Posted by pablokabute (04/15/12 09:10 PM)
beside the window where little light could seap in, paper.. fanning it outside.. voila.
Posted by jbbishop (05/03/11 10:08 PM)
The use of desiccants is, in my experience superfluous and entirely a waste of time in arid western environments although those in damp tropical environments may find it necessary, like ShroomGod suggests most people don't need to use desiccants.  Here is my advise.  Don't waste your time with the expense and hassle of desiccants and desiccant chambers.  If you adapt a high powered ordinary household fan (like the black round turbo fan I have) to hold the drying trays you can get a large force of air passage through the drying material which, at least in my Midwest environment, year round, produces results suitable sufficient that anything that comes out which has a chance of surviving without consumption for over a week is totally cool.  What is more telling is that by simply taking primordia and deliberately subjecting it to two additional days of airflow than I would otherwise I produced from a coffee grinder a powder which was so dry that the Anubis technique of preservation was perfectly suitable to the product that resulted.  I simply couldn't find and difference in the dryness of my product by taking the extra step of using desiccants and desiccate chambers when I had a sufficiently dry atmosphere with adequate air passage given a suitable period of time.  Final position.  Don't bother its a waste of time and money.  I've had product dried without desiccant within about 4 days that preserve well in a freezer for over a year without any signs of oxidation, or loss of potency provided that one uses preferred airtight freezer storage options, double layers and glass are preferred but of all the methods I've read for long term storage that Anubis technique is to me truly amazing because it keeps at room temperature for years and years and mixes wonderfully with orange juice...  People have advised me that having had a sample of powdered primordia over the standard variety not knowing that the source were primordia claimed of course higher potency from this storage method after several years at room temperature than ordinary.  We of course know the secret was in select the cream of the crop for the purpose of producing a 14 oz. of powder to store in an Anubis jar which by the way was a thick plastic container designed for keeping matches dry on camping trips, not glass.

A NEW METHOD TO BE PROPOSED TO REPLACE DESSICANT WHERE NECESSARY FOR ALL -- AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

(FROM THE MAN WHO BROUGHT YOU REVERSE HYDROPONIC MUSHROOMS.  THAT'S RIGHT, REVERSE HYDROPONICS FOR ANY WHO'VE BEEN CONFUSED ABOUT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE USING MY METHOD YOU'RE CYCLING AIR AND NOT WATER THROUGH THE GROWING SUBSTRATE)   RECENTLY I POSTED A TOPIC TO SUGGEST HOW FROM THE PROSPECT'S PRIMITIVE ORIGINS THROUGH THE PROTOTYPE, THROUGH BULK CASING  -- AS MY ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE HAS EVOLVED, THAT THE MESS OF GROWING CAKES ON VULCANIZED GLASS HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN UNACCEPTABLE SOLUTION AND SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF BEING OVERCOME BY USING STERILE SMALL REGULAR COFFEE FILTERS UNDER EACH CAKE.  AFTER ALL THE POOR MAN'S TERRERIUM FROM WHICH THE IDEA AROSE USED PAPER TOWELS SATURATED WITH WATER THAT THE CAKES SAT ON TO INCREASE HUMIDITY AND TO PREVENT GREATER DAILY MAINTENANCE OF HYDRATION AND CARBON MONOXIDE REMOVAL.  MY SYSTEM, INITIALLY BASED UPON A MODIFICATION OF THE POOR MAN'S TERRARIUM, OR SODA POP BOTTLE,  PRODUCED AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM OF AIRFLOW THROUGH WATER BENEATH A PERLITE LAYER WHICH AUTOMATED MUCH OF THE PRODUCTION, AND WHICH BY BUBBLING AIR THROUGH STERILIZED WATER ELIMINATED CONTAMINATION, BUT WHICH HAD A CONSTANT OUTFLOW OF AIR TO ELIMINATE CONTAMINATION COMING IN TO THE GROWING CHAMBER WHILE AUTOMATICALLY ELIMINATING CARBON DIOXIDE AND DAILY SPRAYING. 

While based on PF Fantacus's concept of bubbling air through a beaker of water inside a terrarium to boost humidity my method insured 95%   humidity WITHOUT having to implement the proposed Ultrasonic Humidifiers and use of Angel Hair going around at the time.  I commend all the moderators and administrators here at the SHROOMERY who modified my original prototype.  For it is ONLY to them that I sent a copy of my original design back in around 2003-2004 on an individual, private and personal basis after the prototype proved 100% successful.  I wished to compliment them on how when moving to bulk casing I only then checked back with the forum to find they had widely incorporated my techniques but that their approach eliminated the false bottom intended to allow a large volume of water to maintain high humidity through which the air bubbled and which proved superfluous as the perlite layer floats on top of the water layer so I was grateful when checking back a couple of years later in about 2005-6 to find everyone had adopted my method and made this improvement.  But once again I will repeat that the bubblier stone which you retained in moving to bulk casing as wands was an unnecessary expense and provides no benefit whatsoever.  Humidity remains high at over 95% with the benefit of one way respiration from a single aquarium tube circling the bottom round the points of a t splitter poked in the side with about 7 or 8 holes drilled in the tubing at regular intervals.  Multiple casings can be run from a single aquarium pump of 25-30 gallon capacity off a five way splitter and you just need the t-splitter to poke through at a level higher than the water level will be to avoid leakage and allow the circle of tubing cut to size to incline downward in front toward the bottom of the casing at which point the first holes are drilled where they would exist underwater once covered in the layer of perlite.  The tube is a single length that circles round the bottom where it  is held under the water by the perlite layer and there you just saved $11.00 PER CASING on something that becomes necessary to replace at regular intervals but which is entirely UNNECCESARY.  I'll be honest that I haven't been much thrilled in coming back to these forums after my initial attempt to post a reply to our mutual conclusions being so closely identical as we both moved to a bulk casing method as a natural consequence of the success of my prototype in which form alone I communicated my new method of automated reverse hydroponic mushroom cultivation from materials (as cheep as disposed 2-3 liter soda bottles) resulted in my IP address being banned from these forums in about 2006 or 2007. So I would admonish those administrators and moderators to whom my original prototype was sent in complete confidence and not posted on the forums that I did so to protect my IP address and grant that I gave you full authority to use and to post and to modify my findings in any manner you saw fit.  So congratulations, and now lets all just dump the bubblier tubes and focus on the coffee filters I'm proposing  since it seems likely to solve the significant problem of the roots of the fruits growing up from the bottom being useless until one scrapes the perlite out under cold water and in the process loses product and potency.  If a wet paper towel worked in the poor man's Terrerium I see no reason for coffee filters not not work here.  Another test will be a fine nylon mesh pre-sterilized but I suspect no matter the fineness of the mesh that the mycelium will tend to grow through and under it and one would fight to rip the fruits from the mesh every time one pulled a cake out for plucking fruits.  Your other proposal for pumice wasn't any help because it's just a bigger mess and lets face it its too damned heavy.  Finally.  Perlite is so cheep don't bother recycling your perlite.  Keep it clean and that means don't try to save money by recycling perlite that's potentially contaminated when you can get it down at the Farmer's Market in those huge cubic feet sized bags for about $8.00 bag.  Every time you work with it it breaks down into finer particles and it's the biggest particulate form you want to work with.  Don't make the mistake of using Miracle Grow Perlite in the little expensive bags at the hardware store because miracle grow brand perlite kills mushrooms and based on odors seems to cultivate the growth of contaminants.


LET ME GIVE YOU A MODIFICATION THAT WILL CUT DOWN ON HALF OF THE VOLUME OF PERLITE YOU'RE USING:

Consider that an insert if it conformed to the dimensions of the terrerium such that the effect of a double bottom would be realized from a standpoint here of economy where the amount of perlite necessary to be used in each terrerium could be reduced by the amount that the meshlike surface allowed both the free flow of water and air and as an insert raised up the level of the bottom so that one had an even surface of perlite where the water level cleanly sat at within 1/2" of the bottom of the perlite layer because there was no danger of sinking, and yet did not require that the amount of perlite necessary to do this was based upon the floating properties of the irregular mass of perlite on which you've placed your cakes.   I'll even propose a suitable solution in the form  of a material by which you can thus use beginning immediately to cut the volume of the perlite required in these bulk casing in half and make cleanup a  breeze!  Unfortunately cellulose sponges (because they are primarily made of wood) can serve as a medium for the growth of harmful bacteria for fungi,  especially when the sponge is allowed to remain wet between uses.  So what you need is something reusable that serves a similar purpose but which does not support microbial growth: 

And we find the answer in Polyester!  From polyester batting to the cheaply available swamp cooler filters available to you at minimal cost at local fabric, grocery and hardware stores, this material is durable, acts as a long-life filter and,  made of 100% polyester is a a washable media that does not support microbial growth and has a low pressure-drop providing optimum air flow.

NOW AS TO ELIMINATION OF DESSICANT WHERE NECESSARY AS I PROMISED :
 
NEW METHOD PROPOSED TO REPLACE DESSICANT WHERE NECESSARY (FROM THE MAN WHO BROUGHT YOU REVERSE HYDROPONIC MUSHROOMS PRODUCTION, THAT IS AUTOMATED MUSHROOM PRODUCTION)

I suggest that for those in humid environments that low level heat should not damage the product and am inclined to believe that a drying box with a 60 watt light bulb where the material while subjected to ordinary constant warmth will have no influx of humidity, is not overheated and with appropriate barriers does not need to cause the fruits to suffer from light exposure during this final drying stage.  If I were in a more humid environment and actually doing this, I would make a drying box with a 60 watt light bulb, perhaps out of wood, that incorporated a light-barrier between the bulb and the main drying chamber, and which took care to avoid the concentration of heat in an enclosed space that either exceeded acceptable tolerance in which case I would have it turn on and off on a 24 hour timer at appropriate intervals... neither should it fococus more heat than desirable at any certain points whereas I would thus endeavor to place the bulb in a region that did not cause the bulbous end to point to a mass of the drying fruits disproportionately so that there was uneven heat distribution and would probably coat the upper light chamber with reflective sides of aluminum foil coverings to evenly distribute the light and heat.   People should now that this great idea is is sitting out for them really reconsider the use of those despicable dessication systems, as they are very expensive, the desiccant chambers are extremely expensive if efficient and then the whole procedure of drying and recycling the desiccants that can be reused to evaporate the water in the oven requires the immediate transfer to a container which prevents the absorption of moisture once the color changes and in my experience that involves throwing a bunch of hot rocks into a  big cool non- shatterproof glass.  I just don't see the point.  And what a bother!   I don't even see any advantage to silica sacks if immediate proper storage is part of the handling of the product....  I mean, a silica sack that has been exposed to the air in a humid environment, does it even have any drying capacity left?  Do those things come in packages that guarantee the capacity for the absorption of moisture when newly applied, if so maybe throw one in a bag you're gonna stick in the freezer, otherwise if air drying isn't enough and you've learned that the dehydration trays from Ronco's food dehydrator work better on a circular household fan pointing to the ceiling because you've got 10 times the power of airflow, no need to disconnect the heating element and no need to deal with cheap motors that break.   Oh, I'm sorry Ronco's only had a heating element and no fan.  Well don't go with that brand when you're out thrift store shopping unless it's cheep and offers a large variety of stackable dehydration trays which can always be replaced with the use of furnace filters I understand though I personally like the dehydrator trays which, being stac able, you can always move the dryest ones to the bottom so that as they finish the moisture of the ones stacked above does not retard their completion and you can  then shorten the drying time by a couple of days and free up trays for fresh fruits by rotation... 

Professor J B Bishop

Edited 5/3/2011 10:11 PM
Edited 5/4/2011 0:19 AM
Posted by VancouverNoob (11/21/10 04:19 PM)
This is not the easiest way of drying mushrooms. How I am drying mine right now is. 

1. Cut up and lay down brown paper bag flat. 

2. Place mushrooms on bags in room temperature  area.

3. Just wait a couple days and dry them naturally.



Posted by icntbliveitntbtr (11/20/10 12:15 PM)
So you actually put the t-shirt on the mushrooms, making contact?  Had it on a pan, higher than them.
Posted by DruidTank (08/10/10 08:45 PM)
This has got to be the easiest way ive heard so far, i read somewhere els that you could also use a food dehydrator, fan only, no heat and if you couldnt turn off the heat youd have to take it apart and disable the heating unit. So that made me curious about the lights heat drying the shroomies through the black T-shirt, i just thought heat and light was a very bad thing and needed to be avoided when drying shroomies?? maybe not used like this but im worried about trying this on my first grow because i dont want all the mushies to turn into useless crackers.

Edited 8/10/2010 9:48 PM
Posted by kreggur (05/22/08 12:59 PM)
I'm using aluminium foil instead of the reflector dish (which I can't seem to find anywhere) and it works just as good (i suppose, haven't noticed any drop in potency).

I am curious however to how close you may put the lamp without degrading the potency of the shroomies :/
Posted by LogicaL Chaos (05/14/08 01:43 AM)
Totally tried this method and it works great! I got some questions thou, I use a 100 watt bulb and I only put the lamp 12 inches above the t-shirt, which takes 12 - 14 hours to dry small shroomies. The Question: If it takes too little time, does that mean that the shrooms are getting too hot and may lose potency? Another question: Are the little blue guys suppose to be under 1 layer of the t-shirt (shrooms are placed inside the shirt) or 2 layers (shirt laying on top the shrooms)?
Posted by Absolutextasi (02/07/08 01:18 PM)
would a all-black thin beach towel work. It would cover more volume. I like this idea though