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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon]
    #29655239 -

Ty, but those pics don't really help. We need to be able to see the structure of the mycelium.

Did you take any transfers before innoculating the agar? Or did you just put spores on the agar and end up with a bunch of small growths?


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I've got skills, they don't know where to use me
I'm like the best dressed guy at the nude beach
Nice to meet you!

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: PuffM4gicDr4gon]
    #29655243 -

PuffM4gicDr4gon said:
Ty, but those pics don't really help. We need to be able to see the structure of the mycelium.

Did you take any transfers before innoculating the agar? Or did you just put spores on the agar and end up with a bunch of small growths?


I did 4 transfers selecting the best looking agar sectors. You need to see the structure of the mycelium? Why and for what? You see they are already pinning in the plate.

Edited by WhiteDemon (08/25/26 09:19 PM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 4
    #29655246 -

Quote:
WhiteDemon said to B Traven:
They aren't random jars. It's a  jar with BRF puck and a lid with filter, inoculated with clean agar to test whether the inoculant is the problem or not. Next time, before calling me a liar, check and read the whole post.


B Traven can certainly speak for himself. But what you are saying is so outrageous I wanted to speak up. Nowhere in his post did he call you a liar. Not even close. he didn't suggest or imply it. You are just making up shit at this point.

Plus why are you inoculating BRF with agar. What kind of tek is that? I'm pretty sure the PF-Tek doesn't tell anyone to do that. You are so off base.

Dude, just get a pressure cooker. I have said that to you as have other folks in this thread. You will be shocked how much that helps you. And instead of insisting how you are doing everything right with nothing to show for it, you can post pictures of pf cakes loaded with mushrooms.


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The Combo Tek - Easy grow method for newbies and pros alike

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: veggie]
    #29655247 -

Pinning doesn’t always mean healthy.

Check out the All things agar thread for an idea of what it should look like. DV8DUG has a good thread for recognizing contam on agar.


--------------------
I've got skills, they don't know where to use me
I'm like the best dressed guy at the nude beach
Nice to meet you!

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: veggie] * 1
    #29655248 -

veggie said:
WhiteDemon said:
They aren't random jars. It's a  jar with BRF puck and a lid with filter, inoculated with clean agar to test whether the inoculant is the problem or not. Next time, before calling me a liar, check and read the whole post.


B Traven can certainly speak for himself. But what you are saying is so outrageous I wanted to speak up. Nowhere in his post did he call you a liar. Not even close. he didn't suggest or imply it. You are just making up shit at this point.

Plus why are you inoculating BRF with agar. What kind of tek is that? I'm pretty sure the PF-Tek doesn't tell anyone to do that. You are so off base.

Dude, just get a pressure cooker. I have said that to you as have other folks in this thread. You will be shocked how much that helps you. And instead of insisting how you are doing everything right with nothing to show for it, you can post pictures of pf cakes loaded with mushrooms.


You've never heard of BRF pucks? Really? There are a lot of different brf pucks tek.
Like that: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/28649340/fpart/all

Why do you keep trying to mix the two things up when I've already clarified it 3 times? They are two completely different things and projects. One is classic PF Tek jars made as I described at the beginning of the post, and the other separate project is the BRF pucks + agar. I don't know why you don't understand that. Can you explain me which part you dont understand? Its outrageous you keep insisting in things and you didnt even read the entire thread.
Instead of helping me, you just want to argue with me. You don't care about helping — you care about being right, without even stopping to think.


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- A Dreamer in the Nightmare of being Awake -


Edited by WhiteDemon (08/25/26 09:28 PM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 2
    #29655251 -

:facepalm:

Good luck!


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The Combo Tek - Easy grow method for newbies and pros alike

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 1
    #29655258 -

WhiteDemon said:
Instead of helping me, you just want to argue with me. You don't care about helping — you care about being right, without even stopping to think.


Outside looking in, they ARE trying to help you. All these people have responded with suggestions and instead of trying it, you've been beating them all down. You admit you don't know what you're doing wrong, but refuse to take the suggestion/advice they're giving you.

The only person wanting to argue here is you. It's ironic you keep asking people to tell you which part they don't understand.


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Navigating the Shroomery
Stipe's deeper dive into equipment and teks.

Hitchhiker's Guide | Starter Tips | Agar Tek | Coir Prep | Beefy Tub | Casing Layers | Proper Surface Moisture | Pinning Strategy | Punisher Tek | Beef Heater | Lighting | Recognizing Contamination | Trich ID | Removing Contaminates from Agar | Rescue Your AIO

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: RealityGlitch] * 1
    #29655260 -

Let's all chill. It's not productive.

Clearly if your pucks smell and look bacterial you are not sterilizing them fully. As you said you changed the vessel you are using to steam with at the same time the problems started. A pressure cooker would probably resolve the root cause...


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🌾💮🫘🥖

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: RealityGlitch]
    #29655271 -

RealityGlitch said:
WhiteDemon said:
Instead of helping me, you just want to argue with me. You don't care about helping — you care about being right, without even stopping to think.


Outside looking in, they ARE trying to help you. All these people have responded with suggestions and instead of trying it, you've been beating them all down. You admit you don't know what you're doing wrong, but refuse to take the suggestion/advice they're giving you.

The only person wanting to argue here is you. It's ironic you keep asking people to tell you which part they don't understand.



WhiteDemon said:

"I am following the PF Tek to the letter. I do everything exactly the same as the pf tek. Can you tell me what thing or part I do differently?
Any help will be appreciated."

veggie said:

"-No, I am not going to do that. It would not be productive."

Is that helping? Point out just one thing they've advised or told me to help me.


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- A Dreamer in the Nightmare of being Awake -


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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 1
    #29655349 -

Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Impulsiveness is not a good friend of reason — and some reasoning is needed here.

As for Pressure Cooker Veggie, he’s right, and there’s really nothing to argue about. It’s simply the standard for sterilization and the obvious solution. And although I acknowledge that, I don’t support the “all or nothing” attitude — there are nuances. In this particular case, PF-Tek has been and still is a valid option for steaming when, for whatever reason, someone can’t or doesn’t want to get a pressure cooker (myself included, and I think that’s understandable).

WhiteDemon, I understand your frustration, man, but don’t let it drag you into it. If you feel/think that someone hasn’t understood you, the healthiest thing is to avoid responding in a way that opens the door to empty debates — because they don’t lead anywhere.

Now, back to the problem:

It seemed to me (although I’m not sure) that the contaminations don’t appear directly around the inoculation points. If that’s the case, I’d be less suspicious of the inoculation itself.

I’d try to rule out anything that could be responsible for cross-contamination and increase the bacterial load — such as the BRF or vermiculite. Or tap water, in case there has been some change in the water supply.

BRF — You tried two different brands and you’ve also ground the rice yourself. So it doesn’t seem like the obvious culprit, at least initially.

Water — You still have yet to try bottled/distilled water.

Vermiculite — If you don’t have another supplier in your area, order some online or try coir.

I don’t know if it’s just my perception, but the vermiculite you’re using seems relatively coarse to me. Coarser vermiculite retains less water. What I mean by this is that the classic 2:1:1 ratio (by volume) could become unbalanced and leave excess moisture, which might give the bacteria an advantage.

It’s true that in some of the pictures you shared, it personally looks a little too wet to me (for my taste), and the flour looks somewhat clumped together. My jars reabsorb the moisture after steaming and don’t start sweating until there’s a significant amount of mycelial activity (and only in the colonized areas).

Compare the texture of yours:


And the texture of mine:


I’m not doubting your technique or experience — but there’s a factor somewhere that is either increasing the bacterial load or giving the bacteria an advantage over the mycelium. We just need to find the bullseye.

Hugs :heart:


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"Little shark in da bathtub"

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: bluescreen] * 3
    #29655369 -

WhiteDemon said:
They aren't random jars. It's a  jar with BRF puck and a lid with filter, inoculated with clean agar to test whether the inoculant is the problem or not. Next time, before calling me a liar, check and read the whole post.

Read and process everything carefully. If you do, you'll see that I'm using the correct jars, with the correct lids and holes, etc.
Then, SEPARATELY, I've made jars with BRF puck inside  and filters  and inoculated them with clean agar.  I did on the side to check out if the inoculant is  causing the problem.
You either lack comprehension or just don't feel like reading the whole post. I get it, but don't come calling me a liar, that makes no sense, especially when I'm asking for help. Lying would only make it harder to find the cause of my mistakes; I'd only be hurting myself xD


OK, bud.

I was actually trying to be helpful, but your attitude is kinda shit.

What I meant is that they're not wide-mouth half-pint jars which will allow the cake to slide out when it's time to birth it. My comment wasn't meant to call you out as being dishonest, just point out that I could already see one massive deviation from the original tek.

However, your indignant rebuttal just adds more potential issues to the mix. Agar pucks are all well and good, but how exactly did you inoculate...oh, fuck this. Nevermind.

I'm not calling you a liar, just a choosy beggar with a chip on your shoulder. I'm not reading through any of your posts at all anymore.

Best of luck with all your issues.


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Edited by B Traven (08/26/26 06:42 AM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: B Traven] * 1
    #29655385 -

The fact that you got plate pins does not mean the plate was free from bacteria. Cant tell anything from those pics. How about pics before you cut out the wedges.

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: B Traven]
    #29655476 -

B Traven said:
WhiteDemon said:
They aren't random jars. It's a  jar with BRF puck and a lid with filter, inoculated with clean agar to test whether the inoculant is the problem or not. Next time, before calling me a liar, check and read the whole post.

Read and process everything carefully. If you do, you'll see that I'm using the correct jars, with the correct lids and holes, etc.
Then, SEPARATELY, I've made jars with BRF puck inside  and filters  and inoculated them with clean agar.  I did on the side to check out if the inoculant is  causing the problem.
You either lack comprehension or just don't feel like reading the whole post. I get it, but don't come calling me a liar, that makes no sense, especially when I'm asking for help. Lying would only make it harder to find the cause of my mistakes; I'd only be hurting myself xD


OK, bud.

I was actually trying to be helpful, but your attitude is kinda shit.

What I meant is that they're not wide-mouth half-pint jars which will allow the cake to slide out when it's time to birth it. My comment wasn't meant to call you out as being dishonest, just point out that I could already see one massive deviation from the original tek.

However, your indignant rebuttal just adds more potential issues to the mix. Agar pucks are all well and good, but how exactly did you inoculate...oh, fuck this. Nevermind.

I'm not calling you a liar, just a choosy beggar with a chip on your shoulder. I'm not reading through any of your posts at all anymore.

Best of luck with all your issues.


What does it have to do with the jars not having a wide mouth? Those jars without a wide mouth—I grate them and mix with coir in bulk every year.
I never asked you what to do with those jars, I only asked why it doesn't colonize or why the growth stalls. Your answers had nothing to do with what I asked, which shows for the 4th time your lack of reading comprehension.
You haven't even understood what I'm asking or what the problem is. You just read somewhere about PF Tek, then you see some photo of bigger jar, and without stopping to understand, you fill in the information incorrectly. You haven't even wanted to understand my question or problem.

You have never helped me, nor have you ever had any intention of helping me.  You haven't even deigned to read and understand the post. Your so-called 'help' has consisted solely of telling me I'm doing everything wrong, without giving me even a single detail about what exactly I'm doing wrong.

Even now, you keep saying I'm inoculating incorrectly, but you still can't be bothered to tell me why exactly i am doing incorectly. Zero help—just a superiority complex.
You could tell me what I'm doing wrong, but you'd rather say, 'Oh my god, you're doing that so badly.'
What am I doing wrong? You'll never be able to say it. Inoculating a BRF puck with a clean agar wedge is wrong;why?
Every single message I've sent you has been an attempt to explain that PF Tek and BRF pucks are two different methods, and despite having clarified this three times already, you still don't understand it and keep writing that 'I'm doing it wrong.' You literally haven't read the post.
It's more of a chore than a help to deal with people like you, who not only don't help but actively drive me crazy.
You're not helpful; you just drain my energy and time. Don't bother commenting if you're not going to actually help. People like you make me wont  post or interact with anyone never.


--------------------
- A Dreamer in the Nightmare of being Awake -


Edited by WhiteDemon (08/26/26 11:38 AM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 2
    #29655505 -

If you are arguing that PF-TEK and BRF pucks are different then it's you who is wrong. They are different names for the exact same technique.

Many of us have already told you of multiple issues with your grows. You scoffed at all of them.

Buy a damn PC, learn to properly sterilize syringes and containers used in making spore syringes and stop wasting our time arguing with the people trying to help.

Your going to end up blocked by the best people on the forum.

Edited by RockinRobot (08/26/26 12:05 PM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: RockinRobot]
    #29655509 -

RockinRobot said:
If you are arguing that PF-TEK and BRF pucks are different then it's you who is wrong. They are different names for the exact same technique.

Many of us have already told you of multiple issues with your grows. You scoffed at all of them.

Buy a damn PC, learn to properly sterilize syringes and containers used in making spore syringes and stop wasting our time arguing with the people trying to help.

Your going to end up blocked by the best people on the forum.


 
Which issues , please , quote me almost one.  Please.
You should read the entire post and you'll see it's the other way around. I'm not the one claiming  pf tek and brf pucks, it's not me  who keep repeating that it has nothing to do with it. They are different TEKs, but as you rightly say, it's the same principle.
Something the other user doesn't seem to understand. I don't care if people whose interaction is unpleasant block me. If they block me, they're doing me a favor, saving me the energy drain and the distraction from the topic. Tell me only one advice they give me?  Recommending a pressure cooker is good advice, it has nothing to do with my question or doubt. I already know that the pressure cooker is the best option.

Edited by WhiteDemon (08/26/26 12:11 PM)

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 4
    #29655515 -

WD, would you mind doing what Dug suggested and run some control jars? A few proper PFteks, and just let them be. See what happens in a couple of weeks. Maybe at that point open one and do a whiff test? All good, week later, open another. Or maybe they become visibly off in that time. Would be a good experiment.


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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: bluescreen] * 1
    #29655516 -

bluescreen said:
WD, would you mind doing what Dug suggested and run some control jars? A few proper PFteks, and just let them be. See what happens in a couple of weeks. Maybe at that point open one and do a whiff test? All good, week later, open another. Or maybe they become visibly off in that time. Would be a good experiment.


That's good advice. I'm going to make a few jars and leave them uninoculated for a week. That way I can rule out whether it's the inoculant or the sterilization. Thanks.


--------------------
- A Dreamer in the Nightmare of being Awake -


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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 6
    #29655541 -

Brother. I realize communication can be difficult. Written or spoken. You say one thing, someone else hears something different. Totally normal and semi-expected.

But your response is harsh. Your thread title says you appreciate any help. When people bother to comment at all, that is them helping. It's up to you to see if you can pull something useful from someone's attempt to help. But please recognize that any comment is an attempt to help.

If you feel everyone is misunderstanding, that may be a cue for you to dumb things down to make it harder for us to misunderstand.

By the number of people replying, you can see we care or it would just be crickets. So please, appreciate the help by not meeting help with aggression.


--------------------
It's so easy to laugh
it's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be
gentle and kind
-the smiths

Your ego is your nemesis.
Seek the truth tirelessly,
Even at the cost of your own sanity.
-fiddle_head

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: LadysKnight] * 2
    #29655554 -

Here's another point of view:

I think the TCs in this thread would do well to re-read chapter one of this post:

The Restaurant at The End of the Shroomery

This entire conflict could've been avoided if people weren't so quick to assume people with problems don't know what they're doing.


--------------------
I've got skills, they don't know where to use me
I'm like the best dressed guy at the nude beach
Nice to meet you!

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Re: 90% failure on PF -TEK. Any help will be appreciated. [Re: WhiteDemon] * 1
    #29655988 -

WhiteDemon said:
RockinRobot said:
If you are arguing that PF-TEK and BRF pucks are different then it's you who is wrong. They are different names for the exact same technique.

Many of us have already told you of multiple issues with your grows. You scoffed at all of them.

Buy a damn PC, learn to properly sterilize syringes and containers used in making spore syringes and stop wasting our time arguing with the people trying to help.

Your going to end up blocked by the best people on the forum.


 
Which issues , please , quote me almost one.  Please.
You should read the entire post and you'll see it's the other way around. I'm not the one claiming  pf tek and brf pucks, it's not me  who keep repeating that it has nothing to do with it. They are different TEKs, but as you rightly say, it's the same principle.
Something the other user doesn't seem to understand. I don't care if people whose interaction is unpleasant block me. If they block me, they're doing me a favor, saving me the energy drain and the distraction from the topic. Tell me only one advice they give me?  Recommending a pressure cooker is good advice, it has nothing to do with my question or doubt. I already know that the pressure cooker is the best option.


What issues?

I personally told you the way you make your spore syringes is bunk. Several members told you you aren't sterilizing your jars enough or correctly. You can get away with steaming PF-TEK without a PC but it takes much longer. Several also commented on your agar including myself.

You threw every comment back in someones face. Starting to think you belong on Reddit instead of here. They will tell you whatever you want to hear over there.

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