A cold shock is a
several day to two week drop in temperatures in order to stimulate
primordia formation of fall fruiting, cold weather edibles. Cubensis is a
tropical species that fruits during hot weather and does not benefit in
any way from a cold shock. In fact, it slows down fruiting
considerably. Other edibles may benefit or even
require cold shocking. Please refer to the growth parameters of your
species. It seems to be beneficial with some strains which don't
form pins easily. Make sure that you wrap the spawn well before putting
it into the fridge, since the fridge is often not the cleanest place in
terms of mushroom cultivation.
Cubensis eats substrate best
at around 82F. Although this is the optimal temperature for cubensis
it's normally best to incubate cubensis at room temperature around
70-75F because the higher the temperatures the bigger the chances of
competitor molds getting a foothold. The further you drop the
temperature, the SLOWER mycelium will digest nutrition. it may even STOP
growing all together.
Dunking over night in the refrigerator is not cold
shocking. It is recommended in order to prevent bacteria buildup during
the time the cake is under water and can't fend for itself. If it's
not practical to dunk in the refrigerator, you can simply change out the
water with fresh every 8 hours or so. Rinse the cake well under the
faucet before and after the dunk - Rogerrabbit.
