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Ipoxa
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Registered: 08/22/16
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Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor
#23747948 - 10/18/16 05:17 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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So I have most of my fruiting area setup, just have to build shelves and finish in lab 100%. Easily within a month of that goal, so I want to start ordering stuff here soon. The reason why I am debating spawn vs plugs for shiitake is I have in my backyard a great environment for outdoor mushrooms to grow in, as I have found many different strains growing throughout this fall.
So my first question is, how long can plugs stay good in a refrigerator? I would not be inoculating any logs until roughly March when the sap starts growing on the few hardwood trees I want to cut down.
I've read that a lot of people have been able to go from plug to grain, except i'd be using a mostly grain WBS, is there any delay in starting it this way into the grain bags? I already have a place to incubate any indoor shiitake I will be starting, but I think I would like to move to growing them outdoors as well for variety, that way I Can also expand my fruiting for more oyster friendly mushrooms like lions mane, and maybe sword belt.
And my last question, I had some raised garden beds that the previous owner put under a big maple tree, I think I want to grow some seasonal mushrooms here as I have 2 good ones that are shaded 20 hours of the day or more. What are some good seasonal mushrooms that grow in beds? I haven't found much info on this.
Thanks for the input, I Want to get this right before I Start making investments into spawn.
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23748312 - 10/18/16 09:09 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I just asked for opinions on slants vs plugs with only Feather giving his opinion. I have had good success using plugs to wbs. Reishi, oysters fast, the lions mane were slow but they are always slow for me. Plugs compare to agar>grain. I use 2 plugs per qt jar and use forceps to place them half way down the jar on opposite sides. I too would like to know storage details, seems like they could stay dormant for a long time in plug form.
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Quadman]
#23748648 - 10/18/16 11:23 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hmm, that's not a bad idea, because I could see myself doing plugs over agar in the long run, I feel like the wood would help it stay dormant and good for long while.
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Ferather
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23748895 - 10/18/16 01:11 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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They transfer perfectly fine, and roughly no different in speed. Worst case maybe 10 - 15% slower. No different to any other type of transfer, except your not working with starch.
Limited chance of bacteria, you can get mold mycelium though. Stores for a very long time, much longer than grain.
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ferather]
#23749469 - 10/18/16 04:41 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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You've sold me, thanks.
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Ferather
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23752393 - 10/19/16 03:54 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I advised others who where testing dowels to try adding some fertilizer. They got very good results, grain like speed and aggression.
So enrich those dowels, and get super spawn. I prefer paper pellets, very cheap.
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ferather]
#23753188 - 10/19/16 08:40 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I am still debating on what fertilizer I want to use, I want to try to be as organic as possible.
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Gr0wer
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23753546 - 10/19/16 10:47 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I think in the end plugs are like $200 for 50 lbs while a sack of oat or milo is $13-$15.
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Gr0wer]
#23753971 - 10/20/16 04:15 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I can believe that, but I Feel like I have the option to go much farther with the plugs, to start inoculating outdoor as well.
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23754418 - 10/20/16 10:13 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yes, but for $24 I bought 1000 plugs. If 2 plugs per qt of grain are used then I can inoculate 500 jars . No fuss ,no agar and store for ???? In a small bag.
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Quadman]
#23754439 - 10/20/16 10:29 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quadman said: Yes, but for $24 I bought 1000 plugs. If 2 plugs per qt of grain are used then I can inoculate 500 jars . No fuss ,no agar and store for ???? In a small bag.
Where did you buy your plugs at? Aloha bank is for $45/1000
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23754574 - 10/20/16 11:29 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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American woodcrafter supply,........very fast service! I am inoculating my own dowels. Might have been cheaper to get them already inoculated,but I have the cultures already.
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Edited by Quadman (10/20/16 11:32 AM)
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Ipoxa
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Quadman]
#23754851 - 10/20/16 01:12 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Right I guess I should have figured that, but once I have a first bag if those dowels do good, no reason why I Cant continue on those.
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Ferather
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ipoxa]
#23754884 - 10/20/16 01:27 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Do you need more proof than hammering a plug into a log, then throwing it outdoors? If you can get dowels very cheap, then all you need is fertilizer.
No bullshit here my friend, simple obvious facts.
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ferather]
#23754966 - 10/20/16 01:53 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I always worry about how far out the culture has been grown when buying plugs. I guess you really don't know about any culture. How do you really know it is first generation?
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Ferather
Mycological



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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Quadman]
#23754989 - 10/20/16 02:02 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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No way to find that out sadly. No way to reverse steps.
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Gr0wer
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Ferather]
#23755241 - 10/20/16 03:24 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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You cant avoid agar if you want to maintain clean cultures. You cant see bacteria or yeast on plugs. And if your looking to inoculate logs you cant beat the price point of sawdust and inoculation tools. I can make 200 lbs of sawdust spawn for around $25, enough to inoculate hundreds if not thousands of logs. You can use sawdust spawn on almost all substrates but i would opt for a coarser dust for larger chunks.
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Gr0wer]
#23755418 - 10/20/16 04:18 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I'm not eliminating agar just cuts way back. The plugs I've used seem to remain clean not much there for contaminates to grow on once colonized.
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t3chnobily
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: Quadman]
#23755920 - 10/20/16 07:47 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Using plugs for anything but inoculation logs (even then supplemented sawdust is superior) is silly. Expensive, slow, not nutritious enough to be good inoculations points.
If you don't want to maintain your own cultures just buy grain. Go g2g a few times if you'd like.
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Quadman
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Re: Plugs vs Grain Spawn 3782 Outdoor [Re: t3chnobily]
#23756001 - 10/20/16 08:16 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Ok I'm silly. I do maintain my own cultures.For me it makes sense my hands do not allow good sterile technique. Plugs are easy for me to use.The few plug cultures I've used are just as fast as agar. Grain to grain is not easy for me either. This is a hobby for me, wishing I could do more. Everyone should live a few days in the life of someone that has disabilities.
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Edited by Quadman (10/20/16 08:20 PM)
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