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belingle
Stranger
Registered: 06/03/20
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Is this contaminated?
#26861233 - 08/03/20 05:01 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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I feel like it is. It smells kind of funky too. How tf did this happen? i was fairly careful. I have other jars and none of them smell or look this funny.
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skullhuman
the skullman cometh



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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861240 - 08/03/20 05:02 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Ah yeah, that's some bacterial sludge for sure. What's your technique?
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: skullhuman]
#26861248 - 08/03/20 05:15 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
skullhuman said: Ah yeah, that's some bacterial sludge for sure. What's your technique?
What do you mean exactly? I filled jars with hydrated wbs, pressure cooked them, put spores in it using my spore syringe within a still air box. I wiped down the inside of the sab with alcohol before i used it.
Most of my other jars don't look like that. they have all been sitting in a tub together. is it likely that they are contaminated too? I really don't want to have to redo this.
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Rapjack
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861271 - 08/03/20 05:27 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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They probably are but to a lesser degree. You'll still get fruits from mildly bacterial spawn, possibly just less and not as healthy. I say this because spore syringes are basically always contaminated somewhat and grain is highly nutritious. Feel free to post pics if you're unsure!
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skullhuman
the skullman cometh



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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861278 - 08/03/20 05:30 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
skullhuman said: Ah yeah, that's some bacterial sludge for sure. What's your technique?
What do you mean exactly? I filled jars with hydrated wbs, pressure cooked them, put spores in it using my spore syringe within a still air box. I wiped down the inside of the sab with alcohol before i used it.
Most of my other jars don't look like that. they have all been sitting in a tub together. is it likely that they are contaminated too? I really don't want to have to redo this.
Start the spores on agar next time, preferably from print. That way you can isolate clean growth from any contaminants before going to grain. Spores are never 100% clean.
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: skullhuman]
#26861308 - 08/03/20 05:43 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
skullhuman said:
Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
skullhuman said: Ah yeah, that's some bacterial sludge for sure. What's your technique?
What do you mean exactly? I filled jars with hydrated wbs, pressure cooked them, put spores in it using my spore syringe within a still air box. I wiped down the inside of the sab with alcohol before i used it.
Most of my other jars don't look like that. they have all been sitting in a tub together. is it likely that they are contaminated too? I really don't want to have to redo this.
Start the spores on agar next time, preferably from print. That way you can isolate clean growth from any contaminants before going to grain. Spores are never 100% clean.
Is it not possible that they grow this bacteria and get contaminated after being transferred to grain? What is the advantage exactly? Can it not get contaminated either way? I'm just wondering what I'm missing here. Like do you mean that you can separate contaminated parts of the agar from non contaminated parts?
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: Rapjack]
#26861316 - 08/03/20 05:46 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Rapjack said: They probably are but to a lesser degree. You'll still get fruits from mildly bacterial spawn, possibly just less and not as healthy. I say this because spore syringes are basically always contaminated somewhat and grain is highly nutritious. Feel free to post pics if you're unsure!
How would my spore syringe have gotten contaminated? Would the inside of it likely be contaminated? I recently have been wiping down the syringe itself with alcohol before putting it into the still air box. I'm just trying to pin point why this happened and how to stop it from happening again?
I assume this contaminated jar is completely useless and should be thrown out now, yes? I may post pics of the other jars in a bit.
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skullhuman
the skullman cometh



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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861325 - 08/03/20 05:50 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
skullhuman said:
Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
skullhuman said: Ah yeah, that's some bacterial sludge for sure. What's your technique?
What do you mean exactly? I filled jars with hydrated wbs, pressure cooked them, put spores in it using my spore syringe within a still air box. I wiped down the inside of the sab with alcohol before i used it.
Most of my other jars don't look like that. they have all been sitting in a tub together. is it likely that they are contaminated too? I really don't want to have to redo this.
Start the spores on agar next time, preferably from print. That way you can isolate clean growth from any contaminants before going to grain. Spores are never 100% clean.
Is it not possible that they grow this bacteria and get contaminated after being transferred to grain? What is the advantage exactly? Can it not get contaminated either way? I'm just wondering what I'm missing here. Like do you mean that you can separate contaminated parts of the agar from non contaminated parts?
Mushrooms aren't grown in a sterile environment, thus the spores they drop are not 100% contaminant free. The invader could've been introduced from the syringe itself, or during inoculation if your technique was not up to par, but either way- you're taking an added risk when going directly from spore to grain. You'll make your life easier by starting the growth on agar and transferring away from any contaminants that appear before inoculating grain.
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Rapjack
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861328 - 08/03/20 05:52 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Precisely. Agar is 2D and transparent so you can visibly see the contamination. If you continually transfer away clean looking edges of your myc it will eventually "out run" them.
Jars can go bacterial post-inoculation but only if your technique was flawed, if you used clean agar.
Your spore syringe was contaminated before it was even a syringe. Mushrooms are grown in open air, not a closed sterile enviroment. So any mold or bacteria that were in the air rides along with those spores, too.
And yeah, toss that jar.
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Edited by Rapjack (08/03/20 05:54 PM)
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skullhuman
the skullman cometh



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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861331 - 08/03/20 05:52 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
Rapjack said: They probably are but to a lesser degree. You'll still get fruits from mildly bacterial spawn, possibly just less and not as healthy. I say this because spore syringes are basically always contaminated somewhat and grain is highly nutritious. Feel free to post pics if you're unsure!
How would my spore syringe have gotten contaminated? Would the inside of it likely be contaminated? I recently have been wiping down the syringe itself with alcohol before putting it into the still air box. I'm just trying to pin point why this happened and how to stop it from happening again?
I assume this contaminated jar is completely useless and should be thrown out now, yes? I may post pics of the other jars in a bit.
Yes, don't try spawning that bacterial mess- toss it.
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: skullhuman]
#26861488 - 08/03/20 07:28 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
skullhuman said:
Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
Rapjack said: They probably are but to a lesser degree. You'll still get fruits from mildly bacterial spawn, possibly just less and not as healthy. I say this because spore syringes are basically always contaminated somewhat and grain is highly nutritious. Feel free to post pics if you're unsure!
How would my spore syringe have gotten contaminated? Would the inside of it likely be contaminated? I recently have been wiping down the syringe itself with alcohol before putting it into the still air box. I'm just trying to pin point why this happened and how to stop it from happening again?
I assume this contaminated jar is completely useless and should be thrown out now, yes? I may post pics of the other jars in a bit.
Yes, don't try spawning that bacterial mess- toss it.
The jar itself should be able to be re-used, right? as long as its cleaned and pressure cooked in future uses? also in general, how do i get the mycelium/grain out of jars? its pretty stuck together in many of them. Do you think its likely my other jars are contaminated too even if none of them look like this?
none of the other ones smell or look like this one, this one sort of smells like wine or alcohol or something....
anyways, where can i read more about this agar inoculation stuff? i want to try it out in the future. are there any specific grow tutorials in general that you guys recommend? im looking for something on the simpler and cheaper side. this is already a lot for my first time growing.
Edited by belingle (08/03/20 07:52 PM)
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AlsetAlokin
Student


Registered: 07/30/20
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861502 - 08/03/20 07:34 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
belingle said:
Is it not possible that they grow this bacteria and get contaminated after being transferred to grain? What is the advantage exactly? Can it not get contaminated either way? I'm just wondering what I'm missing here. Like do you mean that you can separate contaminated parts of the agar from non contaminated parts?
Exactly! Every time you put a spore, culture, or tissue to agar you get to play natural selection on that colony and pick what parts you want to survive and transfer it to a new plate. This could be done endlessly to make a monoculture (think of golf course grass as a monoculture) or just a few times to ensure there's no contamination before wasting precious time and grain.
Welcome to the hobby/skill of mushroom cultivation.
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AlsetAlokin
Student


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Start here
Learn Agar here
As far as breaking up your grain and putting it to substrate some bang them against their hand. I recommend on your shoe outside incase it shatters. If it doesn't smell like mushrooms, toss it or PC it before opening or attempting to get the grain out.
When in doubt, toss it. Some stuff is harmful and not worth risking your health out of impatience.
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belingle
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Registered: 06/03/20
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Quote:
AlsetAlokin said: Start here
Learn Agar here
As far as breaking up your grain and putting it to substrate some bang them against their hand. I recommend on your shoe outside incase it shatters. If it doesn't smell like mushrooms, toss it or PC it before opening or attempting to get the grain out.
When in doubt, toss it. Some stuff is harmful and not worth risking your health out of impatience.
What is the point in pressure cooking it at that point, if it's contaminated? This jar didnt smell like mushrooms at all, it smelled like fermentation, like wine or alcohol or something idk. the other jars i took a little smell in and they smelled kinda like mushrooms.
Here are what the other jars look like:

there is another one that is similar and the others aren't colonized enough to really tell.
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skullhuman
the skullman cometh



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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861745 - 08/03/20 10:17 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
skullhuman said:
Quote:
belingle said:
Quote:
Rapjack said: They probably are but to a lesser degree. You'll still get fruits from mildly bacterial spawn, possibly just less and not as healthy. I say this because spore syringes are basically always contaminated somewhat and grain is highly nutritious. Feel free to post pics if you're unsure!
How would my spore syringe have gotten contaminated? Would the inside of it likely be contaminated? I recently have been wiping down the syringe itself with alcohol before putting it into the still air box. I'm just trying to pin point why this happened and how to stop it from happening again?
I assume this contaminated jar is completely useless and should be thrown out now, yes? I may post pics of the other jars in a bit.
Yes, don't try spawning that bacterial mess- toss it.
The jar itself should be able to be re-used, right? as long as its cleaned and pressure cooked in future uses? also in general, how do i get the mycelium/grain out of jars? its pretty stuck together in many of them. Do you think its likely my other jars are contaminated too even if none of them look like this?
none of the other ones smell or look like this one, this one sort of smells like wine or alcohol or something....
anyways, where can i read more about this agar inoculation stuff? i want to try it out in the future. are there any specific grow tutorials in general that you guys recommend? im looking for something on the simpler and cheaper side. this is already a lot for my first time growing.
Yes you can re-use the jar, just toss the contents outside, clean it out, and it's good to go for another run. You'll have to bang the jar on something to get the grains to break apart.
If the other jars show no sign of contamination then go ahead and spawn them.
There are plenty of agar teks around here. This is the OG one in my mind:
He uses a flow hood, you'll probably want to just use a still air box (SAB) instead. Other than that just do everything the way he does. There is also a 'no pour' agar tek you can follow which you may find simpler, look that up as well.
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Gayfish
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: skullhuman]
#26861826 - 08/03/20 11:35 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Your other jars are bacterial as well. I would still spawn them to a shoebox and try to get some fruits out of them. You mentioned that you’re trying to keep the cost down, work with what you got buddy. If you get some fruits and your not sure about them you can post another thread here asking about them.
As others have stated, spores to grain are a bad idea, generally cause spore syringes are almost always a little dirty. Agar is a great way to clean up a culture before putting it to grains.
Alternatively, Zirans updates pf tek is *almost* a fool proof way for beginners to get their hands on some fruits consistently. That would be my suggestion. But to each their own, agar is a great avenue and skill to start, just with a little less forgiveness for the average noob
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AlsetAlokin
Student

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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861853 - 08/04/20 12:26 AM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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You PC before opening to kill harmful bacteria or mold that has colonized.
This is more important if you know you're dealing with a harmful contamination and don't want to load your cultivation area with bad spores.
Just precaution. If something looks REALLY bad and you HAVE to keep your jars this is the correct protocol.
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: Gayfish]
#26861856 - 08/04/20 12:29 AM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Gayfish said: Your other jars are bacterial as well. I would still spawn them to a shoebox and try to get some fruits out of them. You mentioned that you’re trying to keep the cost down, work with what you got buddy. If you get some fruits and your not sure about them you can post another thread here asking about them.
As others have stated, spores to grain are a bad idea, generally cause spore syringes are almost always a little dirty. Agar is a great way to clean up a culture before putting it to grains.
Alternatively, Zirans updates pf tek is *almost* a fool proof way for beginners to get their hands on some fruits consistently. That would be my suggestion. But to each their own, agar is a great avenue and skill to start, just with a little less forgiveness for the average noob
A shoebox? I was hoping to use 60-100qt monotubs. I had 12 jars, none of them seem contaminated like that one. How can you tell they are contaminated? They look similar to pictures i've seen online and don't look like that other that was contaminated. I do want to keep the cost down, but I am down for spending a little more if it is helpful. I have the money but I still want to save money where possible. Not to mention sometimes its hard to find the materials for this stuff....
I really don't want to do PF tek. I want something better than that. Not enough yield for me. I already bought materials that aren't relevant to it. If I do something, i wanna do it right. go big or go home.
I wish I had known not to do spores to grain before, I read a few tutorials and none of them really mentioned agar as far as i can remember.
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belingle
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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: skullhuman]
#26861860 - 08/04/20 12:34 AM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
skullhuman said:
Yes you can re-use the jar, just toss the contents outside, clean it out, and it's good to go for another run. You'll have to bang the jar on something to get the grains to break apart.
If the other jars show no sign of contamination then go ahead and spawn them.
There are plenty of agar teks around here. This is the OG one in my mind:
He uses a flow hood, you'll probably want to just use a still air box (SAB) instead. Other than that just do everything the way he does. There is also a 'no pour' agar tek you can follow which you may find simpler, look that up as well.
Damn. All this agar stuff seems so excessive.
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Rapjack
Oat Soakin' Toker


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Re: Is this contaminated? [Re: belingle]
#26861867 - 08/04/20 12:47 AM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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It depends on what you want to do. If you're just wanting an oz here and there try PF tek. But agar is necessary for growing bulk reliably. It's intimidating at first but honestly not hard once muscle memory develops.
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