This is part of my series "The Basics"
This post is aimed primarily at noobs.
Where to Begin?So, you decided to grow some mushrooms. Now what? Where do you start? You tried using the search feature, but there's so much info. You don't even know what questions to ask, much less what method to follow. So much conflicting information.
Well, that's what this post is for. I will attempt to help clarify some things and get you on the right path. This is not a tutorial on how to actually cultivate mushrooms. Instead, it's simply a way to get your head on straight so you can get started. All I want to do here is clarify some very basic info so you can pick the best path for your needs.
There is a link at the bottom of this post to some links. These links are where you will find actual growing teks. You can find all the details you need. Again, this post is just to help sort out some of the confusion you may have about where to begin.
The BreakdownI'm assuming you already know you will need to obtain spores or culture no matter what method you follow.
Beyond that, mushroom cultivation requires 2 basic things: You need to grow mycelium on a substrate, then get that mycelium to produce mushrooms. Getting the mycelium to produce mushrooms is referred to as fruiting because mushrooms are the fruit bodies of mycelium.
Here on the Shroomery, the most common way to cultivate cubensis mushrooms(cubes) is either:
A) SGFC using PF/BRF Cakesor
B) Monotub using bulk substrateThis is a source of confusion for some people. But, let me make it clear. These are two distinct growing methods. For simplicity purposes, you cannot combine the two, they are separate.
There are ways to actually combine the two, but I'm trying to keep it simple.Both SGFC and monotub are types of fruiting chambers. A fruiting chamber is basically the thing you are going to fruit your mushrooms in.
PF/BRF Cakes and bulk substrate are the actual material you grow mycelium and fruit mushrooms on. Bulk substrates go in a monotub and cakes go in a SGFC.
There are other teks out there, but, if you pick one of these two, you will get a lot more help when you get lost. These are the only two teks I will discuss.
The Basic ExplanationsSGFC using PF/BRF Cakes
BRF Cakes, cakes, and PF Cakes are all different names for the same thing. They are made of brown rice flour(BRF), vermiculite, and water. Once these cakes are made and sterilized, you add spores, the spores germinate, and mycelium starts growing. Once the mycelium is finished growing and consolidating, these cakes are birthed, dunk and rolled, and placed in a SGFC for fruiting.
SGFC stands for Shotgun Fruiting Chamber and is called this because of its appearance; it has a bunch of holes in it. There is really only one correct way to make a SGFC, and I've described it in
Basic Principles of the Shotgun Fruiting Chamber (SGFC).
This method is considered to be the best for noobs because it requires a small initial financial investment and doesn't require a pressure cooker.
Here's my SGFC without the cakes in it
RogerRabbit: Let's Grow Mushrooms. This is the BRF/SGFC part of the video series. Almost every Shroomerite is familiar with this video.
Monotub using bulk substrateMonotubs tend to produce higher yields of mushrooms than the SGFC. 8oz of dry mushrooms from a monotub is common.
This method requires an initial production of spawn and then mixing it with a bulk substrate. This is often referred to as "Spawning to bulk".
Spawn is usually some sort of grain, like rye berries or wild bird seed (WBS). Basically, you prepare your grains, following a good tek of course, then add culture or spores to germinate and grow mycelium. Once the grains are covered in healthy mycelium, its considered spawn and is ready to mix with a bulk substrate.
Here's how I prepare grains for making spawn:
Rye BerriesWBS (wild bird seed)
***on a side note: You can use cakes to spawn to bulk as well, but that's not what I do so it won't be discussed here.***Bulk substrates, or bulk for short, are just larger substrates for producing larger quantities of mushrooms. These substrates are generally a combination of 2 or more ingredients. Common bulk mixes may include coir, vermiculite, horse manure, straw, and/or worm castings. There are more, but you get the picture.
A monotub is a single plastic container with properly placed holes and lid. A monotub serves as a container to mix your spawn with your bulk substrate AND also serves as your fruiting chamber.
Basically, you make spawn, mix with bulk in a monotub, and close up the monotub. When ready, you will fruit in the same monotub, but you'll just make some simple alterations.
The monotub method is not really any harder than cakes in a SGFC, but it does require a pressure cooker for preparing the grains for spawn.
So, which is better? Should I use monotubs or SGFC? It depends on how you quantify "better". They both have pros and cons and it really depends on finances, access to materials and resources, and what you want to get out of it.
Both methods have common elements such as sterilizing, using a SAB or Flowhood, needing spores or culture, a fruiting chamber, space to grow, and time and so on.
Here's a simple breakdown to help you decide:
Process for growing cakes:Inoculate sterile cakes with spores
Fruit cakes in a SGFC
Pros: Cakes can be steam sterilized in a pot of boiling water, so you don't need a pressure cooker. This makes it one of the cheapest ways to get in your first grows.
Most of the materials are pretty easy to find and are relatively cheap.
Because you are growing individual cakes, all your eggs are not in one basket. If you lose a cake to contamination, you still have more cakes.
You can have a good success rate with using spores directly to the cakes without cleaning the spores on agar first.
A good learning tool for beginners to get an understanding of growth cycles and what things are supposed to look like.
Cons: Babysitting. You will need to mist the cakes on a regular basis to keep them from drying out. This means no going away for the weekend while your cakes are in fruiting.
All those holes in a SGFC are a PITA to make.
Lower yields for most beginners.
Process for monotubs (my recommendations) Put spores on agar and make a clean culture through transfers
Inoculate sterile grains with agar
Mix colonized grains with bulk substrate
Let colonize
Fruit
Pros: Yields. You can get 4-6 dry ounces from one monotub. 6-8 ounces is average and you can get even more as your skills improve, you get a good set of genetics, and use more spawn.
Automation. Monotubs don't need babysitting. Generally, there is no misting involved before the first flush. We refereed to monos as "set and forget". Once you know the timing, yo can leave for several days without having to even look at it.
Cons: Cleaning spores on agar takes time and other materials, but it greatly increases your success rate over just putting spores directly on grains. It's not required, but I highly recommend using agar.
You really need to use a pressure cooker for sterilizing grains. This costs money.
All of your eggs are in one basket. On contaminated jar in your mono ruins the entire tub. (start with agar)
I mentioned before, there is a a way to combine some of the principles of both methods. You can make grain spawn and mix individual jars with bulk substrate in individual trays and either put them in a SGFC or a monotub.
However you do it, preparing grain spawn really requires a PC and that seems to be a big determining factor for many people. The other big factor is success with spores vs using agar. You can certainly use spores straight to grains, but I recommend agar first.
PrologueThere you have it, the two most common ways to grow cubes. There is more to it than what I explained. There are many details I purposely left out. There's no need to bog you down with the details of how to go about doing each step. I just wanted to point you in the right direction and help narrow down your choices.
There are other ways, such as PMP, bottom watering, green houses, marthas, minimono, and others. I'm excluding these methods because they are not as common on the Shroomery. They may fit certain needs and work well for some, but I strongly recommend sticking to monotubs or cakes so you can get more help if needed.
There are other grains and flours you can use to, but, I'm keeping it simple for you.
I've compiled a page of links that have details. These teks will help you actually grow mushrooms and prepare the different parts and steps of the process.
The Basics- click here for the links. These links are tried and true, they are pretty standard teks. You can't really go wrong with them.
Use tried and true methods (Teks). They are tried and true for a reason. This is the one time in your life that thinking outside the box will get you nowhere. Be creative later, once you get a grasp of what's going on. Don't concern yourself with high yields. Instead, grow something at all. You can refine your skills as you do more grows.
I may update and clarify some of this as time goes by. Thank you for reading and I hope it helps get you started in the wonderful world of mycology.
Post-PrologueWhichever methods you choose, you will need to sterilze something, in jars or bags, and then inoculate with spores or culture. You most likely have a spore syringe. You will need to this without contaminating your sterile work. I recommend doing this in a
SAB