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A.k.a
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Registered: 10/27/19
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Cling wrap, not Saran, or parafilm.
Just go buy a roll of glad cling and cut it into 1.5 inch rolls with a box cutter or hacksaw or whatever. It’ll save you a ton of time and wrap, I didn’t cut mine for a while cuz I thought it would be hard but it wasn’t and it wraps so fast and nice in little rolls.
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LAGM2020     
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: A.k.a]
#26475530 - 02/08/20 01:40 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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No thats for poured plates with no pours you don't need to wrap anything. You also dont need any special storage. You want to inoculate in a still air box not in open air or a regular old cabinet. You could convert the cabinet to a still air box though. Maybe. Maybe I misunderstood that idk. You can however store them in the cabinet both pre and post inoculation it shouldn'tbe a problem.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26476518 - 02/09/20 07:44 AM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I'm about to make my agar today, so I just wanted to tell you my walkthrough and let me know if I'm good to go on what I'm doing or if something is wrong:
1) Mix 9mg agar and 9 mg LME with 500 mL of water (is this supposed to be boiling water or tap water?) 2) Pour into mini mason jars 3) Flip lids upside down (no GE holes or anything/unmodified) and put rings on very loosely (not sure how loose I should be leaving them...?) 4) Foil over top 5) PC for 30 (or 45 minutes?) at 15 psi 6) Leave in PC overnight to cool 7) Inoculate 24 hours later
I really can't wait to inoculate my agar to find out what may be in B+ syringe and why my millet jars failed and bring it to fruition!
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LadysKnight
Hello Ladies


Registered: 10/09/15
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1) g's, not mg's. Mix cold, then heat to just the start of a boil
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: LadysKnight]
#26476609 - 02/09/20 09:01 AM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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So mix all with cold tap water, but then stick into microwave to boil before pouring? I’m doing no pour. If I were to just mix with already boiling water how will that affect it or what will be the difference?
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
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Quote:
psycho_nauticus said: I'm about to make my agar today, so I just wanted to tell you my walkthrough and let me know if I'm good to go on what I'm doing or if something is wrong:
1) Mix 9grams agar and 9 grams LME with 500 mL of cold water. 2) Bring to a boil 3) Pour into mini mason jars 4) Let them cool 5) Flip lids upside down (no GE holes or anything/unmodified) and put rings on just barely snug enough to hold the lid in place. 6) Foil over top 7) PC for 30 at 15 psi 8) Leave in PC to cool 9) Inoculate 24 hours later
I really can't wait to inoculate my agar to find out what may be in B+ syringe and why my millet jars failed and bring it to fruition!
Ok. Fixed the list for you. Pladtic lids are left very loose. Flipped metal lids must be just sbug enough to hold the lid in place but never overtighten. You dont have to let them cool overnight just until the pressure cooker is no longer warm. Overnight is ok but you may end up with some condensation whixh is ok. Dont forget when pressure cooker to bring temps up slow and when yet are done bring them down slow. Dont forget to vent steam on PC for 10 minutes before adding the rocker weight. Goodluck cant wait to see rhe results.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26476707 - 02/09/20 10:03 AM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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Thanks. Also anything with a plastic screw top lid needs NO gas holes in the lids right? It only needs a hole if the container itself is plastic right? If it’s glass with a plastic screw top lid then still no holes correct? And no foil for plastic lids, only metal lids? I came across the plastic glad containers with screw top lids and then also glass mason jars with plastic lids. I’m tying to decide which to buy.
Also, I need to mix everything cold, not with boiling water, but with cold tap water and in a mason jar. Then I need to put everything in the microwave to boil it before pouring?
Edited by psycho_nauticus (02/09/20 10:10 AM)
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26477006 - 02/09/20 02:07 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I came across little 4 oz mason jars, and then I came across the 8 oz anchor ones you were talking about and showed me and can get plastic lids with them. Also the plastic Glad ones were there screw top lids. Out of all those which ones are going to serve me the best? Because I don't know what other work lays ahead of me except you guys, so which is the best choice out of all those?
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gizmo1



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Do the 4 oz ones have the quilted pattern on the side? If so they dont work well due to visibility. The screw top ziploc ones work good and probably have the best visibility out of all these but bob around in the pc if not weighed down amd also can get expensive if working with alot of them. The glass anchor ones are good but kind of heavy and bulky if working with alot of them. I like them though price good visibility ok, dont bob around and I use the weight of them to my advantage while working in SAB it makes it really easy to spin the lids on and off one handed. The height of them is also a downside too though.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26477078 - 02/09/20 03:00 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I know to stay away from the quilted ones. The 4 oz are actually smooth and clear, not quilted, but with metal rings and lids. No plastic top options like the others. So what would you go with out of all these? The 4 oz ones looked pretty attractive to me because they were smaller, but I don't know if that's a good thing or will make things more difficult for me in the long run because I'm not sure how size will affect things for growing mycelium when I inoculate them or transferring or cutting wedges to inoculate, etc. So out of all those what would go with?
I just got my telephone brand agar and LME. I just want to pick the best containers for myself since I'm starting with no pour, and you guys know better than me which ones will benefit me more.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26477545 - 02/09/20 07:49 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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While letting it cool in the mini mason jars do I need to keep it covered or anything while cooling before putting the lids on? Will particles or anything get in them while I let it sit and cool before PC'ing?
Also, what is the difference between boiling it up in the microwave than already pouring boiled water into mixture? Does that make a significant impact in what happens? I'm just curious for the sake of knowing.
Will be posting pics tomorrow of my first agar!
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
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Quote:
psycho_nauticus said: I know to stay away from the quilted ones. The 4 oz are actually smooth and clear, not quilted, but with metal rings and lids. No plastic top options like the others. So what would you go with out of all these? The 4 oz ones looked pretty attractive to me because they were smaller, but I don't know if that's a good thing or will make things more difficult for me in the long run because I'm not sure how size will affect things for growing mycelium when I inoculate them or transferring or cutting wedges to inoculate, etc. So out of all those what would go with?
I just got my telephone brand agar and LME. I just want to pick the best containers for myself since I'm starting with no pour, and you guys know better than me which ones will benefit me more.
It all comes down to preference try them all or pick which one you think looks better. If it were me I'd try the 4oz jelly jars but I've never been able to find the ones that dont have the quilted pattern on them. Except the expensive ass ones that come in a 4 pack.
Quote:
psycho_nauticus said: While letting it cool in the mini mason jars do I need to keep it covered or anything while cooling before putting the lids on? Will particles or anything get in them while I let it sit and cool before PC'ing?
Also, what is the difference between boiling it up in the microwave than already pouring boiled water into mixture? Does that make a significant impact in what happens? I'm just curious for the sake of knowing.
Will be posting pics tomorrow of my first agar!
Mixing it into boiling water will work but it can make it clump and can also do something weird to the proteins in the malt extract. Which causes what looks like brown clumps and is sometimes confused with carmelization. The main reason I stopped mixing it hot is I like to filter the nutrient water before adding agar powder to the mix and I've burned myself doing so. Its just easier to deal with while cool.
It doesn't matter if anything lands on open jars while cooling because you will be sterilizing it afterwards. Also you can skip this step it is strictly for reducing condensation. If you dont want to skip it or are worried about something landing in the jars for some reason throw a clean towel over the top. To make yourself feel better or whatever. Confidence is key after all.
Also I like the new avitar. I give it two
Edited by gizmo1 (02/09/20 10:14 PM)
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26477973 - 02/10/20 05:11 AM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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Thanks! I’ll be posting pictures later today after work when I make my agar.
My millet jars have turned all sweaty looking inside... It looks like the mycelium has spread some more somewhat, but is that from the temperature differential since they’re is probably more heat and temperature inside the jar?
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gizmo1



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It could just be condensation yes. Or the grains could have been prepped too wet. Or the jars could have bacteria. I cant really say for sure which it is and haven't seen the jars lol.
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Sockadin



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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26478483 - 02/10/20 12:09 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I just want to make sure we are not fixing to boil jars with metal rings in the microwave right?
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: Sockadin]
#26478584 - 02/10/20 01:20 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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No, any microwave boiling we were talking about pertains to agar.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26478637 - 02/10/20 01:52 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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If I want to take pictures of my agar or even open it up to check growth, is it okay to open it in open air? Or will it contaminate from air borne contaminants?
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A.k.a
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Don’t open it outside the SAB, and even then not a great idea.
That’s why petris are great.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: A.k.a]
#26478678 - 02/10/20 02:28 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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Oh crap, so how do I check on growth then, take pics, etc. Inevitably I’m going to have to keep up with checking on growth... I feel like I just wasted my money on all this stuff if I really can't open and track it for growth or take pictures, etc.
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Edited by psycho_nauticus (02/10/20 03:26 PM)
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Agar for a noob like me? [Re: gizmo1]
#26478937 - 02/10/20 05:10 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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So my agar is in the PC right now. I think out of the dozen I did only half came out correctly. Half of them have this light froth from the mix, or I don’t know if it was still too hot when I poured...? I’m not sure what this is from. I only planned on starting with six, but when I noticed this I grabbed the other six jars left over, and poured the rest. The rest didn’t come out like that and came out more clear. I don’t know if it’s because my agar cooled a little before I poured, or the first batch was way too hot when I poured, I don’t know, or the mixture itself....? I did 9 grams agar/LME. The six that look like that aren’t going to give good visibility are they? Should I just chunk those when they’re done? The first six that I poured look like the picture on the top. The last six I did look like the picture on the bottom. Should I chunk those? Should I just get rid of the ones that look like the top? I can’t imagine how I would get good visibility on the surface whenever it’s already like that. This is my first time doing any agar.

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