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New grower needs a mentor.
    #439227 -

Hey guys, newbie here hoping for some help. I'm expirenced with mushrooms but not their cultivation. However, I have spent countless hours pouring over all the information I can find on the net. I've read through different teks and have a general understanding of what I need to do. In any case, I'm not a complete moron, and can read (a trait lacking in some newbies). I was hoping for some more detailed help by some individual or individuals that can answer specific questions I might have. Being this is a pretty popular forum I thought it would be a good place to start.

Here is my situation. I live in a dorm at college (privacy is pretty good actually, i smoke up quite a bit with no problem). I am hoping to grow a small batch (one aquarium) of shrooms by the end of school. Time-wise, I want to spend Nov and Dec buying equipment and supplies and getting some of the details worked out. Then when I go back to school for the second semester after xmas break I can begin the process. If I tried to actually start now, I would probably run in to xmas break before I'm done with all my flushes, and/or would have a bunch of shrooms in the winter (I like to trip outside, and it would be too cold, so I'd have to hold on to them for awhile anyway). Waiting till after xmas break gives me until spring break to finish my harvest and will hopefully give me some shrooms for spring break.

I have read the PF tek and believe that's probably the best way to go. However, I know there are other teks out there, some in conjuction with PF that may give better results. Anyone that knows of something to offer, may, but remember this is my first time growing. They don't have to be the biggest or the most potent, but I would like them to grow. Basicly just make sure the suggestion's usefullness outways it's complexity (if any).

I plan on following PF tek pretty close (unless someone convinces me otherwise). However, I still have some questions, which may seem a bit premature, but I'd like to go ahead and get my supplies and build my terrarium. Here are some of my questions:

PF Tek - Is this still a good method? Are there any addtions to it that may prove useful? How about PF spores? Are they still running a reliable business?

Humidification - What kind of setup would suit me best in a dorm environment. I am there most of the time, and can give it attention, but some weekends I come back home and the setup would have to work on it's own for a day or two. It can't be an extremely big setup since it has to fit under the sink or in the closet. We're only talking about one aquarium with maybe 4-5 cakes. Should I use perlite, or a cool mist setup (taking into consideration my possible one or two day absence, I thought the cool mist might be better, but it's a more complicated setup and I have very little real-world expirence with controlling humidity).

Initial supplies - I plan on getting some 1/2 pint wide mouth jars (what lids should I get?). I also am planning on investing in a pressure cooker to reduce contams. Any thoughts on verm and brf as suggested in PF? Other supplies that may come in handy? I'd like to have a good shroom kit built so I can begin growing as soon as I get back from xmas.


My basic purpose in all this is to get some answers to these questions, with my particular needs in mind. I was also hoping that one or two of the more expirenced growers might take me under their wing and show me the ropes. I don't mind posting these questions to the whole group, but ideally, it would be nice to stay in correspondence with one or two people that know their shit, and since I'm starting my whole project theoretically here (this post is my first step), they would know exactly what's going on with me.

I appreciate any and all help that I might get. Thanks for your time. Happy shroomin.

Delekhan



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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439256 -

I'm no mentor, but I think I can answer your questions.
PF-Tek is good, and they're quite reliable.
Perlite is foolproof. An aquarium airpump can take care of your 2 day absences.
The jars come with lids.
If possible, grind your own brown rice in a blender or coffee mill.
You've done your homework, good luck!

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439261 -

>PF Tek - Is this still a good method?
Yes.

> Are there any addtions to it that may prove useful?
Yes. When preparing the substrate, do it this way:
Put the required amount of vermiculite in a bowl (NOT for each jar separately!). Use a spatula or spoon to mix in enough water to saturate the vermiculite to the field capacity, mix well. The field capacity is reached when a small puddle,barely visible, forms at the bottom of the bowl when you tilt it. Then add the appropriate amount of BRF and mix together.(This works best if you use 1/2 cup vermiculite and 1/6 cup BRF per 1/2 pint jar)
The idea is to coat the wet vermiculite particles with the dry powder as you stir the mix with the spatula. This sounds trivial but it makes all the difference.

>How about PF spores? Are they still running a reliable business?
As far I?m informed, they are.

>Humidification
Plastic bin with perlite humidification.


--------------------
Grow Mushrooms from Spores - PF-Tek for Simple Minds

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439266 -

If you live in michigan PM me. I'ld be glad to help ya with anything ya need. In fot just IM me on AOL.


--------------------
"Those who walk in Love and Truth shall grow in Honor and Strength."

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Scourge]
    #439272 -

Thanks guys. Anno, you suggested a plastic bin for the terrarium. Besides not having to make a lid, is there any reason why? Any particuar size or make?

For everyone: will I get adaquate gas exchange with perlite. Is there a good perlite tek (i haven't seen anything about it except in posts). I'm a little fuzzy on how it provides the required humidity, and exactly how to implement it in my setup.

Thanks

Delekhan

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439332 -

perlite evaporates H2O into the air. Just put it on the bottom of your chamber. try not to let your cakes/casing come in contact with it (contams). p[ut aobut 1 cup of H2O2 for every cup of H2O you need to put in to wet it. occationaly add a splashofa H2O2 to keep it clean. For air exchange just lift the lid severy times a fay to fan. or you can dril a holw and clog it with cotten below your casing/above the perlite. If you use the hole make sure your cake/casing isn't walled in where the casing sits in it's Co2. the hole method may require occational misting as well depending how much surface area the perlite covers.


--------------------
"Those who walk in Love and Truth shall grow in Honor and Strength."

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439350 -

i'm no pro, but i've seen perlite at work, and basically, you put a layer of perlite on the bottom of your terrarium, and add water to about halfway up the depth of the perlite. it does the rest, absorbing the water up from the wet perlite to the dry, then releases it into the surrounding air. most people i've seen say use about an inch of perlite, half that of water. completely sumberging the perlite causes not enough to be exposed, which results in no water being released into the air. you end up with nothing but wet perlite.
in my little experience, perlite seems to be the way to go for convenience. water level needs only to be checked weekly or so. some experimentation may be necessary, if you can get something to test humidity levels, to reach to exact level of desired humidity. this testing can be done while colonization is happening. i assume a thicker layer of perlite and water would mean more humidity, and likewise for less. for air exchange, fanning should be adequate if you're around, but if you plan on trips away from the kids, you might want to look into the fish tank bubbler or another method. roommates can also be used.
other concerns you might want to note, being that you are in a dorm: cleanliness. back in my days of living in a dorm, it always seemed like if someone was sick, everyone was sick. with so many people in a building, germs are rampant, so if you go through with this, clean your damn room! at least weekly, and stock up on lysol, anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, isopropyl alcohol, and h2o2. all are dirt cheap, so it should go well with college budgets.
do you have a stove in your room? or are you planning on using a pressure cooker? boiling jars of rice in the lounge may raise some eyebrows, but then again, so could having a clean room. i know that wasn't a common sight in any dorm i ever lived in.
one last thing, hours at a time generally need to be set aside, and living in a dorm leads to random visits from people with no notice. so unless your dorm room has a back room or is divided somehow to ensure some privacy, this could be a problem.

kerms82

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Scourge]
    #439359 -

Well not to add to the confusion that might come your way....But If i were in your shoes, and I knew for sure that I had to grow in a small space as say "under the kitchen sink"....then using a 10 gallon glass tank might prove more usefull in the long run. You can go and buy the lid for it with a small wattage light. as you will be needing one in the fruiting stage to give the shrooms a sence of direction. They need to know wich way is up. However a plastic tub will be much easier to work with. It's a matter of prefrence really, and the situation.
Now to tackle your perlite......hmmmmm! I wouldn't use that since you'll be leaving from time to time. You might prefer a air pump(bubbler), to take care of the work for you. Beside's..... having to open up your terr. to fan underneth a sink, I don't think would be a great choice.
Their are going to be some problems that will come up now and then.....so don't think your done reading :) Read everything, and anything you can get your hands on that you or someone else thinks might be of some use latter on down the road. Learn everything you can about contamination.
Within 4 years of doing this i've lost one casing :) Knock on wood. I was taught on here from some who used to be around. The great SHROOMMAGE.....anyway he wouldn't teach me anything untill I learned about some of the more common contamination problems that may occur. That has been the biggest help that i have ever had :) And hopefully you'll understand that those words are the best words anyone will ever have to tell you.
Good Luck!


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I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bare much fruit.
Apart from me you can do nothing. john 15:5

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: fiddler4u]
    #439403 -

This year at school I've been keeping a pretty low profile. My gf is usually the only other person in my room (which is private, no roommate). I don't expect too many visitors, as I hang out off campus at other friends houses and such. The setup just needs to be out of plain site (I have 3 huge closets (would be awesome to see a "sea of green".. but i'm not that bold) and some room under the sink). I mentioned the sink because it is close to an outlet that could be used to run a bubbler of some sort, which brings me to some questions:

Is there a way I can use perlite for humidity and a bubbler for air exchange? If so, how exactly would I set the bubbler up? I think I understand the perlite (thanks for the extra info guys). Wouldn't injecting air into the system be a contam problem, or at this stage are we as worried about contams? Fanning it wouldn't be a problem on the weekdays but it would have to remain sealed for weekends on occassion.

Thanks for all the help

Delekhan

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439410 -

The others here have given you some good advice. PF is reliable, but don't go with the PF strain. Try Ecuador or B+ your first time. Perlite is simple and low maintenance for great humidity, and all you need to do is fan a couple times a day for air exchange.

Here's my tidbit of info to add to this: put your grow chamber in your dorm closet, since you don't want to get discovered when you open your door or if there's a fire drill, when your RA's can check rooms.

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439428 -

I pretty much agree with what everyone here has said. Also I believe that all newbies should start out with the PF TEK first. That guy started the entire spore syringe industry. (he invented the tek) However, if you use a pressure cooker dont cook the jars for only 20 minutes as the PF TEK advises. Pressure cook the jars for 45 to 60 minutes NOT 20. A friend of mine says that a cheap pressure cooker with a fixed 10 psi is fine as long as you cook from 45 to 60 minutes. Then wait at least three days untill you inoculate so you can tell if the steaming did it's job.

Have fun.


--------------------
>>Jammer>>

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Jammer]
    #439711 -

I use one of the cheap 10psi pressure cookers- done about 10 jars and haven't lost one of them to contams. I pressure cook everything for about 45 minutes. Oh yeah- the thing only cost $35 new, so thats a bonus.

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #439769 -

An actual Perlite tek found on PF's web site


--------------------
"How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail, and pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spreads his claws, and welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!"

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Cub]
    #439784 -

Wallmart sells a little Mirro model (only holds three 1/2 pints!) for like $18.00! Fixed pressure gauge of 10psi, but for those tight for cash it will get you there.


--------------------
>>Jammer>>

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Jammer]
    #439860 -

i myself am also in a dorm. I'm in the middle of my first attempt right now. I've got a casing with mycelium just popping up (cased only 3 days ago, and got mycelium after 1.5 days through at least 1/2 inch of casing on top!). I would say definitely get a PC. I haven't and I've had to come up with some good bullshit as to why I'm cooking glasses filled with brown crumbly shit in the communal kitchen. Also, I'm using perlite, and it's soooo easy. Definitley recommend that. I think the only new thing I have to say is that I definitely recommend fruiting in a rubbermaid bin. You can leave a bin lieing in the corner, and if someone comes by all you have to do is throw a blanket on the window you've made in the top and it just looks like a storage bin. plenty of college kids have bins for storage. Also, I'd just reiterate that you stock up on lysol, h2o2, and isopropyl alochol. I know my room's not the cleanest, but I've avoided contams so far, and I think it's probably cause i practically emptied a lysol can in the bathroom before innoculating and have used alcohol to clean before handling the cakes. Anyway, good luck man. This is one of the coolest things I've ever done, and it's especially cool doing it in a dorm, cause no one has a clue!

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: Jammer]
    #439865 -

Thanks guys. What it seems like I really need to know is.. if I use perlite, how do i rig up some kind of automatic CO2 exhaust? Someone suggested a fist tank bubbler, but I don't know the specifics.

Delekhan

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #440098 -

what state are you fellow college growers in?

DONT BUY A KIT

PF tek is fine

perlite w/rubbermaid

fishtank bubbler. 10 bucks. wal mart

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: gaastra] * 1
    #440122 -

i'm in SoCal. The fishtank bubbler is pretty simple. you just buy the bubbler, then set up a bucket of little tub or something that the bubbler will fit into inside your terrarium. then you fill it with water and run the bubbler in that water. if you put exhaust holes just above your perlite level the co2 will theoretically all seep out cause its heavier than the other gases in the air. also, i thought i'd mention this. when everyone talks about how they did their whole setup for $30 or whatever, either they're bullshitting or they're not counting all the random household goods they've used. i haven't bought anything extravagant but i've spent over $100 bucks from beginning to end. remember you have to buy tape, saran wrap, tin foil, paper towels, lysol, alcohol, h2o2, glasses, verm, perlite, BRF, rubbermaid container, spray bottle, humidity gauge/thermometer. it adds up, so don't think you're gonna pull it off for $30 unless you're seriously winging it. if you wanna be thorough (and it sounds like you do), i'd say $100+ is more realistic. but it's way worth it!

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Re: New grower needs a mentor. [Re: delekhan23]
    #440131 -

all the perlite info. you will ever need.


blueprints for "The Economy Semi-Automated Terrarium"
*note* make sure the air being pumped iinto the terrarium is not blowing directly on the cakes/casings.
(it will dry them out; not good)


The Magic Mushroom Growers Guide
*my own preference over the PfTek.

Good Luck, Have Fun!


--------------------
:pacman: - - - -  :pill: :mushroom2: :pill2: :mushroom2: :regularshroom: :mushroomgrow: :pill: :pill2: :mushroom2: :poison:

:sun::heart::sun:

tiny_rabid_birds said:
"your avatar is dirty."

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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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