|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
First grow prep
#28117530 - 12/30/22 01:39 PM (2 years, 18 days ago) |
|
|
First time poster and grower. Been lurking around reading and soaking up tons of info. Have Amazonia MSS coming tomorrow and am prepped to get going and just looking to make sure I'm on the right trac.
Thinking I'm going to inoculate to BRF and sapwn to bulk using shoe boxes to fruit in so I don't have all my eggs in one basket if something happens.
Think I'm going to inculcate 6 1/2 pint jars and spawn 2 per shoe box. Stumbled on the unbucket t3k last night and looking to possibly go that rout for my sub to fruit in. Mistake for a rookie? If I understand correct, you only use coir and vermiculite with no gypsum as the gypsum is nutrition for bacteria to feed on? Thoughts on this? I'm not set on my fruiting method yet as I haven't bought my boxes yet as I still have time before I get there, but want to get things rolling ASAP for a couple reasons.
Supplies on hand already: 1/2 pint mason jars Vemiculite BRF ISO Lysol spray small SAB seed heat mat for incubation box micropore tape
Just looking for thoughts or input if my thought process is in the right place. Glad I found this great resource of a community, tons of info and knowledge. Thanks in advance!
|
ACTSmokey
The Fool - 8 bit

Registered: 07/13/22
Posts: 131
Last seen: 2 months, 26 days
|
|
Mike, you are in the right place for cultivation information. I did exactly what you have done, read everything then tried a dozen techniques. I found the PF tek works best for me and place my jars in water tubs (as per the water tek method). I put everything in water tubs, even my gourmet mushrooms to get them started.
I live in a hot dry climate in summer and freezing cold in winter so have had to find ways to grow in such extremes. The above method is what is currently working well for me, even with the two bags that took 3 months to pin and are now looking great.
Why don't you use this thread as your journal? You can add pictures and keep it as a learning journey that you can refer to as you gain in experience.
-------------------- “That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.” - The Emerald Tablet (200-800 AD).
"My heart hath followed all my days, something I cannot name." - Don Marquis.
"Wow, things sure look different now. How much of this shit did I take?"
|
Excess Taters
Highentist



Registered: 08/29/22
Posts: 874
Last seen: 10 months, 25 days
|
|
Seems like a decent plan, I'm not sure on how many mushrooms you are expecting to get out of 6 cakes though. Imo 12 is a better number, especially as sometimes a cake won't colonize, so you try for 12 and you might get 12/11/10/9/8/7, and of those which do colonize some might contaminate (though pf is very contaminant resistant). The numbers I'm familiar with are 3-7g per cake, that's what people tend to expect, but with it being your first grow, I'd expect 2-4.
So assume 2g per cake to be safe, 6 cakes attempted, say 2 lost, to be safe, then in 2 months you'll have 8gs, or very little mushrooms. My opinion is that it's better to have more mushrooms than less, so go for more.
If you're set on the number 6, then I'd recommend doing 2-3 grows like that before the first grow ends, so that you have a steady amount coming.
Follow my signatures advice. That's the best PF tek guide we've currently got. For shoeboxes, the tek in my sig is the easiest, I'd recommend 1-3 as the spawn to sub ratio though, and since 2 half pints = 1 pint, and most shoebox teks call for 1 quart (which is 2 pints), 4 cakes per box is fine, in your shoes I'd do 3/3.
-------------------- If you've never grown mushrooms before, here's how you start. First, follow the Updated PF Tek, put 4 holes in jar lids not 1, and use a water tub!
The next move is Shoebox Tek. After that you move onto grains, agar, monotubs. Agar is easy, just do it.
Other useful links - Picture guide for how things should look and proper surface conditions guide
Growing APE or PE? P9 pseudo casing tek
Edited by Excess Taters (12/30/22 02:10 PM)
|
Crackatoa
Stranger in a strange land



Registered: 03/31/19
Posts: 5,405
Loc: Over by your Mama's house
Last seen: 2 days, 19 hours
|
|
I've never used lysol for anything and throw the heated mat away. I would Def go for 12 jars, you'll want more than 2 per shoebox.
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Thanks for the inputs. So guessing I'll go 12 jars for a whole syringe then at about .75cc/jar? Any experience with the unbucket t3k? I did/do have concerns about not getting full colonization or contaminates in my jars and was thinking about maybe doing more than less. Just wasn't sure what to expect harvest wise yet and 6G isn't quite going to cut it! I've grown plenty of pot in the past and knew what to expect from my setup then, but this is a whole new journey and excited to start learning and doing.
And yes, I think this may be great to start as a journal to look back on and learn from!
Thank you!
|
Excess Taters
Highentist



Registered: 08/29/22
Posts: 874
Last seen: 10 months, 25 days
|
|
I've never heard of the unbucket thing. I did a quick look at it and it seems fine. If you're doing shoeboxes though, my sigs shoebox link is solid except for the spawn ratio.
Some general info... For the mushrooms we tend to grow when we're just starting out, Coir alone is the best sub (though if you overhydrate it, you add vermiculite to absorb the excess moisture). You want to do everything as simply as possible when you're just starting out, so rather than unbucket tek, I'd suggest just doing the original bucket tek, if you want to use hot water rather than boiling water, that's fine, I know Pasty and Munch both do it that way now.
Oh, and with PF tek, you don't need a cheese grater or whatever to grate the cakes. They'll break up in your hands very easily and it's just as effective. Shoeboxes are just 1 part spawn to 3 parts spawn. Hydrate the coir, add the crumbled cakes and coir to the shoebox, mix them up, compress things (it doesn't slow things down or do anything bad), then add a pseudo-casing, which is enough coir to give you 1/4-1/2 in of a top layer. Then compress that, snap lid, wait ~10 days for knots, 15 days for primordia, 20 days or so for pins, and within a week you'll be harvesting mushrooms.
That's honestly all it takes.
-------------------- If you've never grown mushrooms before, here's how you start. First, follow the Updated PF Tek, put 4 holes in jar lids not 1, and use a water tub!
The next move is Shoebox Tek. After that you move onto grains, agar, monotubs. Agar is easy, just do it.
Other useful links - Picture guide for how things should look and proper surface conditions guide
Growing APE or PE? P9 pseudo casing tek
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Thanks Taters. I've seen your shoe box tek previously and am reading through it again. I like the simplicity of the tek and also like the fact that I can break up things to try and have a better success rate if I do get any contamination. I have the room to do a larger mono tub, but thinking about the odds to start out with. Naturally would like the highest yield possible, but a small yield is better than no yield to start.
|
Excess Taters
Highentist



Registered: 08/29/22
Posts: 874
Last seen: 10 months, 25 days
|
|
Quote:
MikeHarold said: Thanks Taters. I've seen your shoe box tek previously and am reading through it again. I like the simplicity of the tek and also like the fact that I can break up things to try and have a better success rate if I do get any contamination. I have the room to do a larger mono tub, but thinking about the odds to start out with. Naturally would like the highest yield possible, but a small yield is better than no yield to start.
Just to be clear I didn't make it, this is my first year in the hobby. With that out of the way, yeah, monotubs are great, but they're hard to dial in properly, and until you understand shoeboxes well, I think jumping to monos is generally a mistake.
Shoeboxes are a decent starting point, especially with pf tek cakes. A well done shoebox requires less effort than cakes do as well, and they're harder to mess up (unless you go water tub, which is the optimal pf tek path and easiest starter method).
I should also add that a monotub isn't going to produce more mushrooms per spawn than different methods. We have a guy here (Sirpsycho) who grows in bottles with tampons, cigarette butts, and other weird shit, and his yields are sometimes insane, or always insane if you consider his substrates.
-------------------- If you've never grown mushrooms before, here's how you start. First, follow the Updated PF Tek, put 4 holes in jar lids not 1, and use a water tub!
The next move is Shoebox Tek. After that you move onto grains, agar, monotubs. Agar is easy, just do it.
Other useful links - Picture guide for how things should look and proper surface conditions guide
Growing APE or PE? P9 pseudo casing tek
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Cakes are cooling in the pots after pasteurizing and have things prepped to inoculate tomorrow(new year, new journeys). I have a SAB that I'll be using, but trying to figure out where to do things. Don't have a perfect room to inoculate so balancing all the evils! In my kitchen area that is one great room with tall ceilings...not great right?! Do have a small guest bathroom that we only use the toilet in so a smaller space and the shower hasn't been used in months so it's not a hot bed of moisture. Leaning towards that, but the kitchen is so much more convenient for the space as I'm going to do 12 jars. Using BRF cakes and a SAB, but can't be too careful. What would you guys do? Excited to get rolling and see where this journey goes and takes me. I love to make and create things with my hands so growing/cultivating is an extension of that and enjoy providing the things we want and enjoy in life.
Thanks and a happy new years to all that read this!
|
Excess Taters
Highentist



Registered: 08/29/22
Posts: 874
Last seen: 10 months, 25 days
|
|
You can do it wherever you want. Just turn off any circulating air, or devices that have fans. Flame sterilize between inoculations (do this outside the sab). A sab and a little care makes avoiding contamination very easy with pf tek, you'll be fine in any space you choose barring a mold pile.
-------------------- If you've never grown mushrooms before, here's how you start. First, follow the Updated PF Tek, put 4 holes in jar lids not 1, and use a water tub!
The next move is Shoebox Tek. After that you move onto grains, agar, monotubs. Agar is easy, just do it.
Other useful links - Picture guide for how things should look and proper surface conditions guide
Growing APE or PE? P9 pseudo casing tek
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Well I was eyeballing the mold pile I've been collecting in the corner, but thought I'd leave that as a last resort!Pretty much confirms my thoughts and gatherings from my education thus far, just wanted to confirm. Thanks for the input and can't wait to get going! Thanks again.
|
Excess Taters
Highentist



Registered: 08/29/22
Posts: 874
Last seen: 10 months, 25 days
|
|
No sweat, measure twice cut once, I get it man, I'm the same way. It's better to take the mushrooms seriously than waste few weeks or months doing shit wrong, even if someone, somewhere said it was the right way years ago on this forum and never was corrected. Especially if you've got plans for your crops and a schedule you'd like to keep.
-------------------- If you've never grown mushrooms before, here's how you start. First, follow the Updated PF Tek, put 4 holes in jar lids not 1, and use a water tub!
The next move is Shoebox Tek. After that you move onto grains, agar, monotubs. Agar is easy, just do it.
Other useful links - Picture guide for how things should look and proper surface conditions guide
Growing APE or PE? P9 pseudo casing tek
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Just finished inoculating my first batch. Wound up getting 10 jars injected with the one syringe. Decided to do the Amazonian that I got for the first run.
Quick question. I put micropore tape over the holes. I know the dry verm layer is there to protect from contam, but put it on anyways. Will this hurt with gas exchange as they begin to colonize or is it a non issue? Was just being a little over cautious(hopefully!) since it's my first go.
Thanks again and happy new year!
|
Crackatoa
Stranger in a strange land



Registered: 03/31/19
Posts: 5,405
Loc: Over by your Mama's house
Last seen: 2 days, 19 hours
|
|
You're safe with the MP.
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Thanks, just being cautious. This is a(hopefully!) fun new adventure. I love making and creating things. Remodeling and woodworking is really my trade and it's a very creative process. Been very deep into home brewing and grew pot for my wife and now excited to be able to grow mushrooms which is something we both have recently come to try and enjoy a lot.
|
ACTSmokey
The Fool - 8 bit

Registered: 07/13/22
Posts: 131
Last seen: 2 months, 26 days
|
|
Quote:
MikeHarold said: Thanks, just being cautious. This is a(hopefully!) fun new adventure. I love making and creating things. Remodeling and woodworking is really my trade and it's a very creative process. Been very deep into home brewing and grew pot for my wife and now excited to be able to grow mushrooms which is something we both have recently come to try and enjoy a lot.
Yeah, it's a fantastic hobby, you'll love it for ever. And then there are gourmet mushrooms, man-o-man it just gets better and better
-------------------- “That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.” - The Emerald Tablet (200-800 AD).
"My heart hath followed all my days, something I cannot name." - Don Marquis.
"Wow, things sure look different now. How much of this shit did I take?"
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
Quick update. 10 days after inoculation and things are looking pretty good, or at least I think so. Have them in an incubator box holding temps between 72-75. The mycelium seem to be growing at a faster rate each couple days which is making me happy!


|
Crackatoa
Stranger in a strange land



Registered: 03/31/19
Posts: 5,405
Loc: Over by your Mama's house
Last seen: 2 days, 19 hours
|
|
|
FlawdaKraka
FNG



Registered: 08/16/22
Posts: 588
Loc: Gulf Coast
Last seen: 1 month, 4 days
|
|
Looking good
|
MikeHarold
Stranger

Registered: 12/27/22
Posts: 26
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
|
|
So just checked in on things and think I may have a problem. Thought I had the moisture right for the cakes, but was too wet when I first mixed it so had to add more verm and brf to get to what I thought was better. Today they are all starting to show quite a bit of moisture in the jars. Now I’m aware that heat is generated by the mycelium as they grow and it’s not unusual, but I’m worried it may be too much. When I pulled this jar out for the pic water ran down the jar. Maybe I’m overly worried? Nothing I can do now though if I’m not mistaken so just gonna have to ride it out. Unless dialing down the temp in the box would help, but I’m sure that’s not gonna help any. Thoughts?
|
|