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dalls_boy
Stranger


Registered: 02/21/06
Posts: 7
Last seen: 15 years, 10 days
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Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings
#11708283 - 12/23/09 07:42 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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I've chopped some straw and it's ended up majorty quite abit shorter than 1" I'm just wondering if the other end of the spectrum exists for chopping straw, eg.it being too dense(too short) which might slow colonization..? Its roughly 1/4" pieces.
Also, I plan to supplement the straw with wormcastings or storebought manure compost npk 1.5 1 1.5(last resort) What I am wondering is, Can I spawn at a lower rate if I supplemented the straw compared to if I spawned to straw alone?
I tended to avoid straw after a certain point because it was low nutrient and it required a higher spawn rate compared to a good compost. It always seemed way to wasteful to dump a half quart or more of grain spawn into a single sqft VS 1/8-1/4 quart to a sqft of compost. But Winter is here and I am unable to make a compost pile, ..so straw is my only option for now.
Any ideas?
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anonjon
Partially Right

Registered: 11/03/08
Posts: 6,322
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: dalls_boy]
#11708311 - 12/23/09 07:48 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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Straw does well with earthworm castings. Castings are easier to mess with than manure. You can definitely use a lot less spawn working with straw.
-------------------- The above post is fictional, hypothetical, or downright nonsensical.
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CH HELL
Brain Sturgeon


Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 6,610
Loc: mars
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: dalls_boy]
#11708320 - 12/23/09 07:50 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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1 quart to a sq ft of substrate is not that high. Straw has plenty of nutrients it just spends most on the first flush. Too many questions for me.
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure



Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: dalls_boy]
#11708391 - 12/23/09 08:02 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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Quote:
dalls_boy said: I tended to avoid straw after a certain point because it was low nutrient and it required a higher spawn rate compared to a good compost. It always seemed way to wasteful to dump a half quart or more of grain spawn into a single sqft VS 1/8-1/4 quart to a sqft of compost.
Not so. You can inoculate straw with a 1:10 ratio of spawn to straw and get great results. If you go less than 1:4 with compost or manure, you can easily run into trouble. Shredded straw is fine. It's easy to get a pound of mushrooms from a pound of straw. It's pretty darn hard to get that performance from other substrates. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms
semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
"I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work."
Thomas Edison
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dalls_boy
Stranger


Registered: 02/21/06
Posts: 7
Last seen: 15 years, 10 days
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: RogerRabbit]
#11708797 - 12/23/09 09:21 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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Thanks for the replies so far.
RR, well those kind of spawn rates to straw I'm assuming it must be chopped?
By 1:4 ratio do you mean, If you have ready 20lbs of pasteurized compost/manure per sqft, than anything lower than 5lbs(25% of 20lbs) colonized spawn you'l be running into trouble?
Now this will sound blunt. But why? How does a straw substrate spawned at 10%(1:10) have better chances than a compost/manure substrate spawned at the same rate?
I'm curious why each time I attempt straw, wether its hot water pasteurization, lime bath, or bleach bath. I often end up going right back to making compost. The only downside is the composting time and lengthy pasteurization+conditioning time. about a month total...which is why I'd like to try supplementing straw this time to attempt for a higher yield, plus prep time is greatly reduced.
Edited by dalls_boy (12/24/09 10:06 PM)
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ambargh



Registered: 08/15/09
Posts: 3,433
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: dalls_boy]
#11708887 - 12/23/09 09:41 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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This is my fav so far. It's the guts from a palm tree stalk. It tears so easily with your fingers, and when you pluck your mushies, it never leaves craters. 
-------------------- "The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.." - Douglas Adams
ambargh's easy agar
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sansa

Registered: 11/17/09
Posts: 647
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: RogerRabbit]
#11709008 - 12/23/09 09:59 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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Quote:
RogerRabbit said: Not so. You can inoculate straw with a 1:10 ratio of spawn to straw and get great results. If you go less than 1:4 with compost or manure, you can easily run into trouble. Shredded straw is fine. It's easy to get a pound of mushrooms from a pound of straw. It's pretty darn hard to get that performance from other substrates. RR
What ratio do you use for coir?
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure



Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: sansa]
#11709213 - 12/23/09 10:33 PM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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Yes, the straw must be chopped or shredded. It also must be compressed during colonization. Check out my straw pasteurization page and video clip, and then take a look at the straw log and laundry basket page and video. The oyster mushroom laundry basket you see was spawned about 1:15 by volume, colonized rye berries to straw. No supplements were used at all in the straw. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms
semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat
"I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work."
Thomas Edison
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madi
Hullu Mykologi




Registered: 01/27/09
Posts: 414
Loc: North-Europe
Last seen: 11 years, 4 months
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Re: Chopping straw too short? and supplementing with castings [Re: RogerRabbit]
#11709699 - 12/24/09 12:16 AM (15 years, 27 days ago) |
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High ratio is because straw is very resistant to contams. Even more if you dont use any additives.
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