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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question
    #1016015 -

I've done several searches and found contradicting points of view. Some say you should pack straw as much as possible, the more the better. Others say to keep it loose. I know in PF cakes you want it loose and airy, but more than not people seem to say you should pack straw. What are people's opinions?

Btw, when casing straw it seems you don't put a layer of casing on the bottom like with most things. Am I underdstanding this right?

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016043 -

Do you really mean straw in cakes ? If your talking about a straw substrate and your pasturising it (by itself i.e no poo) then put in a pillow case tight as you like and just simmer away.

Putting a bottom layer in a casing has nothing to do with what the top layer casing is (well as far as I know anyway) - its just another way of keeping everything moist.


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What a terrible thing to lay on somebody with a head full of acid

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016051 -

What I mean is some people suggest packing the straw in the tray used for casing really tightly others don't. I understand that the bottom layer of casing is used to give the casing extra moisture but i haven't seen people use it when casing straw.

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016063 -

Still don't understand what your asking! Your spawning your straw with whatever right? If Yes then once colonised dump it into casing tray (unless you spawned in a tray rather than a bag) and then just case the fucker. I don't Understand this tight packing bit (other than in the context of when your pastuerising your star. Have a read of straw Tek

peace.


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What a terrible thing to lay on somebody with a head full of acid

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016088 -

sorry for the confusion and yes I have read the tek and many others. I understand you have to pasturize it, use grain spawn, and that you case it. I would plan on puting the straw into the tray to colonize, but here is where my question is. In the tek you sent me a link to it says: "With your fist, push down the straw with all your body weight all over the tub. The straw should be at least 4 inches of even depth and pushed down as well as possible . " this is what i mean by packing it. Some of the other teks suggest not to pack it but to keep it loose.

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016097 -

I understand what you're asking. If the straw is compacted,it will colonize quicker since more straw is in direct contact with the spawn. Putting the innoculated straw in a pan,board on top and weighted down with a brick would work great.

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016114 -

Ahhhh.... Your talking spawning the straw.

Well I guess this is because straw is fairly (for want of a better word fluffy) By pushing it down you are ensuring the grain is making good contact with the straw. I would'nt have done this!!! I would have spawned the straw in a bag and then given it a good shake. Once colonised I would then put it into a tub.

I would assume the tek I linked to did this to reduce the moving of the substrate from bag to tray/tub and reduce the chance of contaminating it.

Pheewwww....


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What a terrible thing to lay on somebody with a head full of acid

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016147 -

Thanks man

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: abeam]
    #1016246 -

It has been said that not packing it and having loose straw with pieces hanging out every which way can be vectors for contamination due to mycelium having to move great distances to reach every piece of straw.

I believe that even "packed" straw is loose enough for the mycelium to chew through pretty damn easy.


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I am a reasonable person.

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: JovialLeprechaun]
    #1017076 -

Im attempting a grow with straw for the first time and am in the spawn run currently. I packed the straw down as good as I could compressing it as thouroughly as possible. Reading this thread made me realize something, I went to check the humidity guage and noticed little pieces of straw that were above the bed, stuck to the sides of the container in condensation, they were not in contact with the colonizing bed so I went in and removed them so they dont sit there and contaminate.

Anyway, I figured while I was in there anyway, I would lift up the tin foil I covered the colonizing be with and check, its only been about 3 days and already big patches of BEAUTIFUL snow white mycleium colonizing quickly. Anyway, even if this turns out in my favor as I think it will, next time Im thinking instead of colonizing the straw in the container its going to be fruited in, Im going to pack it into big ass ziplocks or plastic bags of some sort, poke some holes in the bags, and throw it into a big ass cooler with a gallon jug of water and fish tank heater to colonize ...... just seems to be much safer that way, less risk of contams.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what types of bags would work good for large amounts of straw ???

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Re: Straw: To pack or not to pack that is the question [Re: OZZ]
    #1017924 -

I have worked with straw quite a bit, and just recently began incorporating some semi-poo (scotts) in my experiements. When spawning straight straw, I did pack well, covered with black pastic with a billion holes poked in it (pain in the ass), and then put bricks on top. Every day I moved the bricks, so air exchange would be rotated, and (hopefully) no one area would be cheated out of the necessary amount. This worked very well for me during the cooler months last year (I'm in FL), but failed miserably during the summer.
I've since obtained a better quality of straw, begun cutting it myself (to insure all pieces are 3" or less), and layering the straw and spawn 2-3 times, and topping with a final layer of spawn and scotts/verm mix on top. I have not been compressing, but my teeny straw pieces are laying flatter than the craft straw previously used AND I believe the heavier layer of scotts mix on top does add a bit of compression. The first of those experiements are now in the pinning/early fruiting stages and are doing quite well. Could be the method, could be the higher quality straw, cold be that we're having our first real cool front here. Regardless, these boxes are doing better than the ones I was compressing just a few weeks ago. So far....


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I don't really know anyone who grows mushrooms. I just come here for fun.

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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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