mushroom cultivation help

J

jeffery don

Member
Where can I find some mushroom cultivation help info?SAM_7963.jpgSAM_7965.jpg I am a novice and have made these liquid cultures and have no idea how to proceed with them
I seem to be have inoculation problems when I inoculate rye grain and in general have no clue what I m doing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
What tek? buy popcorn.

Put popcorn in pot
Put water in pot above popcorn
Boil gently till you see a few kernels burst
Drain in collender - rinse WELL (got to get the white corn goo off them
Drain some more - so they are only moist to the touch.

Then do what you want to with the corn - in a jar and pressure cook.

Innoculate
Shake
Shake
Shake
wait
dump out in a tray
wait
case
wait
fresh air exchange, light
wait
watch
pick
repeat.
 
T

testtime

Well-Known Member
VLRD.Kush said:
seems to be the only popcorn tek out there really...
Click to expand...
Thanks, but I was hoping for canndo's since it seems faster. Any tek that requires me to soak 24 hours is a fuckup (mine) waiting to happen. I rarely can schedule like that.

I want to be able to say: Hey, I've got a few hours, let's whip up some jars, and do it.
 
Obi Wan Kenabis

Obi Wan Kenabis

Active Member
Try mycotopia.net. A great bunch of people with a wealth of information on the care, feeding and eating of shrooms. Plus plenty of other topics. Just come aboard, read to your heart's content in the archives, and start asking questions.

That's a nice looking LC! You could go with popcorn, birdseed, or rye berries and spawn to a substrate. Or you can do what most newbies do and start with the PF tek, using a simple concoction of brown rice flour and vermiculite in small jars. It's really easy and lets you get a feel for how the mushies grow. Google it for the general idea.

It's also imo the best tek to use if you only have a few hours at a time to devote to the hobby. A lot of write-ups on PF tek make birthing and fruiting the cakes unnecessarily complicated, fancy aquariums with partitions and that kind of thing are unnecessary. Just a plastic plant tray with dome and some perlite do the job just fine.

Anyway, I'm getting too involved for a short post. As I said, drop by 'Topia and we'll take care of ya.
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
Thanks, but I was hoping for canndo's since it seems faster. Any tek that requires me to soak 24 hours is a fuckup (mine) waiting to happen. I rarely can schedule like that.

I want to be able to say: Hey, I've got a few hours, let's whip up some jars, and do it.
Click to expand...
Soaking isn't absolutely necessary, but I've found that the soak beforehand helps keep the kernels from exploding when you simmer.
 
Obi Wan Kenabis

Obi Wan Kenabis

Active Member
^^^Yeah, that. A good test for "done-ness" is to take out a kernel and if you can crack it open with a bit of pressure from your thumbnail it's about right. I tend to over-hydrate a bit then put about a tablespoon of vermiculite in each jar before pc'ing to absorb the extra moisture and act as a humidifier during colonization.
 
VLRD.Kush

VLRD.Kush

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
Thanks, but I was hoping for canndo's since it seems faster. Any tek that requires me to soak 24 hours is a fuckup (mine) waiting to happen. I rarely can schedule like that.

I want to be able to say: Hey, I've got a few hours, let's whip up some jars, and do it.
Click to expand...
Oh no I agree. I meant that I was bummed/ disappointed that was the only Pcorn tek out there. I don't like how it just stops right before you fruit. It just tells you how to inoc.. your jars. I'm a newb at this too and almost need someone to walk me through and hold my hand through the steps
 
Z

zat

Active Member
I'm also a total newb and am doing my first ever shroom grow and have had 100% success. I know it may not be "necessary" by the experienced grower's standards, but I went for the idiot proof set up from Midwest Grow Kits. http://www.midwestgrowkits.com/
I got the mega grow kit ($140) and bought two spore syringes from Ralphsters (Midwest doesn't sell spores). The kit comes with absolutely everything you need for cultivating 18 pftek cakes...all you have to do is buy the spores, inject the already sterilized jars of substrate and follow their awesome instructions (with pictures) and tips.

I've been gone the past 5 days after beginning the fruiting stage and came home tonight to 18 cakes all showing some LOVELY fungus that I'm sure will keep me and my lady quite entertained. The other great thing about this kit is that everything is totally re-usable and all you have to do is make more substrate. To me it was worth it to take the guess work out and have a first successful grow. Just my 2 cents.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
Did that include mixing any substrate, or is it simply dump, let it knit, and case?
And is gypsum helpful in the initial boil and load, or does it not matter?
Click to expand...


Mix nothing - gypsum doesn't matter - if you want to have your growth be faster, put some malt extract in the water before you boil.
 
T

testtime

Well-Known Member
canndo said:
Mix nothing - gypsum doesn't matter - if you want to have your growth be faster, put some malt extract in the water before you boil.
Click to expand...
Of course I read this an hour into the simmer/boil. 2 hours right? I tossed some coffee and gypsum into the hydration water by default. I'll do malt next time.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
Time is not an issue, cook until they are done. Coffee is best used for sclerotia and not fruit, gypsum is used for over saturation and is not needed for grain, the PH of grain is perfect the way it is.
 
T

testtime

Well-Known Member
canndo said:
Time is not an issue, cook until they are done.
Click to expand...
Done as described had to do with pushing your nail into it and it splitting. I have no nails. Do you have a chew test? Am I going for absolute max hydration, or can it be a bit chewey in the center?
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
It is like this - the more moisture you can drive into the kernels the better your yield - the limit is always moisture and not nutrient as you can see with the small amounts of nutrient in PF. A little less moisture will not make a real difference. Too much will leave a residue of starch that won't promote healthy growth. you need only look to see that a few kernels have their skin burst - that is done.
 
T

testtime

Well-Known Member
canndo said:
you need only look to see that a few kernels have their skin burst - that is done.
Click to expand...
And now having seen it, yup, got it.

If this turns out well (no reason not to, maybe I screw something up, I have more corn to try), I will move to it from rye for sure. I like the ease of roll as compared to rye, and it is easier to hydrate.

More important, my neighbor has a movie theatre popcorn maker in their kitchen. Gift from a friend. As a joke someone showed up with a 50lb sack of popcorn. That's gotta be a LOT cheaper than the organic rye I have access to.
 
canndo

canndo

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
And now having seen it, yup, got it.

If this turns out well (no reason not to, maybe I screw something up, I have more corn to try), I will move to it from rye for sure. I like the ease of roll as compared to rye, and it is easier to hydrate.

More important, my neighbor has a movie theatre popcorn maker in their kitchen. Gift from a friend. As a joke someone showed up with a 50lb sack of popcorn. That's gotta be a LOT cheaper than the organic rye I have access to.
Click to expand...

Be careful with the big bags of corn - they are often heavily contaminated and need more time in your pressure cooker - I will no longer eat popcorn that is popped in public places because I've seen the contamination - you all would be advised to refrain from it as well. Looks to me like a strain of aspergillis, some of them are very very nasty.

I don't understand your "ease of roll" thing. Rye can be hydrated in the jar in your pressure cooker if you are careful to check initial moisture content - it shorts you one step. A good starting point is one cup rye, three quarter cup water and a tablespoon of gypsum (in case that was too much water) - 50 minutes in the cooker.
 
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