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cube rhizomorphic mycelium or mold mycelium
    #28913979 -

So after a few months of intense agar action pouring 50 plates a week I stopped and looked up and for the first time I don't think I see contams mixed in with MYC. What does everyone think? These are T4 & T6 plates.

#1

#2

#3

#4

And I have another 8 or so just like these.


--------------------
Agar Plates and Removing Hidden Contaminants - A Visual Notebook
Recognizing Contamination in Grain Jars - A Visual Notebook
Contaminated Condiment Cup Cleanup v1.0

Green Cap Pheno Isolation

Edited by DV8DUG (09/26/24 10:19 AM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: DV8DUG]
    #28915023 -

Nobody has anything to say about these plates?


--------------------
Agar Plates and Removing Hidden Contaminants - A Visual Notebook
Recognizing Contamination in Grain Jars - A Visual Notebook
Contaminated Condiment Cup Cleanup v1.0

Green Cap Pheno Isolation

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: DV8DUG] * 5
    #28915028 -

Well this isn’t what you wanna hear but that looks like mold to me


--------------------
A Love Letter to New Growers
The 7 Edicts of Mushroom Cultivation as Decreed by Smellyhobbit

:kodama:


Anyone can get a canopy. But can you get what you want?

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: Smellyhobbit] * 1
    #28915037 -

What species? If it cubes then yea that isn't clean growth. Might be ok if it's a pan species.


--------------------
The better guide to grow mushrooms.
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/8553541

Beware the power of one.  The power of two. The power of many.

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: vicepope]
    #28915080 -

Man 50 times a week and it's still bacterial... I really gotta read and re read every thread on Agar before I dip my toe in because as many threads as I've seen people judge bacteria on them I can never seem to tell.

I definitely am curious to know what elements identify this as bacterial, the bump on the one side with that discoloration on it maybe or the uniformity or intensity of the whiteness? Or the fluffiness? I've read so much of the recognizing contamination topic and still can't seem to get the identifying part of this hobby right. 😶‍🌫️


--------------------
Endlessly endorsing empathy empirically energizing existence™

~Always practice radical kindness~
R.I.P. Betty Boop, greatest mother to ever do it.

Edited by QuantumZ00 (08/18/24 03:07 AM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00] * 1
    #28915121 -

No one described these as bacterial.

Smelly thinks it's mold. I would like to see it before it covered the plate (and to know what diameter that is and how long it took to grow out). It does look kinda squiggly and like cotton candy to me, which would be weird for cubensis. To be honest, the photos are a bit too grainy and slightly blurred or out of focus, making it hard to see much actual detail.

Edit: actually the top one shows a lot of detail. And it looks especially fluffy and squiggly (we hope for nice radial/outward growth). I dunno what it is, but it doesn't look like a cubensis plate I've seen. :frown:

How old are your oldest plates you still have of this line? Have any of them pinned ... or changed colors or got dark flecks?


--------------------
LAGM 2026 grow log | My library/trade list

Edited by Phaethon (08/18/24 06:03 AM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: Smellyhobbit] * 4
    #28915146 -

Smellyhobbit said:
Well this isn’t what you wanna hear but that looks like mold to me


Those plates do not look good to me either.


--------------------
     
How I Get Stuff done. - My Reference Guide. - My Grows.

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: hamloaf]
    #28915315 -

Wild. I'm a novice but I would never have looked at these and thought it wasn't mycelium. Pretty rough when the whole exercise could have you literally isolating mold.

Any of the experienced growers care to elaborate on how you figure this is cobweb and not mycelium? I see that it isn't ropes, but otherwise never would have guessed. Suddenly feel much less confident in my agar.

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: StophJS]
    #28915330 -



Not to hijack a thread, but I was told this culture was clean and I feel like it looks worse than those pictured here.

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: StophJS] * 3
    #28915334 -

These plates highlight a good lesson. Mold is hard to recognize until you see it

First, dv8dug, what species are you growing here? I’m going to pretend that you’re growing cubes for the sake of continuing. Other species may throw curve balls

The thing to notice about mold vs cube mycelium is that mold is stupid compared to cubes. Sounds weird, I know. Zoom in and look at the mycelium. You’ll see single threads running outwards. The threads aren’t working together

With cube mycelium, you’ll see intelligence at work. There are multiple structures that can get built (eg tomentose and rhizomorphic) and it works together and becomes stronger as it grows

Cube mycelium has a plan. It builds networks and then mushrooms. The stuff is brilliant. Mold has a simpler plan. It grows outwards and spews off spores which grow outwards and spews off spores. See the difference?

Well, that’s what I’m learning and, admittedly, It’s only a few months deep. Maybe another perspective can help more

Also, dv8dug, don’t be too bummed. The skills you’ve developed to make clean plates of mold apply directly to psilocybin mycelium. Since you can tame mold like this, you can grow psilocybin mycelium quite easily


--------------------
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Shroomery “Clean spawn is easily the most critical component of the entire cultivation process.”
Drink the Water of Life and become Paul Muad’Dib.
Remember to surrender.

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: AzureCultivator] * 2
    #28915348 -

Great point. That is definitely some happy mold. Cubes will be a breeze


--------------------
A Love Letter to New Growers
The 7 Edicts of Mushroom Cultivation as Decreed by Smellyhobbit

:kodama:


Anyone can get a canopy. But can you get what you want?

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: Phaethon]
    #28915461 -

Edit: just read Azures post. Now that makes it a little easier to know what to look for in this situation. Guess the only way to really get used to it is to fail and fail again. 💃


Phaethon said:
No one described these as bacterial.

Smelly thinks it's mold. I would like to see it before it covered the plate (and to know what diameter that is and how long it took to grow out). It does look kinda squiggly and like cotton candy to me, which would be weird for cubensis. To be honest, the photos are a bit too grainy and slightly blurred or out of focus, making it hard to see much actual detail.

Edit: actually the top one shows a lot of detail. And it looks especially fluffy and squiggly (we hope for nice radial/outward growth). I dunno what it is, but it doesn't look like a cubensis plate I've seen. :frown:

How old are your oldest plates you still have of this line? Have any of them pinned ... or changed colors or got dark flecks?


I meant moldy but I was just surprised after so many tries it would still be contaminated. I'm about to start my first Agar work and it startled me since everyone says how easy it is...


--------------------
Endlessly endorsing empathy empirically energizing existence™

~Always practice radical kindness~
R.I.P. Betty Boop, greatest mother to ever do it.

Edited by QuantumZ00 (08/18/24 02:14 PM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00]
    #28915496 -

Agar is easy. Recognizing what you're isolating isn't always so. :smile:

Even a dirty spore print or syringe will have hundreds of thousands or millions of times more mushroom spores than contaminant cells. So if you start with a streak you will usually have plenty to choose from. Assuming they were after cubensis, OP seems to have gotten extremely unlucky early on and has been isolating something that seems more like mold than cubensis.

OP, when you start over from spores, consider BRF pucks for germination. I've found it almost fool proof for germinating stubborn and bacterial prints (I just swab the print after dipping the swab tip in sterile water and bury the swab tip in the puck). Like agar it doesn't really favor mushroom mycelium over mold, but that's really a numbers game - starting with 106 times more mushroom spores, that's by far the most likely thing that will grow out. And after transferring some clean mycelium to agar, you can leave the puck alone and eventually get pins or full mushroom bodies for later cloning.


--------------------
LAGM 2026 grow log | My library/trade list

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00]
    #28915502 -

I'll transfer these and post pics in a few days before the plate fills. Yes they are cubes.


--------------------
Agar Plates and Removing Hidden Contaminants - A Visual Notebook
Recognizing Contamination in Grain Jars - A Visual Notebook
Contaminated Condiment Cup Cleanup v1.0

Green Cap Pheno Isolation

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00]
    #28915503 -

QuantumZ00 said:
Edit: just read Azures post. Now that makes it a little easier to know what to look for in this situation. Guess the only way to really get used to it is to fail and fail again. 💃


Phaethon said:
No one described these as bacterial.

Smelly thinks it's mold. I would like to see it before it covered the plate (and to know what diameter that is and how long it took to grow out). It does look kinda squiggly and like cotton candy to me, which would be weird for cubensis. To be honest, the photos are a bit too grainy and slightly blurred or out of focus, making it hard to see much actual detail.

Edit: actually the top one shows a lot of detail. And it looks especially fluffy and squiggly (we hope for nice radial/outward growth). I dunno what it is, but it doesn't look like a cubensis plate I've seen. :frown:

How old are your oldest plates you still have of this line? Have any of them pinned ... or changed colors or got dark flecks?


I meant moldy but I was just surprised after so many tries it would still be contaminated. I'm about to start my first Agar work and it startled me since everyone says how easy it is...


It’s not contaminated, it’s JUST mold. He was never cleaning up a cube culture. He could do 100 transfers and he’d just have some very happy mold.


--------------------
A Love Letter to New Growers
The 7 Edicts of Mushroom Cultivation as Decreed by Smellyhobbit

:kodama:


Anyone can get a canopy. But can you get what you want?

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: DV8DUG]
    #28915507 -

DV8DUG said:
I'll transfer these and post pics in a few days before the plate fills. Yes they are cubes.


What? Transfer what?


--------------------
A Love Letter to New Growers
The 7 Edicts of Mushroom Cultivation as Decreed by Smellyhobbit

:kodama:


Anyone can get a canopy. But can you get what you want?

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: DV8DUG] * 1
    #28915622 -

DV8DUG said:
I'll transfer these and post pics in a few days before the plate fills. Yes they are cubes.


if it's not good at T1 you're wasting your time. subculturing is the single worst way to isolate target mycelium from an enmeshed contaminant.

start over from spores and save yourself 100 plates of fail. if every germination does this get new spores and consider switching your media to PDA or BRF pucks.


--------------------
The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.

Edited by phenyl (08/18/24 04:16 PM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: Smellyhobbit]
    #28915686 -

Smellyhobbit said:
It’s not contaminated, it’s JUST mold. He was never cleaning up a cube culture. He could do 100 transfers and he’d just have some very happy mold.


Yeah I understand now, it's that early on in his 50 attempts he isolated something that looked similar enough to mycelium to trick a beginner, and then he kept improving on that mold in each successive attempt until it became this "picture perfect" version of that mold.

I think I got it now.


--------------------
Endlessly endorsing empathy empirically energizing existence™

~Always practice radical kindness~
R.I.P. Betty Boop, greatest mother to ever do it.

Edited by QuantumZ00 (08/18/24 05:28 PM)

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Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00] * 1
    #28915711 -

Just to be pedantic, mold is mycelium. Mycelium doesn’t mean “cubensis tissue.”

But yeah this is just a well cared for mold culture, unfortunately


--------------------
A Love Letter to New Growers
The 7 Edicts of Mushroom Cultivation as Decreed by Smellyhobbit

:kodama:


Anyone can get a canopy. But can you get what you want?

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I think all the gunk is out [Re: QuantumZ00] * 1
    #28915712 -

QuantumZ00 said:
I really gotta read and re read every thread on Agar


This thread helped me a LOT.

https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/18430998


--------------------
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Shroomery

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Shop: Mushroom-Hut Liquid Cultures   Sporeworks.EU Spores for European Microscopy   North Spore Injection Grain Bag   Original Sensible Seeds Bulk Cannabis Seeds   MagicBag.co All-In-One Bags That Don't Suck   Myyco.com Isolated Cubensis Liquid Culture For Sale

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