Adding to the compendium of grow methods. My experience is about 3 separate grows where I bought sanitized 6 mason jars from midwest and syringes from spores101. This is first grow with monotub.
My previous grows allowed just enough for about 2-3 experiences. My goal with this grow is increased yield so I don't have to grow again for a while.
This is what I bought - 10x plastic shroom bags from amazon.com $15 8x plastic storage bins from home depot $4/each - $36 (tax) 1x Pyrex 500ml bottle - $20
1x (3) Coir brick from petco $7 1x Bag of Vermiculite - $15 1x 25lbs rye wheat berries from union square farmers market $24
4x Melmak Reverted Swabs from social media site $40 20x plastic petri dishes amazon.com $15 6x Telegram Agar amazon.com $10
1x Mealypot pressure cooker on Craigslist $40 1x Fine mister on amazon $7 1x Xacto knife on amazon $9
Garbage bags/clorox spray/gloves/mask - $10
$250
Steps 1. Soak a cup or so of rye wheat berries in water, 1/4c nutritional yeast seasoning, 1/2c coffee grounds for 24 hours 1a. Eat the rye berries 2. Using the rye water, follow BOD’s comprehensive agar tek to make the petri dishes. https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/21922023 2a. I did not use a still air box 3. Slowly, lift the petri dish lid and wipe the swab on the agar. Replace lid. Move onto next petri dish. I made 10 petri dishes with one swab. I stored the swabs in the fridge. 3a. About 40% of petri’s were contaminated after a week using this method. 3b. Wait 7-14 days to colonize. 4. When petri dish colonized entirely white, soak 3 lbs ish of rye berries in water for 24 hours 5. Put 3lbs ish of wheat berries in a colander and rinse very hot water over them for 2 minutes 6. Dry-ish the wheat berries. I left them spread out into a couple pots exposed to air overnight. 7. Put about 3 lbs of wheat berries in a plastic shroom bag 7a. Fold the top over, about 3 times, until it reaches the top of the patch and push the air out. Clip it. 8. Put it in pressure cooker with 4-6 cups of water. It should be on top of something and not directly touching the bottom of the pressure cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours. Mealypot did 11psi. Bag would inflate while in PC, which was annoying but didn't seem to matter. 8a. 50% of my bags were contaminated, likely because I did 45 minutes instead of 2 hours. When I switched to 2 hours, I had zero contaminated bags. 8b. Also of possible contaminated causes were the bags when I tried to squeeze two in at a time. Just do 1 at a time. 9. Take out after it finishes and let cool to the touch, ~4h. 10. In room with no air flow, wearing gloves and mask, slowly open colonized petri dish and cut circle to the edge and then cut it in half with xacto knife. Stab and lift 50% of it. With another hand, open bag and then drop the 50% into the bag. Quickly, but carefully, fold the bag back until just above patch and tape several times over with packing tape or tape of your choosing. 11. Place bag in dark, room temperature cupboard. I am in NYC, it was late summer - ~76 degrees in the apt. 12. 10 days after, take bag out and look for contam. If contaminated, throw away. If not, break up mycelium and shake until thoroughly distributed. Put back in cupboard for another 10-14 days. 12a. Contam bags smell like a forest. Earthy. You can smell it when you open the cupboard.
13. When bag is fully colonized, break off 1/3 brick of coir and break it up in pressure cooker. Add 1-2 cups of vermiculite. I poured like, 8 cups of roiling boiled water over it and set it to “keep warm” for 2 hours. 13a. Damion's post is helpful on coir tek - https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/11916595 14. Drill 4-8x 1-2” holes in the plastic storage container, 2 bottom, 2 top each long side. Cover with packing tape or tape of your choosing. 14a. I did 1/2” holes, needs to be bigger - I have problems with air flow. 15. Clean inside of plastic storage container with clorox solution. Put a garbage bag in it. 16. Fill 2-3 inches with coir/verm mixture. I would let it cool by dumping most in a colander. I’d grab a handful, squeeze as hard as I could (some water should come out), then toss into the garbage bag lined plastic tub. 17. Cut off the top of a mycelium (spawn) bag and pour in roughly 1/2 the bag. Mix it up with your hand until evenly distributed. Spread a thin layer of coir/verm over the top - like 1/8”. Level by spreading with your hand. 18. Cut the garbage bag with the exacto knife about 1/2" above the substrate line. 19. Put tub in dark space for 8-12 days. During this time, you shouldn’t really check on it more than once or twice. There will be condensation on the sides and top. 20. At 10 days-ish, it should be completely colonized or you’ll see white balls on the surface in places. Take it out, put in a place getting indirect light. Take off the tape, take off the top and turn it upside down. 21. Look for small beads of condension over mycelium and mist if it evaporates. 21a. Comebackid's post on surface conditions is required reading - https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/23999053
Optional to make more Repeat steps 5-11 of making spawn bags but instead of petri, pour like 1/8 - 1/4 of a colonized spawn bag.
Lessons learned 1. I had no problems not using a still air box. I minimized exposure to unsanitary conditions and worked slowly and intentionally. 2. My pressure cooker doesn't hit 15psi, but 2 hours at 11psi is required to sterilize spawn. 3. #1 learning was don't use hardwood pellets. I bought a 25lb bag of hardwood pellets and mized it 50/50 with the coir. Those tubs dried out on top and weren't colonized on top. I had to scrape a lot off with my hands after the tubs were in a dark room for 14 days with no surface colonization.
Pictures

Additional resources 1. Found this helpful throughout - https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/el1d74/part_3_spawning_to_bulk_fruiting_shroomscouts/
Edited by dbdbdb (10/11/20 05:55 PM)
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