Quote:

This might sound like a silly question, and I mean no offense.  But, did you see black floaty clouds in the syringes?  If so, did you shake them up to disperse the mass before inoculating?

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Quote:

When you placed them in a warm room to germinate, were they exposed to light or kept in darkness? Light exposure is a fruiting trigger but will inhibit myc growth.

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If this is your first grow perhaps you should stsrt with the PF Tek before attempting grain.

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Sorry. I didn't mean to sound condescending or offer bad advice. I have only 6 posts here but I have cultivated off and on for quite a while, though it has been a few years since the last time I grew anything. My limited knowledge may well be outdated. I only suggested the PF Tek because I know it is very easy and a few successful grows will give good experience in what to look for and build confidence in your own abilities. I am sorry if my advice was of no help.

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fundamentalchair said:

Quote:

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound condescending or offer bad advice. I have only 6 posts here but I have cultivated off and on for quite a while, though it has been a few years since the last time I grew anything. My limited knowledge may well be outdated. I only suggested the PF Tek because I know it is very easy and a few successful grows will give good experience in what to look for and build confidence in your own abilities. I am sorry if my advice was of no help.

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Sorry about bustin your balls, yo. I had a rough night. At any rate, yes, those methods are outdated.

I see PF as a good starting point for 2 reasons. First, its cheap; second, it allows for a lot of slacking compared to grain.

Considering JunkBoxer was able to have sealed jars run for 3 weeks w/o contams (until the tyvek was removed), I'd say she probably did a good job sterilizing.

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JunkBoxer
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Posting the pics of cobweb seems to have only clouded up this thread, at least for the first half anyhow.

Seeing as how you were able to have jars grow nothing for 3 weeks (contams or shrooms), its safe to say either 1 of 2 conditions were met.
1. You did proper sterilization
2. You managed to produce a habitat that is incapable of harboring fungus

Considering that they contamed shortly after removing the filter, the second point is fairly well ruled out.

If the jars were a bit too wet, they should have started/stalled/contamed; that is unless you water logged the hell out of them (which doesn't appear to be the case). lack of gas exchange should also cause stalling, but shouldn't stop the spores from germinating(?).

This pretty much narrows it down to the spores/syringe. You mentioned that you had before tried PF tek, but also didn't have anything grow. Were those spores ordered separately from the latest ones?

Getting 2 sets of bunk syringes from a sponsored vendor would be a rarity. Mishandling of syringes may have come into play.

What is the possibility of having the syringes in contact with extreme heat/cold for any prolonged ammount of time (ie. was it really hot/cold when the syringes arrived and could they have sat in the mailbox for a day or so)? You wouldn't have happened to 'accidentally' run them under a UV-C (anti-germicidal) lamp?

Assuming that you haven't tossed the empties, you may be able to try and re-fill one with some sterile water and shoot up some LC. It'll most likely contam (as I'm sure you didn't do much to ensure the sterility of a empty syringe). If it doesn't contam, you'll know that either the spores are good (LC forms mycelium), or the spores from post inoc syringes were not viable or there were none left (LC doesn't do shit).

The chances of that coming back with conclusive results are slim (in which case LC takes off good, and then who the hell knows whats wrong with your jars), but it will give you some experience with LC work which will keep you from having to refill spores when shit goes south.

At any rate, good luck and happy growing.

Oh, on a side note, I'm vastly fond of polyfill over tyvek. Messin around with some double-layered tyvek seemed to be a huge hassle as well as needing some sort of tape. Stuffing holes with poly-fill will allow you to inject through it. Just make sure the needle is cool before shooting so the poly doesn't melt to the needle (either use a glovebox or dunk it in a shotglass of IPA). I'll probably move to filter disks eventually, as I plan on mostly doing G2G, but poly is really easy to work with.

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Junkboxer said:

fundamentalchair said:

Quote:

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound condescending or offer bad advice. I have only 6 posts here but I have cultivated off and on for quite a while, though it has been a few years since the last time I grew anything. My limited knowledge may well be outdated. I only suggested the PF Tek because I know it is very easy and a few successful grows will give good experience in what to look for and build confidence in your own abilities. I am sorry if my advice was of no help.

---

Sorry about bustin your balls, yo. I had a rough night. At any rate, yes, those methods are outdated.

I see PF as a good starting point for 2 reasons. First, its cheap; second, it allows for a lot of slacking compared to grain.

Considering JunkBoxer was able to have sealed jars run for 3 weeks w/o contams (until the tyvek was removed), I'd say she probably did a good job sterilizing.

---
JunkBoxer
---

Posting the pics of cobweb seems to have only clouded up this thread, at least for the first half anyhow.

Seeing as how you were able to have jars grow nothing for 3 weeks (contams or shrooms), its safe to say either 1 of 2 conditions were met.
1. You did proper sterilization
2. You managed to produce a habitat that is incapable of harboring fungus

Considering that they contamed shortly after removing the filter, the second point is fairly well ruled out.

If the jars were a bit too wet, they should have started/stalled/contamed; that is unless you water logged the hell out of them (which doesn't appear to be the case). lack of gas exchange should also cause stalling, but shouldn't stop the spores from germinating(?).

This pretty much narrows it down to the spores/syringe. You mentioned that you had before tried PF tek, but also didn't have anything grow. Were those spores ordered separately from the latest ones?

Getting 2 sets of bunk syringes from a sponsored vendor would be a rarity. Mishandling of syringes may have come into play.

What is the possibility of having the syringes in contact with extreme heat/cold for any prolonged ammount of time (ie. was it really hot/cold when the syringes arrived and could they have sat in the mailbox for a day or so)? You wouldn't have happened to 'accidentally' run them under a UV-C (anti-germicidal) lamp?

Assuming that you haven't tossed the empties, you may be able to try and re-fill one with some sterile water and shoot up some LC. It'll most likely contam (as I'm sure you didn't do much to ensure the sterility of a empty syringe). If it doesn't contam, you'll know that either the spores are good (LC forms mycelium), or the spores from post inoc syringes were not viable or there were none left (LC doesn't do shit).

The chances of that coming back with conclusive results are slim (in which case LC takes off good, and then who the hell knows whats wrong with your jars), but it will give you some experience with LC work which will keep you from having to refill spores when shit goes south.

At any rate, good luck and happy growing.

Oh, on a side note, I'm vastly fond of polyfill over tyvek. Messin around with some double-layered tyvek seemed to be a huge hassle as well as needing some sort of tape. Stuffing holes with poly-fill will allow you to inject through it. Just make sure the needle is cool before shooting so the poly doesn't melt to the needle (either use a glovebox or dunk it in a shotglass of IPA). I'll probably move to filter disks eventually, as I plan on mostly doing G2G, but poly is really easy to work with.

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thanks for the detailed reply. is it possible my double layer of tyvek inhibited gas exchange? i doubt it though. the syringes from my first project, which was also a failure, were from sporeworks too; a sepreate order... so yea, i doubt it was bunk syringes. i have a feeling the failure has to do with my WBS soak. here was the recipe exactly:

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-6 cups of brewed coffee (i used hazlenut by mistake)
-3 tbsp of gypsum
-1 tbsp of lime
^boil that all up in a couple gallons of water and then dump it into your bucket of WBS and let soak for 24 hrs.
*on a side note, the gypsum didnt disolve but accumulated at the bottom of the pot i boiled it in, so i scooped it up and dropped it in the soaking bucket of WBS; im not sure if i was supposed to do that.

-anyway, after 24 hours i did about 10 fill n' dumps with hott water and let the WBS bucket drain upside down for about 6 to 8 hours.

-then i loaded up my jars, sealed and PCed.
------------------------------------------------

^i think the failure of my project can be pointed to something in what i did above

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pftek said:

Okay it's definitely your preparation. I would doubt all the syringes are messed up.

First of all. Stop ADDING to the problem and making it more complicated. USE straight WBS. Very little added benefit and a lot more COMPLICATIONS (as you can tell) from trying to fuck with the system.

Fuck soaking. Boil water. shut off stove. Add wbs. Cover for 20 minutes. Immediately pour into strainer and rinse it. Let it strain for a couple hours. Place into jars.

Also are you using FOIL on top of the tyvek while PCing it? Are you flaming the tip of the syringe?

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Junkboxer said:

yes you could have easily shaken the jars. nothing was in mass clumps, nice and loose.

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Junkboxer said:

and yes, i always flame the tips of my syringes from jar to jar.

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Quote:

is it possible my double layer of tyvek inhibited gas exchange?

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Quote:

-6 cups of brewed coffee (i used hazlenut by mistake)
-3 tbsp of gypsum
-1 tbsp of lime

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I use Doc's WBS TEK, http://www.shroomery.org/9030/Docs-Wild-Bird-Seed-Tek. Some people say it's bunk. I get perfect jars EVERY time.

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pftek said:

Fuck soaking. Boil water. shut off stove. Add wbs. Cover for 20 minutes. Immediately pour into strainer and rinse it. Let it strain for a couple hours. Place into jars.

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fundamentalchair said:

Quote:

I use Doc's WBS TEK, http://www.shroomery.org/9030/Docs-Wild-Bird-Seed-Tek. Some people say it's bunk. I get perfect jars EVERY time.

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... cept those first 5 failures...

Reading over the 2 proposed tek's, Doc's is a shit ton of work. Assuming that both work equally as well, easier = easier. Hell, Foo's tek is easier than rye, and even a wuhot like me doesn't fuck up rye.

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BrandNewbie said:

I don't want to add to the confusion, but I don't really mind at all so,

I use Doc's WBS TEK, http://www.shroomery.org/9030/Docs-Wild-Bird-Seed-Tek. Some people say it's bunk. I get perfect jars EVERY time.

It didn't seem as though your lids provided enough GE. I may be wrong about that, but my lids have a single GE hole in the center that is 1/2" diameter.

This is how I put my jars together:





The mycelium likes it:

A lot:

Stick with it, it'll work. I failed five times before I grew a single shroom.

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ahh shit, im doing my first grains. (waiting for the jars to cool down)

iom doing the single hole with polyfill too, but my hole is only 1/4 inch. is that too small?

Quote:

Again, another person promoting laziness.

If you want to have success, you must be willing to actually DO some work. This applies to everything in life, not just growing shrooms.

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fundamentalchair said:

... cept those first 5 failures...

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Ha, ha, ha, ha, not.

Since your dieing to know, 1st attempt = non sponsored syringe, 2nd attempt = same as first, 3rd try = improper pasteurization, 4th try = same as third, 5th try = out of town emergency (bulk neglect).

It doesn't bother me to admit it. I have a HUGE dick, so I basically live the good life.  I have nothing to prove to myself.

The way you should look at it OP, is that you did not fail twice, you discovered two ways NOT to grow shrooms. If someone wants to get their jollies flaming you, just let the poor bastards, they need it. I look at it like, "Hey, I'm helping the losers too!"

DOC'S WBS TEK works, sorry if it bothers ya. Well, that's a lie...

Quote:

Since your dieing to know, 1st attempt = non sponsored syringe, 2nd attempt = same as first, 3rd try = improper pasteurization, 4th try = same as third, 5th try = out of town emergency (bulk neglect).

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Quote:

Can we help the OP out instead of squabbling over techniques that all work?

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Is there any value of getting rid of floaters/prolonged soaking/simmering (rather than flash boiling)? Any side-by-side comparisons? Is this something that I've nominated myself to do?

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dancefloordale said:

Floaters may not harm your grow, however most floaters are just empty shells. These are not going to retain water or provide nutrients. They certainly do not help, but I guess they do no harm either. I like to remove them. Its personal preference though.

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dancefloordale said:

I am actually going to recommend this tek. I have not seen it until now but it is right on the money and I do pretty much everything it says. Way to go FeelFamily!

Feel Family WBS tek

I usually use Doc's WBS Tek though.

Doc's WBS tek

Either way, I think you will get great results.

pftek said:

Fuck soaking. Boil water. shut off stove. Add wbs. Cover for 20 minutes. Immediately pour into strainer and rinse it. Let it strain for a couple hours. Place into jars.

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This is bad advice.

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dancefloordale said:

ahh, because there is minimal rinsing involved. soaking helps with moisture content and contams.

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mushroomhunter10 said:

WBS works splendidly.

I've never really soaked either, the hot water soak did the job.

Although, I think I rinsed before and after the soak.

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