The preparation of whole grain as spawn or substrate.
- What's the best way to prepare grain for mushroom cultivation?
The 3 most important aspects of grain preparation are to achieve an uniform, correct water content, to kill all contaminants and to get a shakeable substrate.
- How to inoculate a jar with a poly-fill filter lid with a syringe?
Make a separate hole in the lid, put tape over it before sterilizing and inoculate through that site and re-tape after you inoculate.
- What is G2G and how is it done?
G2G means Grain to Grain transfers.
- What's the difference between grains and PF - tek substrate?
Colonization Time: The main difference between whole grain and PF style jars is that whole grain remains loose, and can be shaken, thus spreading the mycelium points and colonizing faster.
- How long should colonization of grain jars take?
It depends on the species or strain, grain type, the water content, the inoculum type and the incubating temperature.
- Do I need a pressure cooker if I want to prepare grains?
Grains usually contain higher loads of bacterial endospores which are very hardy and which survive the temperature of boiling water, therefore a normal cooking process can't kill them.
- Should I let the grain sit and soak overnight, or pressure cook right away?
Grain(particularly rye and wheat) carry high loads of bacterial endospores.
- Which kinds of grain can I use?
You can use almost any grain as long as it's in it's whole form.
- What are some good grain recipes for different species?
A summary of recipes for the creation of spawn or substrate using whole grains.
- Why do I need a porous (polyfill, filter disk) lid when using whole grain?
Mycelium growing on grain in jars needs some gas exchange, because it needs oxygen for the conversion of nutrien
- Is one recipe for grains better than another?
Usually some recipes will work better for one and the others for another.
- Why does my grain look "greasy" and overly wet after sterilization?
You used too much water.
- Can I use marijuana seeds as a substrate?
Hemp seed are very high in fats, something not generally desirable in the mushroom cultivation, but you will most likely get some growth.
- How can I make the jars easier to shake?
If you added too much water many grains explode and make the kernels stick together.
- How do I inoculate sterilized grain in pint or quart jars?
If you want to inoculate the jars using a spore syringe, and you're using a polyfill lid filter, punch a small second hole into the lid and inoculate through it.
- Can I use a PF cake to inoculate a grain jar?
Yes, of course.
- When should I shake whole grain jars?
When you prepare whole grain jars, itīs good to shake them after the pressure cooking while they are still hot to redistribute the wetter and drier kernels.
- How can I tell if a grain jar is fully colonized?
Once all the grains are visibly covered with white mycelium, then the jar can be considered done.
- What can and can't I do with colonized grain jars?
You can case grain directly You can inoculate more grain jars You can spawn bulk substrates like straw, cow or horse dung or compost You can make mycelium syringes You can't.
