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pootis
Escaped Lunatic

Registered: 07/23/18
Posts: 14
Last seen: 2 years, 1 month
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Inconsistent results with millet spawn (myc stubbornly refuses to grow!)
#25342656 - 07/23/18 04:13 PM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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So to start off with I've recently started with agar, grain spawn, and bulk subs cultivating cubes, my only previous experience was a successful PF tek grow over a year ago.
Going well for the most part. My first attempt at grain spawn was using millet (not sold as WBS, no other grain in it, just millet), bought in a 10 lb bag from a gardening store. I followed this tek - https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/23322748
Basically measured the stuff out by volume and added a certain amount of water to the jar, then PC'd.
So at first I made no attempt at having a filter-lid. Out of 7 quart jars inoculated with MS agar 3 showed practically no growth, and one stalled out at about 30% colonization. The other 2 got fully colonized and looked good. Of the 2 that made it, when I opened them to mix into bulk substrate, one smelled funny (like yeasty, fermenting grain) while the other had a healthy cube myc smell. I threw the bad one out suspecting contamination and made a couple shoeboxes from the one good quart of spawn. I actually saved the bottom 10% or so of grains from the good one to do further agar inocs and a G2G. \ I'll also mention that it was a MAJOR BITCH to get the lids off when I went to inoculate, thanks to the huge vacuum in the jars from the pressure canning! Had to pry off with a butter knife. Holes in lids for filters or just covered with tape prevent this.
So I get around to PC'ing some more millet jars with the same technique. This time I drilled holes in the lids and covered with masking tape. Innoc'd 1 with the rest of the grain from my only successful millet jar. 12 days later, JACK SHIT! Absolutely no sign any myc has budged from the tiny clumps of colonized grain in there. I see them in there, with the white myc, but they aren't fuzzy at all like you'd expect myc to get after a while... totally inert. I shook the hell out of it after innoc, broke up the big clump at the bottom. I also took some of the grains from the good millet spawn jar and put 'em on agar, had mixed results, some just didn't grow at all and some got great looking cube myc radiating out in strands, nevermind contams. I took some of that agar and tried innocing one of the millet jars from the second round, that was 4 days ago. Absolutely no signs of growth there either.
Should note that I used no gypsum in the grain recipe, I did a lot of searching and reading and couldn't really find a reason for why gypsum is included in grain spawn teks. Bonus points for anyone that could explain that to me.
As far as filter lids go, I get that that's to allow for a small amount of gas exchange for colonizing spawn, but how important is this really? I was able to get 2/7 jars to fully colonize, without any GE at all. And the second round, with no myc growth at all, utilized lids with a 1/4" hole covered in painter's tape. I gather some combination of polyfil and tape and larger holes is generally the preferred technique?
I'll also mention inconsistencies with my agar cultures. Some take off after a few days and I get nice rhizomorphic growth, some linger with just a bit of fuzz around the innoc point and no visible contams, some are just way slow. And these have been agar innoc's all taken from the same body of mycelium (most recently, it was some remnant grains from my one good millet jar, which I am keeping as examples of myc that has performed best).
My theories as to why my millet jars aren't growing myc:
1. Millet came with some kind of pesticide/fungicide
2. Too much water
3. Too little water
4. Not enough gas exchange
5. I overcooked the millet on round 2
#1 and #4 to my mind do not explain the inconsistent results I've been getting. #2 and #3 are possible, but I did measure water into the jars fairly consistently and others have reported success using the same grain prep tek. #5 I actually think is pretty likely now as I did notice more burst grains than from round 1, and I PC'd them for about 30 minutes longer than the first batch (90 minutes at 15psi instead of 60 minutes at 15psi). But still doesn't explain why 6/7 of the first batch failed.
Anyone care to chime in with additional theories or advice?
If you've done pure millet spawn, what are your preferred grain prep teks?
Thanks for reading.
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,385
Loc: where?
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Re: Inconsistent results with millet spawn (myc stubbornly refuses to grow!) [Re: pootis]
#25342668 - 07/23/18 04:19 PM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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No pics?
If its pure millet(the small grain in wbs) id soak it 12-18hrs drain, and pc.
You couldn't pay me to add heat to millet prep.
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pootis
Escaped Lunatic

Registered: 07/23/18
Posts: 14
Last seen: 2 years, 1 month
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Re: Inconsistent results with millet spawn (myc stubbornly refuses to grow!) [Re: mushboy]
#25342760 - 07/23/18 05:04 PM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
mushboy said: No pics?
There's not much to show unless you want to see a jar of uncolonized millet, lol, but I'll see if I can get some good photos won't be able to post them until tomorrow
Quote:
mushboy said: If its pure millet(the small grain in wbs) id soak it 12-18hrs drain, and pc.
Next time I prep more jars I'll do it this way
Quote:
mushboy said: You couldn't pay me to add heat to millet prep.
What do you mean, simmer the grain before PCing it? I've seen some teks that call for this
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,385
Loc: where?
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Re: Inconsistent results with millet spawn (myc stubbornly refuses to grow!) [Re: pootis]
#25343037 - 07/23/18 07:22 PM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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Don't care. Millet, ime, will burst even if I dump boiling water over em to steam dry.
Millet=no heat prep.
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pootis
Escaped Lunatic

Registered: 07/23/18
Posts: 14
Last seen: 2 years, 1 month
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Re: Inconsistent results with millet spawn (myc stubbornly refuses to grow!) [Re: mushboy]
#25344701 - 07/24/18 03:55 PM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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I'll keep that in mind, thanks.
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