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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
Posts: 4,153
Loc: Try 'n' Error Boot Camp
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Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying 11
#27618585 - 01/14/22 01:29 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying
Edit: I took out the step of drying the grain with vermiculite before jarring because it's unnecessary.
TL;DR: I know, I know another frigging grain prep TEK but I like things simple and if you think boiling and drying your oats is going against your lazy then give this prep a go and see how it works for you.....it's working for me.
There are quite a few oat prep TEKs out there and I've tried most of them. This one is a bit different as the oats are getting hydrated by a cold soak only. This is nothing new but this technique is underrepresented IMO as oats are the perfect grain for a cold soak. I started doing this because I had not the time to heat up a pot of water and deal with the drying. This method only takes 20-25 min of actual time to get the grain into the PC. Another bonus is that I don't steam up my place and don't use energy for the prep.
For this method you will need:
- Whole Oats
- 5 Gallon Bucket(s)
- Water
Dump the desired volume of oats into a bucket. I use one 5 gallon bucket for the amount of oats that will fill 10 jars and soak 4 full quart jars to get 10 myco quart. This will probably vary a bit with other types/brands of oats. Fill the bucket with water until the oats are covered by 6-8 inches and let this soak for 16-24 hours. Times do vary with differences in ambient temperature but an hour more or less wont matter much.
Oats after a 18 hour soak at 77oF or 25oC
You can check the hydration by cutting a few grains in half. In the photo below you can see a fully hydrated grain and how it can be squished flat. It's all soft and mushy.
If you are satisfied with the hydration then dump the oats into a colander and let them drip dry for 20 minutes. While the oats are draining I get my jars ready and clean the soak bucket.
That's it, give it a good toss to distribute the excess moisture and you are ready to load the jars. I PC them for 90-120 min @ 15-17 psi. This is what it looks like when they come out of the PC after cooling down over night. The excess moisture which is fuck all will get sucked up in a day or two.
Here are some oats cut in half after sterilization and over night cool down. Evenly hydrated, a bit on the dry side but this is what I'm after and helps adsorbing excess moisture from condensation and LC.
Panaeolus culture on oats prepped this way.
and a couple of semilanceata jars.
Edited by Baba Yaga (11/11/23 03:47 PM)
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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27618635 - 01/14/22 02:03 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Nice write-up. It's always good to have alternative methods.
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fungusul
Fungus Kingdom
Registered: 07/16/20
Posts: 1,062
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: veggie]
#27618887 - 01/14/22 05:13 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Nice write-up Baba!
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asterix
L7
Registered: 12/26/21
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: fungusul]
#27618968 - 01/14/22 06:11 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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I ve tried this at a somewhat lower temp, like 18C-19C, because that's how cold it is in the basement, and found they dont soak up enough water. If I extend the soak time it starts to grow bacteria, so I gave up on it.
But I really, really like the idea of skipping the boil. Im going to play around with this some more. I never thought of verm, maybe if I add some wet verm it will solve my water issue.
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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
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Loc: Try 'n' Error Boot Camp
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: asterix]
#27618983 - 01/14/22 06:23 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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I've got a bit of fermentation going on when its warm but that never caused any problems further down the line. You can actually see the bubbles in the first photo.
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tripdawg420
low life with no life
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27619058 - 01/14/22 07:13 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Smartattack
C'mon man
Registered: 12/21/18
Posts: 3,778
Loc: A thought
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: tripdawg420]
#27619070 - 01/14/22 07:19 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Not bad, not bad at all.
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Spirit-Crusher
DOOM HIPPIE
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Smartattack] 2
#27619086 - 01/14/22 07:37 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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The real question is where have you been finding vermiculite? Every place near me has been out since spring.
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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
Posts: 4,153
Loc: Try 'n' Error Boot Camp
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I just had a look at the online market and my usual supplier (I'm not US based) and the only vermiculite available atm is the coarse grade which is useless for my applications. Mmmhh have to keep an eye out and buy 200 liter if I come across it again, using it for seedlings as well.
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Spirit-Crusher
DOOM HIPPIE
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27619160 - 01/14/22 09:06 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah its rough in the states right now. Every couple of weeks you can find a grow shop with an 8 qt bag in stock, but there charging like 12 - 15 US dollars. I used to be able to buy 2.5 cubic feet bags for less than 20. I just stopped using it for the time being. I'd rather use if if I could though.
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stareatclouds
star eat clouds?
Registered: 09/29/14
Posts: 10,018
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Quote:
Spirit-Crusher said: The real question is where have you been finding vermiculite? Every place near me has been out since spring.
I always ordered massive bags from ULINE to last me. Check there if it's in the budget. If you just need something to soak up excess water, you can grind up dog food and sprinkle a bit in. I experimented a bit with it for faster LI colonization times back in the day. It helps the liquid coat the oats since the dog food sticks to it. I'd just avoid too much since grain is already nutritious enough (you can also grind up WBS, too).
Ground dog food and ground WBS.
Paint strainer bags fit perfectly around a 5 gallon bucket, by the way. I'd load them up with grain and fill the buckets with hot water from the tub (prefer hot to cold since it's faster, just as easy, and gives less opportunity for endospores to germinate). After an hour or so, I'd lift the bag out and strain it back into the bucket. Super easy compared to colanders or metal strainers and shit. Can also keep them in the bag and still spread 'em out in front of the fan if that's your thing. They're cheap on Amazon.
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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
Posts: 4,153
Loc: Try 'n' Error Boot Camp
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: stareatclouds]
#27619249 - 01/14/22 11:03 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Some good points there stare* pulverized dry coir would work as well I guess.
I got the initial incentive from member gr0wer and he puts dried coffee grounds in to suck up excess water.
I might have to go with one of those alternatives if I can't source fine verm, am down to my last 20 liters, it will last me for a while though.
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Atomsplit
Registered: 01/16/21
Posts: 1,511
Loc: SAB
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27619267 - 01/14/22 11:25 PM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Cant you blend the coarse verm into fine?
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Blackrainbow2
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Atomsplit]
#27619297 - 01/15/22 12:43 AM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Cant you blend the coarse verm into fine?
yes
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SingularFusion
Registered: 10/31/18
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Atomsplit]
#27619301 - 01/15/22 12:48 AM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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respect Baba
I use oats a lot, will see if this is an improvement over my standard prep at some point
yah the verm situation here is not much better... consumer size bags are running about $1.30 a liter (if you can find any), if you get a 100L bag it still might run as high as $0.80 a liter. Only people I have found that have it on hand are insulation companies or packing companies, they use it as a packaging filler for shipping hazardous liquids because it is so absorbent
I have been doing most tubs without it as a result
good stuff man
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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
Posts: 4,153
Loc: Try 'n' Error Boot Camp
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Thanks man, what about gardening supplies and horticulture shops? I think buying it as insulation material is like buying wood pellets labled as cat litter, like in more expensive.
Verm is so versatile and too valuable for me to use in tubs, using it for BRF pucks, with or as casing and with grain prep and to make my own seed starter mix, its such a good out of the bag solution for many things.
I hope this will work for you.
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SingularFusion
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga] 2
#27619338 - 01/15/22 01:48 AM (2 years, 2 months ago) |
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yeah all the grow shops and garden centres have none, or they have tiny amounts for stupendous prices
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Schtarker
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27673819 - 02/26/22 03:40 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Really interesting, thanks very much for posting this. I've been trying to work with oats but have had trouble with either drying them too much or too little, and this neatly solves the problem - will try it tomorrow.
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Schtarker
Stranger
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Baba Yaga]
#27679055 - 03/02/22 12:39 AM (2 years, 28 days ago) |
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I live in a very dry part of the world and am having a lot of trouble with oats. Even when I boil, they seem too dry once surface moisture is removed and they're bagged. I've had almost no luck so far with a number of species failing to colonize. Is it possible that I they're drying out through the breather patch?
Also, do you think that the verm in your recipe helps in retaining water, and might solve my problem even with boiled oats?
I've had no problem with rye, and would just keep using this as my main grain for spawning, but it's damned expensive when compared to oats, which I can at my local feed store for something like $15 for 40 lbs.
Edited by Schtarker (03/02/22 12:40 AM)
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Baba Yaga
Fomo Kills The Cat
Registered: 09/13/20
Posts: 4,153
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Re: Oat Prep without Boiling and Drying [Re: Schtarker]
#27679074 - 03/02/22 01:21 AM (2 years, 28 days ago) |
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Aren't you inoculating with spores? You might want to start with agar first before assessing your grain prep.
No idea if this will improve anything for you, you will have to try it.
Edited by Baba Yaga (03/02/22 01:39 AM)
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