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InvisibleKjetterfaen
Strangler

Registered: 07/21/13
Posts: 495
Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek (Pt. 1/2)
    #18596825 - 07/22/13 09:05 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Introduction
Me and a friend recently decided to try our hands at some small scale mycology. We are of course keeping a barebones log as to learn by our own mistakes, but I figure I may as well do a proper writeup based on our notes, both as a means to pass time and as a means to obtain feedback from all of you. Comments and critiques are welcome, just keep in mind that we are rather fresh to mycology and this is our very first attempt. And yes; this is going to get verbose.


Prepwork
We started by doing some initial searches for legality, grow methods and spore sources, before settling (to the surprise of nobody) for cubes with PF-Tek. After finding one with a decent amount of good feedback, we placed an order with a non-sponsor for a five pack deal of spore-solution vials. Nothing exciting in terms of variants; realizing it really didn’t make too much of a difference we picked two we recognized the names of and three arbitrary ones. In the end I believe our order read “B+, Golden Teacher, Amazonian (PES), Thai (Ban Hua), P. Fanaticus Original”.

We then spent the following week reading and watching guides and researching their validity. In the end we decided to follow the original PF-Tek to the letter wherever we could, and using RR’s videos and the forums to determine where newer or better information was available. A huge thank you to both the rabbit man and the rest of you guys by the way; you are a great resource for the beginner.

We bought most of the supplies needed from inoculation up to the point of birthing. There weren’t too many problems, but the rice flour and the jars turned out to be an issue. Suitable jars turned out to be more or less unobtainable, and in the end we had to settle for some cheap ~250ml whisky glasses and tinfoil (PF-Tek for Simple Minds style). Cheap or not, they are not ideal (bad transparency due to textured glass) and they still set us back about three or four times more than jars would have if we could have gotten them locally.. But hell, they are reusable. As for the rice flour, we had to resort to rather expensive brown rice (in term of rice; in terms of everything else this was probably the cheapest thing we bought) and a cheap electric coffee grinder.

And then our spores got stopped in customs. In panic we start scouring the laws, only to discover that they have seemingly been updated within the last few years and yes, spores of any psilocybin mushroom is now illegal to possess. Having already invested a fair amount of our small change in gear, we started looking for alternative sources for a print. Luckily, the customs agency must have been even less updated on the laws then we were, because a few days later our student microscopy set arrived. Many exclamations of “phew” abound. But this made us realize we better learn to make spore prints and syringes fast.

We mixed a batch of verm and rough home-ground brown rice flour, enough for ten jars, following the PF-Tek measurements. But we must have screwed up somewhere (most likely in the filling), because we ran out after the eight jar. Mixed an additional batch, and filled the remaining two glasses as well as two ~50 ml shot glasses for shits and giggles. Lacking a pressure cooker we went for a large pan and a perforated steaming disc thingy (yeah, shoot me, I’m not a chef). We steamed our jars for 90 minutes; let them cool for a good 12 hours. We then let them sit for 24 hours without removing the pan-lid besides for the purpose of adding some more water before then steaming the jars again- for 75 minutes this time - and again let them cool for a good 12 hours. While they cooled we spent the afternoon cleaning the house, removing contaminants and sanitizing surfaces… and of course; preparing an inoculation chamber.

Here we hit another snag, as the plastic tub we had procured turned out to be reinforced with some force field or invisible titanium barrier. Whatever it was, we could not get through it with the tools available. With no lack of materials for a second inoculation try we decided to chance it. The result was two improvised “doorwedges” made from cardboard holsters keeping the lid at an angle high enough for hands to enter on one side, while the thick sanitized plastic bags were used to keep unwanted airflows out. Far from ideal; we plan to make it a proper glove box before the next time it’s needed.



Inoculation
As midnight approached we showered and donned our gloves and masks.


Day 01 - 00:10
Working in tandem, with my friend doing the needlework, we inoculated six jars and two shot glasses with 10ml of solution from the vial marked “P. Fanaticus Original”. The intention was to inoculate ten glasses with one ml each, half with three inoculation holes and half with four, but due to some inexperience with the needle - combined with a broken arm (now that I think about it; why did we decide he was better off handling the syringe in the first place) - we ended up overdosing the first few jars a bit. Combining guesswork and observation I estimate we dosed it as follows;

Jar A:  2.5 ml
Jar B:  1.5 ml
Jar C-F:  1.0 ml
Shot A & B:  0.5 ml

The astute of you may notice that this does not add up to 10ml. And so did I. Now, there wasn’t a full ml. left like my guesstimate math might indicate, but there was a tiny slump left which we couldn’t reach with our syringe, and it did have clearly visible tiny black clumping of spores. Working outside of the glove box I diluted the solution with one ml of tap water, shook well and stuck it into one of the remaining jars. All in all, the actual inoculation took us two hours.



Incubation
The six jars and the two shot glasses were put in a mostly disused and mostly dark room, at ca. 25c. The seventh jar that got the sloppy seconds was put together with two un-inoculated control jars (one steamed, one entirely untreated) on a tall shelf in the living room.


Day 03 - 20:00
Early signs of mycelium, but with the poor visibility through the whisky glasses I daren’t celebrate early. Shot glasses also show signs, but can’t be certain. The temperature is stable at 26c. Control jars are fine, though there is a definite lightening in the color of the cake that got the sloppy seconds. We initially put the “steaming hoods” back on the jars, so I went ahead and removed them.


Day 05 – 21:00
We have definitively got mycelium; celebrations and general rejoicing for everybody. The temperature is 25c. Having not done so prior, we mark each foil-lid to keep track of individual progress.

Jar #1: Three inoculation sites. Very good start on all three.
Jar #2: Four inoculation sites. Good start on all four.
Jar #3: Four inoculation sites. Good start on three, nothing on the fourth.
Jar #4: Three inoculation sites. Good start on all three.
Jar #5: Four inoculation sites. Extremely good start on all four. We suspect this to have been “Jar A”.
Jar #6: Three inoculation sites. Good start on all three. We suspect this to have been “Jar B”.
Shot#1: One inoculation site. Good start.
Shot#2: One inoculation site. Very good start.
Jar #7 (SS): Sloppy seconds inoculation. Widespread signs of mycelium, but looks more fragile than the other six. No signs of any contamination, but it’s hard to be certain.
C. Jar #1: Control jar, steamed but not inoculated. No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.
C. Jar #2: Control jar, not steamed nor inoculated. No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.


Day 08 – 02:00
It has been exactly a week since inoculation, the temperature has been kept stable at 25c.

Jar #1: Severe growth, mycelium has started to spread to the underside of the cake.
Jar #2: Severe growth, signs of rhizomorphic growth.
Jar #3: Severe growth on three of four inoculation points. The fourth shows no signs of mycelium.
Jar #4: Severe growth on two of three inoculation points, less pronounced growth on the third.
Jar #5: Extreme growth. Few spots left with no signs of colonization.
Jar #6: Severe growth, signs of rhizomorphic growth.
Shot#1: Milky white membrane covers half the glass. Areas of pretty little rhizomorphs.
Shot#2: Milky white membrane covers half the glass. Areas of pretty little rhizomorphs.
Jar #7 (SS): Looks much like the shot glasses, only on a larger scale. Few spots left with no signs of colonization. Signs of mycelium along the underside of the cake. What the holy hell is happening here, why is this working? Moved to the same room as the rest of the jars, but still being kept separate.
C. Jar #1: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.
C. Jar #2: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.


Pictured above: Random jars and random shot, day 08.


Day 13 – 02:30
Status update time. Temperature is 25c, but we had some serious heat so I have observed the temperature as high as 28c. We cooled it down to a more sensible 26c again pretty quickly though, so I doubt the inside of the jars reached a dangerous temperature.

Jar #1: Estimated 95% outward colonization, with long rhizomorphs reaching for the remaining area from both sides.
Jar #2: Estimated 100% outward colonization.
Jar #3: Estimated 90% outward colonization. The uncolonized area is directly below the inoculation hole which never generated any mycelium of its own.
Jar #4: Estimated 95% outward colonization.
Jar #5: Estimated 90% outward colonization. The uncolonized area is underneath the cake. Taking into account that this may very well be the one that got a larger dose of solution, I believe the slower colonization towards the bottom may be because of excess moisture. The cake generally looks healthy but input would be appreciated on this matter.
Jar #6: Estimated 100% outward colonization.
Shot#1: Estimated 85% outward colonization. It’s hard to see the state of the bottom due to the thick glass.
Shot#2: Estimated 100% outward colonization, though again it is hard to be certain about the bottom. The most newly colonized area consists of a very pretty rhizomorphic “branch”; wish I had a better camera.
Jar #7 (SS): Estimated 90% outward colonization. The uncolonized area is underneath the cake. This strengthens my belief in that the cause is probably excess moisture collecting towards the bottom, as I know for a fact this one got additional water added to the mix. The mycelium on this one still looks a tad more fragile than the rest of the cakes, but we will see after some consolidation time.
C. Jar #1: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.
C. Jar #2: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.


Pictured above: Jar#7 (SS), Jar #4, Shot#2 and Jar#2, day 13. Apologies for the poor lighting.


Pictured above: Jar #4 and Shot#2, day 13.

As you can see, we are more or less at the point of consolidation, so I spent today making a shotgun terrarium that should fit 6 cakes (up to 8 if placed snug) if my estimate is correct. Sadly I am out of town around the dates when we expect the cakes to be ready to birth, so the cakes are all going to get an additional half a week to a week of consolidation. But that can’t hurt, can it?


Day 16 – 18:30
The temperature has been stable between 24c and 26c the last few days. Most of our cakes have reached 100% outward colonization. The exceptions are Jar #5 and Jar #7 where the bottom still has minute areas where the mycelium hasn’t got a proper foothold yet. Jar #2 and Jar #6 has some very aggressive mycelium reaching up through the verm barrier. All in all, it is looking very good, and we expect to birth as I get home from a brief trip out of town.

The control jar that was steamed (C. Jar #1) still show no signs of contamination; looking and smelling peachy (figuratively). At this point I removed the foil and shook the dry verm up a bit, in an active attempt to let in any contams that may be, before replacing the foil lid. As for the one that was never treated in any form (C. Jar #2); after almost three weeks on a shelf in my living room it has succumbed to natural bacterial processes and has started to ferment, at least judging by the smell. I assume I could just have washed it out with no risk, but to save me the hassle of cleaning up I just threw the entire jar in a ziplock bag and wrapped a garbage bag around it.


Pictured above: Closeup of Jar #2 with the remaining batch in the background, day 16.


Day 19 – 22:46
The temperature has been varying from 21c to 25c these last days, but the jars seem to be thriving. All have reached 100% outward colonization, though the bottom of Jar #5 and Jar #7(SS) are still looking more fragile than the rest in areas, though they both make up for it with stringy and clear white mycelium working its way around the less pronounced spots. The areas beneath the inoculation points on almost all jars and both shots have just started to visibly dry up and contract. For the next week I will be out of town and my friend will be monitoring the jars, but I assume they will be well ready for dunking when I get back home on Day 25. The remaining control jar, C. Jar #1, is still doing fine.



Birthing
After consolidating for 6 to 10 days, with most of them leaning towards the latter, I decided it was time to birth and dunk them. At this point C. Jar #1 was thrown out, having served its purpose and survived the entire incubation with no detectable contamination.


Day 25 – 03:15
I got home pretty late and found the temperature at 27c. I immediately washed up and began birthing the jars. I started with Jar #1 through #4, and they all turned out beautiful as far as far as I can tell. Jar #3 made for a sweet picture, with a little strand of mycelium fighting through the vermiculite barrier. After rinsing them gently under the tap with cool water while using my fingers to gently brush of most of the vermiculite barrier I submerged them in a clean bucket of cold water.

I continued with the remaining jars, of which most turned out very good. Jar #5, which we have suspected all along to be dosed with more spore solution then the rest, still has an area on the bottom where there doesn't seem to be proper colonization. It seems to be an extremely thin "shell" of very compact rice flour and water. It smells perfectly fine, feels smooth to the touch and does not seem discolored or otherwise harmed. Jar #7 (SS) and both shot glass cakes has areas with the same characteristics, though less pronounced. I believe this is benign, as minute traces seem to be visible in between the strong and healthy mycelium on most cakes, upon close examination, but I'd very much like input from the forum on this.

Having very little to lose, and seeing as I do actually believe this to be at worst a minor hindrance to growth on the individual cakes, I added them to the same bucket as the first four cakes and left them submerged in the dark. I put the shot glasses in an individual tub, as to not squeeze them too tightly in.


Pictured above: All jars, day 25.


Pictured above: Jar #3 with mycelium fighting through the vermiculite barrier, day 25.


Pictured above: Jar #1 with and without blitz, day 25.


Pictured above: Jar #5 with it's large area described above (keep in mind that poor lighting and camera makes it seem considerably darker then it is to the naked eye), day 25.


Pictured above: Comparison between Jar #4 and Jar #7 (SS) with the prior showing a minor- and the latter showing a major- area as described above, day 25.


Pictured above: Shot #1 and #2, both showing the same areas, but again they are considerably less pronounced to the naked eye as compared to the picture, day 25.


Pictured above: Jar #1 through #7 (SS) in the tub, before being weighed down, day 25.

23:10
I spent most of the evening rinsing perlite and making the SGFC ready for the cakes. Figuring that the shot glasses would need the least time to rehydrate of the bunch we began with them when my friend arrived at around eleven. We rinsed the cakes and covered them in a layer of vermiculite, taking care not to handle them to roughly. We made a thin hole into the middle of one of them to see how deep the patch of uncolonized material went, and then filled it with vermiculite and water and placed it in a tiny terrarium that we made for shits and giggles. The second one we set aside for afterwards.

We then proceeded to the main batch, rinsing and rolling them carefully. Most were slightly bruised where the vermiculite barrier had been, but they all seemed to be doing fine. I scraped a bit with a clean teaspoon on the seemingly uncolonized parts on the bottom of a few of the cakes, and with the exception of Jar #5 and one of the shot glasses, most were superficial. However, as with the one shotglass I dug into the bottom of Jar #5 to see how deep it ran, and it turned out to go quite far. There are definite signs of mycelium throughout, but no perfect white area until I approached the middle. Being the first time I've ever tried this, and seeing as I don't often see people talk about sticking things into cakes, I do not know if this is normal or not. In any case, I filled up the hole in Jar #5 with vermiculite and water as well. We then put all the jars into the SGFC, put the most successful of the two shot glasses on top of a larger cake, and then misted to the best of our ability.


Pictured above: The cakes, halfway through the rolling, day 25.


Pictured above: The cakes inside the SGFC (It was hard not to block the light when taking these pictures), day 25.


Pictured above: The cakes inside the SGFC after putting in the shot glass and misting, day 25.


Pictured above: The remaining shot glass cake in its miniature SGFC, day 25.


Pictured above: The cakes in the SGFC from the outside , day 25.

The crappy hygrometer I put in the SGFC says 100% and the outside thermometer says 25c. Wish us luck.



First flush: Fruiting, drying and printing
We made a simple SGFC which fits the seven cakes easily. We fitted a cheap hygrometer on the inside and filled it with 8-10 cm of wet perlite, and then placed our cakes inside on circles cut from aluminium foil. Shot #2 was placed on top of a larger cake. Shot # 1 was placed in a separate mini-SGFC with about 5-6 cm of wet perlite. Both Jar #5 and Shot #1 was given an inner reservoir of water an vermiculite.


Day 27 – 18:00
After over forty hours in the SGFC the cakes seem to be doing well. Some of the vermiculite from the roll has fallen off and some has been taken over by the mycelium, but plenty still clings to the outsides of most cakes. The hygrometer is generally showing 90% humidity without much effort on my hand. I expect to be fanning and misting two to four times a day, depending on the weather. Shot #1, which was given a small inner reservoir and placed in the mini-SGFC seems to be doing exceedingly well.

On a sidenote, I noticed that the substrate that I dug out of Shot #1 and Jar #5 contained bits of mycelium, so out of curiosity I dumped it in a pile just outside in a wet and sunny patch. And though I expect this to rain away within a few days, being just a small amount superficially dumped on top of the soil, I was happy to see that the mycelium had started to colonize the previously untouched substrate.


Pictured above: Closeup of Shot #1, day 27.


Day 29 – 03:30
All seems well. Misting and fanning three to four times a day. Aside from dropping briefly to 60% early yesterday when I delayed misting the humidity has been stable. Shot #1 has started to bruise ever so slightly on one side from being picked up and photographed.


Pictured above: Picture from inside the SGFC, day 29.

18:15
We have our first pins. We haven’t had the chance to properly study the cakes up close yet, but we just spotted two or three pins on one of our cakes. I will make some closer examination the next time they need misting.


Pictured above: Picture of a pin through a hole in the SGFC, day 29.

23:15
We have one healthy looking pin on one of the cakes, and two on another. The bruising on Shot#1 is more pronounced now, and two of the bigger cakes are now also showing minute bruising from being handled during the roll. The hygrometer is stable at 90%.


Pictured above: A better picture of the first pin we found, day 30.


Day 30 – 17:25
Currently counting 6 healthy-looking pins spread over 4 of our cakes. None of the shot-glasses have pinned yet. We may be experiencing some problems with the pins reaching down towards the reflected light from the perlite, rather than stretching for the ceiling, but it’s a bit early to be certain. The room temperature is ca. 25c and the hygrometer reads 80%. It’s soon time for misting and fanning again.


Pictured above: The second set of pins we discovered, comparison between early morning and afternoon, day 30.


Day 31 – 04:20
Designated new numbers to the cakes, as most had no way to indentify individual cakes after birthing (see image below). The SGFC has been misted and fanned, and is currently stable at 90%.

#1: Has S2 sitting on its top. Healthy pin forming at the very bottom of the cake. No problems.
#2: No visible pins, nor problems.
#3: The second cake on which we discovered pins. This is currently sporting two large pins, and at least three minute ones.
#4: Has heavy bruising on one side for reasons unknown. Potentially bumped when dunking, potentially dried out at some point; it’s being monitored. No pins.
#5: Previously “Jar #5”. Had uncolonized areas on the bottom at birth. Was given an inner vermiculite and water reservoir. Currently has at least one healthy pin.
#6: Currently has an area that looks just about ready to pin. No problems.
#7: The first cake on which we discovered pins. Currently has one sizeable pin.
S1: Previously “Shot #1”. Sits in its own mini-SGFC, away from the rest. Previously had pronounced bruising, but seems to have healed. No visible pins.
S2: Previously “Shot #2”. Sits on top of cake #1. No visible pins. Bruising recently appeared on one side. No other problems.


Pictured above: Layout of the cakes as they were placed in the SGFC on day 26 w/ their new designations, day 31.

19:10
The SGFC has been misted and fanned, and is currently stable at 85%.

#1: Large pin on the bottom of the cake, growing downwards. Multiple tiny pin precursors around the cake.
#2: No larger pins, but multiple tiny precursors. Slightly bruised.
#3: Sports two giant pins, three healthy pins and multiple tiny pin precursors. Only cake which currently has a well developed pin on the top of the cake, all other early pins were found on the sides. Another of the fairly developed pins on this cake seems to have no coloration on the cap.
#4: No noteworthy development. Bruised, but seems otherwise fine.
#5: Three healthy pins. Some tiny pin precursors.
#6: Two major clusters of healthy pins and pin precursors.
#7: One very large pin and some tiny pin precursors on the top.
S1: No noteworthy development seems healthy.
S2: Slight bruising, no noteworthy development.


Pictured above: Cake #3, #7 and #6, day 31.


Pictured above: Cake #3, day 31.


Day 32 – 00:05
Moved S1 into the main fruiting chamber as the mini-SGFC seems to struggle slightly with FAE, showing some minor aerial mycelium. But mainly I noticed the mini-FC taking considerably longer to evaporate water after misting than the larger one. It is also not ideal in terms of light. It would probably survive fine if left in there for the full cycle, but I imagine it would benefit from the more controlled environment on the larger SGFC.

06:15
The SGFC is stable at 90%. Misted and fanned. I also moved S2 down from cake #1 as the larger cake was starting to pin underneath it. The actual shot was also beginning to visibly dry and bruise, so again it will probably benefit from normal conditions nearer to the perlite. Just to keep things orderly I made a new image of the current layout.


Pictured above: Layout of the cakes in the SGFC as of day 32 w/designations, day 32.

21:00
Misted and fanned not too long ago. The SGFC seems to keep stable at 80-95% with intervention as little as twice daily.

#1: Lots of healthy pins banding across the top and sides. Its largest fruit is growing downwards to the point where it will soon be burying its head in perlite.
#2: Lots of healthy pins banding across the cake. Slight bruising.
#3: Lots of healthy pins on the top and sides. Its two large fruits are doing fine.
#4: Select areas sports knots and pin precursor, but still little development. Slight bruising.
#5: Fair amount of healthy pins around the sides of the cake. The one developed fruit is looking fine.
#6: Lots of healthy pins over most of the cake, and especially concentrated on the top rim of the cake.
#7: Lots of healthy pins on the top, and some on the sides. The one developed fruit is looking good.
S1: Seems to thrive in the larger SGFC, and we are seeing the first pins emerging
S2: Noticeably less bruised than earlier, but still looking rather dry. If it continues to make no progress we will consider redunking it.


Pictured above: Cake #2 with #3, S1 and S2 in the background, day 32.


Pictured above: Cake #6 with #7, #3, S1 and S2 in the background, day 32.


Pictured above: Cake #7, day 32.


Pictured above: Cake #1, day 32.


Pictured above: Closeup of a beginning fruit on cake #5 with parts of the fruitless #4 visible in the shot, day 32.


Day 33 – 16:00
For the previous three or four days we have been supplementing the regular dull, yellow light in the room with a camera flash bulb from a cellphone (which should be around the 5000K range) as a temporary solution. But today we finally got the new bulbs we ordered, so the two 40w incandescent bulbs we previously used have been replaced with three 3w LED bulbs in the 6500K range. The SGFC has been stable at 80-95%, room temperature is 25c and cake #4 and S2 have finally started developing pins.

#1: Looks excellent. The fruit that was burying itself has started to re-emerge and seems less directionally challenged day by day.
#2: Insane amounts of pins, all looking good.
#3: The third pin which we discovered on this cake, which originally came out white, is now graying. This is the first and only confirmed abort we have thus far. The two large fruits are looking healthy as ever, and are still the largest we have by far.
#4: Multiple pins have started growing on the top of the cake.
#5: Doing very well, with many large pins.
#6: The pinset on this cake literally gives me an erection. Slight bruising on the edges of the cake.
#7: The one larger fruit is getting really fat. The cake also has a lot of healthy pins on all sides.
S1: Starting to develop a fair amount of healthy pins.
S2: A single small but healthy pin has appeared on top of the cake along with some hyphal knots. Still very bruised in some areas, but looking better day by day.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC, day 33.


Pictured above: Cake #3 and #7, S1 and S2, with cake #2 and #6 in the foreground, day 33.


Pictured above: Cake #6 and S1, with cake #7 and S2 in the background, day 33.


Day 34 – 17:30
I got home today to find that the two large fruits on cake #3 had flattened and started depositing their spores. I picked them carefully; luckily they were clumped together and didn’t seem to damage the actual cake when removed. After removing them from the SGFC I washed and flamed a small pair of scissors and cut the stem as close to the cap as possible. I put the caps in the SAB on some aluminium foil which got an hour in the oven yesterday. I placed a clean whisky glass over both caps and left it in the dark. Hopefully at least one of them still has some spores left to drop, but only time will tell.

#1: Looking excellent, with several fruits approaching maturity.
#2: Lots of large and healthy pins.
#3: Harvested the two mature fruits. The remaining armada of pins was left alone.
#4: Even more pins have appeared and we are starting to see clusters here and there. Yet to see any larger pins, but we are currently hopeful.
#5: Looking excellent, with lots of large and healthy pins and several fruits approaching maturity.
#6: Lots of large and healthy pins.
#7: Lots of large and healthy pins, as well as one big fruit approaching maturity. I think this is likely to be the next one to start dropping spores.
S1: Pinning like mad, with many of them growing very rapidly.
S2: Currently has around 5-10 very small, but healthy looking pins.


Pictured above: Cake #3 with it's two large fruits just before being picked. Spore deposits can be clearly seen on the perlite and the stem, day 34.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC after picking the fruits on Cake #3, day 34.


Pictured above: The two caps inside the SAB, having been put there in the hopes that they have more of their load to drop, day 34.

23:00
I picked the other two mature mushrooms from cake #1 and #7 respectively. The caps are printing in the SAB, and the stems (along with the stems of the previous two) are in the dehydrator at 50c. On a sidenote; three times now we have observed tiny flying insects (never more than two or three at a time), strolling around in the area of cake #5. Misting seems to stir them up, so they aren’t exactly hard to get rid of. I don’t know quite what to make of this, as it’s hardly an infestation considering the low amount, but it worries me slightly that they are there in the first place. I am keeping my eyes out for them and killing them any chance I get.


Day 35 – 07:00
Misted and fanned, and everything is looking well. I expect to have to harvest a fruit from cake #5 when I get back home later today. The four caps that are printing seem to be doing well (as far as I can tell without disturbing them), and the four stems that are drying well on their way to cracker dry after 8-12 hours in the dehydrator.

15:00
As I left this morning I turned the dehydrator off and left the fruits inside to cool. When I got home they had re-absorbed some of their moisture and, curiously, simultaneously lost a gram of weight. One lives and learns, I suppose. I have put the dehydrator back on, and will be checking up on them every hour. Meanwhile I have my eyes on another four or five fruits in the SGFC that I believe will be ready for picking very soon.

22:00
The veil started to tear on one of the fruits some hours ago, but not the difficult one that I expected. Picked it, put it to printing, and only realized afterwards that I didn’t take a picture before nabbing it. Otherwise it is looking relatively good in the SGFC. I definitively need to get some more water in there though, as the cakes are looking really spent, bruised and shrunken underneath the pins. They are thirsty bastards, and with me opening the chamber to pick fruits I suspect I have been messing with their climate more than they appreciate.

#1: Multiple large fruits and pins. We are planning to harvest some of the mature fruits within days end.
#2: Has a bunch of fruits that are working towards maturity. None are looking particularly big or exceptional, but there sure are a lot.
#3: The pin we were certain had aborted turned out to be healthy. Otherwise this cake is looking rather barren now that the two giant fruits have been picked. There’s one more sizeable pin which I have hopes for, but it may just be that those two beasts were its first flush.
#4: Pinning very well, but still lagging severely behind the rest.
#5: Has two large fruits almost ready for harvest and multiple maturing pins.
#6: This is the cake from which I harvested a mushroom earlier today. It still has at least one or two sizeable fruits, as well as multiple maturing pins.
#7: Multiple smaller fruits working towards maturity.
S1: Has a lot of smaller fruits working towards maturity, but all have tanned, yellowish stems, as if it is drying. I am thinking the mini-cake may be trying to grow more fruits then it can sustain with liquid and nourishment.
S2: Also lagging far behind the rest, but most definitively pinning. Seems to be facing the same issues as S1.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC taken around 22:00, day 35.


Pictured above: Inside the SGFC, showing all too much blue and yellow, day 35.


Day 36 – 00:10
Sheesh, fruits keeps growing and veils keeps tearing. Having not slept for a good 36 hours I was planning to hit the sack early, but that isn’t looking likely right now. Keeping a close eye on the SGFC and trying to learn what I can from it.

15:00
Woke up late and took the fruits out of the dehydrator. This time they are properly and entirely cracker dry. There was also a lot of fruits ready for picking in the SGFC. In addition two of our caps were done printing in the SAB. Most of our cakes are on the verge of finishing the first flush, and whatever fruits that haven't quite reached maturity within the end of the evening will be picked regardless so that we can dunk the cakes.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC taken before the days harvest, day 36.


Pictured above: Closeup of S2, day 36.


Pictured above: Prints and caps printing in the SAB, day 36.


Pictured above: Partial harvest in the dehydrator, day 36.

21:00
Took all the cakes except #4 and S2 out of the SGFC and harvested their remaining fruits. They are now dunking in a clean bucket of cold water. Most of the mushrooms came off without any problems, and without damaging the cake. I did however have some issues with blobby mushroom matter incasing some of the small pins. On some cakes I tried removing some of it by hand, on other with scalpel, and in some cases I left it entirely alone. I will see tomorrow which, if any, the better solution was. While the SGFC is relatively empty I took the opportunity to pour some fresh water onto the perlite.

#1: Dunking before second flush.
#2: Dunking before second flush.
#3: Dunking before second flush.
#4: Still in the SGFC. Doing better.
#5: Dunking before second flush.
#6: Dunking before second flush.
#7: Dunking before second flush.
S1: Dunking before second flush.
S2: Still in the SGFC. Doing better. Has a beginning fruit and quite a few pins now.



Second flush: Fruiting, drying and spore syringes
After 23 hours of dunking the cakes were put back in the SGFC. Again, having no way of differentiating most of the cakes, I have given the cakes new designations. Eleven of the fourteen prints we attempted are currently drying, and seems to have turned out good. With the exception of three caps that are still printing most of our current harvest is now cracker dry and is being stored in zip-lock bags inside Tupperware in the fridge. Thus far we have gotten about 18 dry-as-can-be grams from six cakes and a shotglass.


Pictured above: Layout of the SGFC w/ new designations, day 37.


Day 37 - 22:30
Not long after being placed in the SGFC the dunked cakes started to develop a worrying sweet smell. Upon closer examination we found that S1 still retains some of its mushroom-like smell, but the rest predominantly smells sweet. None of the un-dunked cakes smell unhealthy. I will be keeping a close eye on them while they recover, and if the smell persists I suppose there is nothing to do but bury the lot.

#1: Recovering poorly thus far.
#2: Has started to recover.
#3: (Most likely previously #3) Is recovering pretty well.
#4: (Previously #4) Still on its first flush. Looking very good, with a lot of unimpressive but healthy beginning fruits.
#5: (Previously #5) Is recovering pretty well.
#6: Has started to recover.
#7: Recovering poorly thus far.
S1: (Previously S1) Is recovering pretty well.
S2: (Previously S2) Still on its first flush. Looking very good, quite a few pins have begun maturing.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC one hour after the cakes were placed back in, day 37.


Day 38 - 00:10
I took two of the three caps that were still printing and moved them to a second sheet of foil. The first print from those caps came out dark and good, but I’m curious to see if they can produce another print if I give them another 20 hours.

06:30
Folded, marked and zip-locked most of the prints we made. Ranging from tiny to XL, some of them came out a bit smudged due to inexpert removal of the cap, others came out a bit light, and some again came out perfect. There are still a few drying, and I plan to print some more as soon as the first flush is ready on the last two cakes. The finished prints were put together in yet another zip-lock bag and then placed in a Tupperware container in my fridge.

13:00
It seems all of the dunked cakes had developed a bacterial skin (?), as well as many of them having leftover mushroom matter which had engorged with water. I took a scalpel and scraped the cakes, removing skin, aborts and the engorged mushroom flesh. The sweet smell immediately almost entirely subsided. I left some possible fruits and possible aborts on cake #3 just to have something to compare the rest with, as it seemed to be doing alright before the shave. I harvested #4 and S2, but left them in the SGFC as #4 still has a few maturing mushrooms which I plan to pick tomorrow. Put additional ten caps to print.


Day 39 – 14:30
All of the dunked cakes have recovered very well after being shaved, and some have even started making new pins and knots already. In an hour or two I am harvesting the remaining fruits on cake #4 and I cleaning the aborts off of #3.

#1: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots.
#2: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots and a few pins.
#3: The sides, which were shaved, are looking very good and have started developing hyphal knots. The top, which was not shaved, has a lot of what I assume to be aborts. I will study it closer a bit later when harvesting and misting.
#4: Quite a few fruits ready for picking. I will clean the entire cake and prepare for dunking later today.
#5: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots and a few pins.
#6: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots and a few pins.
#7: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots.
S1: Looks very good a day after being shaved. Has started to develop hyphal knots.
S2: Currently barren, awaiting dunk before starting second flush. Very bruised from being handled and harvested yesterday.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC, day 39.

21:15
Cake #4 and S2 is currently soaking up water in a bowl, but I will probably not go for the full 24 hours this time as I am curious to see if they get any of the same issues as the last ones. Although, this time I made sure all mushroom matter larger than the most minute and healthy pin was removed first. Aside from a few fruits on #3 (which I’m not quite sure whether to attribute to remnants of the first flush or an early second) everything from the first flush has been harvested and dried. We are currently totaling 27 dry grams, and we have secured about two dozen prints.


Day 40 – 18:00
The cakes in the SGFC are all doing fine, and most have started to pin. #4 and S2 both developed the “skin” after twelve hours of soaking but this time I peeled it right away, before putting them back in the SGFC. The hygrometer is mostly stable at 90%. Since there isn't much else to do right now I might as well go over a few minor things that I have neglected to mention thus far.

Regarding light cycle; we have been using none. With few exceptions the SGFC has been getting light when I am awake and darkness when I am asleep.

Regarding printing; I decided not to go into detail previously as we were more or less following the same procedure as is described in the “Making clean spore prints” guide on the main page.

Regarding SAB; in the end we got the arm-holes done by simply pressing a hot metal jar through it. Pretty obvious, but the thought never struck us when we were struggling with inoculation. So yeah, the SAB is as simple as it gets, but at least it is in better shape now then last time we needed it.


Pictured above: Mandatory boring "current layout of SGFC" pic, day 40.


Pictured above: Partial harvest from the first flush after drying, day 40.


Day 42 – 23:45
It’s high time for a quick status update on the cakes.

#1: No pins yet, but lots of knotting.
#2: Some healthy pin clusters are developing.
#3: A whole lot of pin clusters. Some of the larger ones have really ballooned in the last twenty-four hours.
#4: No pins yet, but lots of knotting.
#5: Several healthy clusters of pins.
#6: One large and pronounced cluster of pins. The rest of the cake has nice knotting.
#7: No pins yet, but lots of knotting.
S1: No pins yet, but lots of knotting.
S2: Some tiny starting pins can be seen.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC taken late evening right after misting, day 42.


Day 43 – 03:00
As I am writing this I can feel the last remnants of energy draining from me; I am very tired, but I suppose I have to include some notes on the first test of our harvest.

The intention was for four of us to ingest a small dose and for one to sit it out with a whiskey and observe. Now, I am aware that the following isn’t strictly relevant to the grow-log, and that it may get confusing without any names, but allow me to go on a tangent. One of the invitees is notoriously late, managing on just this occasion to spend three hours on a twenty minute bus ride, so while waiting for him the rest of us went outside and enjoyed the sun with a couple of long-boards. The friend, whose efforts next to mine are responsible for the harvest, was showing off and not paying attention when the asphalt suddenly took offense and jumped up to hit him in the face. After picking his balls back up and cleaning his wounds he was driven to the emergency reception and, as they say, then there were three.

I measured up 2.3 grams for each of the three remaining participants. One chewed, and he peaked rather early. He reported mild euphoria and general well-being, and his outwards demeanor seemed to testify to that. The second swallowed and he peaked late, but also probably had the more intense and long lasting experience of the bunch. He too reported a feeling of well-being and at one point tried to describe a pleasant feeling “beyond description in words”.

Trying to describe my own experiences is a bit harder. Through the evening I have experienced mostly the same effects as the other two participants described, though to a noticeably lesser extent. I suppose it could be best described as a peaceful feeling, similar to those rare moments (usually a summer night, at four AM) when you have drunk and smoked just the right amount through the entire night and you hit that miraculous carefree state where you can actually enjoy the moment that is passing. Except for some minor visual lag and some added color depth I didn’t experience anything extraordinary, but it has been a good night still. We had some great laughs, I think we all had our minor moments of insights and I got to ride my board while floating on air. As the clock approached midnight I downed an extra gram and spent the following three hours looking at some quaint human interest show with my concussed friend while laughing my ass off.


Day 44 – 05:15
Just misted and fanned the SGFC. The hygrometer had dropped to 75%, but the cakes all look happy.

#1: Has gotten its first minute pins.
#2: Its clusters are inflating steadily.
#3: Has two clusters moving towards maturity.
#4: No confirmed pins yet, but lots of knotting.
#5: Has many separate, fat beginning fruits.
#6: In addition to its one ballooning cluster it has also started developing minute pins on the other sides.
#7: Has gotten its first minute pins.
S1: No confirmed pins yet, but lots of knotting.
S2: Still only has a few minute pins.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC taken early morning, day 44.

20:30
Figuring we had some spare time we decided to try making a few spore syringes. After reading up a bit more and preparing a plan of action we brought a clean pan of tap-water to a boil a couple of times. Meanwhile we cleaned the SAB and prepared a new, unused Erlenmeyer flask (we don’t have a PC yet, but I cleaned it out with boiling water. Hopefully the fact that it was brand new and unused will mitigate the lack of PC, but time will tell). The pan of boiling water was left with the lid on for just long enough not to scald before we poured 50ml into the flask and put a rubber seal in. We then let it sit in the SAB until cool together with the other things we would need. Figuring the first attempt may very well be unsuccessful we chose to work with one of the smaller prints.

A few hours later, when the flask was cool to the touch, we washed up and donned our masks and gloves. Using a disposable inoculation loop I scraped off what I could from the small print into the flask and stirred with the loop. The latter was not an incredibly bright idea, as the spores tended to stick to the plastic. After the inoculation loop failed to be effective I instead mixed the spores out by sucking it into the first syringe and squirting it back into the solution. I then filled four of the five syringes with 10ml each, capped and bagged them. The fifth syringe was more problematic, as our needles struggled to suck up the last remnants from the Erlenmeyer flask. In the end we settled for the 6ml I could get in there.

The five syringes are now resting in the fridge, and in a few days we will test one out. 


Pictured above: The five spore-syringes we made, day 44.

23:45
The fruits on cake #3 have really grown throughout the day, and I think they will need to be harvested either tonight or tomorrow morning. The caps all appear to be slightly deformed though, a trait seemingly shared by the larger pins on the other cakes as well.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC taken late evening, day 44.


Pictured above: Closeup of cake #3 next to #7 and S2, day 44.


Day 45 – 01:30
The veil broke on several of the fruits on cake #3. I harvested them, put five of the larger caps to print, and put the rest in the dehydrator.

18:30
The veils started tearing on cake #6 as well, so we harvested its largest cluster. I also took the opportunity to remove all the aborts from cake #3 as I initially left them on for an extra day to see if they were truly aborted. The SGFC is stable at 90%.

#1: No noteworthy change.
#2: Its clusters are still inflating steadily.
#3: After having the majority of its fruits and aborts harvested it now only sports a few healthy pins on the sides.
#4: Finally has a pretty healthy-looking pin growing on it.
#5: We expect to harvest the largest pins and fruits on this cake tomorrow.
#6: After harvesting its largest cluster this cake still sports a few healthy immature pins around the sides.
#7: No noteworthy change.
S1: No noteworthy change.
S2: No noteworthy change.


Pictured above: The cluster we harvested from cake #6, day 45.


Pictured above: Overhead shot of the SGFC after harvesting cake #6, day 45.

20:00
The cakes that we harvested earlier (#3 and #6) were looking really spent and tired, and noticeably smaller then the remaining ones, so we decided to dunk them. In twelve to twenty hours they will be rejoining the rest in the SGFC.



Concluded in Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek (Pt. 2/2)!!!

Edited by Kjetterfaen (09/21/13 09:23 PM)

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18596835 - 07/22/13 09:07 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

Kjetterfaen said:
Me and a friend recently decided to try our hands at some small scale mycology. We are of course keeping a barebones log as to learn by our own mistakes, but I figure I may as well do a proper writeup based on our notes, both as a means to pass time and as a means to obtain feedback from all of you. Comments and critiques are welcome, just keep in mind that we are rather fresh to mycology and this is our very first attempt. And yes; this is going to get verbose.


Prepwork
We started by doing some initial searches for legality, grow methods and spore sources, before settling (to the surprise of nobody) for cubes with PF-Tek. After finding one with a decent amount of good feedback, we placed an order with a non-sponsor for a five pack deal of spore-solution vials. Nothing exciting in terms of variants; realizing it really didn’t make too much of a difference we picked two we recognized the names of and three arbitrary ones. In the end I believe our order read “B+, Golden Teacher, Amazonian (PES), Thai (Ban Hua), P. Fanaticus Original”.

We then spent the following week reading and watching guides and researching their validity. In the end we decided to follow the original PF-Tek to the letter wherever we could, and using RR’s videos and the forums to determine where newer or better information was available. A huge thank you to both the rabbit man and the rest of you guys by the way; you are a great resource for the beginner.

We bought most of the supplies needed from inoculation up to the point of birthing. There weren’t too many problems, but the rice flour and the jars turned out to be an issue. Suitable jars turned out to be more or less unobtainable, and in the end we had to settle for some cheap ~250ml whisky glasses and tinfoil (PF-Tek for Simple Minds style). Cheap or not, they are not ideal (bad transparency due to textured glass) and they still set us back about three or four times more than jars would have if we could have gotten them locally.. But hell, they are reusable. As for the rice flour, we had to resort to rather expensive brown rice (in term of rice; in terms of everything else this was probably the cheapest thing we bought) and a cheap electric coffee grinder.

And then our spores got stopped in customs. In panic we start scouring the laws, only to discover that they have seemingly been updated within the last few years and yes, spores of any psilocybin mushroom is now illegal to possess. Having already invested a fair amount of our small change in gear, we started looking for alternative sources for a print. Luckily, the customs agency must have been even less updated on the laws then we were, because a few days later our student microscopy set arrived. Many exclamations of “phew” abound. But this made us realize we better learn to make spore prints and syringes fast.

We mixed a batch of verm and rough home-ground brown rice flour, enough for ten jars, following the PF-Tek measurements. But we must have screwed up somewhere (most likely in the filling), because we ran out after the eight jar. Mixed an additional batch, and filled the remaining two glasses as well as two ~50 ml shot glasses for shits and giggles. Lacking a pressure cooker we went for a large pan and a perforated steaming disc thingy (yeah, shoot me, I’m not a chef). We steamed our jars for 90 minutes; let them cool for a good 12 hours. We then let them sit for 24 hours without removing the pan-lid besides for the purpose of adding some more water before then steaming the jars again- for 75 minutes this time - and again let them cool for a good 12 hours. While they cooled we spent the afternoon cleaning the house, removing contaminants and sanitizing surfaces… and of course; preparing an inoculation chamber.

Here we hit another snag, as the plastic tub we had procured turned out to be reinforced with some force field or invisible titanium barrier. Whatever it was, we could not get through it with the tools available. With no lack of materials for a second inoculation try we decided to chance it. The result was two improvised “doorwedges” made from cardboard holsters keeping the lid at an angle high enough for hands to enter on one side, while the thick sanitized plastic bags were used to keep unwanted airflows out. Far from ideal; we plan to make it a proper glove box before the next time it’s needed.

Inoculation
As midnight approached we showered and donned our gloves and masks.

Day 01 - 00:10
Working in tandem, with my friend doing the needlework, we inoculated six jars and two shot glasses with 10ml of solution from the vial marked “P. Fanaticus Original”. The intention was to inoculate ten glasses with one ml each, half with three inoculation holes and half with four, but due to some inexperience with the needle - combined with a broken arm (now that I think about it; why did we decide he was better off handling the syringe in the first place) - we ended up overdosing the first few jars a bit. Combining guesswork and observation I estimate we dosed it as follows;

Jar A:  2.5 ml
Jar B:  1.5 ml
Jar C-F:  1.0 ml
Shot A & B:  0.5 ml

The astute of you may notice that this does not add up to 10ml. And so did I. Now, there wasn’t a full ml. left like my guesstimate math might indicate, but there was a tiny slump left which we couldn’t reach with our syringe, and it did have clearly visible tiny black clumping of spores. Working outside of the glove box I diluted the solution with one ml of tap water, shook well and stuck it into one of the remaining jars. All in all, the actual inoculation took us two hours.


3) Incubation
The six jars and the two shot glasses were put in a mostly disused and mostly dark room, at ca. 25c. The seventh jar that got the sloppy seconds was put together with two un-inoculated control jars (one steamed, one entirely untreated) on a tall shelf in the living room.


Day 03 - 20:00
Early signs of mycelium, but with the poor visibility through the whisky glasses I daren’t celebrate early. Shot glasses also show signs, but can’t be certain. The temperature is stable at 26c. Control jars are fine, though there is a definite lightening in the color of the cake that got the sloppy seconds. We initially put the “steaming hoods” back on the jars, so I went ahead and removed them.


Day 05 – 21:00
We have definitively got mycelium; celebrations and general rejoicing for everybody. The temperature is 25c. Having not done so prior, we mark each foil-lid to keep track of individual progress.

Jar #1: Three inoculation sites. Very good start on all three.
Jar #2: Four inoculation sites. Good start on all four.
Jar #3: Four inoculation sites. Good start on three, nothing on the fourth.
Jar #4: Three inoculation sites. Good start on all three.
Jar #5: Four inoculation sites. Extremely good start on all four. We suspect this to have been “Jar A”.
Jar #6: Three inoculation sites. Good start on all three. We suspect this to have been “Jar B”.
Shot#1: One inoculation site. Good start.
Shot#2: One inoculation site. Very good start.
Jar #7 (SS): Sloppy seconds inoculation. Widespread signs of mycelium, but looks more fragile than the other six. No signs of any contamination, but it’s hard to be certain.
C. Jar #1: Control jar, steamed but not inoculated. No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.
C. Jar #2: Control jar, not steamed nor inoculated. No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.


Day 08 – 02:00
It has been exactly a week since inoculation, the temperature has been kept stable at 25c.

Jar #1: Severe growth, mycelium has started to spread to the underside of the cake.
Jar #2: Severe growth, signs of rhizomorphic growth.
Jar #3: Severe growth on three of four inoculation points. The fourth shows no signs of mycelium.
Jar #4: Severe growth on two of three inoculation points, less pronounced growth on the third.
Jar #5: Extreme growth. Few spots left with no signs of colonization.
Jar #6: Severe growth, signs of rhizomorphic growth.
Shot#1: Milky white membrane covers half the glass. Areas of pretty little rhizomorphs.
Shot#2: Milky white membrane covers half the glass. Areas of pretty little rhizomorphs.
Jar #7 (SS): Looks much like the shot glasses, only on a larger scale. Few spots left with no signs of colonization. Signs of mycelium along the underside of the cake. What the holy hell is happening here, why is this working? Moved to the same room as the rest of the jars, but still being kept separate.
C. Jar #1: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.
C. Jar #2: No signs of anything growing, contaminant or otherwise.




Note: As of right now, its day 11; I will make a new update soon.




AWSOME good write up,

Good luck buddy


--------------------

:mushroom2:**need a check up?**:aliendance: **im a Doctor**:mushroom2:
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i sometimes wish I was a wormy, wiggling all in the cold dirt...tickle tackle pickle dickle think a mackshift thought of broken words broken gears and words of conundrums..I'm not a weiner doctor so take that shit to dr. Gonz free boob inplant consultations.. Photo required

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InvisibleKjetterfaen
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Dr.Dankhead]
    #18596877 - 07/22/13 09:16 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Thank you. Judging by the results thus far we are having very good luck. =)
No contams, and except for one hole on one jar which seems to have been a dud we are seeing what I can only assume to be very fast growth.

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18606589 - 07/24/13 07:43 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Day 13 update added above w/pics.

Additionally I have a question regarding the shot sized cakes; if they do not fit nicely inside the SGFC with the rest of the cakes - I was thinking of fruiting them in a cheap Tupperware-knockoff container (so cheap they are practically useless in a kitchen actually) with the same hole configuration as a proper SGFC (though I suppose the perlite layer would have to be scaled down ever so slightly?). Anyone have any input on this? Am I better off using no holes, fewer holes, more holes, etc etc ad infinitum. I have enough crappy containers to experiment with, and I’m not too fussed if the two “shits’n’giggles” shotglass cakes fruit poorly, but if my idea is unworkable then someone please raise their hand.

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18606923 - 07/24/13 08:51 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Sure, you could do that.  You could also just put them on top of your bigger cakes.

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Psilicon]
    #18606947 - 07/24/13 08:57 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

van der griegen said:
Sure, you could do that.  You could also just put them on top of your bigger cakes.




I hadn't thought of that. So they will then fuse/merge, in theory leaving me a larger growing surface? Having no personal experience I can only speak from what I have seen in pictures, but it appears they often prefer fruiting from the sides of the cakes, so I expect having more "side" to go around would be beneficial..?

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18606979 - 07/24/13 09:04 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

It probably won't fuse them together, especially if you dunk and roll in vermiculite.

I don't know how much the surface area has to do with it, but regardless of the reason, it's RR's opinion that smaller cakes and substrates in general have a higher yield efficiency in terms of grams fruit per grams substrate.

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Psilicon]
    #18607026 - 07/24/13 09:15 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Ah good point, I plan to dunk and roll, so yeah. But then wouldn't a tiny cake like that sitting on the uneven surface of a larger cake be very prone to being knocked over from, say, enthusiastic fanning?

As for the yield efficiency; I think I have read a post to that effect as well. I have only made some vague guesstimate yield calculations on the entire project, and when I did the numbers for the shots I just scaled down the expected minimum, maximum and average from 250ml to 50ml. As I said above; I am not to fussed about maximizing yield. If no jars succumb to any infection before we fruit then even a crappy flush and no repeats would leave us smiling. =)

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18607060 - 07/24/13 09:24 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

Kjetterfaen said:But then wouldn't a tiny cake like that sitting on the uneven surface of a larger cake be very prone to being knocked over from, say, enthusiastic fanning?




There's no need to fan enthusiastically.  Just 3-5 good waves with the lid of your SGFC will be sufficient.  You only need to replace the air in the chamber, and that takes very little effort.

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Psilicon]
    #18607121 - 07/24/13 09:41 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Noted. I have yet to get down to detail level on fanning, misting and lighting after the birth stage; I have been struggling just to retain the information I have needed thus far. But now that it's looking well colonized I suppose I should do a grand IQ-flush and start cramming for the next stage.

I assume the fact that nobody has commented on the pictures means they all look decent, as far as one can tell given the quality?

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18607174 - 07/24/13 09:55 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

They look great to me.  :thumbup:


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InvisibleKjetterfaen
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Psilicon]
    #18607215 - 07/24/13 10:03 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Ace =) Thanks for the reassurance, and the advice!

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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18607852 - 07/25/13 01:17 AM (10 years, 7 months ago)

This is an awesome log.  It's made me really think about how I look at my own grow projects.  Thank you.  Can't wait to see what the shot glasses look like when fruited.


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InvisibleKjetterfaen
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: elasticaltiger]
    #18608001 - 07/25/13 02:50 AM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Thanks for the kind words. =) I will post updates if anything exciting happens, if not we are expecting to birth and dunk as early as possible in week 32.

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InvisibleKjetterfaen
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18623360 - 07/28/13 10:54 AM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Minor "Day 16" update added above w/pic.

As I have nothing much to do but wait for now, I was wondering if someone could give me a hand in finding a good routine for fanning and misting a SGFC, or maybe help me get a good mental image of what the correct conditions should look like. I will be searching around myself as well, of course, but I don't mind helpful souls either haha.

Edited by Kjetterfaen (07/28/13 11:28 AM)

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Invisibleuncommonsence
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18623690 - 07/28/13 12:07 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

I have never used SGFC but I do believe u do not require to fan at all. Mainly mist once or twice a day if needed. I am more familiar with PMP set up. My first grow all I used was a fish tank, wet verm on the fruiting floor, a lizard heater under tank and a fan every hour for about 8-13 sec, mist when needed. That is if you like to baby your grow. Good luck!


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Edited by uncommonsence (07/28/13 12:08 PM)

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OfflinePussyFart
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: uncommonsence]
    #18623705 - 07/28/13 12:12 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

uncommonsence said:
My first grow all I used was a fish tank, wet verm on the fruiting floor, a lizard heater under tank and a fan every hour for about 8-13 sec, mist when needed.



That has fail written all over it.

Not talking shit, just pointing out the obvious I guess.

Glass fish tanks suck as fruiting chambers, they do not dissipate gasses efficiently.

Verm in the bottom of a glass tank is worthless and does basically nothing for humidity.

Heating the chamber kills your humidity.

Fanning every hour sucks.

Edited by PussyFart (07/28/13 12:13 PM)

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InvisibleKjetterfaen
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: uncommonsence]
    #18623718 - 07/28/13 12:16 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

uncommonsence said:
[..] a fan every hour for about 8-13 sec. [..]




That is what I am hoping to avoid with the SGFC, but I have no experience under my belt yet so I don't know if it requires a daily waft, or a full on hourly checkup... Thanks for the input though, now gimme more haha. =)

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OfflinePussyFart
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: Kjetterfaen]
    #18623731 - 07/28/13 12:19 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

The cakes in a properly built SGFC can be misted/fanned as little as twice a day.

It is recommended to mist the cakes with a fine mist until they glisten, then fan out the chamber to cycle out the air.

Mist the cakes again once the water you previously applied has evaporated, followed by another fanning.

We mist to replace lost moisture in the substrate.

We fan out the chamber to cycle out the air, and promote evaporation.

Always mist then fan.

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Invisibleuncommonsence
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Re: Grow log: Cubensis with PF Tek [Re: PussyFart]
    #18623739 - 07/28/13 12:21 PM (10 years, 7 months ago)

Living in a very cold area at the time the temp was usually between 30 to 50 and was usually in lower end of the scale, work and large amounts of rain prevented me from having a life so fanning was the high light of the day. Getting started this way helped me relate to what is the cakes enjoyed ect. not necessarily recommending it just showing how it is not at hard as it seems.


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