All-In-One Jars for Panaeolus spp. (and other exotics)

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tree frog
sapphic love muffin

Registered: 03/31/14
Posts: 7,049

All-In-One Jars for Panaeolus spp. (and other exotics)

35
#29113303 - 02/04/25 09:11 AM (1 year, 9 months ago)

Auto-Summary

The author discusses the benefits and drawbacks of using All-In-One (AIO) jars for growing oyster mushrooms, where the substrate, grains, and pasteurization are combined in a single container. AIO jars address the issues of stalled growth and contamination associated with traditional grain-based methods. However, they also present challenges, such as difficulty in spotting contamination and achieving the right substrate consistency. The author shares their preferred recipe and method for preparing AIO jars, which includes using prepped coco coir, sifted manure or compost, and grains, along with optional gypsum and calcium carbonate for pH balance. They also provide guidance on loading and pasteurizing the jars, as well as tips for monitoring and harvesting the mushrooms. With the right technique and attention to detail, AIO jars can be a reliable and efficient way to grow oyster mushrooms, as demonstrated by the author's own successful experiences and photos of their grows.

Introduction
First, I take no credit for this idea. Folks have been running Pans in AIO bags and jars for a lot longer than I've been growing them. And there are a couple of reasons myself and other growers prefer this method. The first reason is that Pans have a tendency to stall on many commonly used grains. The second reason is that manure or compost needs to be properly pasteurized or sterilized to prevent contamination.

In addition to solving both of these problems, AIO grows also change the timeline of the grow substantially. While a half-gallon AIO jar takes a bit longer to colonize than a quart jar of grains (assuming the grains don't stall), once it's ready to spawn, it's also ready to case and go immediately into fruiting.

That said, there are a few drawbacks to AIO grows. First, it's difficult to spot contamination. And, if a grow is contaminated, there's no way to know without having already wasted substrate (I find a compost pile very helpful, as I can recycle contaminated subs). Second, the consistency of the substrate takes a bit of fine-tuning, and it's easy to overload the jars. Which makes shaking difficult down the road. Third, AIO grows will never look as dense as a grain jar. This can make it difficult to know when to spawn your jars. The above drawbacks are the main reason I'm writing this tek.

Tree Frog's AIO Jars

Ingredients
2 qts of prepped coco coir
2 qts of sifted manure or compost
500ml of grains (dry volume)
Gypsum*
Calcium carbonate*
Micronutrients*

Supplies
Four half-gallon jars
Containers for measuring and mixing
A screen for the compost*

*Optional

The Grains
For this prep, I used 500ml millet, washed with a drop of dish soap. Thoroughly rinsed and drained. I added a bit of extra water to my substrate, to fully hudrate the millet.

But, most grain prep will work. I used low prep here because I wanted to try it. Currently, I'm working with mixed grains to diversify my substrate and hydrating them prior to prepping my jars (my hydration method is washed grains dumped in a bucket. I dump boiling water on top and soak for 12-18 hours. Learned this tek from Kirkeng and it seems to work well for most grains).

The Substrate
For Pans, I prefer black kow as my nitrogen source. This is a well composted brand of cow manure sold all over the U.S. I've tried garden compost (ran well but had a lot of clay) and horse manure (maybe not composted enough, the ammonia seemed to burn the fruits). Black kow has ran the best for me, gives a good sub consistency, and is generally easy to work with. So, that's what I prefer.

It's not super clean. I picked this out by hand for these jars but I've since invested in some bucket screens to make things easier.

For my mix, I prefer 2 qts black kow and 2 qts hydrated coir. Packed well during measuring. I've used 1:1:1 black kow, hemp herd, and hydrated coir too and that also works great. But hemp herd is expensive here and takes some extra soaking to get the moisture right (still I would recommend it if available).

Getting the prep right
Gypsum and calcium carbonate are optional, but preferable for consistency and pH balance. One tablespoon of each sprinkled over the substrate and mixed in before adding additional water.

From here I add water, one quarter cup at a time, and continued to mix, until mix was at field capacity (took one cup of water, but this will vary depending on how wet your initial ingredients are). Optionally, add 15ml of Jackpot micronutrients to the water prior to mixing it in. This adds a lot of minerals without making the mix more muddy (worm castings will also add minerals but tends to get muddier than we want, but neither are necessary).

The mix should look like this. Nice and fluffy. Damp but not muddy. Getting this texture right is one of the most important parts of the process. And it's better to err on the side of a bit dry than a bit muddy.

Loading, PCing, etc.
For my jars, I prefer half-gallons. They're easier to shake and hold enough substrate to run a shoebox of Pans. But, I've done a lot of quart AIO jars too. Just be mindful that you don't overfill them (600ml or less is good) and if you have extra substrate, it's better not to overfill.

Anyway, I split the mix into four jars as shown here. The jars are filled right under the 1500ml mark (around 1400ml). They are not compressed or tamped down. Just split evenly and be sure not to overfill or you won't be able to shake later.

PC for 3 hours.

Close up of one of the cooked jars. Millet looks nice and plump.

How I run them
After inoculation with a wedge or LI, I wait for some visible recovery, then wait one more day, then do the first shake. Here's a couple of shots of the first recovery prior to a shake.

For my second shake I look for 30% or more growth.

Here's a jar after the second shake. Just about finished.

And another one that's looking ready. I like to give them another day or two past full colonization to consolidate and to be sure that everything is kosher.

Example spawning and casing
To spawn, I break and shake and dump in a tray. This shoebox works well for my Pan Cyans.

For casing application, I ran prepped casing through a screen to get it nice and fine.

Sprinkle it on and level (but do not compress) with the back of my fingers.

And here's some shots showing casing and substrate depth.

Now I mist the casing to encourage colonization and put straight into fruiting. Jar was put into fruiting 10 days from wedge inoculation.

Various grow pics
A jar of Ps. Ingeli prior to spawning and pinning.

Ps. Natelensis running in an AIO jar.

Some Pan. Cyans currently pinning.

And some older AIO grows done in quart jars.

Links to growlogs
Dala's ttbvi log
My original log

--------------------
And if I only could
I'd make a deal with God
And I'd get him to swap our places
I'd be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no problems

Edited by tree frog (02/21/26 04:24 PM)

Extras:

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