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jshardt
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Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation
#23554976 - 08/18/16 09:01 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hi all, I'm writing my dissertation on amateur applied mycology and I'm trying to piece together the lineage of home cultivation. I would really love feedback from those of you that have experience cultivating, old timers and newbies and everyone in between.
Answer as much as you have the time and patience for :-)
1) What texts have you used to learn? Books, websites, etc.
2) What was the most useful? Why?
3) I'm trying to figure out how Paul Stamets's The Mushroom Cultivator improved on the other stuff that was out there (the Oss&Oeric book; Steven Pollock's book). What made his "the bible" for so many people? Is it just that it was more comprehensive or did he improve the technique somehow? (It seems pretty much the same as the Oss&Oeric to me... What am I missing?)
4) Do you use any of the other internet forums? If so, which ones? (If not, why not?)
5) How have Internet forums helped your cultivation? (Any examples would be great!)
Thank you all. It is very appreciated.
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PreparationH
apply daily


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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23555168 - 08/18/16 09:47 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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In my opinion stament's book isn't the bible of cultivating, I haven't read The Mushroom Cultivator in a long time but I remember seeing some errors when I did read it. Honestly for one item to get someone to go from spore to mushroom sucessfully today I still recommend "Let's Grow Mushrooms!" by RogerRabbit.
I solely learned to cultivate mushrooms via the shroomery, psilocybe fanaticus' pf-tek write up, and RogerRabbit's "Lets's Grow Mushrooms!" DVD. The Shroomery was most useful hands down. I do not use other forums because shroomery is the only one necessary. As to how the forums have helped with cultivation I used the forums to help with gaps in my knowledge on certain subjects, why things got contaminated, and how to make sure it doesn't happen again and etc. I also had 3 people on the forums that were determined to watch me succeed that helped me along the way during the beginnings which was a huge help.
The funny thing is once you get a few good grows under the belt you realize growing mushrooms isn't even that hard it's just a new science to most people and it's initially a lot of information to take on. I had never even used a pressure cooker before growing mushrooms so I even had to learn how to use one for the hobby.
Edited by PreparationH (08/18/16 09:48 PM)
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: PreparationH]
#23556386 - 08/19/16 10:12 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thanks! :-)
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Inocuole
Scalpel of Evil's Bane



Registered: 11/21/11
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23556415 - 08/19/16 10:26 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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You know, there's like, a way to actually put a poll in your post when you make a new thread. With actual selectable options, that shows % of each vote and all that.
I learned everything here though. Everything I learned from places other than here, was completely replaced and wiped out by the things I learned here. Without elaborating too much, I think that in some way does still answer all the questions. I learned everything here, here was the most useful, forums benefitted me because otherwise I wouldn't be growing, etc.
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Inocuole]
#23556466 - 08/19/16 10:47 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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I got TMC as a present on my bday from my parents one year. I flipped through the cubensis section and laughed at how old school, labor intensive, costly, and inefficient they made cubes seem. I was like dude just throw the spawn in a box with substrate. No need for all this composting, FC construction, flowhoods, etc.
I'm so happy to be doing this during the age of knowledge and technology
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PirateSwazey


Registered: 12/12/12
Posts: 2,993
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Inocuole]
#23556491 - 08/19/16 10:56 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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1) What texts have you used to learn? Books, websites, etc.
The Mushroom Cultivator, Growing Gourmet and Medicinals, Shroomery forums, "Let's Grow Mushrooms" DVD, a mushroom growing class, working on a friend's gourmet farm, various PDFs from all over the world
2) What was the most useful? Why?
The Shroomery message board; it is the best because you can interact and learn with and from others. Studying on the Shroomery allowed me to see how to avoid other's failures and follow their successes. Using the Shroomery is also like having a mushroom growing hotline 24/7 -- you can ask a question about what you're doing and typically will have a response within a few minutes. That alone is just amazing!
3) I'm trying to figure out how Paul Stamets's The Mushroom Cultivator improved on the other stuff that was out there (the Oss&Oeric book; Steven Pollock's book). What made his "the bible" for so many people? Is it just that it was more comprehensive or did he improve the technique somehow? (It seems pretty much the same as the Oss&Oeric to me... What am I missing?)
Never read the original McKenna and Pollock manuscripts but I believe they were focused on the PF-tek? Paul's books are written alongside the Chilton company which has been producing DIY car maintenance manuals for decades, which is probably a major reason for his success. His books were very easy to digest and covered growing all sorts of mushrooms, not just cubensis, which is great because even if the reader is only interested in growing cubensis, there is much to learn about growing them through learning about the propagation methods of many types of mushrooms. Stamets also goes into building growrooms, agar and genetics, contaminates... pretty much everything one would need to know to get going. I doubt the Pollock and McKenna books are so inclusive 
4) Do you use any of the other internet forums? If so, which ones? (If not, why not?)
No. They are either sub-par to the Shroomery in content or do not have enough active members on a daily basis to compete with the Shroomery's membership.
5) How have Internet forums helped your cultivation? (Any examples would be great!)
See above.
Good luck with your dissertation and congratulations!
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Inocuole]
#23557409 - 08/19/16 04:25 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hi Inocule, Thanks for you reply!
Yes, I saw that option in making the poll. I prefer free-form answers. Multiple choice polls are very limited in what you can learn from people.
Edited by jshardt (08/19/16 04:28 PM)
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Mad Season]
#23557413 - 08/19/16 04:27 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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@madseason, Oh wow! Did your parents realize there were psychedelic mushrooms all over that book? Funny.
So it sounds like you had experience cultivating before you got TMC since you knew about the low-tech methods...?
Thanks for your response :-)
Edited by jshardt (08/19/16 04:28 PM)
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: PirateSwazey]
#23557429 - 08/19/16 04:31 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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@Pirate Swazey, thanks so much for your response. I didn't know Chilton made DIY car maintenance manuals. So basically mushroom cultivation was just another DIY skill in that context. That's really interesting. I always wondered what ever happened to JS Chilton but always forget to look him up.
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Spellbound
PegasusTheFlyingHorse



Registered: 02/13/16
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23557461 - 08/19/16 04:42 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Almost everything i know is all from shroomery *all hail shroomery* 
Odd youtube videos helped with some stages, espec learning about agar work.
Shroomerites are the best
-------------------- Mescaline Tea - the one singular occasion of my entire life I cooked for 9 hours The trick is to be yourself, in a world trying to make you like everyone else
 
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Spellbound]
#23557672 - 08/19/16 05:45 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Spellbound, cool, thanks! Love the photos.
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SloppyJoseph
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt] 2
#23557692 - 08/19/16 05:50 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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-------------------- AMU Q&A
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: SloppyJoseph] 1
#23558216 - 08/19/16 08:30 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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I was born with all cultivation knowledge laid away in a dorment part of my brain. That knowledge slept for decades until I typed in shroomery.org. At that moment all knowledge exploded and caused a massive state of psychosis preventing me from doing anything but grow mushrooms. I am finally in control but the urge to grow remains. . .
. . .Moral is that you are in the main source for the unlocking of information. Right here.
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Spellbound
PegasusTheFlyingHorse



Registered: 02/13/16
Posts: 2,341
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Pastywhyte]
#23558316 - 08/19/16 09:01 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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-------------------- Mescaline Tea - the one singular occasion of my entire life I cooked for 9 hours The trick is to be yourself, in a world trying to make you like everyone else
 
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jshardt
Stranger


Registered: 08/18/16
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Pastywhyte]
#23558357 - 08/19/16 09:16 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thanks PastyWhyte, I will have to quote you on that ;-) It seems you tapped into your deep collective mycelial memory.
(Btw, I've been meaning to try a monotub for a while. Your instructions look helpful! )
Edited by jshardt (08/19/16 09:19 PM)
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PirateSwazey


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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23558870 - 08/20/16 12:26 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hey jshardt check out this thread... sounds like this guy can maybe help you with your research 
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/23556588/gonew/1#UNREAD
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Inocuole
Scalpel of Evil's Bane



Registered: 11/21/11
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: PirateSwazey]
#23558984 - 08/20/16 01:35 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Watch, this guy tells the world that this singular site is where hundreds or thousands of people learn to grow drugs, tomorrow we type shroomery.org in the browser, get a generic no DNS landing page with that shutterstock girl pointing at hosting prices.
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Inocuole]
#23559748 - 08/20/16 11:40 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Inocule, I think if there was an actual legal case for shutting down this site, it would've happened a long time ago. So, no, I'm not a cop. Which I think is what SloppyJoseph was getting at with the little gif. But seriously folks... seriously?
Swazey, thanks for the link! This site is unwieldy with SO MUCH information... Thanks for pointing me to that. ... EDITING AGAIN: actually, this thread is gold! Thanks! This is part of what I'm curious about, how the techniques have evolved in the DIY home cultivation community, what's been jettisoned, what's stuck around (or come back). It's fascinating.
Edited by jshardt (08/20/16 11:44 AM)
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: SloppyJoseph]
#23575599 - 08/25/16 10:14 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
SloppyJoseph said:

I know her in person, she isn't a cop.
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jshardt
Stranger


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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#23575610 - 08/25/16 10:18 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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THANK YOU Alan.
Dudes, you are paranoid.
Seriously, if it was that easy to shut down this site, I'm pretty sure it would have happened already.
And to people who haven't posted yet, please chime in! The more experiences I can read about, the better. Even if it's just, "What that guy said, me too." It's helpful.
It seems like most people learned how to cultivate on Shroomery. True?
Edited by jshardt (08/25/16 10:35 AM)
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SloppyJoseph
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23575644 - 08/25/16 10:31 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Haha sorry about that then jshardt. Anyone looking to gain knowledge for science is always welcome here.
Although I'm not sure if your dissertation would have any merit reporting on a bunch of cubensis growing home cultivators :P truth be told though we know our stuff.
-------------------- AMU Q&A
Edited by SloppyJoseph (08/25/16 10:31 AM)
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: SloppyJoseph]
#23575886 - 08/25/16 12:06 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Honestly the popular teks here tend to be well written and straight forward. You might not even care to learn the reasons for anything but if you can follow simple directions the teks here can have you growing like a boss in no time.
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Inocuole
Scalpel of Evil's Bane



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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: jshardt]
#23576053 - 08/25/16 01:11 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
jshardt said: It seems like most people learned how to cultivate on Shroomery. True?
Data that confirms that most people on a forum about growing learned to grow on said forum isn't all that conclusive unless you're checking it against other sources, including offline, which poses as an obvious hurdle for direct comparisons... Is there a way to extrapolate meaning from these results other than "This forum is at least fairly effective at teaching and retaining members"?
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: Inocuole]
#23576668 - 08/25/16 04:30 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hm, well it depends on what exactly your research questions and goals are.
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jshardt
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Re: Poll on how you learned mushroom cultivation [Re: SloppyJoseph]
#23576688 - 08/25/16 04:34 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
SloppyJoseph said: Haha sorry about that then jshardt. Anyone looking to gain knowledge for science is always welcome here.
Although I'm not sure if your dissertation would have any merit reporting on a bunch of cubensis growing home cultivators :P truth be told though we know our stuff.
Are you kidding, you guys are fascinating. If you want to understand how people learn modern science techniques outside of the usual contexts, and with their own (let's call it) un-schooled interests, I would say this is a worthy topic.
But I'm obviously biased.
Also, this is one small fraction of my research. Most of it is field work in person in a bunch of different places. But it would be ridiculous to study diy mushroom cultivation without hearing some voices from Shroomery, imho.
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