space.madness said:

I have had trouble colonizing slants in the past. My agar dishes do ok. Some slants do ok, but others just never colonize. I usually squirt a few cc of liquid culture into a slant, and cap it, and let it sit. The LC is good. Sometimes, i also drop wedges, and colonization stops half way. Is this because of lack of gas exchange? How do you position the cap during colonization?

---

If you fully tightened the cap, it's probably stalling due to lack of gas exchange. If you back the cap off a quarter turn or so and wrap it with a bit of parafilm or cling wrap, it should keep growing. (Unfortunately it will also pin if you forget about it...)

It's a little weird that it works fine when you use LC though.

I haven't made slants in a while. After I lost quite a few of them to a fridge freezing event (I have had terrible luck with this), I started using the cryovial tek. It's so much easier to prepare and takes up so little space (none in the fridge).

tripground said:

I can't buy spore prints in my country. Customs don't allow importing them.

I'm planning to have a trip to EU (Austria, Germany, Netherlands). I'd like to know if I can buy spore prints there in person from a shop. If so, can you let me know some good places?

And second question is, does spores contain any metal? I saw them usually on tin foils. I'm asking because I don't want to get question about it in the airport.

For example, seems like this can be found in Amsterdam. Does it contain any metal?

---

Mr Piggy said:

Fiet said:

How to avoid this Agar pices are hanging on the Glas I can't shake it off

I do a transfer from Agar today the Strain i use are P. Natalensis ore so i getting this from the Marltplace

---

Before taking the lid off to inoculate tip your jar to the side, then tip it back up slowly so the grain is sitting at a slant instead of level.  After you drop your wedge in, tilt the jar to the side again to cover up the wedge.  Do not shake until 1/3 colonized, skip the initial shake.

---

tripground said:

Yes, it's correct. Mailing is not illegal, but it's totally up to the officer at the customs. Most of them, doesn't allow them to be imported because they don't believe that it'll be used for microscopy. I mean if you're lucky, then they will allow it to be imported. But most of time, you only lose your money.

So, buying it in person, and taking it to home with me is the best way to go. Because in this situation, they cannot send it back, because it's legal to have it.

---

tripground said:

But most of time, you only lose your money.

---

LewDoja said:

This is one of those iykyk... and is still a pain in the ass at times.... Welcome to the frustration club!

---

Like when a wedge stick to a lid.

MycoKyle said:

Potency question:
Basically how do you test potency?  Consuming obviously. But like what measurements should I be looking for to gauge?  Idk how to make it make sense.

lol!

I took 5.5 g GT last night that I grew from all in one bag and LC. very light and short trip.  Still learning

---