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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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White Polar Oyster Mushrooms
#21058326 - 01/02/15 08:43 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Hello Friends.
Happy New Year you all!
It has been a long time since houdinihar has been here. I am glad to be back. It has been a very busy 3 years and a half since graduating from my Master's program, which has nothing to do with mycology. I'm trying to squeeze some me time in this winter for my favorite hobby.
Still in South Texas.
So right now I am working on White Polar Oyster Mushrooms, King Oysters, and Lion's Mane. All are from Field and Forest.
ATM I have some juicy pics for the White Polar Oyster Mushrooms.
The King Oysters are colonizing my substrate.
Now for the good stuff!

 
Some background. The White Polar Oysters like cold. I had to wait 2 months after inoculation just to gets consistent temps in the 40's so pinning would initiate. Colonization was actually very rapid; around 10 days. As you can see they are grown in a polytube I traded for here on the forums.
My substrate is wheat straw run through my shredder and the straw is about 2 years old. It is always kept covered in large plastic bags and in a storage shed.
Standard pasteurization times and temps-140 degrees F for 1 hour. Allowed to air dry some. Thereafter, 2 cups wheat bran and 1 cup fine calcium was added- not lime-but gypsum.
Everything was mixed up well in an 18 gallon plastic tub.
Inoculation was done by hand after every layer of straw was added. This is about a 30 pound bag tamped down consistently according to Stamets. Tied on top, then 1/2" crosses poked in bag with clean hunting arrowheads. Initially colonized in my house at ambient temps of 74-78 degrees F. As you know in house humidity can be brutally dry with AC. I supplemented by covering with a large plastic covering and airing out frequently until fully colonized.
Temps have been relatively cool (40-60 F) since pinning initiated just after Christmas. I have taken pictures every single day-hence 7 pictures as of today.
Just FYI- I will probably be taking tissue samples and inoculating agar plates soon in case anybody is interested in some trades. Or I can supply fresh specimens instead and you can do your own tissue transfers. Temps are great for sending through the mail now.
Be glad to hear from you all. I will keep you up to speed on the King Oyster run as it unfolds.
Also, I will be posting in the hardware section about building a large autoclave, 80 gallons.
houdinihar
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blutigmetzger
Strange




Registered: 10/14/13
Posts: 184
Last seen: 4 years, 2 months
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: houdinihar]
#21058340 - 01/02/15 08:47 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Looking great man! They look perfect, excellent job.
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knomadic_niki
A mile high



Registered: 06/30/14
Posts: 1,275
Loc: 6200' Colorado
Last seen: 6 years, 9 months
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great flush! surprised to see you using wheat bran in a pasteurized substrate mix. looks like its working!
-------------------- My trade list In search of sporeless oyster cultures
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sparkle
Farmer



Registered: 07/28/11
Posts: 1,133
Loc: Philippines
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Wow, you've been absent for a while. Good to see you posting again.
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markalbob
Stranger....than most

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 233
Loc: Madison, WI
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21058603 - 01/02/15 10:20 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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houdini,
I was considering buying those, are they truly any better eating than the other oysters? F&F lists them as having better flavor, but they're also in business to sell stuff....
-------------------- Trade list Updated Haves: Shiitake West Wind and Snow Cap, Blue and pearl oyster, store-cloned brown beech mushroom, Field and Forest Maitake, Nameko, 2 wild-cloned shaggymane cultures, H. erniaceus and americanum, and SRA. Wants: Blewitt, stone-producer print PM if you'd like to swap
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Quote:
knomadic_niki said: great flush! surprised to see you using wheat bran in a pasteurized substrate mix. looks like its working!
hi knomadic_niki-
i have always used bran with my pasteurized straw substrates. doesn't seem to negatively impact the end product.
houdinihar
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: markalbob]
#21060599 - 01/03/15 12:07 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
markalbob said: houdini,
I was considering buying those, are they truly any better eating than the other oysters? F&F lists them as having better flavor, but they're also in business to sell stuff....
haven't actually picked any to eat yet markalbob. will be doing that today and taking tissue samples soon as well for plating out, hopefully tomorrow. will definitely give everyone a flavor update.
houdinihar
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21060810 - 01/03/15 12:48 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
sparkle said: Wow, you've been absent for a while. Good to see you posting again.
yes sparkle, it has been awhile. i have still been growing, just not posting. i wanted to get back into the groove and start sharing again.
i'm hoping to actually put together a more sophisticated, dedicated grow area once we move later this year. i tend to like to grow cooler loving species, even though i live in a very warm area typically, so i have to construct my growroom to be able to handle 50-60 degree F temps without costing a fortune to cool it.
houdinihar
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knomadic_niki
A mile high



Registered: 06/30/14
Posts: 1,275
Loc: 6200' Colorado
Last seen: 6 years, 9 months
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: houdinihar]
#21060869 - 01/03/15 01:01 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
houdinihar said:
Quote:
knomadic_niki said: great flush! surprised to see you using wheat bran in a pasteurized substrate mix. looks like its working!
hi knomadic_niki-
i have always used bran with my pasteurized straw substrates. doesn't seem to negatively impact the end product.
houdinihar
interesting. paul stamets would swear this would cause contamination issues. at least, that's what i gathered from his books.
i'd love to see what you end up with as a grow space. i live in a place that is extremely hot and dry in the summer and extremely dry and cold in the winter, so climate control can get expensive. to keep costs down, i incubate mushrooms in my indoor garden (the lights heat the space in the winter and we pay to cool it in the summer. the plants also transpire and keep the humidity around 45%). i have had some issues with trich in this situation, though.
Edited by knomadic_niki (01/03/15 01:02 PM)
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Hey Houdinihar great to see you back!
Those look great, are you just throwing in dry bran ?
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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M8M
Stranger
Registered: 05/28/09
Posts: 229
Last seen: 2 days, 5 hours
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: houdinihar]
#21064493 - 01/04/15 03:53 AM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Hi houdinihar: Happy New Year and welcome back.
M&M
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: solarity]
#21068071 - 01/04/15 08:26 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said: Hey Houdinihar great to see you back!
Those look great, are you just throwing in dry bran ?
Yes indeed! Then inoculate and incubate.
houdinihar
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: M8M]
#21068096 - 01/04/15 08:29 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
M8M said: Hi houdinihar: Happy New Year and welcome back.
M&M
. Thanks M&M. Good to be back contributing again.
houdinihar
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RandomFX
protege



Registered: 12/02/13
Posts: 1,015
Loc: North-East, USA
Last seen: 5 years, 5 months
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: houdinihar]
#21068489 - 01/04/15 09:40 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Welcome back, and looking good....
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sparkle
Farmer



Registered: 07/28/11
Posts: 1,133
Loc: Philippines
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: RandomFX]
#21069357 - 01/05/15 01:32 AM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Houdinair must you really make an autoclave? We steam 4,000 kilo bags (sorghum) for 7 hours at 90 C and they turn out great. We pile the trays and cover with 3 layers of tarp. Much simpler than loading and unloading an autoclave.
Edited by sparkle (01/05/15 01:33 AM)
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21069690 - 01/05/15 05:27 AM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
sparkle said: Houdinair must you really make an autoclave? We steam 4,000 kilo bags (sorghum) for 7 hours at 90 C and they turn out great. We pile the trays and cover with 3 layers of tarp. Much simpler than loading and unloading an autoclave.

hi sparkle- steaming could be an option. i know RR has a thread on his 55 gallon system, and that he steams shitake bags for 8 hours and has great results, too.
i haven't committed to any resources yet, so the path isn't fixed in stone.
BTM, what is your steam source? that is something i would want to get right right at the beginning. i could go with electric, natural gas, or even propane if i had to.
what part of PI are you in? it has been a long time since i've been there. it is absolutely one of the most beautiful countries i have ever been to. i was stationed at Subic long before Pinatubo got nasty and covered it all up.
houdinihar
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sparkle
Farmer



Registered: 07/28/11
Posts: 1,133
Loc: Philippines
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: houdinihar]
#21072257 - 01/05/15 05:16 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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I used to cook on 8 AA pressure cookers for the orchid lab too. Then I saw that they were steaming bags in China so I tried 2 drums on propane burners but my pile was smaller. Something like this..

With our bigger pile we needed to refill the drums so I had this made from GI sheet. We use rice hull as fuel since it's almost free here.
 We started with 8 hours too at 100C, then took off 15 minutes at a time. Our last one was 6.5 hours at 90C but there were a few bags that did not get cooked because they were packed too tight. I guess we've reached the limit. But I'm so happy that I don't have to pressure cook bags. And 4,000 bags in one cook-out!
We have a couple of orchid farms near Manila. But our mushroom lab is up north were our rice farm is.
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21072431 - 01/05/15 05:43 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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An alternative steam option is a sauna steamer. I use a 7kw one as beyond that you run into issues with wire sizes and expensive control circuitry. They are relatively cheap and easy to work with.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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houdinihar
Adventurous Learner


Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 1,111
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21072546 - 01/05/15 06:02 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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thanks sparkle for the followup.
is that a thermometer i see on top of your boiler? how many gallons does your boiler hold?
for your steam outlets, what are you using and what size are the orifices?
4000 bags must take up a good amount of cubic space. what size is your steaming space do you use mechanization to fill the bags?
thanks, houdinihar
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lipa

Registered: 07/24/07
Posts: 2,684
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Re: White Polar Oyster Mushrooms [Re: sparkle]
#21072792 - 01/05/15 06:39 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
sparkle said: Houdinair must you really make an autoclave? We steam 4,000 kilo bags (sorghum) for 7 hours at 90 C and they turn out great. We pile the trays and cover with 3 layers of tarp. Much simpler than loading and unloading an autoclave.

Why do you need 4,000 kg of spawn sparkle.....?
How do you even make money with all that labor?
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