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Koala's grow: First broken veil! - Pics of agar transfer added - Feedback/Advice wanted! * 1
    #26002587 -

Hello!

Don't know quite how to start this, but I've been a lurker for some time. I attempted to do a grow back in 2015 in a dorm room. Needless to say, wasn't able to finish what I wanted to do.

Now that I have my own place with some friends who are all on board for helping me, I'm ready to get my grow on again!

Few changes from my last grow if anyone cares to check that old thread. I've gone from using pints(my younger self thought that I could rake in double the yield) to the classic 1/2 pint, wide mouthed jars. I've also decided to use a different fruiting chamber.

I've done extensive reading in between these grows in an attempt to make myself as knowledgeable as possible. I've decided to follow Ziran's tek, which in itself combines a few guides from others. Thanks to all who contributed to the easiness of this guide!
After following the basics of this guide to get my cakes started, I will then pursue the Humidity Chamber(HC) from Mateah's tek as my fruiting chamber. Reading through it, I found it to be much simpler than the SGFC(don't care too much for the holes) even though it seems to require some fine tweaking to get some good stuff growing, but it works nonetheless.
As a noob grower, I feel this will be a good start as I slowly progress to agar and doing bulk grows. I'm really excited for this journey(and hopefully journeys :pipesmoke:)!

Now to the meat of this post. I am using spore syringes from a shroomery sponsor. Going with just two varieties of cubes:
Lizard King
Pink Buffalo

Just thought the names sounded cool so I went with it. I made the Verm/BRF mixture tonight and they are currently steam sterilizing as I type this out(5/19).

Used some vermiculite I got from Home Depot. Seemed to be about the right grade, but I'd like to get confirmation on it.


Using Bob's Red Mill BRF from Frys. Stone Ground. I've seen the brand thrown around here so I'm pretty confident it's good.


I've already learned that reading up, and applying the techniques/methods can be pretty different. I'm a bit worried on how my mixture turned out. I've posted some photos below.

This is the 1st mixture that I made. I used the good ol' 2 cups of verm, 1 cup of water, mix thoroughly, add the 1 cup of BRF and mix again. It seemed really mushy/wet though(what's in the picture). I tried the field capacity test and it seemed to be a bit over the desired field capacity.


I slowly added verm and mixed until it seemed to be more accurate. I forgot to snap a pic afterwards, but here is what it looked like in the jar.

It honestly looks like I dried it out too much to me, but it was still pretty moist to the touch. Filled it as lightly as I could. Filled 4&3/4 of jars because I used a bit in the field capacity test.

Made a second mixture. This time out of fear that I dried it out previously, I went with the mushy mixture that I got last time before adding the extra verm. Once again, spaced on the photos of the mixture in the bowl, but here is a jar.

The way it's pressed against the jar makes me nervous that it's too wet, but I went with it anyways. It was also harder to get this mix to be packed lightly due to it having a more clumpy nature. Which also leads me to believe I should've compensated with either verm/BRF.

Or maybe I'm overthinking all of this and they'll be okay. :shrug:

Sorry for such a long first post, but I would love to hear everyone's opinions! And be straightforward, even if I totally donked it up. I just want to know what I did wrong, make the corrections, and proceed with the knowledge moving forward. Thanks for reading through!

Edited by KoalaJesus (06/20/19 07:42 AM)

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26002634 -

I have best results with fine grade vermiculite. It results in airy yet solid looking cakes that colonize fast. I have some at 100% from 11 days ago, MS injection from my own prints. 3 syringes made from 1/3 of a spore print of a clone I'm working with I call "big daddy". Some ridiculously aggressive shit. Fast, full flushes and fat fruits. I love it.


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My no pour Petri TEK - https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/27252059/page/1

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Professor X]
    #26002657 -

Professor X said:
I have best results with fine grade vermiculite. It results in airy yet solid looking cakes that colonize fast. I have some at 100% from 11 days ago, MS injection from my own prints. 3 syringes made from 1/3 of a spore print of a clone I'm working with I call "big daddy". Some ridiculously aggressive shit. Fast, full flushes and fat fruits. I love it.


Fine verm I've always felt compacted too easy and made for too much
moisture. I always use a medium coarse verm. Never shake or do anything
to compact it. Natural settling will occur during the pressure cooking.
Over thinking I'd say. Try them out and see what happens.


--------------------
How I make my LC jars

Super Simple, No Rinse, Hard Boil Whole Oat Prep Tek Like a Boss: By Hamloaf
HAVING TROUBLE WITH OLD SPORES??
TRADELIST


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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: myceliups]
    #26002673 -

I don't make cakes often enough to justify the extra bag. Fine is perfect for substrate and works great with cakes. Like I said 11 days fully colonized from MS, not too shabby.


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My no pour Petri TEK - https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/27252059/page/1

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Professor X] * 1
    #26002680 -

Good luck on your grow, the cakes look good. If they contam dont give up, remember contamination happens to the best of us so roll with the punches.

Also be careful about who knows that you grow, roomates today could be enemies tomorrow.


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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Nikanoru] * 1
    #26002999 -

Thanks for the information guys! I was weary of letting my roommates know, but I just couldn't see any way of stealthing around them.
I do appreciate the notice though and I'm keeping it as quiet as possible.

I won't let contams stop me either! I'll take it as a lesson and be sure to change up/dial in my methods if anything goes south.

I knew I'd probably be overthinking it. Just wanna get it right and my inner perfectionist always has to mess with me.

Unfortunately I'm at work and won't be able to innocculate till I get home. As soon as I do though(4 hours), up goes the Still Air Box and game time for those cakes! :rockon:

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Professor X]
    #26003249 -

Professor X said:
I don't make cakes often enough to justify the extra bag. Fine is perfect for substrate and works great with cakes. Like I said 11 days fully colonized from MS, not too shabby.


11 days yeah. Don't think it's because of fine verm. But yaay
good job :thumbup:

Good luck Koala! Practice often and you'll make great progress
and have great success


--------------------
How I make my LC jars

Super Simple, No Rinse, Hard Boil Whole Oat Prep Tek Like a Boss: By Hamloaf
HAVING TROUBLE WITH OLD SPORES??
TRADELIST


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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: myceliups] * 1
    #26006309 -

Little late on posting this, but the jars are inoculated (on 5/20) and the spores have begun feeding! The struggle as it always seems with new growers will be trying to forget they are there and not babying them all the time waiting for the sweet white mycelium to show up.

Anyways, some photos!

Here is my SAB setup. Followed Ziran's prep for SAB work EDIT: Should've added this to start, the tub is a 116qt Sterilite 1990. Used a 6" hole saw to make the openings in case anyone was wondering.


A closeup on the syringes. Lots of spores from what I can tell! Much darker than the last syringes I had in my first attempt way back when.


The jars on their shelf where they will hopefully blossom into beautiful cakes. (LK on the left, PB on the right)



I will keep this thread updated with progress pics of the cakes. So be on the lookout for those! Other than that, thanks for reading and have a fun(gi) day!

Edited by KoalaJesus (05/21/19 09:15 PM)

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26006328 -

Now thats a SAB! :eek:

Good luck on your grow. Your cakes look a little too chunky but they should work. I find its best to put the dry verm in the mixing bowl first, then add the water, then sprinkle on the BRF and mix well. Comes out like semi-damp fine sand.

But as said, they should still work.

Keep up the great pics! Loving it! :popcorn:

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: LogicaL Chaos] * 1
    #26006361 -

Thanks! I'll definitely keep up with the pictures. Love the input from the community as that collective knowledge is what's made this hobby grow into the wonderful world it is.

Regarding the cakes, I did add the verm, then water and mix those well. Then I just dumped the cup of BRF on top and mix. I'm thinking the grade of my verm might be a bit too coarse and what's caused them to clump. Might try adding the BRF and mix well bit by bit instead of the full cup at once for the next mixture.

Once again though, I appreciate the input! Always glad to hear the opinions of others and build on top of it.

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26006389 -

True that.

I find making small batches works best for me, so 2/3 cup verm, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup BRF. Perhaps try that next time.

Enjoy the Sea of Info! :thumbup:

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: LogicaL Chaos]
    #26011533 -

Hey everyone!

It's been 4 days since I inoculated my BRF jars. Been doing my best not to baby them as I know anytime you pick them up you're shaking things around and raising possibilities of something going wrong. However, I felt that the 4th day would be a good day to check on them, plus its Fry(day) :mushroom2:

Before I get to the photos, some things I pondered on that could've been an improvement to my process:
1. The steam sterilization possibly could've gone wrong. Some steam did escape from the pots when I first started the timer, but just a few minutes later it stopped leaking steam and the one pot that has a see through lid still showed plenty of steam and heat contained within. I know tight fitting lid is heavily emphasized, but I couldn't find a good one. Also, I left the jars in the pot overnight to cool and about to mid-day too. Is it bad to let them sit in the pot for that long?

2. I installed the needle outside the SAB. I should've known better on this one. I've read that to do inside the SAB a few times and didn't even think about it when I went to inoculate.

3. I didn't wear a surgical mask. I know some people inoculate in the open air without issues, but I have animals in my house and I could totally see myself breathing to heavy onto the jars from the nervousness caused by "I gotta get this right!!"

Alright, enough about all the worries in my head(for now). Time to look at some progress photos! I broke it down to my best/worst jars of each variety.

Best Pink Buffalo Jar (Day 4):
     
The other jars seem to be coming along nicely as well, but not as full as this one. It was a tough judgement, but I made the snap decision to chose this jar.

Worst Pink Buffalo Jar (Day 4):
     
Nothing bad on them from what I can tell, just a bit slower growing is all.

Best Lizard King Jar (Day 4):
     
I call this the best because of the amount of growth. However, as you can see the 1st/2nd/4th photos present some worries. The little black marks were actually there on the day after inoculation. I had 4 jars I couldn't fit in the pots and sterilize/inoculate till the next day. When I placed those jars with these, I noticed the black mark and just tried to forget about it. The only plus I can say about those scary marks is they haven't grown since I first saw them. Just the mycelium has grown. It's possible it's just soot from the needle, but I used a torch and heated the needle with the inner flame so that's really just an excuse. Would love to hear everyone's opinions on the mark and if it will screw me over or not!

Worst Lizard King Jar (Day 4):
     
Meanwhile, the 'worst' LK jars are free from the black mark, but are a bit slower growing. Still nice to see that it is growing though. I know it's just day 4, but I'm happy with their progress.

That's all I have for now unless someone requests additional pictures! Thanks for reading through this lengthy post of all my thoughts. Once again, feedback is always appreciated even if you gotta be critical!

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26011852 -

Looking good for 4 days in, have some solid growth rate. I don't see anything concerning from the pics.


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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Nikanoru]
    #26011922 -

Damn thats a lot of photos!

Nice work :thumbup:

Those syringes are legit too, quite dark with spores :yesnod:

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: LogicaL Chaos]
    #26012519 -

Glad to hear that they're looking good! I was quite surprised with some of the growth rate in the jars as well. Hoping they continue on this path. The syringes were definitely exciting to see. I still got some solution left and I'm debating on inoculating more BRF jars or if I should branch out to other methods of growing and utilize it for those.

Definitely interested in starting agar work, but should I wait and see if I could pull prints from this possible grow I currently have going? Or should I just use the syringes to agar, then agar to grain?

Also, with the syringe needle itself, is it possible to reuse one after its been taken off another syringe? Or should I just buy some extra needles and if so what type? I have seen 'blunt' needles and wondered if they were any better.

Thanks for reading and any responses!

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26013019 -

All my needles that i buy i reuse to make my own ms syringes out of prints. Super easy and you can keep using them for awhile.

I would def get started with agar to learn it, once you get a really clean one you can do a grain jar and g2g that jar into 10 jars, then birth like 8 of those into shoeboxes and use the other two to g2g and make 20 more.

Lots of different routs you can take but agars def something you wanna get into sooner rather than later or you will get frustraited with contaminations


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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: Nikanoru]
    #26013207 -

Good to know, thanks Nikanoru!

Hmmm, might have to get some agar supplies come next paycheck and start playing around with it. Gonna have to do some more reading up on all the information around here to make sure I understand all the ins and outs.

The way you explained it with g2g, I just think, infinite shrooooooms! :mindblown:

I know it's not totally infinite, but I can totally see myself getting to a point where I have more than I know what to do with. And that's the goal! :pipesmoke:

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus] * 1
    #26019504 -

Hello everyone!

Updating this thread with day 8 pictures of my most progressive jars. Realized I have a limit in the amount of photo space I can upload to Shroomery, but I like how it allows for the zooming in of the pictures.

Slightly off topic: Does anyone know if I were to host it through a different site (imgur,imageshack, tinypic, etc.) does the same thing after placing the image URL into the reply?I wouldn't mind checking out the support program for Shroomery so I can upload an unlimited amount, but ever since I've gotten active on here again I have yet to see the store up and running. :uhoh:

Anyways, what everyone enjoys, pictures! My other jars aren't quite this far, but this is due to my inoculation technique ... which was garbage. Just too much solution in some, too little in others, but I'm happy with the outcomes so far nonetheless.

Pink Buffalo Jar:
       

Lizard King Jar:
       
The Lizard King jar looks a bit too wet, but this was the BRF mixture that was a little too wet before. So sorry the pictures aren't as clean, but I'm super stoked about its progress regardless!

I figure it won't be too long before I can throw it into the humidity chamber to begin fruiting! After some dunk and rolls of course. Let me know what you think.

As a side note, finally found a store that sells some whole grain oats, but it's about a 30 minute drive out. Gonna be worth it though to start Agar > Grain then Grain > Grain. After reading up on it, definitely a good way to create a consistent growth throughout jars, and just spawn them in bulk! Can't wait to get the process started Friday. Wish me luck!

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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus] * 1
    #26019677 -

Have you gotten agar supplies yet? A pressure cooker?


--------------------
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Re: Tried once, couldn't follow through, back at it again! BRF Cakes in HC! [Re: KoalaJesus]
    #26019756 -

KoalaJesus said:
Good to know, thanks Nikanoru!

Hmmm, might have to get some agar supplies come next paycheck and start playing around with it. Gonna have to do some more reading up on all the information around here to make sure I understand all the ins and outs.

The way you explained it with g2g, I just think, infinite shrooooooms! :mindblown:

I know it's not totally infinite, but I can totally see myself getting to a point where I have more than I know what to do with. And that's the goal! :pipesmoke:


G2G is def the shit, but you have to have your sterile tech down really well or contaminates sneak in. Usually I go to third generation and stop, once I hit the third I usually start to see some...interesting mutations


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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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