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_OttO_
Over Stimulated


Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 2,588
Loc: Up Over
Last seen: 1 month, 11 days
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A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture 56
#5238137 - 01/29/06 10:52 AM (18 years, 2 days ago) |
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Hey everyone - I'm writing this because I see a lot of questions being asked about Liquid Culture. My first ever grow started off with a LC and I am convinced it should be *Edit to remove 'all or nothing' statement something everyone should try at least once, even people who are still using the PF tek who don't have access to a Pressure cooker.
You don't need expensive equipment and generally most people will have access to these materials already around the home, which should help even the most nervous beginner to get off their bum and have a crack at playing with mycology!
*Edit to include motivational speech* NB: This method is not technically completely sterile, but if you have a clean Spore print/spore syringe, and follow the steps exactly, you should have no problem. If however you do encounter contamination problems don't be put off - try again! Even professionals still make mistakes and you can only get better with experience!! The same goes for anything you do in life... 
A photo says a thousand words, and there doesn't seem to be any simple teks around that are well documented with pictures describing each step of the process for the absolute beginner .
What I do is no way new or fantastic, I simply use a mixture of a few different teks found on this site, and I don't seek praise for following other people's ideas. I just want to demonstrate to the new cultivator how easy this is, and outline a step by step process that works for me for them to follow, in the hope more people try this step in their cultivation practice.
Materials:
A small, clean glass jar with a metal lid - I use an empty salsa jar -

A pot with a lid - *Edit* Or a Pressure cooker, if you have one.

Some clean tongs -

Some foil -

Some disinfectant spray with a high alcohol content and some paper towel -

And some honey (the clearer the better - not 'cloudy' honey) *Edit to include a a clearer option* Pure maple syrup, or a combination of honey and maple works really well for me to get a clearer final product -

Some rubber latex gloves, and lastly;
A clean spore print or spore syringe.
Method:
Punch a hole in the lid of the jar with a nail with a hammer and nail -

Fill the pot with cold water and submerse the jar and lid in it -

Bring this to the boil (never drop the cold jar straight into boiling water or it will crack). The purpose of this is to partially sterilise the water and the jar -

Set a timer for 30 minutes, crack a beer and go and check www.shroomery.org
After 30 minutes, clean the tongs and the bench top you are going to use with the alcohol spray and paper towel. Use the tongs to lift the jar out of the boiling water and place it on your bench -

making sure you keep the jar 3/4 full of the boiled water. Be careful - its hot! -

Add a tablespoon of honey to this. Work on using a tablespoon of honey for every 250 mls of water you have - *Edit to reduce the amount of honey added and introduce a new option for a clearer LC* I have since found that about a teaspoon per 200 mls of water is a better ratio to start with, and for an even clearer final product, substitute half or more of the honey for pure maple syrup to reduce sediment related issues from some brands of honey. Half honey and half maple is my favourite so far!

Use the tongs to take the lid out of the boiling water, then using a tea towel (hot!) put the lid on the jar. Leave the pot of water still boiling on the stove -

Tear off some foil and crumple it tightly over the lid of the jar. At this point in time I like to put a 'dot' on the foil with a permanent marker pen above the hole that is in the lid, so I can remember where the hole is -

Place this jar back in the water thats still boiling on the stove - you want the water to come about half way up the jar - if need be, just tip some out of the pot -

Place on the tight fitting lid -

Reduce the heat to a low simmer, set your timer for another 30 minutes then crack a beer and go and check www.shroomery.org
When the timer goes off, turn off the stove and DON'T PEAK - just leave it with the lid on the pot to cool overnight. Inside the pot is now a sterile environment and opening the lid is an invitation for contaminates.
*Edit to include pressure cooker advice* Alternatively, you can use a pressure cooker at 15psi for 15-20 minutes, if you have one. This is the preferred method!
Inoculation:
With a spore syringe - The next day when its cool, simply remove it from the pot to a pre-cleaned bench top and have your spore syringe ready - *Edit to change amount of spore solution, but if your syringe is clean, the more you inject, simply the the quicker it will grow* Flame sterilise the tip of the needle then peel back the foil on the jar to expose the small hole you made in the lid. Insert the syringe and inject 1-2CC of spore solution -  Replace the foil. With a spore print - Ok - this is a little less sterile but still my preferred method because it helps you be more self sufficient by allowing you to start the culture directly from your own prints and cuts out the step of making a spore syringe (a step which only adds another chance for contams to enter anway!) - I always use this method and I have not had one contamination problem yet. *Edit to clarify the importance of still air* Close all windows and doors a few hours before you start working. This is really important as you want as little air movement as possible where your working as this stirs up contamination spores. You also want to make all you; movements swift but smooth, in order to minimise the air movement/stirring up contamination spores. *Edit to include sanitised gloves* Now put on some rubber gloves and sanitise them with some a squirt and rub together of your alcohol spray. Then clean and sanitise your bench top as best you can your with the alcohol spray and paper towel. Get ready your LC, your spore print and a sharp knife on your bench top -  Flame sterilise the tip of the knife -  While this cools, crack the lid of the jar slightly - but dont open it completely , and get your spore print ready. Once the knife is completely cool, use it to scrape up some spores. Holding your breath, in one smooth motion, scrape up as many spores on the tip of the knife as you can.  Lift the lid of the jar open *just a crack* and insert the tip of the knife, dropping the spores off into the solution - a little tap on the glass will help them fall off, and you should see some land on the top of the liquid -  Replace the lid. After inoculation: Place your finger on the 'dot' over where the hole in the lid is and swirl gently. This is to distribute the spores in the solution and to encourage growth. Label with the date and strain etc. and incubate this in a dark place at 29C or 82F, giving it a gentle swirl once a day to encourage growth. After a few days you will notice some small strands of mycelium forming, and it will be ready completely after about a week. You will notice the liquid will become much lighter as the mycelium uses up the nutrients in the water, and will come to a point where it will stop growing -  To use simply agitate it slightly to loosen up the mycelium, peel back the foil and insert a sterile syringe to suck up as much mycelium as you can - use this as normal to inoculate any substrate. One can inject larger amounts of this than you would normally (like 2cc at each injection site) for dramatically sped up colonisation times. I firmly believe once you try this method you will never inoculate with spores again! If there is anything anyone thinks I need to add feel free to comment. Thanx and good luck!
Edited by _OttO_ (04/14/14 02:14 AM)
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CaptainKirk

Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 2,478
Loc: gone
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Re: A foolproof method for making Liquid culture [Re: _OttO_] 1
#5260301 - 02/03/06 06:47 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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i just made a couple of pan cyan LC's night before last and they are ripping..like you Otto i just scraped my spores in to the lc,which is vanilla extract and a splash of karo 
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diablovt1125
Mushroom Man



Registered: 08/29/03
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Re: A foolproof method for making Liquid culture [Re: Apache] 1
#5341267 - 02/26/06 02:38 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm trying my hand at this whole LC thing after reading this simple TEK, good work! I'll let you all know how it goes, just did them up this morning with the last cc or two of a South American Syringe I've had lying around.
Check out my cool jars!
-------------------- Know yourself, know your substance, and know your source
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acidbuba
Stranger

Registered: 01/31/06
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Re: A foolproof method for making Liquid culture [Re: _OttO_] 1
#5799141 - 06/28/06 12:04 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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i made a LC last week (after reading this tek) with a 1/2 pint wide mouth canning jar. i have a PC so i just boiled some water for a while filled the jar with that added some honey and a small piece of a paper clip for a stirring rod. i then PC'd if for about 20-25 min. let it sit overnight then injected a half syringe of spore solution on accident. the reason that i used a half syringe (about 5cc) was because when i made the hole for the syringe needle in the lid i sealed it with silicone so when i inserted the syringe it caused a vacuum and sucked in the content of the syringe by itself. OK so after a week of it mixing at around 80 degrees nothing really happened the water still had a yellowish hue and there was minimal growth. was it because i used to much spore solution of that the jar was air tight? i have since made a second hole in the lid that is about a 1/2 inch big and silicone a piece of tyvek over it as a breather hole. i haven't started the the process of making the new LC until i get some feedback though and the syringe that i used was good i used it in a previous successful grow... thanks in advance...
 JUST A FUN PIC FOR YOU GUYS
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 6,899
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: ghostofbmarley] 1
#5889312 - 07/22/06 11:31 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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> How obvious would contamination be in a LC prepared in this manner?
Good question. A lot of people ask about this. People are sometimes confused by the term "cloudy".
Here are a couple pics of a malt/dextrose LC...


They're pics of the same test tubes. See if you can guess which one has bacterial contamination.
The one on the right is clearly contaminated with either bacteria or yeast. The one on the left looks a little different than the center one, but that's just a trick of the light. If you look carefully through the solution you can see through it clearly. There is another row of tubes behind those and if you look closely you can see that on the left two tubes you can see that the image of what's behind them is clear and mostly in focus. On the test tube on the right, it's cloudy, fuzzy, indistinct, hazy, and out of focus.
That's what's meant by "cloudy".
Hopefully this will help people with their questions about LC contamination.
-FF
-------------------- It drinks the alcohol and abstains from the weed or else it gets the hose again. -Chemy The difference between the substances doesn't matter. This is a war on consciousness, on our right to the very essence of what we are. With no control over that, we have no need to speak of freedom or a free society. -fireseed "If we are going to have a war on marijuana, the least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield." -Neal Levine (MPP) I find the whole "my drug should be legal but yours should be illegal" mindset disgusting and hypocritical. It's what George Bush and company do when they drink a cocktail and debate the best way to imprison marijuana users. -Diploid
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Blutjager
Inhuman


Registered: 06/11/06
Posts: 9,220
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: _OttO_]
#6560453 - 02/12/07 09:23 PM (16 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
_OttO_ said:
I am scared of needles so I avoid the tip like the plague.
Needles are fun
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_OttO_
Over Stimulated


Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 2,588
Loc: Up Over
Last seen: 1 month, 11 days
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: Blutjager]
#6560855 - 02/12/07 10:43 PM (16 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Blutjager said:
Quote:
_OttO_ said:
I am scared of needles so I avoid the tip like the plague.
Needles are fun
Thats pretty gruesome - it looks too real...
Quote:
Sulli said: Im about to barrow a cam, but it will only be on day three. I hope it worked, I did 600ml of water and 24ml of honey, Im just woried, in you pic after mycelium started growing you water mix stayed goldish, Mine almost turnd back clear.
*smacks forhead*
Dont stress - if you read what I wrote properly the liquid tends to turn clear as the mycelium uses up the nutrients. I also didnt measure my honey so I probably had a bit more than yours in the solution.
Quote:
Sulli said: I GOT SPORES IN MY BLOOD!
Maybe you'll start sprouting cubes from your ears!
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Sulli
Stranger

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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: randomdude123456]
#6562907 - 02/13/07 01:07 PM (16 years, 11 months ago) |
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This is my friend brandons. Its looking very good. Mine should be getting close to that soon.
--------------------
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_OttO_
Over Stimulated


Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 2,588
Loc: Up Over
Last seen: 1 month, 11 days
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: Sulli]
#6565555 - 02/14/07 02:28 AM (16 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Sulli said: This is my friend brandons. Its looking very good. Mine should be getting close to that soon.
Certainly looks healthy, nice photo as well...
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Hippie3
mycotopiate


Registered: 11/06/99
Posts: 3,090
Loc: mycotopia.net
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: Sulli]
#6581461 - 02/18/07 01:21 PM (16 years, 11 months ago) |
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nice pic, Sulli
here's another-
-------------------- Admin @ mycotopia.net Mycotopia
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mcdonalds_is_fun
Stranger


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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: _OttO_]
#9341247 - 11/30/08 11:42 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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thanks, otto, you are my hero!! i made mine almost 2 weeks ago, the ones with less honey did better than those with more. anyway, here is a pic with my results. the myc is really very thick, im gona have to give it a good shake before use. i made mine directly from print, this really is the way to go rather than making syringes, because it is easier, less risk of contams, you get rid of the germination stage when innoculating, and you end up with more inoculant than you know what to do with...! i think this tek will be useful to some newer members, so im bringing it back 
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SyMaNtiCX66
INFIDEL



Registered: 12/02/08
Posts: 148
Loc: South Lousianna
Last seen: 13 years, 2 months
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Re: A foolproof method for making Liquid culture [Re: SyMaNtiCX66]
#9360325 - 12/03/08 05:40 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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here are pics of my jars..... any input?
        
-------------------- Just for A sEconD,, as i regAin foCus... aNd everYthiNg arOund mE breatheS iN motiOn..with mY tiMe in a botTle,, a straNge vaCatIon,, her gigGles brEak throUgh anD suSpend aniMatIon...... SyMaNtIcx66... Ghost Riderz!!!
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2Cents



Registered: 12/04/08
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Loc: PNW
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Re: A foolproof method for making Liquid culture [Re: SyMaNtiCX66]
#9394549 - 12/08/08 07:11 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
SyMaNtiCX66 said: here are pics of my jars..... any input?
        
looks fucken good man
-------------------- Long live the Shroomery!!!
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SyMaNtiCX66
INFIDEL



Registered: 12/02/08
Posts: 148
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Last seen: 13 years, 2 months
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: billycorgan55]
#9433069 - 12/14/08 09:32 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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here's pics of my fruiting chamber... it has been fluctuating temps between 70 and 82 fahrenheit for about a week.. non direct 150 watt indoor flood light, (full spectrum color range)on them at all times... 3 inches thick of wet perlite on the bottom of the chamber and an aquarium pump in a jar of water for humid... fan running beside the chamber... fanning inside 4 times a day... anyway, they were popping mycelium quick as soon as i cased them.. i lightly feathered more wet vermiculite over the quick pipping patches, and it hasn't looked any different for 2 days... does anyone think anything is wrong??

the chamber from a distance..

pic of casings taken from the outside of the chamber..

the first popping mycelium before i covered it...
-------------------- Just for A sEconD,, as i regAin foCus... aNd everYthiNg arOund mE breatheS iN motiOn..with mY tiMe in a botTle,, a straNge vaCatIon,, her gigGles brEak throUgh anD suSpend aniMatIon...... SyMaNtIcx66... Ghost Riderz!!!
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Son of Nothing
Stranger



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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: samba_lightning]
#9593711 - 01/12/09 07:59 AM (15 years, 19 days ago) |
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About 1 month ago I got my first spores from the FSRE (Psilocybe Cubensis Australian). I made a successful LC using these instructions and then inoculated two 3/4 pint jars and one 1/2 pint jar of WBS (I couldn't fit more in my pressure cooker). Everything seems to be going fine, just that the spawn (wbs) is fairly weakly colonised, not dense like everyone elses. It's already incubating for 11 days at 80F, do you think it'll be fine?
Spore print:

LC:

WBS spawn 370ml-3/4 pint jar:
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AlienTechKilla
iStalk



Registered: 03/09/09
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: kagera]
#10240697 - 04/27/09 01:20 AM (14 years, 9 months ago) |
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Knocked up 3 jars today using this tek. Jars are a yellowish brown after agitation and I placed a second piece of foil on the lid to cut down on contams hopefully. Incubating now at around 78 degrees. I'll definitely post my results.
 
ATK
Edited by AlienTechKilla (04/27/09 01:23 AM)
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ThunderShroomer
Sensei



Registered: 05/16/09
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: ThunderShroomer]
#10567560 - 06/24/09 10:08 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Correction. I do, in fact, have growth... I think:
-------------------- "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." -Me announcing that I'm about to take a massive shit.
on
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ThunderShroomer
Sensei



Registered: 05/16/09
Posts: 44
Last seen: 5 years, 2 months
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: ThunderShroomer]
#10581608 - 06/27/09 01:22 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
ThunderShroomer said:

So what does everyone think? Is this good growth or not... Lots of tiny spider web-like filaments, Some very small, some a little more than a centimeter long.
-------------------- "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." -Me announcing that I'm about to take a massive shit.
on
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ThunderShroomer
Sensei



Registered: 05/16/09
Posts: 44
Last seen: 5 years, 2 months
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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: pickboy87]
#10585878 - 06/28/09 11:33 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Here are some better ones.... But in order to not get this thread off topic, I have moved the conversation here
-------------------- "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." -Me announcing that I'm about to take a massive shit.
on
Edited by ThunderShroomer (06/28/09 11:46 AM)
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Ir0NLunG68420
BLaZeDuP


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Re: A *beginner friendly* method for making Liquid Culture [Re: Lucienis]
#11327716 - 10/26/09 09:01 PM (14 years, 3 months ago) |
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I always give this tek a it has never proven me not to!
this gave me...
165.9 grams wet
-------------------- "I never meant to give you mushrooms girl, I never meant to bring you to my world, but now you're sitting in the corner crying, and now it's MY FAULT, MY FAULT." -Eminem- Second grow log GT & B+ First grow log Mexicub & B+
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