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 grassguy87
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 Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? 
#13633982 - 12/14/10 10:33 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hello all,
These are my first experiences ever growing a mushroom. It took a few attempts to get this far.
First off, why do my cakes start getting this color? I can't wipe it off, even if I press (fairly) hard. In person, this "mold" looking stuff looks blueish. It happens after they have been in my box for a few weeks. The picture of the cake below is a few days after I picked the first flush from them. In the pic, I dunked this cake but did NOT roll it in verm. My last cake I tried, which was rolled in verm, turned this color too under the verm. It looked awful, but the mushrooms seemed to be OK! I tried this time without the verm, but I still get the same color. Is this a problem? Could I have caused this by misting the cakes?
Second question - at the base of my mushrooms, I end up with a heavy "fuzz" on the mushrooms. I read in the documents here that this can be normal, saying it's excess mycelium, sometimes caused by too much humidity (wow?) and/or not enough fresh air. I got this fuzz on my first cakes/flush, and on my next cakes I ensured there was more fresh air and a bit less humidity. Still the same fuzz! See the pictures. I tried pouring Hydrogen Peroxide onto it, to see if it would just "vanish" as cobweb mold should, but it didn't do anything but lay down and look wet. It's very white, but if it gets long enough it gets kind of grey looking. If I try to wash it off, it just lays down. I can peel it off if I really tear at it, but it peels all of the "skin" from the mushroom off as well. Once the mushroom is dried, you can't tell it was fuzzy.
What is this fuzz?!? Is it OK?
Thanks!
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audiophoenix
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 Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13634054 - 12/14/10 10:44 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hey man,
Congrats on getting your first mushrooms.
The dark color is just spores that have dropped from your developed mushrooms. Not mold and definitely nothing to worry about. As the fruits start to end their life cycle they drop down millions of spores which is what you probably used when you inoculated your jars. These are completely normal and it's a good sign if you ever want to start collecting those spores to make a spore print or spore surynge of your own.
The fuzz is also normal. Just a sign that your humidity is very high which is totally the goal. I would always get fuzz when I did PF Tek and no problems whats over.
Nice Job! 
Edited by audiophoenix (12/14/10 10:46 PM)
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grassguy87
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: audiophoenix]
#13634144 - 12/14/10 11:03 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thank you for the quick reply.
For the color on the cakes, are you talking about the blueish color on the cakes, or the purpleish on the perlite next to it? I know the purpleish is from the spores, it's wild how these things drop spores. However, the blueish spots on the cakes appeared before any pinning and no other mushroom was near to drop spores onto the cake.
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audiophoenix
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13634179 - 12/14/10 11:10 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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ok, sorry bout that. if this appeared before pinning it is probably just bruising cakes which happens to some people. I have never had this happen but I have seen a lot of people that have had this. Typically it does not hinder growth much but it is not ideal. Next time try to handle the cakes as gently as possible if you have not already. If you made it through the fruiting process and your mushrooms seem good and the growth has not continued to grow around the cake or onto the fruits then you are most likely just dealing with bruising but someone with more personal experience might be able to tell you more.
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theshroom
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13637704 - 12/15/10 05:58 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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" I can't wipe it off, even if I press (fairly) hard."
Well, two things.
You say it's there before you wipe, so probably some sort of moisture loss on the cake.
But you're making it worse trying to press hard on the cake.
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 paz
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Registered: 08/06/10
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: theshroom]
#13644042 - 12/16/10 10:52 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Cakes can blue like that when they're too dry, or from damage during dunking. In your case, I guess it's the latter. Nothing to worry about. It should go away in a few days.
Why did you decide not to roll that one?
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grassguy87
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: paz]
#13653676 - 12/18/10 11:25 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Here is an update on the cakes. They only seem to get worse looking with age...
I decided not to roll these for 2 reasons.
1, I thought maybe the verm was causing this discoloration on my first batch. This obviously isn't the case...
2, the amount of verm left on the bottoms of my mushies was quiet a bit. However, I don't think that matters much anymore... they seem to still have quiet a bit of verm stuck/grown into them even without it rolled onto the outside.
As you can see from the updated pictures, it is definitely darker/grosser looking. Some of it may be from the recent spore drop... but I still don't see other cakes on here looking like this.
Is there something wrong with my poor cakes? The fruits from these off colored cakes doesn't seem to have anything wrong with them. I used to have them getting just some indirect sunlight each day, but I've recently had to change to a 60W equivalent CFL "natural light" bulb for a few hours per day. They became this color regardless of the light so I doubt that has anything to do with it...
Ideas?
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Jigsaw
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13654419 - 12/19/10 02:57 AM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hi I have the exact same problem as you, with the blue mould looking substance on my cakes. My theory is that it is bruising (as the mushroom stems turn blue when bruised). However the texture of this bluish colour almost seems similar to green mould. Mine definately isn't as bad as yours tho, Is that blue spreading??
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grassguy87
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: Jigsaw]
#13668184 - 12/21/10 11:43 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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It does seem to be spreading... how easily do cakes really bruise? I haven't been THAT careful with them...
Also, how easy is it for contaminants to spread from say your hands to a fully colonized cake? I know your supposed to watch your hands and not touch the cakes much, but I have touched these cakes more than the last, especially when they first flushed. I figured a fully colonized cake would fight off any invading bacteria...
Anyone else have any ideas? Could I have caused this?
Can water misting onto the cakes cause this?
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Jigsaw
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13685460 - 12/26/10 03:59 AM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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Hey any update on what happend with your grow? Did you successfully fruit those BRF cakes? Did that mouldy substance spread throughout the cakes?
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"The measure of a man depends not upon his work to the accomplishment of anther man's ends, but what he himself accomplishes to the benefit of society" -J.G.
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pepper
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13687256 - 12/26/10 06:19 PM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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grassguy87
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: pepper]
#13696749 - 12/28/10 06:07 PM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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Hey guys, just an update...
I tried rubbing the cakes with peroxide to see if the color would come off, but it would not... so I never thought it was contaminated. But it started to get so bad I figured something HAD to be wrong with the cakes.
They were already pinning, so I just let them fruit. They were the only 2 in the chamber at the time. 1 fruited just fine, decent sized mushroom. The other however, fruited a little later than the first, and produced a mutant mushroom. A pin appeared in the cap of the main mushroom growing off the cake. The pin started to grow an entire separate mushroom on the cap of another mushroom. I went ahead and picked it since it doesn't look like it's going to continue growing.
Is this mutant special/safe? I am using distilled water when I spray my cakes... could the fact it's distilled and just sitting around in a spray bottle mean it could now be harboring bacteria? (Distilled so no anti-fungals to protect the water... I could not get a jar to colonize with tap water)
Edited by grassguy87 (12/28/10 06:10 PM)
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mattyyy
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13712560 - 12/31/10 08:03 PM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
grassguy87 said:
Hey guys, just an update...
I tried rubbing the cakes with peroxide to see if the color would come off, but it would not... so I never thought it was contaminated. But it started to get so bad I figured something HAD to be wrong with the cakes.
They were already pinning, so I just let them fruit. They were the only 2 in the chamber at the time. 1 fruited just fine, decent sized mushroom. The other however, fruited a little later than the first, and produced a mutant mushroom. A pin appeared in the cap of the main mushroom growing off the cake. The pin started to grow an entire separate mushroom on the cap of another mushroom. I went ahead and picked it since it doesn't look like it's going to continue growing.
Is this mutant special/safe? I am using distilled water when I spray my cakes... could the fact it's distilled and just sitting around in a spray bottle mean it could now be harboring bacteria? (Distilled so no anti-fungals to protect the water... I could not get a jar to colonize with tap water)
the mutants are probably just from ms/ multiple flushes. even if it is mold .. i would feel safe eating them
Quote:
RogerRabbit said:It's just another myth. Green molds such as trichoderma are a fact of life in the commercial mushroom industry, just as with homegrowers. If you've ever bought mushrooms at the grocery store, chances are you've eaten mushrooms from a casing with green molds.
Those people with a penicillin allergy should learn to recognize that mold. It's very distinct from trichoderma.
......
The short answer is the green molds will spread and the spores will stick to your walls, clothes, hands, etc., so I recommend tossing any substrate with green out as soon as you find it. This will help to prevent losing future projects when those spores find your next substrate. Any fruits that are growing on the infected substrate are safe to eat though. Period. Make sure the fruits are fresh and not rotten. If they are rotten, bacteria has started growing and you can get a nasty case of food poisoning from them."
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YoureASissy
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: mattyyy]
#13714910 - 01/01/11 02:41 PM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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Dude, that's totally a contam infection. Toss the shit, everything, perlite, jars, FC, everything, clean your house, and start over again fresh. Make sure you follow a good PF Tek to the T, as well as the SGFC tek. Don't alter anything.
Quit touching your cakes, there should be no real reason to be touching them except for harvest and dunking.
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Radiated_Mind
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: grassguy87]
#13883138 - 01/31/11 06:56 PM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hey I know this is old, but I just wanted to say that mine started off this way and then I just rolled it up ion verm and left it alone to the touch other than lighting and spraying and fanning throughout the day. Mine are coming along amazing now. What I would do if I were you is get a spore print from that one and start over. Learn from mistakes and move on. Mine were a cm big on day 3 after birthing after a 20 day colonization so they are pretty fast. I'm new too. Anyways PM me if you got any questions.
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tarfoh
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: Radiated_Mind]
#13897661 - 02/03/11 03:01 AM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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That is not a contam infection at all because I just had the exact same problem that this guy is having. Your cakes are bone dry. You need to re dunk them for 24 hrs and roll them heavily in verm, making sure that it all sticks. Spray it 4-6 times a day heavily for a while. What are your misting/fanning procedures? I emptied out a bottle of some kind of standard size windex type cleaner and washed the hell out of it. After that I filled it with water. I go through about one of them a day on 11 cakes, just to give you an estimate of the amount of water that is needed.
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consonants
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Re: Why do my cakes get this color? And cobweb mold?!? [Re: tarfoh]
#13908747 - 02/05/11 04:49 AM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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When I did a BRF cake run, one of my cakes became excessively bruised and blue after dunking. It looked exactly like your cake in your first post, and it was fine.
I'd wager that mutant is a result of all of the abuse you put that cake through by rubbing it with peroxide...
Pick off those aborts and the bruised mycelium on top, it's turning brown/black and is probably dead. Aborts/dead myc = risk of rot.
edit: ahaha op is months old so this isnt very relevant...
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