Hello everybody, I'm Casino G. This is my first post on shroomery, and I want to thank everyone ahead of time for your help. I have recently embarked on my first grow, after months of research. This post will b long, only because I want to include every detail, so I can properly assess my dilemma. Also because I didn't start the post 9 days ago. Ok, here goes
I decided to buy the ultimate grow kit from midwest grow kits. I've read mixed reviews on the kit, mostly positive. I decided I'm pretty bright, so I should b able to make it work. I know I could have bought the set-up for half price, but time constraints are an issue, and I don't have a problem dropping a little lettuce to have sumone do half the work for me, especially considering the fact that I don't have a pressure cooker, and all the BRF jars are pre-made. 12 1/2 pints came with the kit. I got the spores from sporeworks, Albino Penis Envy and Golden Teachers. In my research I learned that being a shroomery membe, the works would send me a free syringe. I ordered, and then joined lol, but they still sent me a free syringe of the hualta strain. Everything came much faster than each website stated, taking a mere days to reach my home. I thought that they would be here the week after thanksgiving, but it all came Black Friday. I went to chicago to visit family from the day before thanksgiving, until the following Sunday. Friday night, I had some one refrigerate the syringes, and put the kit in a safe place until I got back.
This is my first hiccup. We're any of the materials misproperly handled?
I inoculated my jars December 2nd, Monday afternoon. I took the syringes out of the refrigerator, and sat them on a counter I dosed in lysol. I decided to use the oven tek, because I was too short on materials and too thirsty to make a glovebox. I kno it's outdated, and a tad dirty, but I felt it was best option because recently my girlfriends cousin has become out Roomate, and the small downstairs bathroom has been transformed into a powder room by the ladies. I felt it was out of the question to inoculate in there because there is hair and dried up beauty product everywhere. You know. Like a girls bathroom. I was really sterile still. I sprayed the entire kitchen with lysol, and bleach cleaned the stove and the surrounding areas. I preheat the stove to 375, and after about 25 mins I lowered. It down to 200.
This is my second problem. Was I fuckin up using the oven tek? It was kinda my only choice.
All while preheating the stove, I shook up the needles, and got ready to inoculate. I wore no shirt, fresh pants, latex gloves, and a medical mask. I was on it. After the oven cooled, I sprayed once more, and got busy. I opened the oven door, and put the jars on the bottom rack, pulling it as far out as it could go. I started with the hualta. I figured since I had 12 jars and 3 syringes, I would make 5 cakes APE, 5 GT, and 2 hualta, and keep the leftover hualta for later proposes, after all I hadn't planned on having them. I took the foil off each jar, inoculated at the 4 points, replaced foil, and handed off my jars to my girlfriend, who had clean hands, but no gloves, and she put them in the incubator. Now keep in mind this was my first time, so I put almost 3cc in each hualta jar. I flamed between each jar and wiped with an alcohol pad. Now, when I got to the second jar of APE, I realized, the jars were getting freaking hot! I turned the stove down, because the jars were becoming difficult to handle, to 100. I put the remaining APE jars on top of the stove to cool, and I continued to inoculate. I completely turned the stove off so the GTs could cool too. I finished all the jars, putting 2ccs in each, finishing off both syringes.
3rd pickle. Did I screw up making the jars too hot?
2 days after inoculation, I opened up the incubator to check on the jars. For the first two days I had the aquarium heater on high, and left it on high since the thermometer read 80 degrees whenever I shined a light into the tub. I opened the incubator on December 4th to inspect the jars. I noticed growth on only one of the jars. The APE. I was ecstatic, because it meant I was doing something right. Right before I closed the incubator, I noticed that with the lid closed, I had been reading the humidity. In fact the jars were sitting in 89 degrees. I immediately lowered the temp and have been since keeping it at a constant 80 degrees.
#4 could 89 degrees have had a negative effect?
On December 7th I checked again. 2 jars of APE were showing signs of growth, segments of white fuzz covering inoculation points. Sadly though, none of the other strains where showing promise. No foul smells, no extra moisture, nothing. On day 6 after reading up on Gas exchange, I figured I could benefit from removing the foil from the jars, so I put them on the bottom of the jars, since the are labeled to keep track of which jar is which. I'm not sure if it sped things up, but nothing bad has happened. On December 9th, 7 days after inoculation, 4 APE jars were colonizing, 2 were nearly 50%...I think...they were pretty fuzzy. I decided since things were going so slow, I would make an attempt at an LC with light Karo with the left over hualta. They came thru with the clutch. I used a small square Tupperware container and put 7 oz of boiled water in it, immediately dropping a table spoon of Karo into it, and then I closed it. Now I tried to poke a small hole in the lid with a knife, but it ended up cracking the top and making a slit. I placed the container in the microwave for a few minutes until it boiled again, and then I pulled it out, quickly taping up the slit. I placed the container in the fridge for couple hours, and when it was cooled, I stuck a shaken and sterile hualta syringe through the tape and sprayed about 1.5ccs maybe less. I pulled out the needle, and then taped the breach hole. I put the LC in the incubator with the jars and left it alone. Now mind u, each and every time I open the incubator, I spray lysol in the air, and a small amount in the incubator.
#5 do you think I made a viable LC? And was it worth even doing? #6 Do you think I'm going overboard with the lysol? I turn on a air pump after for a small while so fumes don't suffocate the jars.
I didn't actually finish writing this until 12/13 but for all intensive purposes, I'm going to finish the post as if it's still Wednesday December 11th.
Today lol I checked the jars and all 5 APE jars show growth. Albeit small, the last jar showed growth. However, the other 7 are getting no action still. When I checked on my LC, I did notice white specks, but I'm not sure if it's mycelium growth.
So am I over reacting? Is something wrong? Can something be done?
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