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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Try Outdoor teks!
#14372410 - 04/29/11 12:27 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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If you have access to a safe place to grow outside, you should consider trying it. Outdoor teks are easy to find and easy to do.
My friend did 2 indoor projects. The first was a basically a learning experience; production was minimal. The second was very successful, so much so that he took a cake and did an outdoor plot just to see what would happen. He collected weathered horse manure on a bridal trail, about half of a five gallon bucket. The results were so good that he took 4 more cakes (out of 24 total) for a bigger outdoor plot with two 5 gallon buckets full of horse poo. The fully colonized cakes (plus one week) took about another 3 weeks to colonize the manure and start producing fruit. The production was incredible. The shrooms were much bigger than indoor and the volume was more than my friend needed, so he was able to share. Harvesting, drying and storing almost became a hassle after a while. The potency was a little lower than the indoor shrooms but not by much. The huge increase in volume made the slightly lower potency a complete non issue.
He lives about 25 miles form the Canadian border so outdoor teks can be used nearly anywhere in the US at least sometime during the year.
No fruiting chamber, no constant misting and fanning, no dunk and roll, no contam worries, no lighting, no timer; everything is done by nature, outside. He did some easy watering with a sprinkling can.
After his first largely unsuccessful indoor effort, my friend got RR's "Let's Grow Mushrooms" video, the full version (not just the free clips). He said it was a big help. He also said he decided to follow solely one grower's advice as trying to piece together often conflicting advice from different growers was frustrating.
Well this is a great site and I wanted to add my friends experience here in case it helps someone.
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Dave Bowman
Albert Hoffmans Apprentice




Registered: 08/30/07
Posts: 2,104
Loc: Your Imagination
Last seen: 3 months, 24 days
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He did it THIS year, that far north? That soon? I would think its still too cold that far North... mainly that's the reason I've been waiting to bury some cakes...
Glad to hear of your friend's results.!
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just me
Friend



Registered: 07/01/07
Posts: 9,745
Loc: IL/MO/FL/TX/HI/OR
Last seen: 4 years, 7 months
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Quote:
Sod Buster said: If you have access to a safe place to grow outside, you should consider trying it. Outdoor teks are easy to find and easy to do.
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  -------------------------------------------------- -pEaCeLoVeGoDbLeSs- "The Downfall of Mankind; is Believing He Has Limitations."
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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Re: Try Outdoor teks! [Re: just me]
#14373023 - 04/29/11 02:49 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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He did the outdoor tek last summer. I didn't want to post about it last Ocotber as that was not a good time to post (about outdoor teks)with frosts starting up.
He said it kept fruiting well until late September and there were a few stragglers until early October. In the particular area that he lives in, he'd recommend going outdoor as early as late May.
He collected aged poo on a local horse trail. Be sure to thoroughly dry out the poo.
He used horse poo, a little extra verm, some gypsum, and of course some crumbled up cakes. He also tried adding some coffee grounds in one patch and it actually produced a little less than the other patches. Even though the mix (substrate) is pretty dry, it has to be restored to 'field capacity'. BTW, he said it was not at all stinky - seriously.
He tried some very small patches using dried out grass clippings and got some shrooms. He also tried store bought bagged cow manure, again a small patch, and it produced one rather lousy shroom. Horse manure is by far the best that he tried.
There are already good outdoor teks out there so I don't want to repeat all that, I really just wanted to give a timely recommendation to try an outdoor patch for those that are able and interested.
Be safe.
Peace!
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Bstsneverr
Peace



Registered: 03/22/08
Posts: 480
Last seen: 1 year, 9 months
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Any pictures?
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*** Psalm 9:9-10 *** The lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Sorry, there are no pics of the outdoor patches. My friend should have taken some...
In the indoor tek fruiting chamber, he also used the lids just like the ones in your avi. Makes it easy to pick up and move the cakes and there are already holes in the lids so it doesn't get too wet!
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Bstsneverr
Peace



Registered: 03/22/08
Posts: 480
Last seen: 1 year, 9 months
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U got it
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*** Psalm 9:9-10 *** The lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
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just me
Friend



Registered: 07/01/07
Posts: 9,745
Loc: IL/MO/FL/TX/HI/OR
Last seen: 4 years, 7 months
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--------------------
  -------------------------------------------------- -pEaCeLoVeGoDbLeSs- "The Downfall of Mankind; is Believing He Has Limitations."
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4yrears
Seeker



Registered: 04/20/10
Posts: 65
Last seen: 3 years, 7 months
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Re: Try Outdoor teks! [Re: just me]
#14377906 - 04/30/11 02:09 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I am a complete outdoor convert too! I will never go back to indoors ever again. I don't use a plot, but BlueLoue's tek on the deck. I've been trying to convince everyone that it is the way to go no matter where you live.
-------------------- Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. We're all going to die. Come watch TV.
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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Re: Try Outdoor teks! [Re: 4yrears]
#14378638 - 04/30/11 05:01 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I looked for BlueLoue's tek on the deck, and browsing through some of BlueLoue's posts is entertaining. I never found the actual tek, but it sounds like you just put some "Black Kow" manure in a tray or bag, put some cakes on top, then cover with more Kow and plastic wrap. People put the tray on their deck, porch, in the woods, wherever they can find a safe spot.
I did not have success with cow manure but obviously others have. Posters said that the 'black kow' quality varies around the US, and some doesn't work too well.
The tek my friend used was pretty simple too. EASY. That's the beauty of an outdoor tek. People can pick one that suits their situation. Most are problem free and require only some watering as needed. But even outdoors, people can run into problems, such as slugs. In my friends plot, some of the shrooms were partially eaten, probably by a chipmunk or mouse. He had so many good shrooms he threw away any that were damaged, a little rotten, etc. I wonder if the rodent had a mega trip? Their fast metabolism and the proportion of the shroom weight to their body weight...
Anyway...Do you have a link for the actual "BlueLoue's tek on the deck"? Or is it poor board etiquette to post links?
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4yrears
Seeker



Registered: 04/20/10
Posts: 65
Last seen: 3 years, 7 months
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-------------------- Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. We're all going to die. Come watch TV.
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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Re: Try Outdoor teks! [Re: 4yrears]
#14384634 - 05/01/11 08:06 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thanks for the link 4years.
One other thing I'd like to mention about in-ground plots is that it helps to plant some grass seed on the top 'casing' layer of dirt. The shrooms tend to poke up where the grass blades and roots are. Don't know how well known that is, so I thought I'd share that.
It's almost as much fun to experiment as it is to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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Sod Buster



Registered: 02/23/10
Posts: 22
Loc: North Coast
Last seen: 9 years, 6 months
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Also, great pics, just me. I tried to harvest when they looked like the ones in the 4th pic on the bottom row, or even earlier. Less spores that way.
Nice shrooms!
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