Quote:

---

ILBIACCO said:
Update.I've checked my pioppino jar. Well. The stem butts are, how can i say, very "fuzzy" and they are sticking to the cardboard and the grains but the growth seems very slow.

---

New update.
Yes. Pioppino can grow on cardboard. The growth is not in any way comparable to the cardboard lover mushrooms, like oysters for example, but i can say that A.aegerita stem butt can slowly colonize a piece of cardboard.
While as far as the fermented corn, pioppino mycelium is still sticking on grains but i can't see a downright growth yet after two weeks from the beginning, and the mushrooms are rotting.

Ten days ago, i've started another jar with pioppino on fermented straw. It seems going well so far and if all goes as planned i will utilize only straw in the future. Probably, the very low ph (4 with the grains) is a real problem for my mushrooms.
But, as we say in Italy, "una rondine non fa primavera", ("one swallow does not make a summer"?)
I have still so many things to experiment...

Thanks Lenny.  B.Barrowsii was unknown to me.

Mycelio, the ziplock bags idea is very interesting.
This forum is as a lighthouse in the stormy sea of mushroom cultivation.

Quote:

---

Mycelio said:
No, I never noticed any difference in the fruitbodies.

Covering with oil should work, but it sounds unnecessarily messy. For me, fermentation in zip-lock bags is the easiest way and I never lower the PH, nor do I add any starter culture, as all the species we need are already present on grain or straw. If you think you should add something, look for sourdough starter. Whenever you try the first time, I heavily recommend fermenting small amounts and not to change too much.

Carsten

---

  I start with lactobacillus cultures that i cultivate from the local environment/air.  So, in essence, i am starting with something similar to wild sourdough starter cultures.  I have so much faith in my lac b serums and any resulting by-products that i eat/ingest them. It's really quite good for intestinal health.  Useful for resolving digestive irregularities as well.

  The reason i suggest oil is simply to provide more possible avenues to do the fermentation.  As a rule i avoid plastics as much as i can.  Not to mention that in many places getting plastic goods can be quite difficult or expensive.

I won't be doing giant batches as trials.  Slow and easy 

Quote:

---

Mycelio said:
...There is this old story about Italians growing Pioppino large scale on fermented corn straw, which I never believed. Could you do a quick web search in Italian, to see if you can find any hints? The only reference I found so far came from stamets and could be pure fantasy, like the commercial cultivation of Parasols in Europe.

Carsten

---

Ciao Mycelio,
i find nothing about it. I think you're right. Probably it's only fantasy, but if i find something in future i will post it immediatly.

Parasol? Macrolepiota Procera? Cultivated for commercial purpose?
I've never heard anything concerning this.  But, why not? it could be an hot item, a real business.
Here in Italy it's a well-known and very appreciated mushroom.
One might think to produce mycelium beginning from stem butts on fermented straw...

Quote:

---

slssurvivor said:
hey mycelio  i was reading your tek and it sounds really really promising.  I got confused with all the comments on carbon sources and adding yeast.  what i was thinking of doing is following your tek  using straw for cubes.  I was gonna take a 5 gallon bucket fill it half way with straw cut into 3 inch pieces, fill wit water and just wait the 1-2 weeks as described stirring daily.  to avoid floaters i was  going to put netting over the straw and weight it down.
Do i need too cook the straw and if so how do i know when it is cooked enough?

---

Quote:

---

slssurvivor said:
will adding half a quart of cube mycelium spawned in wbs  work when added to the straw?

---

Quote:

---

slssurvivor said:
Any other advice or tweeks such as heat or that bulk mollasses  work to make the process go faster, and is it worth it?

---

Quote:

---

MonkeyKnifeFight said:
I've seen mention of fermenting straw before but unclear on the specifics.  Do you just sink the straw in water for a couple weeks and then use it straight?  Or do still have to pasteurize it a the end of the process?  Is there any indication of whether the fermentation is complete?  Smell perhaps?

---

Quote:

---

ILBIACCO said:
Mycelio,
you are the man!

Finally, i have found my way for cultivating P.Ostreatus with fermented stuff.
Greetings.

---

Quote:

---

Mycelio said:

---