What precautions should I be aware of when inoculating?

In the open air, you should take care to be as clean as possible, as the air itself contains contaminants which would love to colonize your lovely PF substrate and kick your mycelia's ass. So, spray an anti -bacterial spray in the air around you, work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and be sure the only thing that touches the needle is the substrate, which is sterile (if your procedures are correct). You do face the off chance of a contaminant landing on the needle, which is then introduced to the sterilized substrate. .When using a sealed glovebox or flow hood, there is minimal to no chance of contamination through inoculation procedures. Basically, the more time and effort you put into keeping your procedure sterile, the less chance you will encounter of contamination.

****NOTE**** Open air inoculation is never recommended. Spend the time to make yourself a glovebox and follow sterile technique. You will have much better results.