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globos
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2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk (beginner's growlog with help)
#23755593 - 10/20/16 05:43 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hello, I've had my first try at a real grow and documented it in this post: Newbie wants to do clone -> agar -> LC -> fruiting [Beginner's growlog with advice from experts], where I received unvaluable help from a few knowledgeable shroomerites.
I hope I can do better this time, so I'm trying again. I had one agar plate still alive, so I spawned it to more plates, and used them to inoculate a few WBS jars (mostly millet, with other grasses).
Inoculation day was Oct 06 - exactly 2 weeks ago. I am worrying because some jars are running fast (actually looking 100% colonized), while others still show little to no sign of life. Of the colonized jars, at least one looks like it contains some contaminated spots. What do you suggest I do?
7 small jars

3 larger jars

3 larger jars - detail

(Edit - for some reason, it looks as if I've deleted the images, which I haven't. I hope at least the thumbnails are visible.)
Edited by globos (11/15/16 12:06 PM)
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spore-ty



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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23756801 - 10/21/16 02:18 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Could just be a slow colonizer or contam'd, use your judgement and do the proper procedures once a verdict is concluded.
ND stay positive and patient itll work out,
How many wedges per jar?
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: spore-ty]
#23756883 - 10/21/16 03:21 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hello spore-ty, thanks for your reply!
I'd spawned my mycelium to 5 Pastywhyte-style agar plates like these. When the plates were fully colonized, I split them between my jars dissolving them in boiled water and injecting it into the jars. The same method got me good colonization on my first try.
I would proceed and spawn to bulk now, but I'm afraid: if any of the 3 colonized small jars (total: 1.5 quarts) is contaminated, the clean material could be much too little to spawn.
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enlightenment
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23756907 - 10/21/16 03:38 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Did you let the boiled water cool to room temp before using it to dissolve the colonized agar?
Edited by enlightenment (10/21/16 03:42 AM)
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: enlightenment]
#23756976 - 10/21/16 04:44 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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About room temp. Body temp at most.
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blindingleaf
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23756986 - 10/21/16 04:53 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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if ur positive those were inoculated 2 weeks ago, and u haven't shaken recently, then some of those look shady.
in the second two pictures, u can see something is trying to happen. they look kinda wet with that weird grey matter in-between. no-good.
if u look closely at those jars, the bottom look pretty puddled up. so I'm not sure if ur grains just got too much water (from ur liquid inoculation) and its preventing growth (which can still be clean, just stalled), or if u have no gas exchange holes, or if its just bacterial.
since its been two weeks, I'm thinking its just a loss.
the white 3 jars on top look good enough to spawn. are the lids different in those or maybe those got much less liquid?
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ComebackKid
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: blindingleaf]
#23757067 - 10/21/16 06:01 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Blindingleaf after pretty much hit the nail on the head I think. Those jars look drenched with water... What kind of methods are you using? What's this about dissolving your agar?
Why not just drop the colonized agar or pieces of colonized agar into your jars as is? I feel like you're making way to much work for yourself and adding more contamination vectors to your grow.
One last thing. It may be helpful to fill your jars a little less full
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23758090 - 10/21/16 01:30 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thanks for the useful advice, blindingleaf and ComebackKid!
Quote:
blindingleaf said: if ur positive those were inoculated 2 weeks ago, and u haven't shaken recently, then some of those look shady.
I agree the matter is shady - but I don't think I got too much liquid inside while inoculating. Rather, it might be that the grains were too wet to begin with.
Quote:
since its been two weeks, I'm thinking its just a loss. [snip] the white 3 jars on top look good enough to spawn. are the lids different in those or maybe those got much less liquid?
Hm, I think I'm going to write this off as a loss, especially after reading the consensus opinion of you both. So I will try to inoculate the 3 good-looking ones. What if one of them is partly contaminated? Get rid of the whole jar, eh?
Quote:
ComebackKid said:Blindingleaf after pretty much hit the nail on the head I think. Those jars look drenched with water...
yeah, consensus 
Quote:
What kind of methods are you using? What's this about dissolving your agar?
Why not just drop the colonized agar or pieces of colonized agar into your jars as is? I feel like you're making way to much work for yourself and adding more contamination vectors to your grow.
I use water so I can inoculate with a syringe without opening the jars once they're sterilized. I read it's also supposed to quicken up colonization. Maybe I should just drop a wedge in the jar, right. That's what I'll do next time. I have a backup mycelium plate, and I just pressure cooked a few more virgin ones, so if all goes south I can transfer the mycelium from the backup and start over with fresh jars.
Quote:
One last thing. It may be helpful to fill your jars a little less full 
Absolutely. When preparing the jars, I miscalculated the resulting WBS volume because I didn't take into account that the grains would swell after the long dip. Next time I will scale down some 20-30%.
As for now, I think I'll just spawn the jars that look ready, waiting a little longer (how long, reasonably?) for the others before calling them off.
What do you think would be better, given the current situation?
(a) Just spawn the jars that smell good, keeping a 1:1 grain:bulk ratio.
(b) Just spawn the jars that smell good, diluting the grain up to 1:5-1:6 so I can fill the monotub anyway.
(c) ...?
Thanks for your help!
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23758483 - 10/21/16 04:24 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Spawn the good stuff you have to bulk 1:2 spawn bulk ratio. You can even have slightly more bulk than that with no issues.
For the rset. Using a sab obviously. I would drop agar wedges into your jars by opening the lid and plopping 4 or 5 wedges in each jar.
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23765042 - 10/23/16 06:55 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said: Spawn the good stuff you have to bulk 1:2 spawn bulk ratio. You can even have slightly more bulk than that with no issues.
So I did, thanks! I more or less followed SpitBallJedi's CVG tek, but rather than going monotub, I chose to keep each jar separate to minimize cross-contamination.
I'm reusing the containers I got with ready made "XL" growboxes. When spawning, we had a little bulk substrate left, so we made an extra "bastard" box taking a little mix from each of the other three and watering it down, so to say, with the remaining CVG.
DAY 0 All four: 3 legit jars and 1 watered down "bastard".

Casing or not? Well - two are cased, two uncased. Experimenting my way up.

I'm planning to keep the boxes closed until re-colonized. Estimated time: 2 weeks. Then I'll open the boxes and put them in their original clear plastic bags - the ones you close with paper clips. They've got micropore strips for breathing. Sounds fine?
Quote:
For the rset. Using a sab obviously. I would drop agar wedges into your jars by opening the lid and plopping 4 or 5 wedges in each jar.
I also transfered the backup mother plate into several fresh ones, so next time I can inoculate my WBS jars by simply dropping dry wedges as advised. It will take at least a couple of weeks, I reckon. The new plates live in a plastic bag in a comfy room now, but by moving them to the fridge, I suppose I can stop them for a month or two. Reasonable?
Edited by globos (10/24/16 07:01 AM)
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ComebackKid
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23765350 - 10/23/16 08:54 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Holy shit! You bought 4 grow kits?
I think the best course of action would be to put those trays inside either a monotub or big SGFC. I don't trust the whole choke bag method
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23766093 - 10/24/16 07:25 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said: Holy shit! You bought 4 grow kits?
Over several years, I bought quite a few more than that, ehm. I am a newbie grower, but a long time... uhmmm... hobbyist, enthusiastic about mushrooms and other goodies.
Quote:
I think the best course of action would be to put those trays inside either a monotub or big SGFC. I don't trust the whole choke bag method
Duly noted, thanks. I suppose at the moment it doesn't matter much, since the boxes are closed and there's a nice veil of moisture on the walls. Later on, I'll ask for more info if I'm uncertain.
However, I have to say I had quite a decent experience overall with grow kits (I only know the kind with choke bags). They are blatantly overpriced all right, and there is some variance in yield, probably depending on the age of the mycelium, the strain, the phase of the moon and the length of your hair - but when they deliver, they do deliver multiple flushes of goodness!
By the way, when a grow kit failed to fruit or underperformed, a friendly notice to the seller (one of The Shroomery's sponsors) always got me fair compensation in the form of free or heavily discounted ones on my next order. That's why I've got no regrets about the grow kits I bought. Besides, it was a single clone from a grow kit (what I call the "mother") that started both my grows. It was a "pretty milf", as I put it: a large 1st-flush fruit that had already spored. I came late to the harvest by Murphy's law.
Maybe with smarter timing I could have taken a better sample for cloning. Sometimes in the future I'd like to start from spores rather than tissue, but I suppose it's a different route to learn, with different (more dangerous?) routes to contamination. If this grow goes OK, I'll try to collect spores.
Thanks again for your feedback - it is appreciated!
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PortabellaFella 1
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23766116 - 10/24/16 07:45 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Did you case in just all verm?
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Plazmotech
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23766131 - 10/24/16 07:57 AM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Whose tek did you use for agar to liquid inoculant? I wanted to try that but couldn't find a good solid tek.
-------------------- When a man lies, he murders some part of the world. These are the pale deaths which men miscall there lives. All this I cannot bear to witness any longer. Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home? Plazmotech's Kratom Grow
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: Plazmotech]
#23766910 - 10/24/16 01:56 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
PortabellaFella 1 said: Did you case in just all verm? 
Yes. Two boxes out of four, as an experiment.
Quote:
Plazmotech said: Whose tek did you use for agar to liquid inoculant? I wanted to try that but couldn't find a good solid tek.
Actually, no tek. I'd read about that on these very forums, and I just went from memory.
Using a still air box is fundamental. What I do inside the sab is: cut up the agar into wedges, drop the wedges into boiled water, shake, suck some liquid, inoculate into the jars through the aeration hole in the lid. Of course, everything that goes into the sab is sterilized on the outside - in my case, by spraying liberal amounts of denaturated alcohol. Availability of cheap sterile containers is important. I like the small plastic screwtop jars used for urine samples.
I could do a more detailed write up, but I'm still a newbie, and I doubt my advice would have much value. I don't even have enough experience to say "it's been working for me for years, so do like me and you'll be happy!" - that would be a blatant lie :-D Besides, I think there must be several teks about this floating around the Shroomery - after all, that's where I got the idea in the first place. And finally, don't follow me: my results until today haven't been memorable, and most knowledgeable people around here suggested I ditch liquid inoculation in favor of dry-dropping a wedge of agar into the grain - which I'm going to do on the next occasion.
Edited by globos (10/24/16 04:37 PM)
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ComebackKid
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23767045 - 10/24/16 02:39 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
globos said:
Quote:
PortabellaFella 1 said: Did you case in just all verm? 
Yes. Two boxes out of four, as an experiment.
Damn I made that mistake a couple weeks ago. Tub took forever to pin and had a fairly dissapointing pinset compared to my previous tub same clone no casing.
Fruited a week earlier and had an amazing pinset.
Learned not to case with verm alone.
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23767392 - 10/24/16 04:23 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said: Damn I made that mistake a couple weeks ago. Tub took forever to pin and had a fairly dissapointing pinset compared to my previous tub same clone no casing.
Fruited a week earlier and had an amazing pinset.
Learned not to case with verm alone.
Aaw no...! What am I supposed to case with instead? I thought a little verm would be "better than nothing at all".
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ComebackKid
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23767407 - 10/24/16 04:28 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Peat moss or coir works good apparently
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23767445 - 10/24/16 04:40 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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I see, thank you. Well, I'll report on relative progress anyway. Life is for learning...
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23770356 - 10/25/16 03:13 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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Colonization seems to be going on quite quickly. All the white spots appeared in just about 24 hours!
DAY 1
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ComebackKid
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: globos]
#23770858 - 10/25/16 05:56 PM (7 years, 3 months ago) |
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That's a good sign I bet they'll finish within 10 days are you sticking with the choke bags or are you building a SGFC or mono in the meantime?
If you really wanna get fancy you should build both and put one tray cased and not cased in each and see how they perform lol
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: 2nd try clone -> agar -> grain -> bulk [Re: ComebackKid]
#23790998 - 11/01/16 11:05 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said: are you sticking with the choke bags or are you building a SGFC or mono in the meantime?
I don't know yet. Waiting for input from knowledgeable shroomerites. The choke bags worked fairly well for me - good enough, at least. On the other hand, I already have a monotub I made for my previous grow (here's the thread and picture log), but I think the content of these 4 small boxes might be too little mycelium to reach critical mass. I suspect the monotub wouldn't be able to keep the necessary moisture and temperature. Expert advice welcome!
Quote:
If you really wanna get fancy you should build both and put one tray cased and not cased in each and see how they perform lol
That's too much experimentation for a half-assed batch such as this Besides, I just noticed I actually cased 3 boxes out of 4, not 2 as I thought. I'll just get along with this as soon as I can pull it off. My next grow will be larger, a monotub for sure. I already have the agar plates getting colonized.
DAY 8
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globos
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Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23807844 - 11/06/16 07:25 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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DAY 13
Group and couple shots of all 4 boxes.
 A single shot of one box, with a detail showing what might be pins - or something very close to pinning.
It seems like the boxes are about ripe for fruiting. The cased boxes show less surface activity, but I guess it is to be expected - however, the sides of the boxes show good colonization even if the top is still covered with brownish vermiculite rather than white mycelium.
Am I ready to fruit in your opinion? How do I go about that? Remove the lids, put the boxes into a suitable fruiting environment and that's all?
I still haven't made my mind about going ahead with choke bags or putting the 4 boxes into a monotub. My previously built monotub isn't large enough to accommodate all 4 boxes on the bottom, though, so I'd have to build a larger tub, which is quite inconvenient, especially since I'm not planning a grow massive enough for such a huge monotub.
Also, should I dunk after the first flush?
Any informed advice will be thankfully received.
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ComebackKid
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23807949 - 11/06/16 08:08 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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They seem to be fully colonized. Yes, taking off the lids would be cinsidered introducing fruiting conditions but you'll want to put them in a mono tub or sgfc to keep RH up and also provide adequate FAE.
If you don't want to make another chamber then choke bags will work too obviously... Just won't be favourable conditions for your trays because they don't provide enough FAE.
You could get creative and somehow turn your trays into mini monos. Maybe drill four 1"holes above the sub and a couple holes in the bags. Cover em with MP tape
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
Edited by ComebackKid (11/06/16 08:15 PM)
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globos
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: ComebackKid]
#23810222 - 11/07/16 04:49 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thanks again, ComebackKid. I have another option: a larger container, like the smaller monotub (Ikea too, only larger), but it has no holes yet - and I can't make them easily right now. I also have a lid for it. Do you think that would be better than the choke bags if I use it keeping the lid slightly open to allow some FAE?
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23810238 - 11/07/16 04:59 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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bags are fine if you can make sure you cut them or give them room for air.
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ComebackKid
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: bodhisatta]
#23811173 - 11/07/16 09:46 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Bod I fucking love when you just barge in on a thread with like 10 related pics of some crazy as grows you've done.
I'm suprised you didn't comment about OP's suggestion to use an unmodified tub tho
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: ComebackKid]
#23812007 - 11/08/16 08:29 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thanks for the advice, Bodhisatta and ComebackKid!
The bags I have came with the growkits, so they're already fitted with micropore filters. I suppose FAE should be enough. The amount of condensation that built up in 5-6 hours looks about right, what do you think?
FRUITING - DAY 0
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Mushierage
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23812252 - 11/08/16 10:07 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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There is no way for anybody to be able to tell if your FAE is correct looking at pics like this. But if I had to guess, I would say no. It is not adequate.
Honestly, the best way to gauge your FAE is yourself. How quickly is the surface moisture of the tray evaporating and becoming dry? If it's not becoming dry -at all-, then your humidity is probably too consistently high, and you aren't introducing enough FAE. Giving FAE is gonna do a couple things for you, it'll give fresh air obviously, which your myc needs passively, all the time - just like any organism it needs to breath, deprive it of air and it'll suffer. It's also going to lower that humidity to a reasonable RH%. 70-80% humidity is going to be more than enough. Unless you can give your mushrooms enough FAE, humidity being 99% all the time is going to be detrimental to your grows.
Think about the design of the SGFC and Monotub. There are a thousand ways to make either design and basic concept work on just about any tub. If you understand the how and why of them, you'll be able to recreate them in many different forms. It just takes a little feeling through. It takes experience, and not the kind you get from growkits and little instruction manuals and teks on forums.
I do combinations of tubs all the time. I do SGFCs and monotubs, I do jars and big gulps (rarely), I do shoeboxes and even little cake tray covers that I make specially, like a mini-mini mono tub that can support about a lb of substrate - (Holes are pre cut and stuffed with poly, so that it can be just placed overtop of whatever I'm trying to fruit.) Humidity is generally sustaining and comes from the substrate itself.
My point is, read up a bit on the technical aspects of fruiting and fruiting chambers, and you might just learn something about it that you didn't know. Like how to build them and use them to fruit your shit.
-------------------- Don't like researching posts? Read this! . Also, if you're new and your posts contain the words: Humidifer, incubator, air-stone, or heater, then you need to read and UTFSE before asking people to review your setup. OR... You should be cultivating reptiles and fish, not mushrooms.
  
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bodhisatta 
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: ComebackKid]
#23812257 - 11/08/16 10:09 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said:
Bod I fucking love when you just barge in on a thread with like 10 related pics of some crazy as grows you've done.
I'm suprised you didn't comment about OP's suggestion to use an unmodified tub tho
Probably would habe helped if I read the OP hah. Unmodified tubs in my signature if anyone like OP is interested
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globos
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: bodhisatta]
#23812434 - 11/08/16 11:27 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Hm, great advice thanks! 
Experience is what I'm trying to gather by not simply aiming at the best possible harvest, but rather experimenting. In other words, when I make a mistake, I try to see it as an opportunity for learning.
The reason why I ended up with these small trays in the first place is that I f'd up inoculation or something, so I was left with much less grain than I had planned. I was hoping to spawn and grow in a monotub, which I've tried once already, but given the small quantity of colonized grain available, I decided to make a few small boxes, figuring it could be a way to salvage the batch and to learn about growing in small containers (which can be made into special presents for special people).
I have very little experience of fruiting - little experience in general, I'd say - but I have read a lot, especially on the Shroomery forums. However, as you say, reading is no substitute for actual practice. Indeed, I'm not able to gauge if RH or FAE is in the right ballpark yet. I thought these bags looked OK because they look more or less like the growkits - which did work reasonably well for me, yielding enough good stuff to spread happiness among quite a few friends apart from me :-)
So what would be the best course of action in your opinion?
- Opening the bags daily for half an hour or so, to let air circulate.
- Keeping the bags slightly open, for example by removing one paperclip and unrolling the top of the bags slightly on the side of the removed paperclip.
- My monotub is too small to accommodate all the trays, but I could use the larger container, without any holes yet, with the lid kept ajar.
By the way, the unmodified monotubs in your sig look gorgeous. I hope someday I will be able to grow a small field as beautiful as those!
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Mushierage
SWIM Sinker



Registered: 06/29/16
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23812507 - 11/08/16 12:02 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Opening the bags for a half hour isn't going to do anything, except release the humidity a bit and help further any evaporation you might have going on, on the surface. It isn't the same as FAE, which as you know is a constant and passive way for air to get to your mycelium.
Out of all fruiting conditions, there are two that I think top everything else when it comes to fruiting/pinning. Surface condition rules all in my opinion, the microclimate of your pinning surface. In a very close second, FAE rules, and helps support the surface condition, so they often go hand in hand. If you have an awesome knotted up surface with perfect moisture -and- you are giving plenty of FAE, then everything else should be pretty close to correct and you'll get one helluva first flush pinset.
Everything else, ambient humidity, light, etc.. all secondary. But making sure all these are correct is definitely helpful.
Don't make any changes until you are sure a change is needed. I am only guessing here, I am not there and I cannot see the conditions of your bags over time, and therefore cannot say if making the changes you're asking about. Only you can decide. I'm just telling you what your mushrooms will need, based on what they show you. Take what they show you, and adjust.
And of course, taking high definition pics of the substrate and asking on here is good way to get moving in the right direction. There are people that are experienced with fruiting right from the bag here, not me, but others.
-------------------- Don't like researching posts? Read this! . Also, if you're new and your posts contain the words: Humidifer, incubator, air-stone, or heater, then you need to read and UTFSE before asking people to review your setup. OR... You should be cultivating reptiles and fish, not mushrooms.
  
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ComebackKid
Multispore Enthusiast



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Posts: 3,951
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: Mushierage]
#23813113 - 11/08/16 03:13 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Find a way to give them constant FAE. You could open the top and monitor surface moisture once in a while. Mist when the surface starts to dry out.
Then, if you have enough time to monitor your bags, you could open them different amounts and eventually find out how big of an opening you need to only have to mist once a day.
Just a suggestion
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
Regular User


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Posts: 658
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: Mushierage]
#23818383 - 11/10/16 05:34 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thanks for replying. It is always appreciated!
Quote:
Mushierage said: Don't make any changes until you are sure a change is needed. I am only guessing here, I am not there and I cannot see the conditions of your bags over time, and therefore cannot say if making the changes you're asking about. Only you can decide. I'm just telling you what your mushrooms will need, based on what they show you. Take what they show you, and adjust.
Talk they do, and I try to to listen. I'm not that bad at plantese, but now I need to get better at understanding mushroomese... 
Quote:
And of course, taking high definition pics of the substrate and asking on here is good way to get moving in the right direction. There are people that are experienced with fruiting right from the bag here, not me, but others.
Sure, I do post pics fairly regularly indeed 
Quote:
ComebackKid said: Find a way to give them constant FAE. You could open the top and monitor surface moisture once in a while. Mist when the surface starts to dry out.
Then, if you have enough time to monitor your bags, you could open them different amounts and eventually find out how big of an opening you need to only have to mist once a day.
Nice one. That's what I did. I can't post pics right now, but I will as soon as some progress shows. Here's a text only update.
I left the bags slightly open, and at the top of each bag there is now a sizable slit, wide enough to see the substrate from outside. Two days have passed, and the moisture inside the bag walls has decreased a bit, but not much. I touched the substrate, and it still hasn't dried out, it's pleasantly moist. I haven't misted yet, because I think there's no need. Will update as usual.
THANKS for the valuable help and support, guys!! :-)
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globos
Regular User


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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23835286 - 11/15/16 12:02 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I opened the bags as suggested by Mushierage, so now they definitely breathe, although I'm not sure if it's enough, just right, or too much (lack of experience). The group pic shows a slit large enough to see through to the bottom.
Now that the bags are loosened up rather than almost sealed as before, the air inside the bags does lose a little moisture: there's less condensation showing. However, the substrate is still pleasantly moist to the touch. I spray water inside the bags about every other day, careful to avoid the substrate. Rather, I target the inside surface of the bags.
The substrate is bursting with mycelium, which grew aggressively and is now making small bumps and spires on the surface - but I still see no pins. Sorry the single box pics aren't that good - the flash burned too much and the resolution is low, but there's not much to be seen yet. Next time I'll try to make better single pics.
I have a good feeling this time. If it goes well, I'll start a larger batch from the same mother culture immediately, avoiding liquid inoculation, and putting my eager monotub to good use 
Informed opinions, suggestions, etc., are always welcome.
DAY 21 (FRUITING DAY 7)
 Group pic
 Single shots of two trays
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ComebackKid
Multispore Enthusiast



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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23835339 - 11/15/16 12:18 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Mist the sub not the bag. The sub is what needs the moisture
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
Regular User


Registered: 04/09/10
Posts: 658
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Mycelian life goes on. Preparing the next batch (V3).
10 agar plates (Pastywhite style) from the same "milf" clone into 14 half-full jars (SpitballJedi style). The jars seem fuller because some of the grain stuck. Total: 4 nominal myco-quarts. If all goes well, this will end into a monotub. I'll open a new thread for V3.

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globos
Regular User


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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: ComebackKid]
#23840022 - 11/16/16 08:46 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
ComebackKid said: Mist the sub not the bag. The sub is what needs the moisture 
Oh, I see. It's easier, too...
Some growkit instructions warned the user not to mist the substrate directly. Thanks for the advice.
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globos
Regular User


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Posts: 658
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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23845734 - 11/18/16 04:03 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Here we are at last!
I expect they'll be ripe within two weeks. How do I go about the second flush? Should I dunk them, maybe even in ice cold water?
DAY 24 (FRUTING DAY 10)
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ComebackKid
Multispore Enthusiast



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Re: Fruiting? Advice, please. [Re: globos]
#23845826 - 11/18/16 04:33 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Congrats man! The bag seems to be working after all. That last pic is pretty sexy! Yeah just pour some water in your trays and let them soak for a bit and dump out excess water nice work!
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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globos
Regular User


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1st flush! Now I'd like to make spore prints [Re: ComebackKid]
#23858310 - 11/22/16 06:43 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I'm so happy! Here's the first flush. I only harvested the two trays that look more full.
Apart from the obvious huge satisfaction for my first decent harvest, I have to say there are a few glitches. One tray had already produced spores. The fruits are not as big as I'm used to with the growkits. I guess reduced fruit size might be due to the clone I started it all from. It was a first-flush late fruit that had already produced spores.
I tried to make a couple spore prints from this flush, but I'm not entirely confident I got it right. What do you think could be the easiest, newbie-proof tek for spore prints? It will be my insurance against senescence. Besides, I can't wait to begin trading and/or giving stuff away! 
DAY 27 (FRUITING DAY 13)

EDIT On harvesting, some thanks are due. First and foremost, the guys who offered most of the help in my first try - @SpitballJedi and @MycoFanatikos. Then Pastywhyte with his foolproof agar tek! Without that, I couldn't have achieved anything. Then the guys who helped the most in my second grow (this thread) - @ComebackKid, @bodhisatta and @Mushierage. THANK YOU!
I'm not saying goodbye yet - I will keep updating this thread until I throw the substrate in my compost pile :-)
Edited by globos (11/22/16 07:14 PM)
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Shineonyoucrazy
Apprentice fungi


Registered: 09/22/16
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Re: 1st flush! Now I'd like to make spore prints [Re: globos]
#23858435 - 11/22/16 07:18 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Looking good! Congratulations!
-------------------- Keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds
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ComebackKid
Multispore Enthusiast



Registered: 05/27/16
Posts: 3,951
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Re: 1st flush! Now I'd like to make spore prints [Re: Shineonyoucrazy]
#23858766 - 11/22/16 09:03 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Right on man!

Just chop off the caps off the mushrooms with scissors or a knife and place on foil in your SAB Leave for ~24 hours then fold some foil over the print and fold/seal the edges
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Substrate surface conditions / Monotub prep and care
Look around you... Everything you see exists inside the mind. Consciousness, the awareness that is experiencing this mind, is peering in from outside the universe. Our individual experiences are all part of the universe's experience of itself
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khatinthehat
Stranger
Registered: 11/22/16
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Re: 1st flush! Now I'd like to make spore prints [Re: globos]
#23858927 - 11/22/16 10:22 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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looking good, im glad to be back in the game. Posts like this make me wonder why i ever stopped.
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globos
Regular User


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Posts: 658
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Re: 1st flush! Now I'd like to make spore prints [Re: khatinthehat]
#23875119 - 11/28/16 12:37 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I took some prints on foil, but only 3 came out pretty and dark. I doubt they're sterile, but I guess that's how it goes, some cleaning will be needed when they go on agar. I'll take more prints as soon as I have more fruits, speaking of which...
The second flush is lagging. Still no macroscopic sign of life. Is that normal?
The jars I inoculated 17 days ago also show little to no sign of life. This time I just cut up the agar and dropped pieces into the jars. In the past, I used to use some sterile water to wash up the mycelium and inject it with a syringe. Liquid inoculation did cause contamination in some cases, but on the other hand the colonization was pretty fast. I wonder.
Any advice on these issues?
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globos
Regular User


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Re: Life goes on (V3) [Re: globos]
#23890995 - 12/03/16 03:14 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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2nd flush coming but quite slowly. Fat fruits, fatter than 1st flush. I guess they'll also get taller.
As for the jars that will make my next grow, there might be some sign of life, but they're still very slow. I wonder if that's normal. Advice anyone?
Quote:
globos said:

Quote:
globos said: The jars I inoculated 17 days ago also show little to no sign of life. This time I just cut up the agar and dropped pieces into the jars. In the past, I used to use some sterile water to wash up the mycelium and inject it with a syringe. Liquid inoculation did cause contamination in some cases, but on the other hand the colonization was pretty fast. I wonder.
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Kenetic
Nam Sayin



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Re: Life goes on (V3) [Re: globos]
#23891166 - 12/03/16 04:17 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Some people use grain waterb but that sounds pretty nasty. I know it works but its not really ideal for my applications. My only hardship in cultivation is preventing bacteria from forming in grain jars, definitely dont want to make an lc out of it. I just shake up an agar puck in 100 ml of water and pour in the jars. (Thanks munch). So much cleaner.
-------------------- Todo Cambia    DMT said: Everyone know's me, they just don't know it yet
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globos
Regular User


Registered: 04/09/10
Posts: 658
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Second flush [Re: globos]
#23917064 - 12/11/16 05:17 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Second flush complete, all 4 trays. Speed varied significantly among different trays, while yield was more or less the same.
DAY 52 (FRUITING DAY 38) - Second Flush Trays 1&2
 The two quickest trays 1-2 days before harvesting. Sorry for the pics - very low quality. I took them in a hurry - the shitty phone had a scratched lens too.
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DAY 57 (FRUITING DAY 43) - Second Flush Trays 3&4
 The two slower trays together on the day of harvest. Differences in color and shape are easy to see even through the bags. One tray has caps that tend to rip, the other has darker caps spotted with white.
 The differences are easier to see with close individual shots. From above ...
 ... and from the side.
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Kenetic
Nam Sayin



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Re: Second flush [Re: globos]
#23917126 - 12/11/16 05:34 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Man that sucks. Better luck next time
-------------------- Todo Cambia    DMT said: Everyone know's me, they just don't know it yet
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globos
Regular User


Registered: 04/09/10
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Re: Second flush [Re: Kenetic]
#23935295 - 12/17/16 12:29 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm not complaining about the second flush, since the first was satisfactory. I've spread much love and gave about 1/3 of the product to the friend who helped the most; more will be given out during the holiday season, and there will plenty left for me - so it's all right!
I'm a little worried about V3 though. The jars I inoculated exactly one month ago don't look like they are colonising much - or at all. That's too long, isn't it?
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Kenetic
Nam Sayin



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Re: Second flush [Re: globos]
#23935355 - 12/17/16 12:50 PM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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For me it is
-------------------- Todo Cambia    DMT said: Everyone know's me, they just don't know it yet
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