The Varieties of Shoebox Experience

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RatThing
Nuclear Dog

Registered: 09/06/17
Posts: 91
Loc: USA

The Varieties of Shoebox Experience

18
#24726257 - 10/21/17 05:11 AM (8 years, 10 months ago)

The shoebox tek is designed around the humble Sterilite 1642 6 Quart Storage Box. These boxes have a picture of a shoe on the label, providing the name shoebox.

They have an opaque white lid. They are readily available from your favorite local store. They are constructed of polypropylene plastic (making them freezer, dishwasher, and microwave safe). And they are cheap: they can typically be purchased for about 1 dollar each. Sometimes less.

You might ask yourself, why do we care? The answer is that shoeboxes also have a very special feature that makes them ideal for cultivating mushrooms. Shoeboxes are self-ventilating. They are designed in such a way that the lids do not fit tightly -- there is a small gap between the lid and the box allowing a controlled amount of air to flow in and out of the box at all times. This self-ventilation feature was presumably engineered to allow damp shoes to dry when stored inside these boxes. Self-ventilation is what makes shoeboxes ideal for cultivating mushrooms. In addition to self-ventilation, shoeboxes also have a flat top edge. This allows a second box to be placed upside down on top (also known as 'dubtub'ing) when mushrooms require more room and more ventilation. There are many plastic containers (such as the monotub) that work very well for cultivating mushrooms. Unlike most other plastic storage containers, shoeboxes can be used as-is. No cutting holes, no stuffing polyfill, no messing with tape. No muss, no fuss. Shoeboxes make an excellent container for the complete novice, the lazy, as well as the expert.

While the Sterilite 1642 is the primary item of interest, shoeboxes can be purchased in various styles from various vendors. Some people report finding generic brand 6 quart shoeboxes at their local dollar store. Some styles will perform poorly, others will work very nicely for cultivating mushrooms. Before you buy a stack of such boxes, make certain they have the same loosely fitting lids, and the same flat top edge, as is seen with the 6 Quart Sterilite 1642. Everything about cultivating with shoeboxes depends on the controlled amount of air flowing in and out of the box when the lid is closed.

Allow me to share a couple of examples. At my local w*mart, they sell Sterilite shoeboxes in sets of both 1 and 10.

Careful inspection of the w*mart model shows they sell unique models of the Sterilite shoeboxes: the Sterilite 1851 (for the singles), and the Model 1862 (as a set of 10). These seem at first like a good deal. They do provide the self-ventilation feature we need. But these boxes have a beveled (rounded) top edge (unlike our preferred 1642 model), suggesting it would be difficult to dubtub them. When I attempted it at the store, they slid right off and would not remain in place, suggesting they are likely to prove troublesome for dubtubbing.

An example of an excellent alternative to the Sterilite I found is the HDX 6 quart clear premium shoebox, which I found for sale at my local h*me *epot store.

Compared with the Sterilite model, the HDX shoeboxes have essentially the same dimensions (13 5/8" L x 8 1/4" W x 4 7/8" H for the Sterilite 1642 vs 13" L x 7.5" W x 4.25" H for the HDX shoebox). They both use the same type of plastic (polypropylene). They both have flat top edges. And they both have the required self-ventilation feature. But the HDX model also has a transparent lid, allowing you to more easily watch what is happening inside your box. The only downside is the price -- the HDX model costs twice as much as the Sterilite: $2 for the HDX vs $1 for the Sterilite. Not likely to break the bank either way, but the difference could add up should you choose to buy many boxes.

Recently, some people have been reporting success using the larger Sterilite 1644 16 Quart Storage Box. These boxes have a picture of a shirt or sweater on the label, thus some have called them a 'sweater box'. Noting that these boxes are very similar to the shoebox, only larger, we choose to call them bootbox.

Like the Sterilite 1642 shoebox, the Sterilite 1644 bootbox is made of the same type of plastic (polypropylene), has the same flat top edges, and has the exact same self-ventilation feature. Compared with the shoebox, bootboxes are considerably larger (16 3/4" L x 11 7/8" W x 7 H for the Sterilite 1644 bootbox vs 13 5/8" L x 8 1/4" W x 4 7/8" H for the Sterilite 1642 shoebox). The bootbox is typically around $3 per box, making the bootbox about 3 times the price of the shoebox. However the additional length and width nearly doubles the usable growing area of the bootbox (198.9 inch^2) compared with the shoebox (112.4 inch^2). Also, the additional height of the box may allow the box to the used without the need for dub-tubbing.

Shoeboxes and bootboxes are small, easily manageable, and make cultivation of mushrooms a breeze. Many people are reporting having excellent success with using them. You might want to give them a try.

[Edited 19 January 2018 to mention bootboxes.]

Edited by RatThing (01/19/18 04:46 PM)

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