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blindingleaf
blue collar underworld



Registered: 07/19/13
Posts: 22,008
Loc: sub-surface unseen
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oyster question
#19280554 - 12/15/13 06:20 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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hey guys! so I have a quart of WBS inoculated with blue oyster LC from a sponsor. its growing well, and I plan on spawning it to pasteurized straw in a bucket, that looks like this (5 qt bucket)

I have a few questions, as this will be my first attempt doing everything from scratch (except making the LC). my other oyster grow (in my sig.) was a pre made substrate bag inoculated with same LC.
1. should I supplement the straw with anything? I have coir, verm, gypsum, cardboard and chicken manure available. if it should be supplemented with any of those, what ratio would be appropriate? 2. I have read that chicken manure should be used at a 5% ratio... what if I put in chicken manure during the straw soak, would it absorb? 3. I have no lime, but I do have crayola chalk. is this suitable for balancing PH? if so, at what ratio would I add it and what step during the substrate prep process is it added (the soak or pasteurization)? 4. I had to cut up the straw with scissors, as I live in an apt and do not have any lawn equipment, they are cut into about 3" pieces. how do I go about measuring it to get 4 quarts? measure before or after the pre pasteurization soak? 5. do u guys soak ur straw in water mixed with dish soap? 6. when I spawn, should I mix it in a bag, then put it in the bucket and cut holes in the bag where the holes are in the bucket, or just mix and pack it right into the bucket? 7. are these holes to be left open and exposed during the spawn run, or should I lightly cover them with saran wrap until fully colonized? 8. I do not have a lid for this bucket and the hardware store does not either. will plastic wrap, or some kind of thicker plastic be ok with a rubber band securing it down (like in the picture above, but without the "tent" effect on top)? 9. should I put a weight down to compress the straw/spawn? 10. I am planning on doing a ratio of 1qt spawn and 4qt substrate, is that low, normal, or high?
Im basically following RR's method for the straw logs because his methods have not done me wrong yet with my other projects, but just because i am using a bucket I wanna make sure I have this down.
Any info would be great! Thanks!
-------------------- A few thoughts on cultivation MICROBIAL HUSBANDRY!!!! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
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Forrester
aspiring sociopath


Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA
Last seen: 25 days, 10 hours
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There are many on here that can better answer your straw prep / supplementation / lime / ph questions, but I'll weigh in on a few of the others...
4. I don't know how you're really going to measure, but you'll need more straw than you probably think as you're going to be packing it in there as tight as you can. Maybe twice the volume of the bucket in dry straw? Maybe not quite twice? Somewhere around there. Someone else probably has a better method than this 
5. Yes, the dish soap helps the straw absorb water I believe.
6. You can do either. I like to use a liner and cut x's where the holes are so the grain doesn't fall out, but it's not really necessary. Pack it in real tight and you don't really need one.
7. Leaving them open is fine. I think RR says to, because the dry straw around it will act as a contam barrier, if I remember correctly. If you have a liner in the bucket, cut your x's before colonization.
8. Yep that'll be fine.
9. Sure, since you packed it in nice and tight, you don't want it re-expanding and escaping or anything 
10. That's on the high side of what most people do I believe, but that's not a bad thing. They'll be nicely supplemented that way.
-------------------- Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here. ------------------- Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them? Try this double extraction method.
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blindingleaf
blue collar underworld



Registered: 07/19/13
Posts: 22,008
Loc: sub-surface unseen
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sweet I got a forrester reply thx dude! My jars at about 40% but growing fast, this blue oyster lc was mind-blowing. just gotta figure out this chalk thing for PH because I don't own a car and the home depot is an hour bike ride for me, and I don't really wanna carry a heavy bag biking back to my apt. I did that with a 50# bag of rye berries once and it was hard. I bike everywhere in the city but with a heavy weight on ur back....
-------------------- A few thoughts on cultivation MICROBIAL HUSBANDRY!!!! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
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Forrester
aspiring sociopath


Registered: 02/05/13
Posts: 9,351
Loc: Northeast USA
Last seen: 25 days, 10 hours
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Are you using heat to pasteurize? If so, you shouldn't really have to worry about PH. Blue oyster is very aggressive. Heat pasteurization should be quite sufficient. Just keep it in proper pasteurization temp for an hour and you shouldn't need to add anything but some gypsum if you have it. Let it drain, spread out to cool, spawn and stuff the bucket!
Alternatively, you could do PH pasteurization with hydrated lime, a bag of that should only be like 3-6lbs. But, why bother for this size of grow. I assume you've already got a stove so just use that
-------------------- Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here. ------------------- Have some medicinal mushrooms and want to get the most out of them? Try this double extraction method.
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urthtown
meat popsicle


Registered: 10/26/13
Posts: 1,039
Loc: Eastern Canadia
Last seen: 2 years, 4 months
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Why not just walk/bus/etc. there and buy two 40 lb bags of hardwood pellets and anything else you might need at the same time and pay the cab fair. It probably still ends up costing you less than $30 for 80lbs of substrate material dry weight. Or if you can store more, just get more and load up a cab. An hour bike ride can't end up being that much one way in a cab.
-------------------- Cluster Headache sufferer? Cluster Busting Veil Tear GIF Flower Pot Grow GIF Mini Mono Tub GIFS "All mushrooms are edible, but some only once." -- Croatian Proverb
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blindingleaf
blue collar underworld



Registered: 07/19/13
Posts: 22,008
Loc: sub-surface unseen
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Re: oyster question [Re: urthtown]
#19284507 - 12/16/13 03:27 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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true, I have thought of that. I just have a shitty job, overnights at a convenience store so money is super tight Guess I'll have to bribe my friends. when selecting wood pellets, is there a particular brand I should look for, or are they all hardwood?
-------------------- A few thoughts on cultivation MICROBIAL HUSBANDRY!!!! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
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urthtown
meat popsicle


Registered: 10/26/13
Posts: 1,039
Loc: Eastern Canadia
Last seen: 2 years, 4 months
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They definitely aren't all hardwood - best bet is to call ahead and get them to tell you. Save up a few things you need and make it all in one trip, that makes it cheapest. I understand the $$ issue but if you end up buying something more expensive but less effective you might as well have just paid for the cab you know?
Good luck anyway you roll - I'm using aspen shaving from the pet store to mix with my hardwood pellets, gypsum and the bran I got from bulk barn.
-------------------- Cluster Headache sufferer? Cluster Busting Veil Tear GIF Flower Pot Grow GIF Mini Mono Tub GIFS "All mushrooms are edible, but some only once." -- Croatian Proverb
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blindingleaf
blue collar underworld



Registered: 07/19/13
Posts: 22,008
Loc: sub-surface unseen
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Re: oyster question [Re: urthtown]
#19284726 - 12/16/13 04:04 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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nice! Ill keep you updated, thx for the info! ur right about the cost effectiveness thing!
whenever I hear bran, I think of wheat germ. I guess its different. is bran something that can be purchased at a normal grocer?
-------------------- A few thoughts on cultivation MICROBIAL HUSBANDRY!!!! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
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urthtown
meat popsicle


Registered: 10/26/13
Posts: 1,039
Loc: Eastern Canadia
Last seen: 2 years, 4 months
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try this - quaker must be everywhere right? globalization and such? not sure where you are 
wheat bran
The germ is the part of the wheat seed that sprouts and the bran is the outer layer of the seed. The starch inside the seed is what makes flour, the germ and bran are both removed in white flour for example. Then they sell it to us. :thumb up:
EDIT: You have a PC right? From what I've heard you need to sterilize your bulk sub if you supplement with wheat bran. That's why I got a roll of myco bags with filter patches to sterilize sawdust blocks in. Then you just spawn your grain to bulk in a SAB. I've read that people even transfer the colonized block out or seran wrap it for fruiting and reuse the myco bags.
-------------------- Cluster Headache sufferer? Cluster Busting Veil Tear GIF Flower Pot Grow GIF Mini Mono Tub GIFS "All mushrooms are edible, but some only once." -- Croatian Proverb
Edited by urthtown (12/16/13 07:54 PM)
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thiotimoline
Stranger

Registered: 12/01/12
Posts: 898
Loc: Bay Area
Last seen: 6 years, 11 days
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Quote:
blindingleaf said: I don't really wanna carry a heavy bag biking back to my apt. I did that with a 50# bag of rye berries once and it was hard. I bike everywhere in the city but with a heavy weight on ur back.... 
You should get a rear rack for your bike. It's about $20 on Amazon and will make your life hugely better. Get a couple rubber-cushioned p-clamps (which the hardware store will probably have under "cushioned metal strap" or some other not very descriptive name) to attach the front end to your seatstays; they're better than whatever front mounting hardware usually comes with the rack.
Might still not be fun to ride for an hour pulling an extra 50lb, but at least it won't be on your back.
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