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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
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My 1:4 vs 1:2 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment w/ PICS!!! **10 monotub grow**
#22133690 - 08/24/15 01:36 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hey guys! I know this is probably a re-hash, but I figured that it would be really fun to do an experiment on yield with low spawn ratios, as well as how much of a difference casing makes during fruiting. Normally, I have always gone with the recommended spawn ratio of 1:2 with my monotubs, but since healthy spawn is a mycologist's most valuable resource, I wanted to know how much of a difference on total yield and colonization time a 50% lower spawn ratio would make.
Unfortunately, I am not working with a clone or isolated strain here. Everything I am using is the result of a G2G transfer from a jar I inoculated with a MS syringe of Penis Envy about a month or so ago. This is going to probably give inconsistent results, but it's all I have, and I wont be able to clone until I start seeing fruits off of this experiment.

Nothing new here. I used the basic coir/verm/gypsum recipe we all know and love, 650 grams of coir, 2 quarts of verm, and about 400 cc's of gypsum in 66qt sterilite tubs. For pasteurization, I loaded each tub's bulk substrate into a plastic bag and tied it off with a zip-tie.

I find that a probe thermometer with a timer is a great tool to have when pasteurizing. In the picture, you see a plate placed over the plastic bag. This was to help keep the bag submerged in the water as much as possible. Later, I found that placing the PC's round metal rack and a 10lb weight on top did a much better job of keeping the bag fully submerged.

After one hour at 140-160 degrees F, the bags were pasteurized bags were allowed to cool. Above, there are only 3 bags pictured. I did the fourth bag the next day since I ran out of gypsum that night.
I selected the 12 healthiest jars of spawn I could find. As per Frank's recommendation, I soaked the spawn in water for about one hour, then allowed it to drain in my small hand strainer before adding it to the bulk substrate. I've never done this before, so I'm eager to see the results. It's worth mentioning, but this is the first time I haven't removed sunflower seeds during my WBS prep process. TBH, none of my jars were contaminated, and all look VERY healthy, so I think I'll continue to leave them in. After all, it's just more work to remove them, I go through WBS faster, and they start to smell pretty bad in my trash after only a day of two.

Each tub received 3 quarts of soaked WBS spawn. I've never layered my spawn, and I've never added a thin layer of coir to cover exposed grains. I've always just mixed thoroughly and I've been pretty happy with the past results.

Three of the four tubs were sealed up on 8/22, and the fourth was sealed the following day on 8/23 after a quick gypsum run. I'm pretty optimistic about this experiment, and I hope that I see good results. The big thing I'm trying to determine here is what my spawn to yield ratio will be. Although I don't think that my tubs will perform as well as those spawned at 1:2 or 1:2, I am optimistic that my yield will be higher compared to the volume of spawn that I used. I'll give you all an update when it comes time to birth the tubs. At that point, two will be cased with pasteurized jiffy mix, and two will be left uncased. Cheers!
Edited by uninc4life2010 (09/16/15 05:02 AM)
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cronicr



Registered: 08/07/11
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Loc: Van Isle
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22133710 - 08/24/15 01:50 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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--------------------
  It doesn't matter what i think of you...all that matters is clean spawn I'm tired do me a favor
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
Posts: 1,124
Last seen: 7 months, 12 days
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: cronicr]
#22133720 - 08/24/15 01:59 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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BTW, I'm still learning, so let me know if I'm doing anything wrong. Helpful pointers here and there are certainly welcome, too. I want you guys to be involved in this little experiment along with me too. Thanks!
Edited by uninc4life2010 (08/24/15 02:11 AM)
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22152406 - 08/27/15 04:39 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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After five days, everything is looking great! It should be about another 5-7 days before casing/fruiting. The only thing that concerns me is the potential for the bottom tub's lid to crack under the weight of top three. I definitely wouldn't recommend stacking more than four on top of each other.
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
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Last seen: 7 months, 12 days
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22187419 - 09/04/15 10:55 AM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Birthday time! So after 13 days of colonization, two of the four tubs appear colonized enough to fruit. These two will be left uncased throughout this grow. The last two tubs will be given another day or so before casing.

It's worth mentioning that yesterday I also whipped up 3 66qt tubs spawned at 1:2 for yield comparison. Hopefully they will colonize a bit faster. Cheers!
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wowimflabbergasted
supercalifragilistic



Registered: 07/16/12
Posts: 18,918
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22187526 - 09/04/15 11:19 AM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Why all the different hole configurations?
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
Posts: 1,124
Last seen: 7 months, 12 days
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Quote:
wowimflabbergasted said:
Why all the different hole configurations?
I made these years ago before I was aware of the more common hole placement designs. I just kinda drilled a few holes here and there in a nice pattern and called it good. TBH, they have all been used in the past with great success, so I'm not really too worried. Any future tubs I make will have two 1-1/2" holes just above the 4" substrate level on the long sides, and one hole higher up on the short side.
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22187636 - 09/04/15 11:42 AM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
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wowimflabbergasted
supercalifragilistic



Registered: 07/16/12
Posts: 18,918
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22188168 - 09/04/15 01:36 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Cool man use what works for you
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
Posts: 1,124
Last seen: 7 months, 12 days
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Quote:
wowimflabbergasted said: Cool man use what works for you 
The hole placement isn't ideal, but it definitely still works. These tubs are so old that I had to duck tape a few of them because the plastic cracked sometime when they were in storage. I just have to make what I've got on hand work. I'll keep you guys updated!
Edited by uninc4life2010 (09/04/15 02:38 PM)
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22192843 - 09/05/15 01:57 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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At day 14, I birthed the two remaining 1:4 ratio tubs and cased with a very thin layer of hydrated Jiffy Mix I had pasteurized the previous night. I've never cased before, let alone used Jiffy Mix, but I've been told that it does make a good all in one casing layer.

Here's how they looked after two weeks of colonization. I really have to be honest. The 1:4 spawn ratio I used did result in fairly slow colonization. Normally, my 1:2 tubs would go into fruiting within 7-10 days, and the mycelium would look much thicker and more robust. I have four tubs colonizing that I spawned at a 1:2 ratio, and I'm really excited to compare their performance down the line.

I did my best to spread out the casing layer as thinly as possible without leaving any of the mycelium beneath exposed. If I had to guess, I would say that it's probably about 1/3 cm thick. Additionally, I tried to spread it out as carefully as I could to avoid bruising the delicate mycelium beneath. I think I did okay.

Unfortunately, I made a major rookie mistake. I thought that four quarts of dry mix hydrated to field capacity would be more than enough for two mono's. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and I ended up running out just before I was able to cover the last tub. Sooooo frustrating! 
I ended up having to pasteurize another quart of Jiffy Mix. Not a huge deal, but next time ill make sure to use a little more. I guess 2.5 dry quarts (measured before hydrating to field capacity) per tub is about the right amount.

I ended up with a little casing mix left over, so I put a piece of tinfoil over the top of the jar and placed it in my fridge. I plan on using it to patch the mycelium that ends up poking through the casing layer in a few days.
Hopefully I haven't done anything wrong here. This is the first time I've tried casing, as well as the first time I've tried a 1:4 spawn ratio. Like I mentioned previously, I have four more tubs currently colonizing that were spawned at 1:2 (6 quarts of spawn to 650 grams of coir, 2 quarts of vermiculite, and 1/2 quart of gypsum). Once those finish colonizing ( hopefully within 7 days!) I'll case two of those using the same method I described above. Even though I am using spawn that originally came from one MS jar, I feel like this should demonstrate the performance of 1:4 vs 1:2 spawn ratios, as well as cased vs uncased bulk substrates.
Please post any questions or suggestions that you my have!
Edited by uninc4life2010 (09/05/15 02:11 PM)
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spacechildo
proletarians rise up


Registered: 01/24/13
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22193452 - 09/05/15 04:29 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Nice!
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: spacechildo]
#22213383 - 09/09/15 05:27 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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The two tubs that were cased were allowed to sit and colonize for four days. I was originally planning on patching them, but they are too colonized at this point. It would almost be like applying a second casing layer. It was honestly a bit my fault. I let them colonize for too long, and should have patched them yesterday or the day before, but I was stubborn and wanted to wait the traditional 4 days. I removed the tape, stuffed the 2" holes with poly, and fruited. Hopefully we see pins soon!
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Cue
Stranger



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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22213612 - 09/09/15 06:09 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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So you shook up your fully colonized jars with water in them, then soaked those colonized grains for an hour before putting in the tub? Why? Never heard of this
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



Registered: 09/16/12
Posts: 12,666
Loc: Canada
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: Cue]
#22213625 - 09/09/15 06:13 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Cue
Stranger



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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: Mad Season]
#22213668 - 09/09/15 06:25 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Interesting. Don't know how I didn't stumble on that earlier. Will have to give it a shot next time around. Thanks for the link
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newrook
Sucks at bulk



Registered: 03/20/15
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: Cue]
#22214300 - 09/09/15 08:46 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Too bad about the rando hole placement, kind of throws the science of it out the window.. You've made me want to try jiffy mix for my current run, I hope they sell it at wal-mart...
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  THROW AWAY YOUR SGFC
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uninc4life2010
Unincorporated



Registered: 06/05/10
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Last seen: 7 months, 12 days
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: newrook]
#22214352 - 09/09/15 08:58 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
newrook said: Too bad about the rando hole placement, kind of throws the science of it out the window.. You've made me want to try jiffy mix for my current run, I hope they sell it at wal-mart...
You people and your hole criticism. Though not standard, the hole placement has worked perfectly fine in the past, and I have complete certainty that it will work now. I made two new tubs with the standard four holes at the surface on the long side and two up high on the short side. However, these will perform fine, so everyone just calm down.
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



Registered: 09/16/12
Posts: 12,666
Loc: Canada
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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22214368 - 09/09/15 09:03 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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If you have enough fae, hole placement isn't super important. I still use totes with bad hole placements (not at substrate surface level). I just make the poly a little looser, and mist when needed
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chaka333
mountain grunt.


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Re: My 1:4 spawn ratio and cased vs uncased experiment! [Re: uninc4life2010]
#22214399 - 09/09/15 09:11 PM (8 years, 4 months ago) |
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Looking good to me! As long as you're having a good time we're having a good time! Keep it up brodeje
-------------------- If you want to achieve greatness Stop asking for permission.
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