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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
Posts: 52
Last seen: 6 months, 10 days
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Side pinning and surface help
#28654011 - 02/10/24 10:34 AM (11 months, 12 hours ago) |
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So, I am getting significant side pinning on my first attempt at shoeboxes. I have two shoeboxes and they are pretty much both identical. Both have a bit of top pins but definitely more side pins. I have seen similar posts and the list of the answers usually boil down to "fix your surface conditions."
As a beginner, these are the first surface conditions I've ever had. Can't really tell if it is too wet or too dry. Candidly, I don't think it's even fully colonized, but I am getting some surface pins.
Couple other ideas: 1. I kind of failed mixing my sub and grain. When I was done, I notice most of the grain had filtered to the bottom. Would this cause them to fruit before they reached the surface?
2. I do have light coming primarily from one side. Should I have blacked out the sides of the shoebox?

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Goatrider
Rhythm Guitarist



Registered: 04/08/20
Posts: 4,801
Loc: Germany
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: BuzzedAlien]
#28654074 - 02/10/24 11:29 AM (11 months, 11 hours ago) |
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Blacking out plastic doesn´t equal wrong surface conditions. Have a look here and compare with yours.
Mixing up the substrate is very important, do it thoroughly, and compress it a bit, especially the sides and corners.
I think your shoeboxes get to much air exchange, so your sub shrunk a bit, spending a perfect microclimate for shrooms to thrive. You need to dial in to your environment. The lid doesn´t have a gasket, or?
Shrooms like to grow everywhere, just give them the conditions they want. Maybe have a look at the bottom 
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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
Posts: 52
Last seen: 6 months, 10 days
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: Goatrider]
#28654386 - 02/10/24 03:57 PM (11 months, 6 hours ago) |
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No, the lids don't have a gasket, which I think is kind of the point of a shoebox; it's lets air in so your stinky shoes don't get moldy. Not quite sure how to dial the fae down on these. I was following the simple shoebox tek. This is practically the first time I have opened them at all.
I did tamp down the sides somewhat when prepping, but I might have had too light a touch.
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OldManRiver
Fisherman at large


Registered: 11/12/17
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Loc: Pacific NW USA
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: BuzzedAlien]
#28654425 - 02/10/24 04:21 PM (11 months, 6 hours ago) |
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You're getting side pins because the climate is better in the gap than on the top, which implies that the top is too dry, most likely from too much airflow. I don't use shoeboxes, so I don't know the best way to fix this.
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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
Posts: 52
Last seen: 6 months, 10 days
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: OldManRiver]
#28654472 - 02/10/24 05:09 PM (11 months, 5 hours ago) |
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Quote:
OldManRiver said: You're getting side pins because the climate is better in the gap than on the top, which implies that the top is too dry, most likely from too much airflow. I don't use shoeboxes, so I don't know the best way to fix this.
Makes sense. 6qt boxes are pretty cheap, so I will invest in some different ones for the next time. In the meantime I am sure I can figure out some way to restrict airflow a bit more.
Thanks.
Edited by BuzzedAlien (02/10/24 06:29 PM)
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Goatrider
Rhythm Guitarist



Registered: 04/08/20
Posts: 4,801
Loc: Germany
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: BuzzedAlien]
#28654653 - 02/10/24 08:07 PM (11 months, 2 hours ago) |
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Try this. Prepped the shoeboxes like this? Should be no problem then.
Quote:
BuzzedAlien said: No, the lids don't have a gasket, which I think is kind of the point of a shoebox; it's lets air in so your stinky shoes don't get moldy.
You'd be surprised what people call a shoebox. Besides that different brands have different lids, that's why i asked 
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RAT POS
Enthusiast



Registered: 03/24/23
Posts: 98
Last seen: 2 months, 29 days
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: BuzzedAlien]
#28654673 - 02/10/24 08:28 PM (11 months, 2 hours ago) |
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To avoid side pins in my shoes box’s, I started lining them with trash bags and then mixed the sub and spawn in there, pressing it down so there is no gap whatsoever.
Works best for the first flush as the sub will shrink a bit and the plastic will not adhere as well as the size fluctuates. It also really helps for harvesting as you can pull the entire colonized sub “brick” out using the bag with almost no fuss. I’ve been doing this with 12QTs and even though I though many tips they would rip, they held strong.
-------------------- YOU FEEL THE RULES OF THE COSMOS HAVE SHIFTED
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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: RAT POS]
#28655243 - 02/11/24 10:08 AM (10 months, 30 days ago) |
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Quote:
RAT POS said: To avoid side pins in my shoes box’s, I started lining them with trash bags and then mixed the sub and spawn in there, pressing it down so there is no gap whatsoever.
Thanks. Might try this next time.
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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
Posts: 52
Last seen: 6 months, 10 days
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: Goatrider]
#28655245 - 02/11/24 10:10 AM (10 months, 30 days ago) |
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Quote:
Goatrider said: Try this. Prepped the shoeboxes like this? Should be no problem then.
Quote:
BuzzedAlien said: No, the lids don't have a gasket, which I think is kind of the point of a shoebox; it's lets air in so your stinky shoes don't get moldy.
You'd be surprised what people call a shoebox. Besides that different brands have different lids, that's why i asked 

No worries. My idea to dial down the fae and create a bit of a gasket was to put electrical tape on the ridges of the container. We will see how it goes.
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BuzzedAlien
BelowNovice


Registered: 12/05/23
Posts: 52
Last seen: 6 months, 10 days
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Re: Side pinning and surface help [Re: BuzzedAlien]
#28655288 - 02/11/24 10:44 AM (10 months, 30 days ago) |
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So, here is my post-mortem of what happened. I think the main problem was my failure to properly mix the sub and grain. The surface conditions on close inspection are not actually too bad. I can see droplets.
I used popcorn, a big grain, so there would have been gaps (air) towards the side and bottom where most of the grain was. When the sub shrank just a bit, it added more fae to the sides and, boom, pinning/fruiting. Most of the myc didn't even get to the surface before it had a good fruiting environment. Live and learn.
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