|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Help with monotubs
#26560759 - 03/27/20 09:07 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
I'm looking for advice on what to do with my grow. I have 2 unmodified 66qt sterilite tubs and 1 shoebox that I planted on 3-11 and 3-12. I did not follow any of the teks on here to the letter, instead I took the advice of a friend who has successfully grown before. He gave me some advice that runs counter to a lot of the prevailing wisdom around here and I think that's causing me some problems.
Here's the shoebox at 16 days, cracked from mishandling it:

Here's one monotub at 16 days:

And here's the monotub at 15 days:

So the good news is, I have 1 shroom clearly growing and 1 tiny nub (both in the same tub) but I'm concerned that the other 2 tubs aren't showing any clear growth and aren't changing much over time. I've been misting like 2 times a day recently and the photos were taken just after misting.
Should I do anything differently or just stay the course? After reading this thread I think I should add a casing layer but I don't know how much. I prepped some coir yesterday for another tub and I have extra left over in the bucket. It's been sitting at room temperature covered since yesterday - would it be fine to use it for the casing layer or should I prep more? Thanks to everyone for all the teks and support, this forum is great
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
Hey dude, that's my thread you found! I see possible knots in pic #2, and overall your surface looks a lot happier than mine did. Casing can't hurt if you want to give it a shot. I prepped a batch of coir to field capacity and then very lightly sprinkled it on the surface. Overall, it came to roughly 0.25 inches. My tub was a 56qt and I used about 90% of a quart jar of coir. Prep a little bit extra per tub if you go that route to make up for the size difference and see if it helps. You'll delay the fruiting process a little bit, but I found it to be worth the wait.
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26562660 - 03/28/20 08:01 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Thanks for the reply. So I still have leftover coir from a few days ago that's just been sitting in a tub - should I use that? I guess I'm worried that it's been sitting out for a few days and might be contaminated in some way. Maybe that's not a reasonable concern but I am just afraid of messing things up somehow.
I think at the very least, I'll case the shoebox because it seems to be the one that's struggling the most.
|
woofwoof
such mushrooms!



Registered: 01/04/19
Posts: 1,127
|
|
stop misting it so much - you only need to mist when it looks dry
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
People leave prepped coir out all the time without a problem. If you're really concerned about it you could prep/pasteurize it a second time, but I highly doubt you'll have any trouble with it after only a few days.
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26566963 - 03/30/20 10:38 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Here are some updates on the one tub:


It's hard to get good lighting on this (it's a mix of natural and overhead lighting) so the colors are a bit off. I tried to get a detail shot of the area that's concerning me. It seems some of the mycellium has a brown tint to it now and seems dry.
Do I need to do anything? I never added a casing layer to this tub because it seemed like it was doing fine but now I'm considering it. Will that negatively impact the mushroom nubs that have appeared already? I'm about to pluck that one mushroom by the way, I just haven't decided what to do with it. I don't have my still air box set up right now so I'm not sure how to handle it. My plan is to take a spore print and maybe use some of the stem to seed some agar plates (which I also don't have set up yet).
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
I don't see any brown myc in the pictures, but depending on where you're looking, it could just be thinly colonized so you can still sorta see the coir underneath. I'm more concerned about the metabolites in the top right of pic 2. I usually see a response like that when things are getting too wet on the surface. Definitely seems like you might be over misting. Is your tub still heavy? If it is, believe it or not you have plenty of water in there.
Casing won't hurt pins that have showed up already, but will probably delay a flush. The upshot is it works good for repairing your surface conditions (at least it did for me). Doing it at this stage is called a late casing--some people do it, most don't, but shouldn't hurt anything.
As far as that big guy is concerned, I can't see if the veil is broken, but it seems a little early to pluck if you want a print. You want that cap to be opened up more and the veil clearly broken. When you pluck it you can twist the cap off the stipe, stick it on a piece of foil, and then stick a kitchen glass over it for a day if you don't have your SAB ready. It won't be the cleanest print, but prints aren't ever truly clean anyway. The stipe itself you can toss in the fridge and it'll be ok in there for a while until you have the rest of your gear situated.
-------------------- Picture-Perfect Poly Lids Simple & Temporary One-Piece Metal Lids "Life is a great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud, and other times it lifts you up into the light." "Are we strapped to this wheel?" "That's a given. The point is, is that most times you get a second chance. You just gotta wait for the wheel."
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26567054 - 03/30/20 11:29 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
The spot that concerned me is the very top right of the second photo. It might just be the coir showing through but that area looks browner than elsewhere. Is that what you mean by metabolites? I'll cut back on the misting for sure.
I already plucked the big guy - the cap is sitting under a glass for a spore print and the stem is in the fridge until I figure stuff out. I'm fairly sure the veil broke as there is a small fringe on the stem below the cap and I saw hints of black dust on it and the base of the stem. Maybe I could have waited longer but I'm just getting so impatient :P
|
Roger Clemency
Smile


Registered: 03/23/20
Posts: 2,005
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26567080 - 03/30/20 11:43 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
I don’t know what’s going on there but it looks off. Is there a sweet smell in the tub?
And that single fruit growing there is one of the prettiest cubes I’ve ever seen. Clean and elegant. I hope many more pop up
Ninja
That veil was definitely broken. You can harvest them any time but if you want spores you have to let the cap open a bit first. I always harvest mine earlier than that because I like the way they look and past a certain point the mushrooms themselves stop gaining material they just start to fill up with more and more water so they take longer to dry but end up weighing the same, while stealing potential water from other mushrooms to come.
-------------------- Sour grapes, sweet revenge Heaven starts right where hell ends
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
Yeah, on my monitor it has more of a yellowish tinge in that area that look like metabolite. Myc will produce metabolites when it's stressed out or fighting off something. You've got pins and are making progress, so at this stage I don't think you have anything to worry about. Even if a few areas end up looking or getting a little dry it's okay to leave them be if the rest of the tub is okay.
I'm impatient a lot myself, and I've loved a few previous tubs to death with the same concerns you're having as a result. Sometimes letting it go for a little bit is the best course of action.
-------------------- Picture-Perfect Poly Lids Simple & Temporary One-Piece Metal Lids "Life is a great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud, and other times it lifts you up into the light." "Are we strapped to this wheel?" "That's a given. The point is, is that most times you get a second chance. You just gotta wait for the wheel."
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
|
Thanks for the reply, Chef. I feel like a proud parent for having such a nice looking shroom. Fingers crossed for more. I have a few more pins but it doesn't look like I'm gonna get a huge harvest from it. I'm sort of pivoting now, planning my next grow anticipating these won't pan out that well.
The shoebox seems to be liking the casing layer - no real issues there - but the other tub has a spot that looks concerning to me:

I guess I can only wait and see. In the mean time, I'm gonna read up and try to make sure my next grow doesn't have any of these issues.
|
OJ777
Stranger


Registered: 02/29/20
Posts: 59
Last seen: 3 years, 6 months
|
|
Clone that boy🤩
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: OJ777]
#26569083 - 03/31/20 12:53 PM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Definitely gonna clone it if I can! Half of the stipe is in the fridge for the next couple of days until I get everything set up. It's looking pretty bruised - hopefully that isn't a problem for cloning.
|
OJ777
Stranger


Registered: 02/29/20
Posts: 59
Last seen: 3 years, 6 months
|
|
As long as it’s just bruising it should be fine, but get to it!!
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: OJ777]
#26576838 - 04/04/20 08:14 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
I just harvested about 3.5 grams wet last night and I'm trying to decide what to do. There a few more stragglers that are now ready and some that will be ready later tonight. Should I just pluck them all and go for a second flush? And can anyone provide a link or explain how to do a second flush? Searching for that info has only yielded a ton of references to second flush but no real explanation.
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
Plucking the stragglers or waiting is totally up to you. 3.5g seems really low yield for a mono... you might have harvested too early, but I don't know what you're looking at.
If your tub still has weight, just put it back into fruiting conditions and walk away. A second flush will happen without any extra work if your tub is healthy.
-------------------- Picture-Perfect Poly Lids Simple & Temporary One-Piece Metal Lids "Life is a great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud, and other times it lifts you up into the light." "Are we strapped to this wheel?" "That's a given. The point is, is that most times you get a second chance. You just gotta wait for the wheel."
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26576883 - 04/04/20 08:50 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
I'll just dump some photos then. Here was yesterday pre harvest:
 Today:
 And a closeup showing the substrate pulling away from the sides of the tub by about an inch:
 There is a yellow tint to the surface made slightly worse by the artificial overhead light. The first photo is taken with more natural light.
I think I should have waited until today to pluck all of them and I would've gotten a little bit larger of a first flush. It's not a very successful monotub because I did not follow the teks to the letter (instead listening to a friend). I think that I didn't use enough spawn (1 pint jar for the entire tub) and the coir wasn't quite at field capacity.
|
Morbility
Cybernetic Psychonaut


Registered: 12/04/18
Posts: 166
Loc: Ilus IV
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
|
|
My advice is to pluck anything with a broken veil to avoid dealing with spore dump. Seems a tad dry. Give it a light misting and throw it back into fruiting conditions. I don't see any coloration that immediately jumps out as a concern.
-------------------- Picture-Perfect Poly Lids Simple & Temporary One-Piece Metal Lids "Life is a great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud, and other times it lifts you up into the light." "Are we strapped to this wheel?" "That's a given. The point is, is that most times you get a second chance. You just gotta wait for the wheel."
|
George Sears
43rd President of the US



Registered: 02/23/13
Posts: 1,477
Loc: New Mexico
|
Re: Help with monotubs [Re: Morbility]
#26576914 - 04/04/20 09:11 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
How big is that tub? I think your issue with the small flush is that your not getting any FAE, and that definitely doesn’t look like any tub that would accommodate for it.
As far as rehydrating, skip the misting. Dunk it if you’ve got all the decently sized pins out of there. A dunk will allow the whole sub to rehydrate instead of just a tiny bit of water at the top. Sorry to say, but I don’t think you’re gonna get a whole lot more out of this one.
Additionally, if you’re looking to work with smaller tubs for your grows, here’s a mini-mono tek I wrote up a few years back. Most of the links still seem to work, but feel free to send me questions.
Edited by George Sears (04/04/20 09:16 AM)
|
disposabletemp
Stranger
Registered: 03/24/20
Posts: 9
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
|
|
Thanks for the info. It's a 66qt tub. I hope these tubs will work for my next grow, I really don't want to have to go out and get more. I've had a lot of issues with this and it's unclear exactly what I need to fix. For example, I had a lot of problems getting my WBS to fully colonize. The WBS I used for these took about 2 full months to colonize and only a few jars made it - the others were contaminated or just didn't grow anything. I think some of my issues are from weak or contaminated spawn (as in the second tub) and simply not using enough spawn per tub.
I definitely have airflow issues. I probably should have my ceiling fan on more often but it makes me too cold I think an extra inch or so of substrate coupled with being more diligent about the ceiling fan might fix a lot of my airflow issues.
Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a dunk and see if that helps.
|
|