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Shroombie2
Stranger
Registered: 12/28/18
Posts: 189
Last seen: 8 months, 26 days
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Lots of newbie questions 1
#25707518 - 12/28/18 11:17 AM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hi,
I have been growing mushrooms with grow kits for a while and decided to start learning to cultivate myself from scratch, to learn something and increase yields. So I started with PF-tek as it was a recommended technique for newbies. Today, I did my first PF-tek harvest but it was not a big yield with few pins but the next ones that I have dunked in the fridge looks just a little more promising.
Now I want to start learning more effective techniques. I've seen amazing yields from monotubs so I thought I should give it a try. But I have seen so many different versions so I need some help deciding on what to do next. So here is a list of questions I have for you more experienced growers.
1 - There are so many different grains to choose from, I have even seen someone grind PF-teks and let it grow in bulk substrate. Is there any pros/cons for each grain? if so which one is easiest or will give best results? Will PF-teks works just as fine while being less prone to contaminations?
2 - There are also different ways of inoculating the grains. I buy my stuff from Zamnesia so I can choose from ready syringes or spore prints to create an agar culture and optionally make an LC of it. Is an agar culture better in some cases or is it almost always better to use LC because it's easier to inoculate with? I've also heard about creating master grain jars, are those even better than LC? Also, they have some really cool strains at Zamnesia that you can get with a grow kit, for example White Rabbit. Do you think it would be possible for me to clone that strain and bulk grow them in a monotub? That would be the dream but I don't know if these uncommon strains have some different requirements for growing.
3 - There are also different ways to get the bulk substrate for the monotub. I live in Europe so I have not seen a good supplier of ready substrates that will not cost me a lot in shipping fees (If you do, please let me know). So I've decided that I should try to make my own substrate. And there are different ways to do that. I've seen the regular one with poo and coco coir but I've also seen something called the Rez-effect with only coir and vermiculite that doesn't involve poo. Is there a disadvantage to use the Rez-effect over the regular bulk substrate?
4 - My PF-teks all cultivate at very varying speeds, some two weeks, some almost 5, And two of my 9 PF-teks never cultivated. I wonder if there is a way for me to control this?
Hopefully the questions make sense and are not too many.
All the best, and Happy New Year
Edited by Shroombie2 (12/28/18 11:52 AM)
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RJ Tubs 202



Registered: 09/20/08
Posts: 6,039
Loc: USA
Last seen: 18 hours, 22 minutes
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: Shroombie2]
#25707651 - 12/28/18 12:38 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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It's hard to address so many questions. If you stick to 2 or 3 it's easier.
Quote:
Shroombie2 said:
My PF-teks all cultivate at very varying speeds, some two weeks, some almost 5, And two of my 9 PF-teks never cultivated. I wonder if there is a way for me to control this?
Syringes often vary in contaminate type and concentration they contain (often bacteria). This might help explain your situation with some failing. What does 2 of 9 mean?
If you want to go to grains (keep it simple to start - rye) it might be wise to not go directly from print or syringes - but get the mycellium growing on agar and make sure you do a transfer to make sure you have a clean culture. You don't want to go thru the effort and be unsure if your mycellium is clean.
If you want to try prepared spawn, there are places in Europe
https://www.sirius.nl/en/magictruffleshop/magic-mushroom-growkits/
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denger
Mycelium keeper



Registered: 09/19/08
Posts: 1,177
Loc: Unites States of Dreams
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: Shroombie2]
#25707671 - 12/28/18 12:47 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Shroombie2 said: 1 - There are so many different grains to choose from, I have even seen someone grind PF-teks and let it grow in bulk substrate. Is there any pros/cons for each grain? if so which one is easiest or will give best results? Will PF-teks works just as fine while being less prone to contaminations?
Use the cheapest one available. Local animal feed stores should have very inexpensive oats and such in big bags.
Quote:
Shroombie2 said: 2 - There are also different ways of inoculating the grains. I buy my stuff from Zamnesia so I can choose from ready syringes or spore prints to create an agar culture and optionally make an LC of it. Is an agar culture better in some cases or is it almost always better to use LC because it's easier to inoculate with? I've also heard about creating master grain jars, are those even better than LC?
People are getting away from LC lately from what I hear. I personally never used LC, they are too prone to have undetected contamination and in my opinion are just PIB.
Quote:
Shroombie2 said: Also, they have some really cool strains at Zamnesia that you can get with a grow kit, for example White Rabbit. Do you think it would be possible for me to clone that strain and bulk grow them in a monotub? That would be the dream but I don't know if these uncommon strains have some different requirements for growing.
Sure, if you want to. But a cube is a cube.
Quote:
Shroombie2 said: 3 - There are also different ways to get the bulk substrate for the monotub. I live in Europe so I have not seen a good supplier of ready substrates that will not cost me a lot in shipping fees (If you do, please let me know). So I've decided that I should try to make my own substrate. And there are different ways to do that. I've seen the regular one with poo and coco coir but I've also seen something called the Rez-effect with only coir and vermiculite that doesn't involve poo. Is there a disadvantage to use the Rez-effect over the regular bulk substrate?
Read more on bod's monotub tek. No poo involved, just grain and coir.
Quote:
Shroombie2 said: 4 - My PF-teks all cultivate at very varying speeds, some two weeks, some almost 5, And two of my 9 PF-teks never cultivated. I wonder if there is a way for me to control this?
Sounds like your spores are not distributed evenly. Are you shaking your syringes well before inoculation?
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RJ Tubs 202



Registered: 09/20/08
Posts: 6,039
Loc: USA
Last seen: 18 hours, 22 minutes
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: denger]
#25707723 - 12/28/18 01:02 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
denger said:
People are getting away from LC lately from what I hear. I personally never used LC, they are too prone to have undetected contamination and in my opinion are just PIB.
You prefer to go from agar?
I've used both LC and agar with success.
What does PIB mean? My OCD needs to know.
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bloozmahn
Dude

Registered: 05/22/18
Posts: 147
Last seen: 1 year, 3 months
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: RJ Tubs 202] 1
#25707737 - 12/28/18 01:06 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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go shoeboxes before a monotub. contamination is less disastrous when you can throw out just one instead of a whole tub, especially just starting out. grains are the way to go.
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verum subsequentis
seeker of truth



Registered: 03/22/16
Posts: 8,732
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: bloozmahn]
#25707758 - 12/28/18 01:21 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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PIB = pain in the butt (i think). way too many questions at once my friend. at least for my liking. try dropping the two most pressing questions at a time and you'll get more love.
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denger
Mycelium keeper



Registered: 09/19/08
Posts: 1,177
Loc: Unites States of Dreams
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Quote:
RJ Tubs 202 said:
Quote:
denger said:
People are getting away from LC lately from what I hear. I personally never used LC, they are too prone to have undetected contamination and in my opinion are just PIB.
You prefer to go from agar?
I've used both LC and agar with success.
What does PIB mean? My OCD needs to know.
Yes, I know people use LC and have no issues. I played with it too, and it worked, but I felt like going from agar is easier and saw no real advantage. Cheaper too IMHO, cause I can move wedges with my scalpel (no incremental cost). Fussing with disposable pipettes or syringes only makes more plastic waste. Last thing the word needs.
And yes, Verum got the PIB part right :-)
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verum subsequentis
seeker of truth



Registered: 03/22/16
Posts: 8,732
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: denger]
#25708562 - 12/28/18 08:10 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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the advantage to lc is making 1000 cc of inoculant from one tiny piece of a plate and colonizing your grain faster. It must be done properly but is not hard and really helps get things done. i just finished noccing up 24 4 quart bags with an lc i started from one tiny piece from a plate!
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,453
Loc: where?
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: denger]
#25708574 - 12/28/18 08:13 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
denger said: I felt like going from agar is easier and saw no real advantage.
to make LC you go from agar. its just 1 extra step. all it requires is good, proven sterile tek. if you see no advantage to LC you are clearly doing everything wrong.
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denger
Mycelium keeper



Registered: 09/19/08
Posts: 1,177
Loc: Unites States of Dreams
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Quote:
verum subsequentis said: the advantage to lc is making 1000 cc of inoculant from one tiny piece of a plate and colonizing your grain faster. It must be done properly but is not hard and really helps get things done. i just finished noccing up 24 4 quart bags with an lc i started from one tiny piece from a plate!
Yeah, when you need that much, I can see the advantage for sure. I never needed more then a dozen grain jars.
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Shroombie2
Stranger
Registered: 12/28/18
Posts: 189
Last seen: 8 months, 26 days
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Re: Lots of newbie questions [Re: denger]
#25709697 - 12/29/18 12:11 PM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Thanks all for the help.
I realize there were too many questions which makes it almost unanswerable. I'll try to keep it shorter next time.
Bod's monotub tek seems to be exactly what I needed.
Also I realize now that I'm using multispore syringes and not LC. My provider guarantees me that they are free of contaminations. I'll try to use them to inoculate my first sterilized rye tek.
And yes. I did forget to shake my syringe once and I felt bad about it. Now I know the consequences.
Edited by Shroombie2 (12/29/18 12:21 PM)
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