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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
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Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* -UPDATE 12/10/12- 3
#17007040 - 10/10/12 06:38 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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First of all let me say that if you follow my tek you will reap nothing but success in record time. For a long time I have read popcorn as an inferior substrate for mushroom growing, that it is very prone to contamination and very difficult to get the proper moisture content in the grains. Again, if you follow the tek you will find that popcorn is your favourite grain ! -----------------------------------------------------------
For the following steps you will need...
1. Jars 2. Polyfill for your lids (VERY IMPORTANT) 3. Popcorn 4. Large spoon 5. Pressure cooker 6. Alcool lamp or lighter or any steady flame 7. A Cubensis print or syringe of your choice
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 ----------------------------------------------------------- Ok, so get your jars and polyfill and also a sharp object to poke a hole in the lids.

Poke a hole in all your lids. The hole has to be quite large to fit the polyfill and most important AIR EXCHANGE. I see people wrap the shit out of their jars with aluminium foil and other stuff... this is very wrong... okay maybe one loose layer of foil is good but hey we got polyfill here so no need for foil ! Air exchange is one of the most important if not the most important part of using corn. Without proper air exchange you will get pools of water at the bottom of your jars and that will cause contamination. No air exchange = contaminations for sure.
 ----------------------------------------------------------- Now that our jars are ready we can start preparing our spawn and this is where most people fuck up with corn. No pre-soaking or predetermined simmer time here. You simmer the grains until they are ready.
First, dump the required amount in the pan.

Cover with water.

Set the heat to MAX and bring to a hard boil.

The second your water is at hard boil lower the heat to about half to maintain gentle boil. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

----------------------------------------------------------- OKAY, this is where we learn how to gauge moisture content of your popcorn grains... they say a picture is worth a thousand words! Here it is.
 Try and zoom in the pictures to really see the difference. Also try biting in the grains, when they're ready they'll be soft and very easy to bite through with no crunchy part in the centre. The husks on the grains will start to split as well. Don't over cook them, you don't want the husks to flower out just to start to crack a little bit. When you see some of the husks split on some of the grains they're ready. ----------------------------------------------------------- When you judge the grains are perfectly hydrated strain out all of the water either by tilting the lid on the pot and emptying it in the sink or if you have a colander use it. When the excess water is gone dump the grains back in the pot and let them sit for a while with the lid on the pot. Speaking of pot, go smoke a bowl while your grains consolidate.

----------------------------------------------------------- Next few steps pretty straight forward...
Fill the jars, leaving some space at the top.

Slap on the lids

Add a couple jarfuls of water to your pressure cooker, deposit the jars in the PC and twist the PC's lid on and turn the heat on MAX. When the pressure reaches 15psi reduce the heat to about half and cook for 60 minutes.

----------------------------------------------------------- 60 minutes later, turn off the heat and let the pressure in the pressure cooker drop. Open the lid, take out your jars and set them aside to cool down.

Once they are cool to the touch just inoculate as you would with any other substrate.

I don't use an incubator, I find them to increase chances for contaminations. I just stick my jars in the cupboard over the fridge and they colonize in record times !
This is after only eight days

Once your jars are fully colonized... well that is up to you !

You can use it as span for straw or just case it as is. This tub was spawned about twenty days ago and started fruiting about 3 days ago.

Or you can turn it into something like this.

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Here is an update regarding the obtained results using my tek !

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Fin.
Edited by Gotlib (10/12/12 06:35 PM)
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snakeinthegrass




Registered: 08/12/12
Posts: 243
Loc: between the north ans sou...
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17007055 - 10/10/12 06:40 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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i dig it
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Trust No One   Mushroom cultivation isn't a dick measuring contest. That's in a different forum.
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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you better god damn it i spent all after noon setting this up !!!
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* *DELETED* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17007542 - 10/10/12 07:44 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Post deleted by Butt-HeadReason for deletion: .
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FooMan



Registered: 02/02/05
Posts: 8,957
Loc: Earth
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17007582 - 10/10/12 07:49 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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The tek looks great and was nicely written. The problem is that most people here aren't big fans of using popcorn as grain spawn except for RR. He loves the stuff!
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: FooMan] 1
#17007596 - 10/10/12 07:51 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Damn, if RR loves this shit and my TEK demonstrates proper use... this is my crusade... popcorn reigns supreme !
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mentalpatient
Stranger
Registered: 09/28/12
Posts: 291
Last seen: 9 years, 11 months
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17007674 - 10/10/12 08:00 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thanks for this! How well does this perform (yield, size, speed of colonization) when compared to brown rice flour technique?
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Edited by mentalpatient (10/10/12 08:01 PM)
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serotonin storm
Don't be scared, homie!


Registered: 07/15/12
Posts: 1,178
Loc: Holland
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any grain spawned to bulk will outperform BRF
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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All these outcomes depend... You could totally optimize this tek by providing perfect colonization and fruiting parameters. Temperature, humidity, air exchange and light exposure.
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mentalpatient
Stranger
Registered: 09/28/12
Posts: 291
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17007914 - 10/10/12 08:26 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Oh sorry. I was thinking you could set these up like BRF cakes in a terrarium. Still learnin!
Great pictures btw. Makes it super easy to follow!
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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You could set them up like BRF cakes, just use wide mouth jars and give them extra time for mycelium to get extra thick then dunk and roll.
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Tmethyl
Smear in the shale



Registered: 07/16/12
Posts: 16,431
Loc: Florida
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17008098 - 10/10/12 08:48 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Honestly great write up, really clean nice job. 
I've never even considered using Popcorn, I've had such success with WBS/Rye/Wheat that I didn't see it as necessary. The real advantage here is the short prep time, and how simple it is.You can literally have jars ready to inoculate in just a few hours, from start to finish. No soaking.
I'm impressed.
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Vire
Pleasure Seeker

Registered: 08/14/12
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Tmethyl] 1
#17008346 - 10/10/12 09:20 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Do you not run into the same problems one could get by not soaking wbs for 24 hours? Is corn less susceptible to contamination as wbs is when not soaked long enough?
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zepski
Ya Momma



Registered: 10/01/11
Posts: 1,292
Last seen: 7 years, 10 months
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Tmethyl] 1
#17008353 - 10/10/12 09:21 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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I started my grain work with popcorn. Its pretty easy to work with but it has its downsides. The area for the mycellium to colonize is much smaller then rye and way smaller then WBS this means less mycellium for when you spawn meaning it will take longer to colonize the same amount of sub as WBS or rye. This is why it seems that popcorn jars fly when colonizing.
It also just doesnt seem to produce as well as rye or WBS in my experience and many others. Its high in starch.
I will say nice write up. Also i am in no way bashing popcorn i have fought for popcorn use in the past very strongly. If it wasnt for popcorn i wouldnt be doing what i do today.
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: zepski] 1
#17008409 - 10/10/12 09:30 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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The only way i've put WBS to work is by mixing it 50/50 with pf tek mix. I got pretty good results with it !
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zepski
Ya Momma



Registered: 10/01/11
Posts: 1,292
Last seen: 7 years, 10 months
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17008490 - 10/10/12 09:43 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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You mean you ground it to a flour or just put the WBS in whole? Cause i've done the WBS flour in pf tek before also worked out very nice.
As for in grain jars I've never had luck with WBS. Personally i use rye in all my grain jars. But its all about finding out what works and then experimenting on the side to see if you can improve.
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Gotlib



Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 7,643
Loc:
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: zepski] 1
#17008513 - 10/10/12 09:45 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yep whole WBS mixed in to pf mix. I never had any luck with it either, very messy and if you don't rince it properly you get that sludge shit at the bottom of your jars.
Edited by Gotlib (10/10/12 09:46 PM)
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creationdivine
Seeker Seeker



Registered: 07/23/09
Posts: 461
Loc: blest coast
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17008925 - 10/10/12 10:55 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Bookmarked! I'm sure your hard work won't go unnoticed.
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Kickin' it with some Cinctulus!
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birdsfoot
Just Some Guy



Registered: 03/02/06
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Looks good. What I used to do before I got went all rye.
Only criticism is use a glovebox and your spore syringes don't need to be so dark. Lighter is better. You won't have as many strains trying to compete over a small substrate.
-------------------- The most useful tool in a mycologist's bag is patience. Wiping a loop with alcohol after flame sterilizing is like wiping shit on your face after taking a shower. RR
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Specialty
Tha Don



Registered: 08/29/12
Posts: 370
Loc: canada
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Re: Best Popcorn Tek *w/pics* [Re: Gotlib] 1
#17010865 - 10/11/12 09:50 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thats dope ima try this out. never done grain spawn b4. maybe it will work out better for me then brf. thanks for the post def will probly reference it at somepoint or another
-------------------- I Smoke knowlege, I Drink courage,And Swallow Fear, I'm Like A God Ill Show You How To Feel. MY TRADE LIST Spec's Mini Bulk Tek Got Noob Questions? Shoot me a pm Also looking for spore prints to purchace or trade pm me
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