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OfflineThe Grower Man
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Registered: 11/14/11
Posts: 4
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
Post mortem for the 4th failed attempt - with autopsy pictures.
    #16110589 - 04/19/12 08:02 AM (11 years, 11 months ago)

Years ago, TGM started cultivating mushrooms with his friend; after intense researching, he finally managed to make 30 cakes at one point, but stopped due to time constraints.

Today, he's free again, but he can't seem to get his white thumb back. He's failed like 4 times now.

He's going to start a new grow log soon, but before he does, he's going to do a thorough post mortem with your kind help.

He gives you many thanks in advance.

AUTOPSY PICTURES

Here are the autopsy pictures:













One of the things you can notice from the pictures, is that the cakes have two different shades - one is light brown, and the other is dark, almost black.

TGM has noticed that mycelium doesn't grow on the black areas, but it does grow on the lighter shade ones. TGM thinks that the blackened areas are areas of excessive moisture - they always start at the points of inoculation, before spreading to the rest of the cake.

Could also be an infection, but so far nothing else has grown.

Because TGM lives in Southeast Asia, he lacks a lot of his American peers' inventory - he has to make do with what he can get his hands on, and deal with a lot of problems cultivators in the U.S don't have. Like for example: flies.



TGM isn't sure if his US's brothers and sisters of the mycelium have this problem, but these tiny flies, about the size of a pinhead LOVE BRF cakes - they will wriggle their way through the tiniest opening in the micropore tape to get inside and lay eggs. Doesn't matter if you double tape.



Still, that doesn't explain the black disease. There are cakes without the maggots that still have the black spots, and little/no mycelial growth. TGM strongly believes it's the excess water from the spore syringe, that somehow spreads throughout the cake making it too wet for growth.

In terms of sterility, since some cakes still have some mycelial growth, TGM assumes that his sterile techniques are still acceptable. He's using a very old pressure cooker, but since it's such a decrepit relic, it's better to assume that it's more of the steam method rather than pressure method.



The pressure valve is missing, so steam escapes through a tiny hole from the top. The rubber gasket is also old, but TGM has learnt that PF-Tek doesn't need pressure sterilization like bulk spawn does.



Another variable is the verm-grade - TGM uses medium grade for these grows (left).



Could it be possible that because the medium grade holds less water, the 3: 1: 1 ratio doesn't apply? TGM is thinking of using a mixture of both grades (the right verm is fine grade) so it can hold more water.

On his next grow, TGM is going to change these parameters.

  • Use both grades of verm, to ensure air pockets and better moisture retention,
  • Use less water while mixing BRF and Verm,
  • Adding an aluminium foil on top of jars after inoculation - prevents flies from laying eggs inside, but might also prevent airflow for mycelium,
  • Squeeze less solution for each inoculation point from now on.


TGM has no reason to doubt the syringes, they are bought from a reputable international supplier and shipped to South East Asia.

Any thoughts on what went wrong? Any suggestions for improvement? TGM would highly appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
TGM


--------------------
"I am not in danger Skyler, I AM, THE DANGER. A guy opens his door and gets shot, you think that of me? No. I am the one who KNOCKS!"

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OfflineRogerRabbitM
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Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
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Re: Post mortem for the 4th failed attempt - with autopsy pictures. [Re: The Grower Man]
    #16110653 - 04/19/12 08:27 AM (11 years, 11 months ago)

The black areas are bacteria contamination.  Flies are easy to keep out with proper filtering.  They can't chew through a tyvek fiter.

You're supposed to use fine grade verm, not course.

Your steamer will work fine, providing you're running it for a full 90 minutes after steam begins to escape from the nozzle.

The recipe is 2-1-1.  You might find the brf tek videos helpful.
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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OfflineThe Grower Man
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Registered: 11/14/11
Posts: 4
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
Re: Post mortem for the 4th failed attempt - with autopsy pictures. [Re: RogerRabbit]
    #16112456 - 04/19/12 04:36 PM (11 years, 11 months ago)

Thanks a lot RR! He's watched a lot of your videos, they were the blueprint he used.

Any suggestions for the bacterial contam? Do you think it could be from the syringes? Perhaps he should ask for a refund?

Thank you for replying to the thread, you're without a doubt, one of the most helpful mycologist in the world.


--------------------
"I am not in danger Skyler, I AM, THE DANGER. A guy opens his door and gets shot, you think that of me? No. I am the one who KNOCKS!"

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InvisibleJoeMama1992
Asleep at the Wheel


Registered: 12/27/11
Posts: 901
. [Re: The Grower Man]
    #16112476 - 04/19/12 04:40 PM (11 years, 11 months ago)

.

Edited by JoeMama1992 (11/08/13 08:41 PM)

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