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Pu-Erh
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the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator
#26933591 - 09/13/20 02:53 PM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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* the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator Hi Shroomery, I am a new cultivator, currently collecting the benefits of my third set of pf cakes. Man have I learnt in this period, and it has been an enojoyable process. I have said it, but I don't think it can be said enough: thanks for the information on this forum.
I would like to take this post to share my experience, show some misstakes I have made, ask the questions I could find no answer to, and share some pretty successes. Without further ado: ** the failures My first failure was not such a big deal. I just didn't understand field capacity on the first try. So I put too much water in my pf substrate. I nocced 5 cakes, it took them about 2 months to fully colonize, and threw away 2 that had not finished colonization by that time. Still I managed to get a moderate grammage from those cakes, nothing extraordinary. I fruited them with Bod's baggie tek. I took a glamour shot at night with a light at the back, and you could see the silouettes of the fungi. It got deleted in my infinite wisdom T_T.
My second failure was more concerning: 50% of the cakes were lost to contamination. I believe I had cobweb mold on the verm layer of my second set of pf cakes. Now, this time I only did two cakes. I am lucky enough to live somewhere where, were I to get caught with the culture, and were I to have a small enough amout, I would be in no trouble. So I was not going to push my luck. Now I think I did not prep my containers correctly, and this might be the issue. I think the inoculation holes were not big enough, and there was not enough fae. But the verm layer was kinda moist and mushy, see the pictures!


And this one is the cake split in half through the contam.

This is the perfect segway to my next section:
** the questions So, we put a dry verm layer to act as filter. But I have noticed a lot of condensation when PCing the containers. Wouldn't this condensation moisten the dry verm layer and compromise it as a filter? As I stated above, would providing more fae solve this issue?
For the second and third growth, I shreaded the cakes and mixed them with coir in mini shoeboxes. I think I did a good job leveling the top layer, but I am still having tons of side pins This is specially flagrant after the first flush, when the cakes have shrunk and I have bottom watered. As far as I have understood, proper surface conditions are the key to top pining, am I missing something? I should add that I live in an extremely dry environment, and I have figured that I need to mist 3 times a day or surface gets dry.
** the successes I did 35g fresh PrimalSoup tekked from that batch, and had previously only done 1.5g dry, trip was about what I was expecting. My main concern here is my pal did only 15g, and she has done a substantial amount more mushrooms than I have. Her words: "I have never been so high on my life." We both had level 3 experiences. Fun fact, we both had suffered from covid recently, and we both regained smell after the trip. While I have never tripped so pretty, when I had smaller doses, the trips were more spiritual. I think I sufered McKenna's death by atonishment.
And I will end with a picture of todays' collection, currently sporeprinting. Thanks a lot for reading 
Edited by Pu-Erh (09/13/20 02:59 PM)
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Josex
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Re: the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator [Re: Pu-Erh]
#26933637 - 09/13/20 03:24 PM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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I don't think the condensation will be much of an issue if at all. Just take the cakes out of the PC while they are still hot and by the time they're cold the condensation should have dissipated completely.
I have a hunch your issues with side pins might have something to do with the chamber you're using, it could be drying the cake too fast on the surface and allowing a better microclimate on the sides. Did you take that cake out of a tray for the pic, or you fruited it just like that?
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Josex
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Re: the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator [Re: Josex]
#26933645 - 09/13/20 03:33 PM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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Also, that verm looks dry from here.
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swungodungo
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Re: the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator [Re: Josex]
#26933739 - 09/13/20 04:29 PM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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Nice write up!
I'm still pretty new here, but which one of primalsoups teks are you referring to?
-------------------- "We must do research!"
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Pu-Erh
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Re: the failures, questions and successes of a n00b cultivator [Re: swungodungo]
#26935170 - 09/14/20 12:44 PM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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Josex, thank you very much for your reply.
Quote:
Josex said: I don't think the condensation will be much of an issue if at all. Just take the cakes out of the PC while they are still hot and by the time they're cold the condensation should have dissipated completely.
Yep, you are right. I was leaving the cakes overnight inside the PC, afraid that otherwise it would foster contamns. Seems like I should have read your signature threads earlier. Thanks for the info. https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/24806569#24806569
Quote:
Josex said: I have a hunch your issues with side pins might have something to do with the chamber you're using, it could be drying the cake too fast on the surface and allowing a better microclimate on the sides. Did you take that cake out of a tray for the pic, or you fruited it just like that?
I have the same hunch as you. This is my current setup:


Both are single cake "shoe boxes." With cakes shredded and mixed with coir at 1:1 - 1:2 cake:coir ratio and top layered at spawn. Please note, everything looks a lot less yellow in real life. But the right box is very dry, and I misted it 2 times before taking the pic. They are also old, currently yielding their 4th and 3rd flushes respectively. Truth be told, I have just figured out the "flip the lids upside down" thing and that seems to be helping a lot. Previously Iwas cracking the lids open, and I think I gave to much FAE. Still, I have misted 3 times today and I think I will mist at least once more. It's hot and dry in here. I get a fair amount of top pins, but most are on the sides.
Quote:
Josex said: Also, that verm looks dry from here.
I mean no disrespect, but I do not think it does. Please look carefully at the second picture on the OP. The corner closer to the camera is a lot darker and grayer than the remaining verm. On the third picture there is even a huge droplet, which was kinda gelatinous. Even if you were right and the verm were to look dry, it was moist, mushy and had a grayish-white thing, which I took to be cob-web mold. To great grief of my heart, that cake was never fruited T_T
Quote:
swungodungo said: Nice write up!
I'm still pretty new here, but which one of primalsoups teks are you referring to?
Thank you for your kind words. This is the tek I meant: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/12494141#12494141
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