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 FugueRider
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 Cold Shock a Shiitake Block 
#9975333 - 03/15/09 07:58 AM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
A while back, RogerRabbit said:
Did you give it (a shiitake block) a week-long cold shock?
RR
I have been perusing as many threads as I can, and also going through the internet looking for what to do with my shiitake block. Most information says to cold shock for twenty four hours. RR says though to do it for seven days.
On the thread where I found this; the original poster was having some problems due to an initial over-hydration of his blocks. So I am wondering if this advice was specific to that thread alone...or if it is general advice for Shiitake blocks.
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 RogerRabbit
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: FugueRider]
#9976244 - 03/15/09 12:18 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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You need to let shiitake colonize in the bag for about 2 months for best results. Let it blister and brown in the bag. Then, take it out of the bag and put on a shelf at fairly low humidity so the 'crust' can form. Leave it for a week or two to dry out, and then give it a week of cool temperatures, followed by a 24 hour soak in cold tap water. Don't use ice, as that's too cold. Fruits should form soon after the dunk.
While in fruiting conditions, it helps to wash your blocks with a hose or the faucet every day or two. This will help prevent molds by washing the spores off the block surface before they germinate. Physical shock is also a shiitake pinning trigger, so when you're washing the block, it helps to drop it into the tub a few times. Don't abuse the block to the point of breaking, but a few bumps seems to help for some reason.
RR
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semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
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FugueRider
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: RogerRabbit]
#9976402 - 03/15/09 12:51 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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Sweet - That answered p[retty much all my questions. Man, these things take a long time until they are ready to fruit.
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RogerRabbit
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: FugueRider]
#9977084 - 03/15/09 03:15 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yup. They'll fully colonize at about the same rate as other species, but if you remove the bag at full colonization, fruiting performance is really poor and they grow a lot of mutants without caps. Do as described above and you'll get a nice harvest.
RR
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semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
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FugueRider
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: RogerRabbit]
#10136782 - 04/09/09 01:20 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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So is around 44F too cold for the week long cold shock? The weather is warming up where I live and it is hard to give it consistent coll temps for the space of a week. My fridge however, on the warmest setting is at 44F.
Peace
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RogerRabbit
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: FugueRider]
#10139597 - 04/09/09 08:55 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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44 is a bit cold. If you have a spare refrigerator, perhaps you could put it on a timer to run for an hour, and then shut off for three or four hours. I cold shock shiitake under my house. It seems to stay at about 50F to 55F year round. 44F will work though. When I lived in Seattle, I'd just put them outside in the winter. It would be upper 30's to low 40's at night and 50's during the day. It seemed to work OK. Temperature and humidity fluctuation seems to be a good pinning trigger for shiitake.
RR
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semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
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FugueRider
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: RogerRabbit]
#10140962 - 04/10/09 06:19 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Alrighty then, thanks for the info. These babies seem like they have to be nursed a lot more than the oysters I am growing, or psilocybins. I am eager to see how my test run of shiitakes will fruit.
Peace.
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 lazy bones
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: RogerRabbit]
#13699801 - 12/29/10 07:39 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
RogerRabbit said:
While in fruiting conditions, it helps to wash your blocks with a hose or the faucet every day or two. This will help prevent molds by washing the spores off the block surface before they germinate. Physical shock is also a shiitake pinning trigger, so when you're washing the block, it helps to drop it into the tub a few times. Don't abuse the block to the point of breaking, but a few bumps seems to help for some reason.
RR
Okay- I'm bumping an old thread...
Roger, what about after you cut off the fruits and let the block recover? How best to prevent mold during that period?
I'm fruiting the block again and everywhere I took a mushroom off the first flush I have green mold (which I am washing off daily). Any other ways to prevent this with indoor grows?
Thanks!
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RogerRabbit
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: lazy bones]
#13699907 - 12/29/10 08:16 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Don't allow the blocks to dry out between flushes. They need to lose some moisture, but if they get totally dry on the surface, they mold once they're wetted again. During the two week resting period, be sure to spray the blocks daily to keep the surface slightly moist.
If it gets to be a big problem, shoot for one flush and then move the blocks outside for a second flush. I even let my spent blocks get buried in the snow all winter, and they fruit again in the spring when the snow melts.
In addition, don't harvest with the 'twist and pull' method as this damages the substrate and leads to molds. Simply slice the stems off right at the substrate, and leave them there. Ignore posts where people say the stumps will rot. They don't.
RR
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semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
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FractalXplora
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Re: Cold Shock a Shiitake Block [Re: RogerRabbit]
#13700492 - 12/29/10 10:59 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Glad you bumped this 'ol thread, just the info i was looking for!
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