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thecynicalstoic
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Registered: 05/02/19
Posts: 59
Loc: CO, US
Last seen: 5 months, 16 days
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: thecynicalstoic]
#26065203 - 06/21/19 07:45 AM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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Well huh. This cultivation log has done an excellent job of showing the patience it takes during colonization. So, where do I currently stand?
Still in the process of getting rid of damn near everything. With all of the people going through the house, I wound up putting my SGFCs in another room, and it was time to dunk the cakes after their fourth flush anyway. That was last weekend, and I haven't undunked them. Oops. My experimental shoebox wound up yielding 57.81g, which is cool, but seems really sparse from a visual perspective. Again, this was cakes that already had flushed once, were neglected for weeks, and then dunked and shredded (only 3 small cakes). But I noticed that the coir seems to attract a lot of gnats or something, and it just now started getting some contamination.
I still have 9 perfect jars that are ready to go into shoeboxes. But I'm debating quite a lot. I did the dubtub method since I had extra shoeboxes, even though I plan to use plastic bags on this next batch. The fuzzy feet has made it quite clear that I do not have enough air flow in my house, and will have to fan more. But I'm not a fan of those gnats. I didn't have that issue with the tSGFC, so I'm kind of debating on doing that with these cakes instead. I will probably do at least one, just to see if there is a difference, and I'd like to see a shoebox with the proper mycelium ratio fruit.
And here is where I am now. My syringes are almost out, and I don't yet have a pressure cooker. So I need a way to temporarily halt my mycology work with what I have now. I'm poking around a bit, but I think that spore prints will be the way to go until I get on the boat. Before we leave the US, I will wind up getting a pressure cooker, test tubes for slants, and plates for agar, but for now it is just more stuff to move.
I know I won't have the same issue with FAE on the boat, but contamination will probably be different and harder to deal with. However, based on layouts of boats we are looking at, I do believe that the absolute worst case scenario would be needing to do (and learn, since I haven't done it yet) SAB work on the setee birth. This will be kind of like doing it on the floor, so I'll see what works. It may require a bit of trial and error once it isn't theoretical, but I feel like I'm capable of getting this down on a boat (I will totally try doing SAB work under way at 30°+, just to see). Just have to slow down a bit. Getting this boat is my priority, and then the mycology game picks up in earnest. I know the better half really wants me to expand out into edibles (morels, shittakes, and portobellos/buttons), and I will most definitely do that at the very least on the boat, just because mushrooms are super tasty.
So I'll get a recap of these 4 flushes in my tSGFCs, and post some charts a bit later.
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ShaperDreaming
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Registered: 10/30/18
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: thecynicalstoic]
#26065306 - 06/21/19 08:47 AM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
thecynicalstoic said: And here is where I am now. My syringes are almost out, and I don't yet have a pressure cooker. So I need a way to temporarily halt my mycology work with what I have now. I'm poking around a bit, but I think that spore prints will be the way to go until I get on the boat. Before we leave the US, I will wind up getting a pressure cooker, test tubes for slants, and plates for agar, but for now it is just more stuff to move.
Did you take prints? It's pretty easy to get back going again with prints from your own fruits. You can make dozens of syringes off one print. Take some from what you have currently growing before you shut down if you haven't yet!
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thecynicalstoic
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Registered: 05/02/19
Posts: 59
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Last seen: 5 months, 16 days
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: ShaperDreaming]
#26065561 - 06/21/19 11:45 AM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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Oh yeah, I'm just done with this first part. I still have 9 good jars and 3 somewhat contaminated jars where the mycelium seems to be winning. I'll be taking spore prints off of these ones. I'm just not certain how I want to fruit them.
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thecynicalstoic
Cheap Beginner


Registered: 05/02/19
Posts: 59
Loc: CO, US
Last seen: 5 months, 16 days
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: thecynicalstoic]
#26109337 - 07/15/19 09:42 AM (5 years, 6 months ago) |
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The kingdom of Cubentinium was surrounded by enemies. This was a fact of their existence. On occasion, the Great Houses of the Kingdom are called upon to volunteer soldiers for the militia, for one campaign of expansion or another. On the 18th day of the 5th month, the House of the Golden Teacher and the House of Bee Add began training 6 soldiers each.
Training in Cubentinium was not easy, and fatalities were not uncommon. Granted, the citizenry considered training to last right up until the battleground is reached. One must understand the political infighting that happens between Cubentinium Great Houses to understand the pitfalls of a militia made up of two of them. While they are all part of the Kingdom, they are constantly vying for power among themselves.
While what most normal societies call training was completed, the militia began the trek to the chosen section of The Wilds to expand the reach of the Kingdom (and of course to increase the influence of their own respective Houses). At one point, they were set upon by a band of Warriors of Mould. The battle was severe. Two soldiers from the House of the Golden Teacher were struck with the poisoned arrows the Moulds were known for using. The Houses camped separately, which is why the warriors didn't attack the Bee Add soldiers.
Aglomben was the youngest son of a minor member of the House of the Golden Teacher. He wasn't the most coordinated of the soldiers, but his commitment came to be respected by all. He was the one on watch when the band attacked. The Warriors sneaked up in the darkness, and from a hidden position, struck with a volley of poison darts towards the camp. Aglomben somehow saw them flying through the air, and was able to raise the alarm before being pierced with dozens of the darts, falling to the ground. The battle was fierce, but with the exception of Yridhren, an experienced Maiden of War who took a dart in the arm, the Warriors of Mould were dispatched without further casualties.
The resilience of members of the House of the Golden Teacher is known, respected, and aspired to across the lands. This was no exception. Even severely injured, and unable to walk, Aglomben was carried by his housemates on a stretcher, as he fought the infection coursing through his body. Sometimes he was able to sit up, and seemed weak, but normal. Other times he'd be feverish and look to be on the edge of death. Yridhren continued walking, the infection in her arm held at bay by a tourniquet she fashioned out of the clothing of one of the Warriors she killed.
On the 8th day of the 7th month, they reached the body of water they needed to cross. Aglomben succumbed to his injuries, as it turned out the infection ate him away from the inside. Yridhren knew that the poison was sapping her, and she wouldn't survive the crossing with it still inside of her. She gave a look to her housemates, and laid her sword on the fire. When it got red hot, she stood, took a deep breath, and in a motion almost too fast to see, grabbed the handle of the sword, and amputated her own arm. She didn't utter a word, but beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Without any more ceremony, the cauterized wound still angry and aching, the Militia entered the body of water, and began the last leg of their journey.
2 days later,the 11 remaining soldiers of the militia emerged from the deep, ready for war. The blowing sand was a reminder of the constant trade winds that constantly blew through this area. It has already been mentioned that the House of the Golden Teacher was known for their resiliency. The House of the Bee Add was known for something else. Nobody quite knew what it was though. It was a secret that has been kept for 100s of years. Magic of some kind, that much was certain, but the specifics were nonexistent. This mystery could have very easily cost them the campaign, but the House of the Golden Teacher had already experienced the indifference, and didn't depend on them.
While still dripping wet, one of them pointed in the direction of a small Coir settlement. Without a sound, all 6 housemates drew their weapons and started sneaking in the direction pointed. As they came upon the settlement, they all silently surrounded it, dropped to their knees, and impaled themselves, spilling their lifeblood onto the ground. A glow appeared, encapsulating the settlement, getting so bright the remaining 5 members of the militia needed to look away. When it dissipated, there was no sign of the 6. Investigating further, an invisible barrier surrounded the settlement. The leader of the Golden Teachers, Dinen, shrugged. They had their own goals too. They set off in the direction of their targets. Two rundown industrial complexes. They infiltrated them without a problem, and placed themselves in a meditative state on top of a small amount of water. It was for this state of zen that their resiliency was so highly prized and cultivated. 3 members in one of the complexes, and 2 in the other.
The campaign was a success, and it was time to wait for the reach of the Kingdom to establish itself.
************************************* Shit, what I meant to say was that I dunked 11 of my cakes, tossed 1, shredded 6 to a single coir shoe box, and have 5 cakes in my tSGFCs. Oh, and it's super hot, so I have fans going. No fuzzy feet this time hopefully.
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thecynicalstoic
Cheap Beginner


Registered: 05/02/19
Posts: 59
Loc: CO, US
Last seen: 5 months, 16 days
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: thecynicalstoic]
#26138263 - 08/16/19 11:06 AM (5 years, 4 months ago) |
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I got the warning. This thread hasn't been posted to in 31 days. Granted, as I am wont to do, I totally thought that the site went down because something about my writing stuff. 
Quick update. I'm shifting to a psychonautical existence soon. To that end, I actually sold my buddy all of my myco gear, along with the 5 1/2 cakes. I get caught up in the science, and what is happening. The better half, as I was explaining everything to my friend, told him that it's significantly less complicated than I make it sound. Fair enough. I have fallen deeply in love with mycology, and the science is probably a big part why. Shaper called me a data hound, and I think that's accurate. I sent my friend the link to this particular thread, so I am going to be writing out everything I think he should know, my existing setup, links to resources, and provide the opportunity for some of the more knowledgeable folks to provide feedback, and what his best bet is. I don't know if he'll actually join up, and if he does, he should definitely not make our IRL connection known. Hint hint. 
Okay, let's break things down. I'll start with the current grow and equipment, and then go to the other stuff I included. On this site, and with the links I will include, there are acronyms that you should be aware of, just so you don't get overwhelmed. BRF is Brown Rice Flour. In my case, it's the brown rice in the nutribullet I use. PF actually means Psilocybe Fanaticus, but it is essentially the method of using jars to make cakes (cakes are the things that come out of the jars, and you have 5 1/2 of them). I have two small tupperware containers modified to be SGFCs (ShotGun Fruiting Chamber). These containers are technically too small, but it's what I had available, and seems to have worked so far. Holes in a container, perlite on the bottom. For information on Shotgun Fruiting Chambers, this "Basic Principles of the Shotgun Fruiting Chamber" link is extremely useful. The most important thing to remember for you is that you need to have the SGFCs (I call them tSGFC for tiny Shotgun Fruiting Chamber) elevated. The holes on the bottom need to be exposed to air. I used these sauce cups on a cookie sheet. I know you can figure out a good method.
You don't want to place the cakes directly on the perlite. Most of the time, people use foil to put the cakes on (and I did that at first). However, you have 8 (?) plastic jar lids, and I've been putting the cakes on those, and bottom watering (pretty much putting water in the inverted lids). If you want to know more about that, this TEK has a lot of useful info. Oh, TEK is used often here, and it mostly means the methodology used. Some folks think it means technique, and others know it's actually an acronym for...something I forgot. It doesn't matter, it's just a shorthand for methodology. You are setup for PF TEK.
The big ass rubbermaid I included (that we put everything in) is intended to be a Still Air Box. This was for agar work, which I never actually got around to. In the previous page (3), there is a post I made that mentioned the agar stuff I was planning to follow, but again, I didn't actually get to it, so I can only point you in that direction, and tell you that based on my research, it's the best route. You do need a pressure cooker, which I don't. And I procrastinate.
Okay so the current state of things. These cakes have already been harvested once. This is called a flush. Between flushes, you dunk the cakes for at least 12 hours to restore moisture. Now, since I last dunked these, I messed something up. The cakes are currently infected with cobweb mold. This is a super useful link ShaperDreaming posted for me. I don't have AC, and things have been super hot lately, which I suspect played a part, since higher temperatures seem to be good for contamination. Also, I may not have cleaned the pot properly, since all of that contamination just appeared. I honestly am not sure what needs to be done for those cakes. Once I noticed the cobwebs, I redunked them with peroxide, and cleaned off all of the remnants.
Worst case, those cakes are fucked. I am really sorry about that, and seriously never had an issue with the cakes. You have 3 spore syringes, and 12 canning jars with Self Healing Injection Ports. For the mixture of Brown Rice Flour and Vermiculite, follow the instructions here. However, when it comes time to actually use the syringes, you want to follow the instructions laid out here.
You also have two shoeboxes, 4 lids, and coir. I tried this methodology, but wound up dealing with contamination, and didn't have any luck. You've got the stuff required, but I can't help unfortunately, since I didn't actually succeed.
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ShaperDreaming
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Registered: 10/30/18
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: thecynicalstoic]
#26138790 - 08/16/19 05:44 PM (5 years, 4 months ago) |
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Awesome work. I'm excited to see where things go. The forum hasn't been back that long, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Good to see you still around.
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thecynicalstoic
Cheap Beginner


Registered: 05/02/19
Posts: 59
Loc: CO, US
Last seen: 5 months, 16 days
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Re: That whole "just start it already" thing really works!! [Re: StrohngBahd]
#26666886 - 05/12/20 03:33 PM (4 years, 8 months ago) |
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StrohngBahd said: Ooh, Psychonautical
Quote:
ShaperDreaming said: a sail boat!
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verum subsequentis said: you got me with the 42 foot sail boat bit. I love sailing. I had a twenty three foot ranger out in the blue for four months and have thought a lot about the logistics of growing while living aboard. What about coast guard walk ons though?
Anyone want to guess what I've been up to for the last 8 months?
Edited by thecynicalstoic (05/12/20 03:33 PM)
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