TacoHerder said:

Looking good so far

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Indeed.

jars look healthy (except the one with lipstick mold)

the rest are ropey, and angelically white

aurelia said:

Hey fellow Shroomers!  First time poster, long time lurker here! Decided to try my luck at growing.  I've been reading for weeks now and I must say, the information here is awesome.  Want to thank all of ya in advance for all the great info.  Anyways, let's get to the point.  I ordered some syringes (B+ and Cambos) from Ralphsters. Fast shipping, from mailing out my MO to the box on my doorstep, was 6 days. 

Decided on the Pf Tek.. figured it'd be the easiest for a beginner, but eventually I want to try bulk.  Still not totally following everything about casing/spawn and stuff, so I still have tons more reading to do (so if anyone has some good links for me to read, please post 'em!)  Followed RR's videos to the T; no improv here.  The only thing I didn't use was a glovebox, but def will for future endeavors.  The substrate mixture was spot on, flamed between each jar, alcohol/Lysol wipe down of everything.  Dry verm layer.. gloves, facemask.. the whole works.  Didn't have a PC, so I steamed 'em in a pot for 90 minutes.

Noc'd up 11 half-pinters on 7/31, 6 B+ , the other 5 Cam.  11 is an odd number, right?  Well, I dropped one glass jar before I even got started. Lol, Shitty huh?  Right now I'm on day 14 and the jars look like they are coming along great.  The B+ have colonized a lot faster than the Cams, not sure why that is?? Might have inadvertently used more solution, but I didn't think I did.  1cc per jar.  They've been sitting on a shelf, no tape/foil on the holes.  Room temp stays at a constant 74-75.. mostly in the dark, but gets some ambient room light.  It looks like I've lost 1 Cam to contam, not quite sure what it is, but I posted a pic of it below.  It's a dark reddish/brown.. looks a little fluffy.  It's been separated from the rest of the jars and I'm gonna just chuck the whole thing. The rest of them show no signs. I drew lines on all the jars because I'm going to be out of town for 3 days, and I want to see the progress when I get back!

I  just wanted to start a lil log for myself to keep track of progress and get input and advice from you great people.  Need to make my shotgun in a few days.  Hopefully all goes well, I'll post updates early next week.  Wish me luck!

Here's a few B+




Here's the Cams:

And here's the Cam that's got some kind of contam:

All together now!

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ive read here that flipping jars is actually bad. that it compromises your verm barrier. and that if a jar stalls it is mainly due to a contamination or poor gas exchange. im confused.

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Quote:

Since the short time I've been back I've been overwhelmed by people who are still leaving tape on there jars. I'm not sure which tek suggests this but I will express my disappointment that there are still peeps doing this here. I've seen 6 or 7 cases since I've been back where jars have stalled because of no gas exchange, I've seen this dozens of times over the years so it's just something that people need to realize, gas exchange IS always good for a healthy culture. The pro's don't use tape why should you guys, if your not going to use foil then PLEASE take the tape off BEFORE you inoculate (of course) and leave it off. You won't be sorry as long as ya didn't fu<kup the moisture content of the jar! It would be nice to see much less "Why are my jars stalled?" threads. They will always be stalled jars, too wet, too dry, too cold, etc, etc; as well as those who will always defend taping the holes thats life but for those who want to take a step up in this hobby, Tip: loose the tape altogether and pass that on to all your friends and tell your enemies to leave the tape on and if they ask why well I can't help ya there I can't think of one reason besides to keep the water out thats it GL guys

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