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madyogi
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Blue Oyster Grow Advice
#26986627 - 10/15/20 08:46 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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As part of my initiation into agar work here, I am now in the fruiting phase of a Blue Oyster strain. Here's what my first container is looking like.

They're moving quickly at this point, but they seem leggy to me, which I've seen others say is indicative of a lack of FAE. They're growing in my Martha Tent, and I'm wondering if I should tweak the time my fans run.
Stamets says Oysters generally need 4-8 exchanges per hour. I have two fans that run in tandem, one pushing air out the top, vented to the attic, and the other pulling fresh air in from the closet the GH is in. The GH is roughly 16 cubic feet, and the fans say they push 95 CFM. Right now they're running 60 seconds every hour. That should be about 6 exchanges, but that's happening all at once. I'm thinking of changing the fans to run 10-15 seconds every 10 minutes.
What do you guys think of the fruits so far? Am I totally overthinking this? Is my math off in terms of FAE? Should I just smoke a bowl and leave it be until it's time to make some Oyster Mushroom Soup?
Edited by madyogi (10/15/20 08:49 AM)
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SHROOMSISAY01
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26986834 - 10/15/20 11:00 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Run the fan for 1 minute every 10 minutes. That will give you 6 air exchanges per hour. With oysters, you can not have too much air exchange. If you can keep the humidity up I would leave the fan on 24/7.
Edited by SHROOMSISAY01 (10/15/20 11:01 AM)
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sendmehummus
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Yep. 1min every 10mins worked for me. These ones are prob past the point of saving but you'll be ready for the next batch!
Edit: long stems are def not worthless, they add a nice chewy bit of texture to a soup
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madyogi
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Thanks for the responses! Made the adjustment, and will still definitely make use of this first flush. I also have pinning starting on my modified milkcrate.

The increased FAE could still help those guys at this point! Either way, second flushes should be dialed in.
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SHROOMSISAY01
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26987419 - 10/15/20 05:11 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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I thought I would just mention a couple of things here. I hope you are not actually venting into the attic of the house. If you are? You will cause mold in the attic. As a home inspector, venting into the attic is something we always look out for. As far as your fan being rated for 95 CFM. I hope you realize that there will be friction loss from the air rubbing against the sides of the duct. If you are using a flexible pipe with the wire in it? You may not even be actually venting anything. Depending on how long the pipe is you may just think you're venting.
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madyogi
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Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: I thought I would just mention a couple of things here. I hope you are not actually venting into the attic of the house. If you are? You will cause mold in the attic. As a home inspector, venting into the attic is something we always look out for. As far as your fan being rated for 95 CFM. I hope you realize that there will be friction loss from the air rubbing against the sides of the duct. If you are using a flexible pipe with the wire in it? You may not even be actually venting anything. Depending on how long the pipe is you may just think you're venting.
The vent terminates to fresh air, but it is a decent pipe run, say 8-10 feet. That particular closet is against the south wall of the house, so it isn't run that far. I hadn't consider the air exchange not doing much because of the length of exhaust pipe. How would I know if it's having the desired effect or not? CO2 meter, perhaps? I could always just remove the exhaust pipe and allow the air to move out the vent hole, but then it's just going back out into the closet, which I could leave open. Any further thoughts?
Thanks for the advice so far.
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Quadman
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26988359 - 10/16/20 12:33 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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More powerful fan?
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SHROOMSISAY01
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26988400 - 10/16/20 12:53 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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A co2 meter would work but a cheaper option would be a Handheld Anemometer. If you buy one you can always return it once you are done with it. If you have a 10 foot run with smooth pipe you may be venting a little but if you have flex pipe with the wire in it? I would guess you are not even venting at all.
I would just buy a 4" inline duct fan with speed control and be done with it. Then all you have to do is adjust the speed of the fan. Remember you also want a circulation fan inside your tent. It will help greatly with the need to vent. If you keep the air moving in your tent co2 will not build up around the mushrooms. I would not grow without a circulation fan in my room.
https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Inline-Ventilation-Variable-Controller/dp/B01DXYMGOM/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=4%22+inline+fan+with+speed+control&qid=1602874465&s=wireless&sr=1-6
Then I would just use the exhaust fan and have a passive system where air is drawn into the room by a hole in the wall...

No need to blow air into the tent. If you blow air in you could cause a problem of positive pressure where you will blow spore out into your home. You always want negative pressure in your grow room and positive pressure in your lab environment.
Edited by SHROOMSISAY01 (10/16/20 01:04 PM)
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madyogi
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Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: A co2 meter would work but a cheaper option would be a Handheld Anemometer. If you buy one you can always return it once you are done with it. If you have a 10 foot run with smooth pipe you may be venting a little but if you have flex pipe with the wire in it? I would guess you are not even venting at all.
Thanks again for the info! Definitely using cheap flex pipe with wire, so I'm probably not venting what I think I am, though if I disconnect the piping in the attic from the vent going out, there is a fair bit of air coming out of the pipe when the fan is running, so something's being vented for sure.
Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: I would just buy a 4" inline duct fan with speed control and be done with it. Then all you have to do is adjust the speed of the fan. Remember you also want a circulation fan inside your tent. It will help greatly with the need to vent. If you keep the air moving in your tent co2 will not build up around the mushrooms. I would not grow without a circulation fan in my room.
Almost bought one of those when I was getting started with this, but opted to get two CPU fans for the same price. Unfortunately, at the moment, I'll have to work with what I've got. I definitely have a cheap desk fan I could stick in the tent to circulate the air. You would suggest running it all the time? On a 12/12 cycle maybe? Keep in mind, this is a small space : 56"x27"x18".
Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: No need to blow air into the tent. If you blow air in you could cause a problem of positive pressure where you will blow spore out into your home. You always want negative pressure in your grow room and positive pressure in your lab environment.
I was under the impression, from reading Stamets, that positive pressure was desirable, but perhaps I misread (and perhaps he's describing an entirely different setup not intended for a spare closet).
Quoting from The Mushroom Cultivator pg 72 : "Small rooms operating with low fresh air requirements can forgo special exhaust vents and allow the air to escape around the seals of the room entrance, in effect creating a positive pressure environment. Positive pressure within a room can also be created by undersizing the exhaust vent ... Free swinging dampers operating on overpressure are widely employed in the mushroom growing industry."
Clearly, I opted to create the exhaust vent, even for such a small space. I had the exhaust fan turned down in comparison to the intake fan, thinking this would create the positive pressure environment he was talking about. You are saying this isn't the right idea, correct?
Thanks again for sticking with me while I dial this stuff in.
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trippleblack
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26988872 - 10/16/20 05:05 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't think i have much choice but to run a positive pressure grow room -my basement don't get enough fresh air, my grow room attach to a grow tent in another room, and the grow tent is exhausted to the outside. I set it up this way after reading in books a positive pressure grow room is fine; i think it was stamets too..
I don't think the mushrooms care, but i'm open to correction.
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SHROOMSISAY01
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What they are talking about is not using an exhaust fan and blowing air into the room. Instead of an exhaust fan, the air blows out of the room under the door or through cracks. That will work if you don't mind having spores all over your house.
I think most people here will agree that using an exhaust fan and no intake fan is the way to go. Fresh air is drawn into the room by the exhaust fan through a hole in the wall. With a set up like I am talking about you have no chance of releasing spores into your house. If you blow air into the room and your exhaust does not keep up you will have spores all over your home. Either way will work but I just don't want to breathe spores in because it can be dangerous.
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SHROOMSISAY01
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Quote:
trippleblack said: I don't think i have much choice but to run a positive pressure grow room -my basement don't get enough fresh air, my grow room attach to a grow tent in another room, and the grow tent is exhausted to the outside. I set it up this way after reading in books a positive pressure grow room is fine; i think it was stamets too..
I don't think the mushrooms care, but i'm open to correction.
If you are only exhausting then you are running negative pressure. If however, you are blowing air into the room and exhausting out it could go either way. Depending on the size and ratings of the fans. Your exhaust fan should always be more powerful than your intake fan. This will cause a negative pressure in the room to keep spores from blowing out into your home. The spores will go out the exhaust.
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madyogi
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Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: What they are talking about is not using an exhaust fan and blowing air into the room. Instead of an exhaust fan, the air blows out of the room under the door or through cracks. That will work if you don't mind having spores all over your house.
I think most people here will agree that using an exhaust fan and no intake fan is the way to go. Fresh air is drawn into the room by the exhaust fan through a hole in the wall. With a set up like I am talking about you have no chance of releasing spores into your house. If you blow air into the room and your exhaust does not keep up you will have spores all over your home. Either way will work but I just don't want to breathe spores in because it can be dangerous.
That makes sense, and I agree, which is why I opted for the exhaust fan. I just got confused as to whether that should run slower than the intake. So, a few more questions, if you'll oblige.
I am working with a small tent in a closet, so the "hole in the wall" concept is basically a hole in the tent. I am running the cheap metal pipe into my attic and out through an existing turbine roof vent. Like I said earlier, when I disconnect the piping from the assembly that runs to the vent, there's definitely air coming out, so something is venting. Anyhow, questions:
- Is venting out the turbine vent acceptable from your point of view, at least in terms of keeping mold from developing? We do have a large attic in a two-story home, so it's not cramped at all.
- Would adding an inline fan to the pipe run make it more acceptable? Or would even doing that still present a liability?
- If I added said inline fan, would you run that fan on a cycle or constantly? I assume if running it constantly, that would eliminate the need for the intake fan, so I could just remove that and leave a hole in my GH?
Keep in mind, if I were ever to sell the house, I would remove the whole assembly and patch the sheetrock in the ceiling of the closet, which is basically the only modification to the house I've made.
I did add my desk fan into the tent tonight, so I'm hoping that added circulation will help.
Edited by madyogi (10/16/20 07:31 PM)
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SHROOMSISAY01
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Re: Blue Oyster Grow Advice [Re: madyogi]
#26989221 - 10/16/20 09:43 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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As long as you are venting outside you should not have a problem. I have been in many homes that just have duct terminating in the attic and I thought you might have done that. I would just see if it will be enough air exchange b4 I would buy an inline fan. But if you have to change the fan which I think you will then just hook it up and vent it the same way you have it now through the turbine.
Edited by SHROOMSISAY01 (10/16/20 10:07 PM)
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