First grow log attempt at PF Classic BRF cakes:
-(10/18/2020 PM) Day One: Preparation
Prepared BRF cakes following some PF TEK recipe I ran across...
- 1) In a large bowl, mixed Vermiculite + H2O until combined.
- 2) Added in the BRF + Gypsum and coated thoroughly.
- 3) Loaded up five wide mouth half-pint glass mason jars with 1/2 inch space at top, and added dry vermiculite layer just over the edge, cleaning lip/rim before adding lids.
- 4) Covered jars in foil and loaded in 23qt. Presto PC for sterilization @ 15-17 PSI for 70 minutes.
- 5) Left jars in sealed PC to cool overnight in preparation for inoculation
Lids worth mentioning: SHIP + SFD hole affixed with RTV Silicone (some made better than others). These lids were made for grain jars, so the injection port and mini filter disc are upside down and resting against the dry vermiculite layer. Unsure how this will effect inoculation / sterilization.


Not very pretty, but hopefully it will work out!
-
(10/19/20 AM) Day Two: Inoculation
Inoculated BRF cakes with ~1cc per jar of PF Classic MSS acquired from <vendor name redacted>...
Time to knock up some cakes!
Following method used to prep
110 qt. Hefty Clear SAB (w/ two additional
15x10x3.5" stainless steel racks):
- 1) Rested entire SAB on backs of two chairs so it is level and supported at chest height.
- 2) Sprayed outside / inside of SAB thoroughly with 70% ISO.
- 3) Removed BRF jars from sealed PC (where they cooled overnight), and wiped outside down with 70% ISO before placing each on left-side rack in SAB.
- 4) Soaked paper towel in 70% ISO and placed flat on right-side rack in SAB.
- 5) Sprayed the air inside of SAB with bottle of diluted H2O to one drop Dawn soap mixture.
- 6) Replaced arm hole covers, allowing air to settle.
Then I took a hot shower and washed thoroughly with special attention to scrubbing arms/hands/face/hair. Toweled off lightly (was being kind of 'noid about how unsanitary towels can be) and went straight back to SAB.

The mood has been set, just missing a few candles and rose petals!
My sterile technique can use a bit of work, but here is what I did next:
- 1) Put on N95 respirator mask and nitrile gloves. Sprayed hands/arms thoroughly with 70% ISO.
- 2) Removed PF Classic MSS and pre-sealed needle from bag. Wiped outside of both down with 70% ISO. Removed Luer lock syringe cap, and installed the injection needle. Sprayed syringe/needle lightly with 70% ISO and placed into SAB on top of ISO soaked paper towel.
- 3) Sprayed Blazer table top butane burner with 70% ISO to sanitize (while off) and placed it on top of the SAB (outside). Turned gas on low and ignited for a controlled, steady flame.
- 4) Inserted hands into holes in SAB and loosened tin foil on top of all jars (peeled edges up/back leaving top intact).
- 5) Picked up syringe and shook/tapped it quickly to break up clumped spores. Removed plastic protective cap from needle, then flame sterilized it using the burner on top of SAB.
- 6) Back in SAB, squirted one or two drops on floor to cool needle using right hand grip.
- 7) Picked up jar from the left-side rack (the one closest to middle of SAB) with left-hand grip, and gently peeled back foil top with fingertips exposing the SHIP.
- 8) Injected ~1cc into cake (diagonally near glass) and flattened foil back on top. Moved jar to right-side SAB rack. Repeated process starting with flame sterilization for each of the five jars.
- 9) Removed luer lock needle from the syringe and replaced with original cap. Placed the sealed syringe back into original baggie for future use. Disposed of used needle. Replaced SAB arm hole covers and went to make some coffee.
- 10) 10-15 minutes later I pulled the five BRF cake jars from the SAB and removed the tin foil coverings. Realized that I got some spore solution on top of a few jars (clumsy hands while injecting I guess). I gently wiped the lids dry and placed them on a closet shelf in cool area (~70-80°F).

Post coital BRF now going into sleep mode!
-
(10/27/20 AM) Day Eight: Post-Inoculation
Four of five jars showing moderate growth near injection sites...One showing a little growth on opposite side. I think using just one SHIP to inoculate is really slowing down colonization, and I am worried that the mycelium will not take over the cake fast enough to prevent contamination from occurring. Trying not to count my chickens until they hatch, I guess. I also fucked around and dropped one of the jars while transporting them to a new shelf. I'm curious to see how that effects the final cake, because it definitely displaced the top vermiculite layer a bit.
Progress so far: (purple color in photos is reflection from a nearby flower pot)










I've also gone well off the deep end running multiple experiments due to an excessive amount of MSS. I have inoculated two bags and three quart jars of pre-sterilized grain (I know, I know...but these were free!) waiting for colonization. Expecting contams due to multispores, but have been really surprised at the lack of weird shit on my plates so far. See
GG Agar Test for additional info on those.
-
(11/02/2020 PM) Day Fourteen: Colonizing
All five jars are continuing to show healthy rhizomorphic mycelial growth... They appear to be between 40-75% colonized with no visible contaminations or smells coming from the filters.
I guess the reverse SHIPs are holding out okay so far!










-
(11/13/2020 PM) Day Twenty-five: Colonizing, cont.
Three of five jars are VERY close to being completely colonized... It's kind of hard to tell in the following pictures, but jars 000003-000005 are all very nearly colonized.
Gonna let them sit for 3-4 more days to consolidate.
I don't see any visible contamination when inspecting the outside of the jars even with verm falling all over the place.


I do need to know what to do with cake 000001...
It has a fairly large pin on the colonized area reaching towards the top, but the other half of the cake has not finished colonizing on the outside.
Here is what I mean:


I found a few older threads...
but not much consensus on if this should:
1) just be left alone to finish colonizing,
2) birthed/cleaned/fruited as a half cake, or
3) spawned to a small amount of bulk (oxymoron, I guess).
Let me know what you think!
-(11/26/2020 AM) Day Thirty-eight: Wrapping up
000001 was birthed yesterday, pins picked off, cake rinsed, and dunked for 24 hours in a quart jar with glass fermenting weight on top to hold it under water.
Then rinsed the cake again after draining, filled a plastic bag partially with dry vermiculite, and tossed around in the bag to coat well.
Placed a little leftover coir I had been saving on top and gave it a good mist. Kind of made a mess... I cleaned up the perlite and foils after the picture though.
Tin foil squares were cut as close as possible to size of cakes, and marked with variety.
There were a few fast colonizers from later runs that went in with it.

I didn't really measure my hole placement, but it looks relatively close to others I have seen.
If you were curious about the final cake (000002)... it had a small uncolonized spot that was worrying me.
But it looks like it was finally conquered by mycelium today!

The spot in question...


Invitro pins trying to tell me something?
I'm going to let it sit for another 3 or 4 days to consolidate, and will close this report out once a final verdict is reached.
Will post fruits if/when they appear. Thanks for following along!
-
(12/12/2020 AM) Day Fifty-five: 000001 Fruits

-(12/16/2020 PM) Day Fifty-nine: 000002 Fruits

