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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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Managing Spawn Production
#14850840 - 07/31/11 09:28 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I plan on using agar wedge and g2g to fruit twelve straw logs on a weekly basis. I inoculate each log with eight quarts rye grain. So, that's 96 quarts a week--6 batches in my AA75X.
Because of g2g, it seems easier to me to over-produce spawn and refrigerate some than to stick to a scheduled production of just enough as needed. Then again, I worry that refrigeration will slow the spawn way down--I've never done it before.
Should I produce only what I need starting from agar wedge, expanding three times g2g, then starting over? Or should I take advantage of the ability to expand spawn exponentially, to the extent that I can?
How do you experienced growers manage this? Any tips?
Thanks, as always.
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audiophoenix
Find Peace
Registered: 08/28/09
Posts: 4,107
Loc: Upstate NY
Last seen: 2 years, 10 months
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The Mycelium will pick back up pretty much right away after taking out of the fridge. I notice a day or two of delay before it really starts growing again so just take them out of the fridge a couple days before you use them.
If this is what you are asking.
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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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Thanks, Audiophoenix.
So, that's what I'll do. I guess I'm going to have a refrigerator full of jars of spawn ...
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audiophoenix
Find Peace
Registered: 08/28/09
Posts: 4,107
Loc: Upstate NY
Last seen: 2 years, 10 months
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Cool, just know they have about a 6 month shelf life in the fridge.
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Aleon
The Power of Our Origins
Registered: 05/26/11
Posts: 1,127
Loc: Everywhere
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8 quarts of spawn per straw log? What size is the log? That seems like an excessive amount of work to obtain spawn for inoculation. Buying it (especially for oysters, call amycel) would be more efficient than that IMO. Ive used 5 qt/L jars of spawn for 6'x12"diameter log and it works great with first flushes always within a month of inoculation (sometime as little as two weeks w/ this inoc rate. You should fins the % you are inoculating at. I use 10-20% prefereable 20% for oysters. You take wet weight of spawn (my L/qt jars have +/- 1lb of wet spawn in them) and then the dry weight of the substrate being spawned to (for what straw ive noticed dry weight is about 25% of weight wet). I i use 1 lb of spawn per 5lbs dry straw, making a log that weighs about 25 and is about 15" tall and 12" in diameter. I do 5 of those at once and put them into 1 or 2 logs making it 1 6'x12" lof or 2 3'x12" logs. This is how much i can pastuerize at once in a 55gal drum, 25 dry lbs dry wheat straw (i dont pre-soak the straw either, IMO, its a waste of time). This will yeild on avereage 13-15lbs on the 1st flush. Inoculatin w/ excessive amounts of spawn will speed up colonization times, but you could be making more straw logs instead and using a lower inoc rate; and you would end up with more mushrooms. Also, for large amounts of spawn, if only using 1 strain, i like using filterpatch bags for your spawn. Makes gr8 use of the real estate inside your sterilizer as you can fit much more in 1 batch.
Hope this helps bud, good luck, and keep growin!
-------------------- Mushroom medicines available at: www.swordandshieldwellness.com
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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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Re: Managing Spawn Production [Re: Aleon]
#14851185 - 07/31/11 11:19 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Up to 6 months should be plenty of time to work with to rotate all the spawn I'll need in and out of the fridge. So, that's very cool. Thanks again, Audiophoenix.
Thanks, Aleon.
My logs are 3 ft by 10 inches. My sterilizer fits 16 jars; so those go into two straw logs, which, like you, is how many I can cook at once in my 55 gallon drum. Right now, with this inoculation rate, I get mature oysters in exactly two weeks from the date I inoculate the straw logs. In order to produce consistently on a weekly basis I need to double up on everthing, and over-producing & refrigerating spawn will make my life easier, I think. Grain is cheap, $15 for 50 gallons rye grain. Also, my wife (like RR's) helps with the grain--so I got some cheap labor. And I don't have to pay shipping. I'm not ruling out buying spawn in the future, especially after my business has some legs under it, and if I want or need to kick something into production really quickly. I know you're right about filterpatch bags; I see them in my near future, because I'm at the point where I need to buy more jars/bags anyway.
Thanks again!
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GroboClone
Anthropomorphic Elephant
Registered: 01/07/11
Posts: 345
Loc: Canada
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I'm in the same boat, here is what works for me.
I've been making 9 logs a week. I can make 3 logs per day, so I pasteurize straw 3 time a week. I could easily make more logs but I find 9 new logs keeps me busy enough with all the other work required to keep the system going. I don't have a partner so it's all on me.
I inoculate each log with 6 quarts of spawn. I can produce 20 quarts of spawn per day. I find that perpetual spawn production works better than trying to do sporadic large batches. I think this is especially true in your case given the relatively small amount of spawn you can produce per batch compared to how much spawn you need. To really get ahead you would have to make 3+ batches of spawn a day.
If you want to stock up on spawn jars I would sterilize them and leave them uninoculated. I really can't see you needing to stock up on more than an extra weeks worth (~100) of jars.
If I was you I would make a batch of spawn every day I pasteurized straw. With 16 jars total and 2 logs to inoculate I would use 14-15 jars for the logs and save 1-2 jars to inoculate the next batch of spawn.
For me jars are taking 10 days to colonize, logs are pinning in 14. I find that I need around 80 jars to keep the system going. I have shelf space to colonize 26 logs and my fruiting room holds 16.
I'm with Aleon on the spawn bags. Anything that saves time will directly impact the amount of $ you are making, as your time is the most expensive part of the process. If you went form agar to quart jar for the first transfer and then continued with spawn bags you would be able to produce 24 quarts of spawn per run.
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Aleon
The Power of Our Origins
Registered: 05/26/11
Posts: 1,127
Loc: Everywhere
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Re: Managing Spawn Production [Re: GroboClone]
#14855704 - 08/01/11 10:23 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thanks for sharing your info guys One more thing about refrigerating spawn, IMO it works, but in comparison to 10-14 day old spawn is superior. One reason i make spawn and not buy it, is so i can time it perfectly (plus i can use w/e strains i want & i get to be in charge of quality control). P stamets says, with myceleuim, move it or lose it. I find this to be very true, after the 2-3 week mark ive seen my spawns vigor decline even in the fridge. IMO fridge is a worst case scenario, were there is an emergency and spawn must be stored for later use. Keep up the good work guys
Any of you guys do the math to find your inoculation ratio/%? I find it the easiest way to compare how much spawn some1 is using, b/c even different people fill up L jars to different amounts, so the inoc ratio works to help people compare data and makes this easier when scaling up or down.
-------------------- Mushroom medicines available at: www.swordandshieldwellness.com
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curry
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/11
Posts: 276
Last seen: 2 years, 2 months
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Re: Managing Spawn Production [Re: Aleon]
#14856209 - 08/01/11 12:28 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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For me, making up spawn jars (quarts) is the hardest part of growing mushrooms. So I skimp on adding spawn, at the sacrifice of having to wait longer for the bags to colonize. You might play around a little with how many quarts you add to that bag size Social... start with 8, then try a bag on 6, then maybe 4, and then try what I do... 2. But I have lots of storage space, so I don't care if it takes much longer to colonize; once it's in a rotation, it's the same for me.
Also, 3 g2g transfers is being very conservative. I've done many more than that without any negative affects. I think it's more an issue of not letting the myc stall, or go into fruiting mode. If it's in expansion mode, the myc will transfer many times without stalling. Again, something to play around with.
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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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Re: Managing Spawn Production [Re: curry]
#14864290 - 08/02/11 09:11 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thank you, Grobo, Aleon, and Curry.
You all seem to agree that 'perpetual spawn production' is the way to go, using fresh vigorous spawn.
That is what I'll shoot for.
Here's a dumb question: I'll use the Search so don't feel like you have to answer: do you just use your hands to squeeze and crumble the spawn through the bags when using spawn bags (rather than the bike tire)?
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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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rider
Stranger
Registered: 06/29/11
Posts: 50
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Try to do without filters in your bags and compare result. Oh My God, yes they identical)
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Not Quite Social
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 1,418
Loc: Midwest
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Re: Managing Spawn Production [Re: rider]
#14866004 - 08/03/11 06:24 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Ah, that's an interesting post, rider. Wouldn't that be cheaper!
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Mycelio
Stranger
Registered: 06/24/08
Posts: 1,636
Loc: Berlin
Last seen: 5 months, 20 days
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Too bad, that this would not work without constant air exchange.
Carsten
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