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InsultingLizard
Stranger

Registered: 01/04/20
Posts: 546
Last seen: 3 months, 23 days
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Wanting confirmation on methodology
#26540501 - 03/17/20 10:40 AM (3 years, 10 months ago) |
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Every batch of PF cakes I've attempted I've had issues with moisture content. The substrate gets this disgusting look and a lot of the jars end up never finishing or colonizing far too slowly. My guess is bacterial contamination. I think my vermiculite just doesn't hold water that well. I wanted some confirmation on my methodology for finding a better balance:
First attempt: 7 jars Substrate: Regular PF mix (2:1:1 verm-water-BRF by volume) Results: * 2 jars finished successfully, although one I had to flip to let the mycelium colonize the bottom. * 1 jar contaminated by mold. * 1 jar colonized way too slowly and I ended up throwing it out. * 3 jars never germinated, but it was probably just old spores.
Second attempt: 10 jars Substrate: Regular PF mix + gypsum (approximately 1 g per 900 g of substrate) Results: * Initially very aggressive colonization on nearly all jars. * 3 jars will definitely be done this week, after about 25 days. * 1 further jar may take a little longer. * The rest look completely stalled, and the substrate has a disgustingly moist look.
Third attempt: 10 jars Substrate: Regular PF mix + gypsum. It's possible the gypsum might have been too much; I didn't yet have a decigram scale. Results: * None of the jars germinated after 10 days. They all got the moist look after a week.
Fourth attempt: 12 jars Substrate: 4 jars with PF 91% water (200:91:100 verm-water-BRF), 4 jars with PF 83%, 4 jars with PF 75%; forgot to add gypsum this time. Results: * None of the 91% jars germinated. * 2 of the 83% jars are colonizing. * 3 of the 75% are colonizing.
So, do you guys think I'm onto something here? I'm kind of stumped that none of the jars in my third attempt germinated. I kind feel like the absorptivity of the verm is slightly changing as I go down the bag, or maybe it's absorbing air moisture, I don't know. As a final note, I always sterilize my jars in steam for 2 hours.
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LadysKnight
Hello Ladies


Registered: 10/09/15
Posts: 1,670
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Are you mixing the verm and water first, before adding the brf?
Then after adding the brf, giving it a squeeze test for field capacity?
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InsultingLizard
Stranger

Registered: 01/04/20
Posts: 546
Last seen: 3 months, 23 days
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Re: Wanting confirmation on methodology [Re: LadysKnight]
#26540572 - 03/17/20 11:11 AM (3 years, 10 months ago) |
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Yes, I'm doing it in that order. No, I'm not testing capacity, just been following the tek to the letter.
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SynKyd
ctrl-alt-delite



Registered: 09/27/13
Posts: 1,554
Loc: ૐ
Last seen: 2 years, 9 months
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Probably too wet, if your spores are clean. MS syringes are a crap shoot on contaminations, agar recommended!
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InsultingLizard
Stranger

Registered: 01/04/20
Posts: 546
Last seen: 3 months, 23 days
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Some of the spore syringes in my tests were from a sponsor here and some were mine. I didn't notice any difference in contamination rates, although the ones from the sponsor were the ones that colonized really aggressively initially. I wonder if there are any antibacterial agents I could add to the syringe water that won't harm the spores...
I was going to do agar, but I don't have a blender to do LI and it didn't convince me it was all that great for PF tek. I'll definitely do agar when I switch to grains, which I'm planning to do in a few weeks. PF tek isn't working that great for me because of the above problems and because finding the right jars is a nightmare.
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Sunny Skies
Cluster Head


Registered: 05/03/17
Posts: 421
Loc: my house
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Don't need a blender to run agar...you do need a pressure cooker though..get the biggest one your wallet can handle. Honestly mate...if you're able to spend and commit time youre good...get into agar..its so fucking easy.
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InsultingLizard
Stranger

Registered: 01/04/20
Posts: 546
Last seen: 3 months, 23 days
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Re: Wanting confirmation on methodology [Re: Sunny Skies]
#26540808 - 03/17/20 01:30 PM (3 years, 10 months ago) |
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Don't I need to blend the agar into LI in order to inject it into a PF jar? Anyway, like I said, I'm going to switch to grains and shoeboxes in a few weeks. I already have almost everything I need: PC, agar powder, petris... I only need to find a good glass bottle and boxes. Last time I used a cheap liquor bottle, but I fucked up while doing the test and cracked it from rapid cooling. I keep forgetting to not attempt to rapidly cool glass.
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Sunny Skies
Cluster Head


Registered: 05/03/17
Posts: 421
Loc: my house
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cut it up with scissors or if its powder....besides you may want to heat it up a bit so it blends in before putting it in your pyrex bottle....I do and have never had an issue.
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InsultingLizard
Stranger

Registered: 01/04/20
Posts: 546
Last seen: 3 months, 23 days
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Re: Wanting confirmation on methodology [Re: Sunny Skies]
#26576682 - 04/04/20 04:38 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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Just in case someone reads this, reducing the water content was a mistake. After a while the cakes stall hard and the mycelium dries out. Better to let the mycelium fight off the bacteria. It will take a while to colonize but most jars will finish in the end.
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