Amanita virosa said:

Verm is made from mica by superheating under pressure. It is inert, neutral in ph and has no nutritive value.

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RogerRabbit said:

Mycelium will consume and digest verm, and even plants use vermiculite as 'fertilizer'.  Verm is definitely not inert and is suitable for much more than holding water.
RR

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Notahacker420 said:

Amanita virosa said:

Verm is made from mica by superheating under pressure. It is inert, neutral in ph and has no nutritive value.

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RogerRabbit said:

Mycelium will consume and digest verm, and even plants use vermiculite as 'fertilizer'.  Verm is definitely not inert and is suitable for much more than holding water.
RR

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Amanita virosa said:

Rather than taking to word of one man as gospel on every topic maybe it's time to broaden your horizons just a bit. 

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It's not just one man....there are other TCs who think verm has nutrients.

Like TL, who claims that verm has trace minerals....

And also RR who will ask you "If verm has no nutrients, why are BRF cakes 2/3 verm, and considered borderline too nutritious?"

And there are other people who are way more knowledgeable than me when it comes to that stuff that think so as well.

I was not trying to start anything, and by no means meant anything by it.

But I just hate when people whos opinion's we are supposed to trust have 2 completely different sides to something.

It's hard to know who or what is right, because from what I am seeing with mushroom cultivation personally is that verm has nutrients, so like I said....

Amanita virosa said:

Notahacker420 said:

Amanita virosa said:

Verm is made from mica by superheating under pressure. It is inert, neutral in ph and has no nutritive value.

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RogerRabbit said:

Mycelium will consume and digest verm, and even plants use vermiculite as 'fertilizer'.  Verm is definitely not inert and is suitable for much more than holding water.
RR

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There may be  just a few things that I know more about than RR and plant physiology is one of them. Its how i
Make my living for the last 25 years  I can assure you that verm has no nutrient value to plants. Although it does contain iron, magnesium and phosphorus, they are bound together in a way that makes them unavailable to plants. Kind of like how plants are unable to use nitrogen gas as a a source of nitrogen, Even though they are surrounded by it. They don't consume it. Don't believe me. Try growing plants in pure verm and see how far ya get.  Rather than taking to word of one man as gospel on every topic maybe it's time to broaden your horizons just a bit.  The reason we add verm to potting soil has little to do with water retention btw and more to do with the fact that it greatly increases cation exchange capacity of the mix. Look it up

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Amanita virosa said:

If verm was a nutrient it would not work as a filter. End of story.

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Tmethyl said:

Well done everyone, there is some valuable information gathering in here.

Some optional tips:
If you're growing Cubensis or other 'active' species, do not tell anyone about your grow. When I say 'anyone' I mean not even your best friend, not your mother or any other family member, nobody needs to know. Don't even tell them you have some Cubensis. Tell them "I know a guy who has some".

Do not label your jars, syringes or any other items with the actual species of mushroom you're growing (If you're growing a psychoactive species)
Label the jars as "Agaricus" or "Ganoderma" or "Shitake". If you've received a pre-labled syringe from a vendor, remove the label, write on your own with a permanent marker.

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I highly recommend using natural light for every grow, I understand this is not a possibility for everyone and florescent/LED must be used.
But if it's in any way possible, place them next to a bright window, the results of the caps size, and overall health of the mushroom is noticeable. Try to avoid direct sunlight though, a North or South facing window is optimal, there will be direct sunlight for a few hours a day on East and West facing windows.

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i second that... this could possibly be the best tip

thiotimoline said:

This doesn't mean tyvek or polyfill is nutritious. And neither is vermiculite.

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  Tyvek and polyfill are both synthetic.

Oeric McKenna said:

Alright kids...back to the tips!

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Tmethyl said:

This thread is to be devoted to fungi cultivation related tips, tricks, and advice.
It was created to fill the new section of the community powered guide, the new section is HERE.

I have already sent a message to all Trusted Cultivators, requesting tips.

Now I come to everyone else, what we are looking for 1 - 3 (per person) tips, tricks or advice that you think may help a new cultivator, or cultivators in general.
Maybe it was something you found that helped you out a lot. Your tips/tricks can be directly related to techniques, teks, materials, fruiting chambers.
They can be mental tips, or tips on good ways to avoid law enforcement. Tips on locations to collect grow materials. Site/sponsor recommendations.
Tricks that you found handy, maybe tricks for your sterilization technique, or agar work, whatever you can think of.
Maybe you can think of something you would have done different if you were to start over?

Thank you all in advance, most of the tips will be added as they are collected, with credits clearly attached.

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thank you for this post Tmethy. l

Notahacker420 said:

Amanita virosa said:

If verm was a nutrient it would not work as a filter. End of story.

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Then why do we have to keep the dry verm layer dry?

Why not keep the foil on the jars and let the verm layer get wet? If it is in fact inert, it getting wet on a colonizing cake should not matter.

Because from my understanding is that that is gonna let contams colonize right thru it if it gets wet.

So is my logic here flawed? Or do these nutrients that contams love magically appear with moisture?

Again, not trying to argue, just trying to put this to bed....

It either is nutritiously beneficial to mushroom mycellium or it's not, there is no middle ground here. Added moisture should not change this.

If I am wrong please come back...don't leave me hangin....

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Notahacker420 said:

OMCs?

BBS's?

What?

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Notahacker420 said:

Amanita virosa said:

If verm was a nutrient it would not work as a filter. End of story.

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Then why do we have to keep the dry verm layer dry?

Why not keep the foil on the jars and let the verm layer get wet? If it is in fact inert, it getting wet on a colonizing cake should not matter.

Because from my understanding is that that is gonna let contams colonize right thru it if it gets wet.

So is my logic here flawed? Or do these nutrients that contams love magically appear with moisture?

Again, not trying to argue, just trying to put this to bed....

It either is nutritiously beneficial to mushroom mycellium or it's not, there is no middle ground here. Added moisture should not change this.

If I am wrong please come back...don't leave me hangin....

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froste said:

could it be to protect the BRF from contams? because if the verm is wet wouldnt contams be able to get to the BRF?
Just asking???

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RogerRabbit said:

The foil should be removed as soon as jars come out of the sterilizer.  This is to prevent the dry verm filter from becoming damp, which will allow contaminants to colonize through it to reach the rice flour supplemented verm below.
RR

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RogerRabbit said:

I've personally posted at least a thousand times to remove the foil as soon as you remove the jars from the sterilizer.  Your problem isn't CO2, but probably bacteria contamination from leaving the foil on, which keeps your 'dry' verm filter damp.  This allows bacteria in the air to colonize right through the verm to the brf below.
RR

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