Huskies said:

Gnats in one of my tubs. Bad flush in comparison, shrooms smell a bit musky, seem to abort. That's all normal for gnats?

What's the plant that is good to have nearby again? Also, anything I can do to try to salvage the tub? Outside only? Just toss it?

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MycCycle said:

To all you guys that have had experience with Melmac PE,
Have you found it necessary to run a thick PE-like top layer / casing for it not to blob, or do you run them like any other cube?

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Mr Piggy said:

ihansterx4i said:

How do i know if my spawn bag is ready for the next step?

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It'll get hair in its pits and its voice will crack.

Other than that it's usually ready to spawn when it is fully colonized.

ihansterx4i said:

how long is a grain jar that's gone through the pressure cooker good for before inoculation?

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We don't use pressure cookers to sterilize grain, we use pressure canners.  Assuming the process has been done correctly, the jars can wait for months.

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Mr Piggy said:

The bottom line is there is not proof of WLP, period.

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Mr Piggy said:

You keep linking to opinion pieces and not to any factual proof....

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What would be factual proof? People have been admitted to ERs with it, but they probably don't want to share their medical records here.

Probably a lot of people don't go to the ER, because they're afraid of getting busted.

A person with WLP can't walk themselves into the hospital.

And calling an ambulance for a friend with WLP sounds like adding to a bad trip for everyone there.

Someone did a poll 2 years ago and 15 people said they've had it. I've never seen the poll and I was here then, so some who had it maybe didn't reply to the poll.
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/28425990#28425990

I wouldn't be shocked if someone who had WLP swore off all mushrooms forever and never came back to a site like this. Especially if they'd never read of its existence.

So there might be some self-selection bias with a poll like this.

That's one reason I keep bringing it up. I doubt hearing about is is going to cause someone to imagine they have it, but if they have it they might realize it will eventually pass and they're not going to die if they know what it is.

What do you want as evidence? A peer-reviewed large-scale double-blind test? Who would pay for that? What would it look like? Pay 10,000 people to go to a hospital, give half of them cubes as control group, give half of them woodlovers, 20 of those get WLP, that's still not a big enough group to study and learn much.

All info is going to come anecdotal  until someone isolates the substance that does this.

This is a comment on that poll:

"Alistair McTaggart Has been doing some interesting research, The working theory atm is that's there's a gene that in most shrooms does nothing but in the ones that give WLP it is actively doing something to create the enzyme causing WLP"

This seems to talk about it on his web site:
https://alistairmctaggart.weebly.com/magicmushrooms/what-i-learned-about-wood-lovers-paralysis-at-the-2022-enthogenesis-conference

nektar61 said:

....wood lover paralysis....

Mr Piggy said:

The bottom line is there is not proof of WLP, period.

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There's that religion I spoke of. I still think you're cool, but I have friends who are religious and I still like them.

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Requiring proof is the opposite of religion

A bunch of people getting too high and freaking out is not proof to me.  It's just a bunch of people getting too high and freaking out.  So far that's all you've been able to show me. In those links I see no studies, no proof, nothing but a few people claiming to be too high after eating mushrooms. 

My entry into the active mushroom world was by hunting woodlovers.  I have spent the better part of two decades picking, consuming, and distributing them.  While the high is slightly different, I have never seen any difference between the overall reaction to woodlovers or cubes.  The ONE TIME a friend claimed he was paralyzed, I just lifted him to his feet and it turns out he was just high.

So again, I do not believe it exists and the burden of proof is not on me.   

To believe it exists without solid proof is.... religious.

edit:  okay since we're doing edits, that graphic proves exactly nothing.  The author himself says he has not even posed the hypothesis yet, it's still in the works.

dinosaurs said:

its more dogmatic.  doing things or making factual sounding statements for the sake of doing them, without backing data or being able to explain "why" through to a logical conclusion.

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Mr Piggy said:

I was pointing out the distinction between pressure canners and pressure cookers, not saying grain cannot be done in an insta-pot.  I think you misunderstood me.

My main gripe with instapots is they are not pressure canners and people think that they are.  These devices perform different functions and conflating the two is causing people to think they produce the same results.  They do not.  Instapots are designed to heat and cook food.  Pressure canners are designed to hold jars and cans at exact pressures and temperatures for a long duration.  An instapot is incapable of producing the same consistent results that a pressure canner is as that use is outside of its design.

So, an instapot cannot pressure can because it cannot hold to the same standards as a pressure canner.  That does not mean small batches of grain cannot be done in it, but it does mean it is by far not the best practice.

In our use on these forums PC refers to pressure canning, not pressure cooking. 

Does that scan?

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Arkyhog said:

Mr Piggy said:

I was pointing out the distinction between pressure canners and pressure cookers, not saying grain cannot be done in an insta-pot.  I think you misunderstood me.

My main gripe with instapots is they are not pressure canners and people think that they are.  These devices perform different functions and conflating the two is causing people to think they produce the same results.  They do not.  Instapots are designed to heat and cook food.  Pressure canners are designed to hold jars and cans at exact pressures and temperatures for a long duration.  An instapot is incapable of producing the same consistent results that a pressure canner is as that use is outside of its design.

So, an instapot cannot pressure can because it cannot hold to the same standards as a pressure canner.  That does not mean small batches of grain cannot be done in it, but it does mean it is by far not the best practice.

In our use on these forums PC refers to pressure canning, not pressure cooking. 

Does that scan?

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ahh yeah I gotcha! Your right for sure any slight deviation and you don't have the temps our the pressure to help. That's a big advantage of the canners over the instant pot cause with the instant pot you don't really know your pressure or temperatures.

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Fauchinger said:

Question. I‘m using a pressure cooker with 13 PSI max. I sterilized some agar with it but completely forgot I needed to vent. The prepared plates didn’t contam so far. However those I have streaked are dealing with contamination around the inoculation areas.

I don’t get why the pre-inoculation plates are still contam free though, because not venting makes such a huge difference in effective temperature.

I have 12 plates stored in the fridge, are they good to use anyway or should I throw em out and just pour new ones (this time with correct venting)?

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Fauchinger said:

Question. I‘m using a pressure cooker with 13 PSI max. I sterilized some agar with it but completely forgot I needed to vent. The prepared plates didn’t contam so far. However those I have streaked are dealing with contamination around the inoculation areas.

I don’t get why the pre-inoculation plates are still contam free though, because not venting makes such a huge difference in effective temperature.

I have 12 plates stored in the fridge, are they good to use anyway or should I throw em out and just pour new ones (this time with correct venting)?

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GenesisCorrupted said:

If I’m running my PC for more than two hours with a shake weight, I’m going to definitely say it’s filled with steam and I’m not gonna worry about it.

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Mr Piggy said:

Venting is all done before the cycle starts.  You do not start the clock until 10-15 minutes of real deal vent fully open venting.  Only after that point do you flip your switch or put on your weight and start the clock.

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