Hello everyone,
I'm currently in the midst of my first grow, and it has become a bit of a nightmare.
I inoculated three different batches of jars with liquid spores on 8/4, 8/7, and 8/24, in both 4oz and 8oz mason jars. I sterilized them all with steam. Today is 9/27 and none have fully cultivated yet. I've read some cakes can take up to two months but damn am I getting antsy. They are giving off a very sweet smell. I punctured holes but did not recover with micro pore tape.
I built an incubation chamber with two Sterilite boxes, one with water and heated with an aquarium heater. All are showing signs of growth, no discoloration. I've got the temp at a steady 75 degrees F. I have taken them out and handled them quite a bit. Turning them upside down, then back right side up again. Moisture has collected on some sides of the jars.
Some of the mycelia has started to pull from the sides and it looks like pins may be starting but there is still substrate that hasn't been 'consumed' yet.
I just built my shotgun chamber so I'm hoping that my initiative will help coach my little friends along. Has anyone ever birthed cakes before being fully cultivated? I have one jar that looks as if the mycelium has separated itself from the remaining half of the substrate. I also had a jar that had this yellow line running it. Sounds like that might've been ready to fruit but I chose to bury it with my compost out in the woods due to possible contamination. Maybe I'll get an outdoor batch going??? It's starting to get cold. I wonder if cakes can survive through the winter outdoors, underground, and fruit in the spring? Does anyone have experience with burying cakes outdoors?
Another question - for washing perlite for the shotgun chamber, I'm nervous about using my tap water. My water comes from a well - It is very high in iron and sulfates. I shower and wash my hands with it but I don't drink it. I'm concerned this could affect the fruiting process. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments? Thanks and looking forward to sharing more progress with ya'll! #pftek #firsttimegrow
UPDATE on 10/7/20: Within the last two weeks I birthed 5 jars and put them in my chamber. I used a repti-fogger for humidity and a heating pad underneath the chamber to keep it warm at between 64-68 degrees. A few days ago I noticed very light green mold growing on two of the cakes. I got rid of them immediately but now I'm worried I may have green mold growing throughout my cabin. I've noticed a slight constriction in my throat and I've been getting slight headaches. I believe the mold was present before growing the mushrooms but since I discarded those two cakes, I've found patches of green mold scattered around - on the wooden ceiling slats, in the corners of cabinets, etc.
I currently have three cakes still going in the chamber upstairs, in a closest. They are blue (pics below). Keeping them at a constant temp has been challenging. I removed the humidifier as I believe it was the reason the green mold spread. I've been spraying concrobium on any patch of mold I find, and cleaned a big patch up underneath the fridge and oven. I've since started sleeping downstairs for fear of getting sicker.
I still have a few jars that are near fully cultivated or have stopped cultivating all together. I'm considering getting rid of the cakes I have and just starting the whole process over after I do a deep cleaning. I'm worried I might have to leave due to these headaches. 
Any insights on shared experiences or suggestions would be very helpful as I'm struggling with what to do. Thanks all.

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