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Im going crazy (swab wars) KS3 grow
    #29312582 -

Idk wtf has happened to my decade of experience but absolutely everything I put on agar now is going straight to trich.

I've tried several different suppliers, some highly reputable, others random giveaways but either way. I just inoculated 60 plates, all are fucked.

I am ready to throw all things associated with mycology and saying fuck this shit.

But as soon as I try to clone a wild edible or a clone from the grocery store it takes off and half the time I don't even feel like fruiting them. My cube prints were old so I didn't expect a great outcome but Jesus Christ, I've tried like five different swabs from different people and always the same result.

Im posting this out of pure nerd rage, I'm tired of this shit



:rockon:KS3 PROGRESSION :rockon:
(all plates made with pda and from swab)
Germ plate


Second transfer


Trays colonizing coco coir after wbs was fully colonized (wbs inoculated with third transfer)


Put in GH for fruiting


Pinz



Veils starting to tear


First harvest





🍼


Edited by Nobler Hino (11/16/25 08:29 AM)

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino] * 1
    #29312613 -

I personally hate making them but is it worth making up some brf pucks?


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Clean MS from fresh fruits every time.
How I prep brown rice

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: 3.A.M]
    #29312634 -

Sounds more likely that the plates could be the issue. I ran across this once with making agar in the instant pot. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the instant pot wasn't reaching pressure due to the seal needing to be stretched.

All those plates contamed, although it was with bacteria not trich.

Are you using a SAB or a flowhood?


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I call them Huskies cause they Mush!


The Official Wild Cubensis Thread
Instant Pot Agar
Gnocchi Water Agar
Let's Talk Cowtek

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino] * 2
    #29312651 -

I just had a few sessions like this at the beginning of the summer. Realized that the AC repair guys fucked up the blower install and I was blowing attic dust all over my house and lab. Apparently it got all over the face of my FFU filter. After I figured that out and ran it on high for a few days I am back in action.

Not saying that is your exact problem. But shit happens. Take a step back, look at everything and anything that has changed. You will figure it out, too.

Trich on agar is likely related to dust. BRF pucks are good for bacteria, but less helpful for molds. If you are struggling with trich from different inoculant sources at the agar stage, go really basic to a misted and settled SAB with ISO gloved hands and just a few plates. Then eliminate steps you don't need until you find the problem.

Just some ideas, but you will figure it out. It really knocked me off my stride for a while. I just did a couple dozen plates that are looking nice and it feels good to be back. Now I have to go finish cleaning up a few months of neglected everything.


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Stoned Gummys | BRF Pucks | Primo Reusable Plates | Easy LI 4 Preserv & Propo
"Psychedelics are powerful substances. Nothing that powerful is completely safe... and nothing completely safe is that powerful!" - Abigail Calder at ALPS 2023
Don't Panic

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino]
    #29312688 -

Nobler Hino said:
I've tried like five different swabs from different people and always the same result.


I had to completely stop doing anything with swabs, it didn't matter the source either.  I even stopped making swabs unless specifically asked.  I thought it was always something I was doing wrong too, as far as prep and technique, and maybe it is to a certain degree, but Id rather a small barely noticeable print over the cleanest swab pack any day.

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: stagger] * 1
    #29312784 -

Thank you for the replies gang

Im using an SAB style identical to Munch's SAB set up. I think it is a swab issue, I never really had luck with them over the years. A fresh print always did wonders.Pda pc'd at 20 psi for 25 mins.air in room is still, I even turn off any fans or ac outside of the room. Soapy water in the sab, the whole nine.

Im going to make another round of pda plates and post some results here if you guys are curious. It's been forever since I posted here so I'm intrigued by this endeavor.


Man I was mad lol. Btw, I may try some brf pucks. I use to make slurries with them. I don't mind posting some quick videos of the set up and procedures for critiquing. I gotta find a solution

:resignednonacceptance:


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Edited by Nobler Hino (08/13/25 11:23 PM)

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino] * 1
    #29312859 -

How are ya’ll using swabs that you have so many issues?
I just tease off some strands with tweezers and bury them in a plate, never have a problem :/


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Clean MS from fresh fruits every time.
How I prep brown rice

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: 3.A.M]
    #29312954 -

I have a couple swabs left, I may try this.

I just made a few pda plates and nocd them up with a few multi spore syringes from sw. I swabbed a few with pan cyan from a nec-d print I just received. I'll post pics here. Red spore, mazatepec, ps. Mexicana are the syringes used. Im pretty confident I'll get it going now lol


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: 3.A.M]
    #29312956 -

3.A.M said:
How are ya’ll using swabs that you have so many issues?
I just tease off some strands with tweezers and bury them in a plate, never have a problem :/


I'm gonna try that, I always struggle to get germ from swabs. Prints are never an issue


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: 3.A.M]
    #29313462 -

3.A.M said:
How are ya’ll using swabs that you have so many issues?
I just tease off some strands with tweezers and bury them in a plate, never have a problem :/




I mostly grow albino stuff so I usually use and give away swabs, so I'm just used to them and have never had problems. And when you're done with all the tweezing you can just cut off the swab and jam the whole tip into a plate. It'll grow. It'll probably be dirty as hell, but it works.


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Hitchhikers Guide to the Shroomery





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Re: Im going crazy [Re: FuzzyFoot] * 1
    #29314443 -

I tried this with the x7x+ and the ks3. Two completely new varieties to me. I used a flamed scalpel cooled in agar to pull some threads and placed in the center of each plate. Also introduced some year old pe uncut and ape syringes to the mix, I'm not so hopeful for the ape but it was just laying around.


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino]
    #29314561 -

I found some old swabs (approx. 2 years) and they were nasty. Some of them were visibly fucked with god knows what. I took the cleanest looking one (looked fine to the eye) and made a spore solution. Looked at the spore solution under the microscope and there were mold spores everywhere. Mostly trich plus the occasional other type. I inoculated some plates and they were covered in trich within a few days.

My conclusion is that the wooden sticks plus moisture from the air, even inside a sealed bag, is enough of an environment for the trich to grow and replicate on the swab. And swabs are almost always gonna have the odd bit of contam from the get go. Spores cannot be stored on swabs unfortunately. Prints on foil are better.

And I recently got a spore syringe from a supplier who I had previously bought successful prints from and every single inoculation drop turned bacterial whilst my control plate stayed completely clean. There are some bad products out there, so you might just be getting unlucky to some extent.


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Protoplast Fusion


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Puffin] * 1
    #29314567 -

Puffin said:
I found some old swabs (approx. 2 years) and they were nasty. Some of them were visibly fucked with god knows what. I took the cleanest looking one (looked fine to the eye) and made a spore solution. Looked at the spore solution under the microscope and there were mold spores everywhere. Mostly trich plus the occasional other type. I inoculated some plates and they were covered in trich within a few days.

My conclusion is that the wooden sticks plus moisture from the air, even inside a sealed bag, is enough of an environment for the trich to grow and replicate on the swab. And swabs are almost always gonna have the odd bit of contam from the get go. Spores cannot be stored on swabs unfortunately. Prints on foil are better.

And I recently got a spore syringe from a supplier who I had previously bought successful prints from and every single inoculation drop turned bacterial whilst my control plate stayed completely clean. There are some bad products out there, so you might just be getting unlucky to some extent.



They certainly can. I have 5+ year old swabs that work just fine.


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Hitchhikers Guide to the Shroomery





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Re: Im going crazy [Re: FuzzyFoot]
    #29314571 -

FuzzyFoot said:
They certainly can. I have 5+ year old swabs that work just fine.


Do they have plastic sticks? Were they sterile to begin with? Were they kept in any special way? I'm curious why our experience with old swabs has been so different.


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Protoplast Fusion


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: 3.A.M] * 1
    #29314865 -

3.A.M said:
How are ya’ll using swabs that you have so many issues?


I think i.come off a bit of a fearmonger against swabs but it's not completely that way.  Ideally I feel the best thing is to collect spores yourself whenever possible, store and use them however each of us sees fit for them.  I still take swabs for myself, randomly, but I'm not anti swab.  from my experience I just assume they'll require extra effort, time, plates, different type plates, etc etc.....but there's a ton of experience to be learned in all of that, so there's really no loss.

I just put a couple to plates that have been in storage, one is at a year(pe), one is about 5 years(pan)....I streak them the same way I would a print.  when I have the motivation , it's usually water agar the first streak and then the several nute plates to follow.

during a time I was having lots of issues, the biggest source of failures that were eating up materials were coming from swabs.  it was easiest to drop them and pass on genetics shared this way.

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: stagger]
    #29315679 -

I love the swab discussion here, hope I can contribute here in a day or two.

I'll take some pics when I get home but it looks like my Mexicana is showing some mycelium. The red spore syringe was totally bacterial, I will see if I can revive it on a puck.

The pe uncut is showing a lot of satellites, not sure if they are the kind I want lol


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino]
    #29316538 -

Tiny, but already looks more promising than most of the others
KS3


The other ks plates look like maybe some myc is starting but hard to tell.

I have some old Mexicana plates Ill transfer from tomorrow, some of them look great and have a little stone in the middle. The mycelium is nice and flat too.


Oh yeah, and the pe uncut syringe is full on mold. The Mexicana germ plate is actually mold aswell, yayy!


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Edited by Nobler Hino (08/17/25 07:40 PM)

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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Puffin]
    #29316595 -

Puffin said:
FuzzyFoot said:
They certainly can. I have 5+ year old swabs that work just fine.


Do they have plastic sticks? Were they sterile to begin with? Were they kept in any special way? I'm curious why our experience with old swabs has been so different.


They don't have plastic sticks, but I live in a very dry environment which does make storage a bit easier. The swabs are sterile until I open the package and use them, and I just keep them in freezer bags. Maybe I'm just used to using them so I don't notice when they're being a pain in the ass, and they can be, but mine last for a looong time.

And my agar is just standard 2% LME.



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Hitchhikers Guide to the Shroomery





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Re: Im going crazy [Re: FuzzyFoot]
    #29316724 -

The plastic swabs don't break in pieces in the mail, that's a plus


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Re: Im going crazy [Re: Nobler Hino]
    #29316877 -

Nobler Hino said:
The plastic swabs don't break in pieces in the mail, that's a plus


100% every time I've gotten wooden ones in the mail I'm fishing the end out and hoping there's enough left that my gloves aren't in the agar when I swab :lol:


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Where to start?

Are your plates clean?


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