HydroShroom24 said:

Hi, I have here a Nesco electric smart canner/pressure cooker.

I set the pressure regulator gauge to 15PSI (green color)

I am mostly wondering:
1. What setting do I use?
Canning:(Waterbath | Steam bath, Low Pressure Canning, High Pressure canning)
Cooking: (Slow Cook, Pressure Cook, Brown)
2. How long should I steam for 4oz PF-tek BRF jars?

THANKS

I am thinking to do "Canning , Low Pressure Canning" for 60-90 minutes, Green 15PSI regulator valve. Does this sound right? thanks! =)

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HydroShroom24 said:

I'm not sure what the difference is between the Low/High pressure settings, I thought the pressure would be decided by the gauge I used, black for 10psi, or green for 15psi.

So do you think High Pressure Canning setting, 15psi green gauge, 60-90min sterilization?

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Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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FounderZ said:

Phaethon said:

Pretty sure that's the size I have. Unicorn calls them 14A.

This one has been sitting in a tote for months:


(The culture I tried with a few from this batch didn't like the beet pulp pellets I supplemented these with...and then I fell out of the hobby for a while. I'll probably still try to use these for oysters though.)

It's still perfectly sealed up, just from folding the bag before sterilizing and letting it cool in the sterilizer (some in an AA 75X and some in a Presto 23 quart canner.)

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This is the direct link (Amazon WOO HOO!)
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08P2RWZXF

I keep hearing unicorn bags and I thought that was just a style. I got similar!? Also I like how that's rolled, I am slowly getting better after 4th bag.

Wait so that bag isn't even sealed and sat in a still air tote?

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Phaethon said:

FounderZ said:

Phaethon said:

Pretty sure that's the size I have. Unicorn calls them 14A.

This one has been sitting in a tote for months:


(The culture I tried with a few from this batch didn't like the beet pulp pellets I supplemented these with...and then I fell out of the hobby for a while. I'll probably still try to use these for oysters though.)

It's still perfectly sealed up, just from folding the bag before sterilizing and letting it cool in the sterilizer (some in an AA 75X and some in a Presto 23 quart canner.)

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This is the direct link (Amazon WOO HOO!)
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08P2RWZXF

I keep hearing unicorn bags and I thought that was just a style. I got similar!? Also I like how that's rolled, I am slowly getting better after 4th bag.

Wait so that bag isn't even sealed and sat in a still air tote?

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Unicorn is a popular brand for mushroom spawn and substrate bags. The 14A I have are just an inch shorter than the ones you have, and are 2.5 mil thick.

And yeah, the bag was never impulse sealed. It went from the sterilizer into a tub. The plastic is stuck quite tightly to itself, and only comes apart when you actually manipulate the top of the bag (separate it from the rest of the bag, and usually even then I have to pull at the corners before any air is let in).

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luminilis said:

Started my first bulk grow after spawning a GT MSS grain jar to a tub on 1/5/3026. Tub conditions have been cold with the winter months, and a little dry. I have started misting every few days.

At first I was worried that nothing would grow after tub faltered in growth until around 2/4/2026. I am now confused because although there are mushrooms growing in my tub, they are not from observation anything like the GT I inoculated my grain with (MSS).

Is it possible to test strain or even psilocybin content? I don't even know what to compare to.

Reference pictures below:





^2/9/2026

I can post any other photos if needed.

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*edit*
You can get a kit to always test potency, if it turns black there's deeper tests to find the level.
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Not necessarily, when you work with multi-spores you can pull out other geno/pheno-types of a mushroom. You get get varying results all mushrooms. Some strains can self-isolate and do a fun job tracing the goods for you and building consistency but not always. Many times with spores your outcome will be varying from the parent you know!?? I've had Albino's from spore come up like normal golden caps.

You can take a clone of your best mushroom and push it or run a bunch of small tubs off the spores and see what you can find to clone!!!

I found some crazy things with strains with spores. Live culture can be fun if the producer is dope with it but I will always want their spores cause I do breeding and want to run 100+ samples quickly and run up the lineage quick pace to get a mono worth breeding. Have found some really cool cubes at 3%+ potency chasing spores.

Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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I like to use one of these




I removed the handles and I flip it over. And then I just placed the trivet on top...

When you don't want it raised flip it back over and your jars can sit in it perfectly.


Other people use their rings of jar lids. They rest over time still not that it matters

ihansterx4i said:

Does anyone not do any break and shakes?

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FounderZ said:

Phaethon said:

FounderZ said:

Wait so that bag isn't even sealed and sat in a still air tote?

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And yeah, the bag was never impulse sealed. It went from the sterilizer into a tub. The plastic is stuck quite tightly to itself, and only comes apart when you actually manipulate the top of the bag (separate it from the rest of the bag, and usually even then I have to pull at the corners before any air is let in).

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Okay how do I get the bag to stick nicely to itself, I was in a rush and taking things out hot and ready and trying different styles. I'd like to try this one and label it; see what works best for me but heck if  pre-seal works I'm sending it. just like to know how  to get the bags to seal like you state and sit fine like that and low sterility.

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Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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Phaethon said:

FounderZ said:

Phaethon said:

FounderZ said:

Wait so that bag isn't even sealed and sat in a still air tote?

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And yeah, the bag was never impulse sealed. It went from the sterilizer into a tub. The plastic is stuck quite tightly to itself, and only comes apart when you actually manipulate the top of the bag (separate it from the rest of the bag, and usually even then I have to pull at the corners before any air is let in).

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Okay how do I get the bag to stick nicely to itself, I was in a rush and taking things out hot and ready and trying different styles. I'd like to try this one and label it; see what works best for me but heck if  pre-seal works I'm sending it. just like to know how  to get the bags to seal like you state and sit fine like that and low sterility.

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I like to line up the gusset folds so they come together just like they do when lying flat. Make it really neat and fold over near the top of the substrate (which should be relatively flat first - shake it around to level it, then lift it straight up a few inches and drop to the table to compact; it helps if the bottom gusset corners are empty of any substrate first). Then push excess air out and fold the top of the bag all the way over so the top of the bag is sitting under the base of the bag. You can stack them like this as you prepare them for loading. You can load them into the cooker either in that orientation or rotated 90 degrees, with the top oriented horizontally but on the side of the bag (if you do this, it helps to put two bags top-against-top and unload those two together, so the top doesn't stick to something else and come unsealed when you remove it).

Stipe demonstrates this in a video:

(Instead of lining up the gussets like they come out of the box, you can instead flip them outward, so it's just two plastic layers instead of 4 on the sides of the top. I didn't like dealing with that later on, since my impulse sealer isn't long enough, and I'd rather hit it a couple times without moving the bag, to get through 4 layers of plastic, than have to flip the bag over after sealing half the top. And once they're flipped out they don't really want to flip neatly back in. But that way is a little easier to fold and it seemed to seal just as well.)

You do need to let it cool quite a bit for the auto sealing to be effective. It doesn't need to be room temperature or anything, but should be comfortable to hold without gloves (maybe 120 °F). This is good practice when unloading anyway, since if they're hot and not yet really sealed, they can draw in air as the gas inside cools and contracts. Ideally this happens fast enough that external gas can't get through quickly enough, and the external pressure just pushes the bag against itself as the gas inside contracts.

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Nokumana said:

Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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I bought four stainless steel carriage bolts with nuts and washers which I bolted through the trivet to raise it up about an inch and a half.

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callmehippie said:

Nokumana said:

Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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I bought four stainless steel carriage bolts with nuts and washers which I bolted through the trivet to raise it up about an inch and a half.

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If you do this . it's best to put some rubber sleeves over the tips of the bolts  or some RTV or something because that metal touching the bottom of your PC will cause pitting(erosion)

it happens fast. you can see it on the bottom of your PC. Starts off  looking like dark gray scratches or tiny grey spots/ chips.

It is reversible if you catch it early and take care of it. But if not it can mess with the Integrity of your PC.

Presto has instructions on their website about it.

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Nooneusername said:

What do you use to raise the presto trivet?  Screws, jars something else.

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HydroShroom24 said:

Cooking: Pressure Cook, and Canning: High Pressure, are two distinct settings. IDK which one to use.

PF-TEK Pots:

How do I find a good pot do steam-sterilize jars? Can someone link me to an exact make and model pot for steam sterilization that WORKS RELIABLY ? thanks

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I would suggest using one of these bud:



Works very well for me c: