced peoples. i know i had one jar so far that got contams and it was the only jar that had ripped tin foil on the top, im assuming contams made thier way down into the holes in the lid due to the ripped foil..

anyways best of luck with whatever you decide to do m8, your definatly getting there.

 

[Javadog]

First of all, that corn looks both very nicely hydrated and not at all damp.

I see no reason why those will not colonize fine. (otherwise, suspect the inoculant)

Now I bet that no hole would be a safer bet than either a foil or micro-pore
tape covered hole. The air already in the jar can provide the needed oxygen
and no lid is perfectly tight either. I say this because the potential for contam
is too high.

Once the grain jar is prepped, then whatever lid it has on at that time is the lid
it will live with. :0) I would either silicone a patch of tyvek over a 1/4" hole in
the lid, or I would pull a ball of polyfil through the same hole. These lids would
provide filtered GE during colonization and would be sterilized along with the
jar and grains.

Good luck,

JD