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SgtPepperNo9
Stranger

Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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First post and grow!
#19059737 - 10/30/13 08:05 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Hello Shroomery!
I have been lurking around these forums for the past few years just as a way to supplement my knowledge about shrooms but recently decided to take the plunge. I am an avid user of google and the search function so never really had a need or desire to post anything until now. I started researching cultivation more than normal over the past few months as I am an need of a new hobby to bring some joy to a life filled with work, school, etc. I figured the PF tek was the way to go as I wanted to do things right.
After placing an order to one of the sponsors I received my first set of syringes on October 4th, very fast after placing the order I might add. I then inoculated 8 jars (6-cambodian, 2-PE) on the 6th and began the wait. 1/2 pint wide mouths were used with a mix of personally ground BRF and Vermiculite. 2:1:1 ratio of verm, water, then BRF.
9 days went by and no growth was observed so I decided to mix a few more jars. I knew it would likely take a little more time than this but figured with my giant amount of Vermiculite I might as well go for it.
This time 7 jars were mixed/steam sterilized/inoculated on the 15th. 2-PE and 5-Treasure Coast. I lessened the water content slightly as my first jars seemed a little moist and I had a growing concern for bacterial contam despite only being a week in. I also incorporated some uniquely shaped 1/2 pint plastic jars just because I happened to see them for cheap on the shelf as I was leaving a grocery store. Tape was also used during sterilization in addition to foil. Tape was not used for the first set.
A day or 2 later I noted a large amount of colonization at 2 of the 4 inoc points on the jar of one of the original PEs. This is ~12 days after inoculation. I of course got excited and 1 week later on the 26th shot up 12 more jars 5-AA+, 4-PE, 3-TC. This time the taller 1/2 pints were used. Over the following week I began noticing some colonization of my other jars as well and even the plastics.
These are of that same jar 2 days ago.


On the pic of the bottom of the jar you may see an area that looks concerning in the 5-6 o clock position which I am concerned with as well so I'm watching it closely. You will also notice in some over all shots that some jars are in open top boxes and some aren't. With all the different info out there I thought having a few sets going in slightly diff conditions would tell me which works best.

The only negative thing so far is the 6 Cambodian jars. No growth at all however no smell to make me think something is wrong. I have a medical and scientific background and have worked in hospitals and labs in the past so sterile technique is nothing new. This should also explain the desire to experiment a little as I go along which I know isn't necessarily recommended. I'm thinking if anything it was a higher than desired water content combined with too many cc's of solution 10cc spread across all 6. Either way they look/smell exactly like they did after sterilization and inoculation so I will wait patiently and see.
Sorry for all the text. I would have included more pics but it took some convincing myself that it was safe to sign up for this site so didn't want to just start uploading like crazy. I read the rules, guidelines, and all that so hopefully everything is ok.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far and any critiques would be appreciated.
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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10cc is plenty for 6 jars, I did 12 per syringe when I did cakes I wouldn't be too worried just yet, I've had slow spores that took 3 weeks before. As long as your jars were cooled when you inoculated and your not roasting them in an unnecessary incubator then just be patient. If they don't produce anything, you might have just gotten a bunk syringe, I have had that before too.
Otherwise the ones you got going look pretty good, keep it up
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MUSH HEAD420
Kush Commander



Registered: 09/14/08
Posts: 921
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Re: First post and grow! [Re: Pastywhyte]
#19059818 - 10/30/13 08:16 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Did you shake the syringe before every inoculation?
Edited by MUSH HEAD420 (10/30/13 08:17 PM)
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Andrew9115
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Registered: 03/22/13
Posts: 75
Loc: 710
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Re: First post and grow! [Re: Pastywhyte]
#19059840 - 10/30/13 08:20 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Pastywhyte said: and your not roasting them in an unnecessary incubator then... Otherwise the ones you got going look pretty good, keep it up 
No need for name calling now im a fan of my incubator
But on another note sgtpepper great thread and awesome picture so far ( hard to find good HD pictures on here) looking forward to seeing your results!
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kratom_redmomd
Kratom Lover



Registered: 07/25/13
Posts: 411
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Re: First post and grow! [Re: Pastywhyte]
#19059871 - 10/30/13 08:25 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah, just have patience. I used the tall 1/2 pints by accident. So far, so good. They just took a little longer to colonize. The very bottom took the longest the first time. I think they got a little compacted from me always picking them up to look at them.
The second time I made sure I loaded them loosely and then left them alone in a drawer. Those turned out a bit shorter, but colonized faster.
GL
-------------------- "If the goal is to ride the bike, why is everyone arguing about which bike to ride? We are all bike riders. Ride your bike." -Unknown If I was going to destroy a nation, first I would destroy its language. -Confusious ¿Hablas Inglés?
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SgtPepperNo9
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Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Cooled overnight ~8-10 hours and no incubator used. The room temperature fluctuates a bit (74-78 deg F) i would say but I never let it go over 80.
I also did shake the syringes like crazy before inoculation. All the syringes I got had a pretty sizable black clump in them oriented towards the plunger so I knew I needed to disperse them first. I read a TON of reviews on all the sponsors and feel the one I picked was pretty reliable.
As far as the tall jars the only knock on them I have read is longer colonization times and stalling. The short wide mouths are available to me so I did those first. The taller ones were an impulse buy just for the heck of it. Its funny how I find myself walking the canning isle now at stores when I used to never care.
Thanks for the responses everyone! I will keep you updated on my progress.
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2bittoker
Resident PMP Advocate


Registered: 03/09/13
Posts: 555
Last seen: 2 years, 3 months
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Quote:
kratom_redmomd said: Yeah, just have patience. I used the tall 1/2 pints by accident. So far, so good. They just took a little longer to colonize. The very bottom took the longest the first time. I think they got a little compacted from me always picking them up to look at them.
The second time I made sure I loaded the m loosely and then left them alone in a drawer. Those turned out a bit shorter, but colonized faster.
GL
Yeah, my first grow was with regular mouth half pints too. Worked just fine but now that I know how much faster widemouth colonize, I wont use anything else.
Great pics. Everything looks good so far. However you're being very generous with your ratio of spores to jars. I've successfully inoculated a jar with .5ccs of solution. 1cc is plenty/a jar. One 10CC syringe should give you 10 half pint jars.
-------------------- “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” "Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom" ― Rabindranath Tagore Stuff for New Growers Where new growers should start: RogerRabbit's PF Tek video How it Should and Shouldn't Look My Simplified Bulk Growing My OJ Shroom Tek
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MUSH HEAD420
Kush Commander



Registered: 09/14/08
Posts: 921
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the spores can travel to the tip while inoculating leaving you with the first few jars being the only ones with a good amount of spores.
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SgtPepperNo9
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Registered: 10/30/13
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Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: First post and grow! [Re: 2bittoker]
#19059936 - 10/30/13 08:34 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thats kind of what I thought 2bit. For the subsequent sets I reduced it down to 1 cc a jar. I guess its just one of those things when you start something new. I read and read and read that 1cc/jar was perfect but just couldn't resist trying to give them that extra push.
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SgtPepperNo9
Stranger

Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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I thought that might have happened too Mush but in that case I would think 1 or 2 of the jars would show something. All 6 are completely normal and look exactly the same. Its funny because I had read Cambodians are fast but those are the only ones not showing anything. I know strain doesn't mean much to a lot of people but still thought it was interesting as the PE which I was suspecting to be slow was the only one out of the 1st group that is colonizing.
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MUSH HEAD420
Kush Commander



Registered: 09/14/08
Posts: 921
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You will see jars with a crap load of germination points with allot of spores injected.
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SgtPepperNo9
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Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Just a quick update on progress of these jars.
Here are 2 pics of the jar that I showed last time. Bottom is all colonized, just a small stripe on the side needs to get done until it consolidates for a week.


Here the furthest along of the unique plastic jars. 2 of these are colonizing, 1 isn't. I'm thinking the bend in the plastic may cause it some trouble but we will see.

Another short 1/2 pint.

Small area of growth on a tall 1/2 pint out of the last group of inoculations. The glare of kind of covers it up but you can still see it.


Now I just need to make some decisions on fruiting chamber. I am going to go with the SGFC but initially bought a large sized 105 qt tub as I though I was going to have a bunch of cakes at once. Not too sure if this will still work as that 1 jar will be done way before the others. Need to do a little research about FC size and if it will still get the proper FAE and humidity levels if its the only cake in there. Luckily no holes were drilled yet so I can return it if needed.
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2bittoker
Resident PMP Advocate


Registered: 03/09/13
Posts: 555
Last seen: 2 years, 3 months
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Congrats and enjoy! There is nothing like the excitement of your first grow and experiencing first hand the growing of your own psychadelics. Keep us posted!
-------------------- “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” "Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom" ― Rabindranath Tagore Stuff for New Growers Where new growers should start: RogerRabbit's PF Tek video How it Should and Shouldn't Look My Simplified Bulk Growing My OJ Shroom Tek
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SgtPepperNo9
Stranger


Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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So here is where I am at. Got a bunch of jars still colonizing. Some tall some short some plastic.

2 cakes are in the FC and have been for 8 days. They consolidated for a week and after 8 days are still showing no signs of pinning. You guys suggest anything? Or should I just be patient?

Cake with a lot of aerial myc


The other cake, not so much aerial stuff, it has grown through the verm layer that was rolled on.

I mist 2-3 times a day. 1 in the morning, 1 at night and 1 in the mid afternoon if I am home. I fan more often then misting probably every 2-3 hours depending on when I am available during the day. They probably get 5-6 fans total. 12/12 light cycle with the blinds open letting in ambient sunlight plus a 6500K light positioned in the corner of the room.
Everything looking ok here?
Here is another FC. I had 2 cakes that smelt a little off so I was worried about throwing them in with the others. So I made a smaller FC to hold them in a separate room.


1 was fully cased in verm the other just got it on the top and bottom. Figured I could experiment a little with those since RR suggested I just toss them in the garden I am not expecting much to happen with them. We will see though.
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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If your holes are drilled to spec every two inches, then it looks like you got about 2"-2.5" of perlite in there. Should be closer to 4". Do you have holes on all six sides and is it elevated (hard to see in the pic)?
Fan only when you mist. Excessive fanning will dry the cakes out. Fanning is not for FAE is only to promote a little evaporation. If all these conditions are met then sometimes it just takes a little longer, patience is a virtue.
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SgtPepperNo9
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Registered: 10/30/13
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Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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It was built to spec. It has 3" of perlite in there. I knew 4 was more optimal and considered adding more but since my humidity seemed perfect (fluctuating between 92-100) I decided not too.
Holes on all six sides. It sits about 3-4 feet in the air with the bottom exposed.
The only reason I was fanning more was because it seemed too wet at times. I thought fanning was to move the stale air out of the tub and replace it with fresh air while also promoting evaporation. I guess I'm a little confused now.
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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The SGFC will move the stale air out all on its own. Fanning just promotes a little evaporation which is a pinning trigger. Because where I live is very dry, 3" would never cut it for me, 4" was not even enough. If your RH is high enough with 3" that's fine, no need to add more, but I gotta ask, how do you know your getting 92-100% RH?
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Dyno05
Wooohoooer



Registered: 04/02/10
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I must say a SGFC has a problem with keeping the humidity up in certain areas...
-------------------- IF ure going trough hell,keep going!!...
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2bittoker
Resident PMP Advocate


Registered: 03/09/13
Posts: 555
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Re: UPDATE!! [Re: Dyno05]
#19170102 - 11/21/13 01:24 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah, as the others said, you need 4 inches, minimum, to keep RH up in a Shotgun FC. The more the better. If you cant add more, I would try misting more often and making sure to fan equally more often. If you live in a dry area, its a must to add more perlite.
Fanning, as said, its to promote evap and also to eliminate excess water buildup, which can lead to contams. Make sure when you mist, there is no standing water on the cakes.
I cant see what its sitting on. Make sure that bottom holes are NOT covered. This is a must to eliminate CO2 Build up.
-------------------- “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” "Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom" ― Rabindranath Tagore Stuff for New Growers Where new growers should start: RogerRabbit's PF Tek video How it Should and Shouldn't Look My Simplified Bulk Growing My OJ Shroom Tek
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SgtPepperNo9
Stranger


Registered: 10/30/13
Posts: 364
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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It is sitting on 2 bar stools 1 on each side. So the entire bottom is pretty much open to allow air to pass through. I originally read in the tek 3"-5" so I stopped at 3 strictly because the perlite I had contained a TON of sand/dust. It took like 3 hours of sifting through it to get that much medium/coarse perlite. When I was done I had 2" of sand in my bath tub, pretty much half of the bag was sand.
I still have a little left so I can probably sift out another .5-1" if im lucky. I also have some in the smaller FC I could steal if needed. My girlfriend won't be too happy about seeing the Perlite bag getting pulled back out lol. Its so messy!
When I mist i don't do it heavily enough to where there is standing water. There may be few droplets sitting on the foil but it is pretty minimal. I do it enough the where the cakes "glisten" like I have read in some other threads.
I know hygrometers are unreliable and for the first 6 days I didnt have one. I bought one because I was a little concerned with the RH but it read 100% when wrapped in a damp towel and when I put it in the FC it reads from 93-100. This will drop when I fan to about 80 but then it creeps back up pretty quickly after I put the lid back on.
I live in the south so it is pretty dry here but it has been raining and stuff lately. Plus with the hygrometer reading what it said I wasn't worried too much about the RH. I will probably add some perlite though just to be on the safe side.
I have read in a ton of places that aerial myc isn't that big of a deal and usually doesn't effect fruiting. Do you guys agree?
Thanks of all the suggestions everyone! This place is awesome. If anyone else has something to add, feel free. I will take all the suggestions I can get.
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