Quote:

Traditionally, sawdust cultures have been grown in special plastic bags with microporous filter patches, to allow gas
exchange without letting contaminants gain entry. With peroxide in your fruiting substrate, however, you should be able to
use ordinary trash bags (at a savings of $.50-$.80 per bag) to grow your mushrooms. Evidently the process used to produce
trash bags pasteurizes them to the point that they do not harbor significant live-organism contamination. If you do use
plastic trash bags, I recommend using the kind that are made from high density plastic, 0.5 mil thickness or less. These bags
are thin enough that oxygen can diffuse through them, so that the cultures can be grown to maturity with the bags sealed
closed by twist ties. Also, the thicker, softer bags are apparently made from PVC, which can leave estrogenic residues in
the mushroom cultures, and certain of these softer bags are impregnated with fungicides.

---

Quote:

Therefore the general rule is: all culture materials and containers must be
pasteurized before adding peroxide or peroxide-containing medium to them; culture materials that contain raw, unprocessed
organic matter must be pressure-sterilized to destroy the peroxide-decomposing enzymes. And a corollary: any water used
without pressure-sterilization in peroxide-treated medium should be clear and free of obvious particles, since any bits of
organic or even inorganic material introduced with the water could harbor live contamination and/or peroxide-decomposing
enzymes that would not be destroyed by pasteurization.

---

Quote:

Since peroxide becomes active as a bleach above 60oC, it will decompose
readily when in contact with complex organic materials at this temperature and above. So wait until your medium has
cooled -- if not to room temperature, then at least to a temperature that is comfortable to the touch--before adding peroxide.

---

Quote:

Here's how I make soft white wheat spawn:
1) I weigh out 7 oz of grain into a 26 oz jar.
2) I then add an excess of hot tap water and a tiny amount of baking soda to offset the acidity of my tap water.
3) Next, I steep the grain at near-boiling temperatures for an hour or two to swell the kernels, draining off the excess water
when the grain has about doubled in volume.
4) Finally, I sterilize the jar of grain in a pressure cooker for an hour. The exact length of time you use will depend on your
grain and pressure cooker.
5) When the jar has cooled, I add 10 mls 3% hydrogen peroxide (or 20 mls peroxide for every 16 oz grain initially added),
then shake well to coat the grain.
(If you make your spawn by
adding a measured amount of water, remember to subtract the volume of peroxide from the water you add, to achieve the
correct moisture content).

---

Quote:

Peroxide will
provide little or no benefit with substrates that still have a great deal of biological activity, such as compost, or pasteurized
straw, or fresh wood chips that have been treated with boiling water.

---

Quote:

Torey said:Will a 0.5mm garbage bag withstand pressure cooking temperatures? (115C)

---

hotnutz said:

And if you add it to Karo cultures, the same results. Notta! Some of the greatest innovators will probably tell you the same thing. AGAR or ANISEPTIC uses only when it comes H202 use.

---