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 RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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 spawning worm castings with rye and millet 
#557470 - 02/20/02 12:53 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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hey,
just got my b+ syringes today. gonna use them to inocculate 6 quarts of rye and 6 quarts of millet. jars will be prepared via:
http://shroomery.org/faq/faq.php?display=faq&nr=67&catnr=5&prog=1&lang=en
(i'll use method (2.) and soak grains for 24 hours). the above link doesn't mention a particular psi, but i will do it at 15.
once colonized, i plan on mixing 1-2 quarts with 7 quarts of worm castings. i can't find worm castings around here, so i plan on getting them from either:
http://www.vermitechnology.com/fertlizer_soil.html
http://www.atlantishydroponics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?
the bin i plan on using is a 38qt sterilite bin (it is opaque, so a large square hole will be cut into the top and plexiglass/plastic will be silicone glued over it). it's dimensions are 20"L x 15"W x 11"H. is this a good size bin to mix up 2 colonized quarts with 7 quarts of worm castings?
basically, i need to know how much substrate i should put in this bin so that it becomes like a mini rainforest inside, simply because of the amount of substrate in there. i'm running along the same lines as the db kit here. also, how many holes (how big? where exactly?) should be made in the lid of the bin so that proper air exchange is provided without having to open the lid. should polyfill be pulled through the holes to provide any sort of filter?
i assume the worm castings need to be sterilized- i would like to just load up 7 quart jars (my p.c. is 17qt and can do 7 quart jars at one time) and pressure cook them in order to sterilize. will this work? should i be adding any water to the castings before/after i sterilize? how long and at what psi should i sterilize? should anything be added to the worm castings? gypsum or oyster shell? i have never worked with castings before- it sounds like the shit thanks for any help guys.
red
Edited by RedHead (02/20/02 01:28 PM)
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RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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 Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#558526 - 02/21/02 12:34 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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well, i prepared and inocculated 12 quart jars. i took the jars out of the pressure cooker (one by one) as soon as it depressurized and shook them to dispurse the wetter grains from the bottom. the rye shook wonderfully, but the millet was much clumpier. it took much more shaking and banging on the counter before the big chunk that had sort of solidified at the bottom of the jars came loose and broke apart. even after intense shaking and baging some chunks of millet are still a pretty good size- is this going to be a problem? will the mycelium have a hard time colonizing these bigger chunks? i used b+, 2.5-3.5cc's per quart. i shook them again immediately after inocculation. i will shake them again after the first signs of growth.
i was wondering about the size of the bin and the relative amount of substrate to put in it (see first post). well, i filled the bin with 10qts of water and it was 3" deep- the total depth of the bin is about 10.5" so it comes a little less than 1/3 up the bin- should more be added to induce the enviroment i described above?
thanks for all responses- this is my first time with castings and spawning like this- hope all goes well.
red
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 Olgualion
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Registered: 11/13/01
Posts: 1,253
Loc: Currently Earth...
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 Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#559034 - 02/21/02 09:37 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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Regarding the shaking of your jars, "after the first signs of growth.", I would recomend waiting 36-48 hours after the first signs. If done properly, this is how IMO one can achieve the quickest coloniszation.
As for your question about substrate amount to container volume, and hole positioning, I think it is tough to answer. There was probably a whole lot of time put into designing the DB kit, possibly not, and all I could really do is guess. But 1/3 substrate to 2/3 air sounds good to me. And a few holes at the top-side, as well as just above the casing layer. Maybe even keep tape over the holes to keep the humidity up until after pinset.
Anybody else??
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moxjet20
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Registered: 07/25/01
Posts: 160
Loc: santa cruz, magical land ...
Last seen: 21 years, 10 months
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#559905 - 02/22/02 04:00 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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i don't think you are going to get enough air exchange just by drilling holes, or at least it would be better to fan. why are you against taking the lid off, worried about contamination or just don't have the time to fan?
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RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: moxjet20]
#560659 - 02/23/02 01:04 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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a little of both i guess- i just don't want to have to mess with it very much- cuz then i end up messing with it too much and fucking things up.
i read a few posts about using a vacuum to suck the co2 out of the terrarium. i'm using a plastic 38qt bin 19"L x 15"W x 10.5"H. it is practically air tight.
it will be filled about 1/3 of the way up with substrate (worm castings spawned with rye or millet). i plan on making 1 hole on each end of the bin (2 holes total) just above the casing layer. i will pull some polyfill through the holes to provide a filter. another hole will be drilled into the top of the bin- polyfill will be pulled through this hole too. to circulate the air i'll just put the vacuum hose up to one of the holes on either end and suck all the co2 out. fresh air will be pulled into the bin through the top hole- thus circulating the air.
is this a good idea? it just seems that opening the entire bin and fanning several or even a couple times a day allows many things (contams) into your terrarium. this way, all the air that comes in is filtered through the hole on top so not as much unwanted stuff could get in.
i don't have any first hand experience with this- but i was reading and it looks like people have had great success using this method. anyone see any major or minor problems with exchanging the air this way? i usually manage to fuck up the fruiting stage and i wanna do it right this time.
all responses are greatly appreciated.
red
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moxjet20
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Registered: 07/25/01
Posts: 160
Loc: santa cruz, magical land ...
Last seen: 21 years, 10 months
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#560793 - 02/23/02 04:03 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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it sounds good at least in theory to me.. the only thing i can think of is that unless you use a HEPA filtered type vacuum bag (which are kinda pricey i think) you are going to be blowing a lot of dust and crap into the air as you are vacuuming.. but i guess since you aren't opening the bin very often at all, that is less of a problem
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RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: moxjet20]
#561771 - 02/24/02 05:45 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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actually- i DO have a hepa filtered vacuum. it also has a removable plastic canister (instead of a bag) where all the dust and crap gets caught. it's only a few months old. would that work well? would it still inject too much stuff in the air?
red
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RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#561803 - 02/24/02 06:12 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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[inoculated 12 quarts (6 organic rye, 6 organic milet) via this method:
http://shroomery.org/faq/faq.php?display=faq&nr=67&catnr=5&prog=1&lang=en
(i used method (2.) and soaked grains for 24 hours). the above link doesn't mention a particular psi, but i did it at 15.]
i used 2.5-3.5cc's of b+ (from t.h.e.) per quart- the jars were shaken immediatey after inoculation. the jars are sitting in an opaque bin that has about 1.5" of water and h202 in it. the bin is sitting on top of a heating pad (set on low) and there is a little towel on top of the heating pad (to help absorb some of the heat). the temp stays around 83 degrees or so.
it has been 3.5 days since inoculation and there are no signs of growth at all. i have not used b+ before (i have used pf in the past, many times to make pf cakes) and this is only my second time using grains like this (had success using pf to inoculate rye). jars seem to have the right moisture content- they look good. should i be seeing mycelial growth yet? how long is too long to not see anything?
this is also my first time using the polyfill. usually, i just make one hole or four holes in the lid and just keep the tin foil over them after inoculation. i've never really had any problmes with contams. i just hope these quarts are getting enough air with the polyfill shoved through the only open hole (the small inoculation holes [one per jar] are taped up). just want to do everything i can to make this work.
thanks for any help guys. all replies are appreciated.
red
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RedHead
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Registered: 06/25/00
Posts: 86
Last seen: 22 years, 20 hours
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Re: spawning worm castings with rye and millet [Re: RedHead]
#566908 - 03/01/02 12:37 PM (22 years, 1 month ago) |
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it has been 8 days since inoculation and only 3 of the jars show growth. 2 rye jars show extensive growth and are doing very well- i am very pleased with them. another rye jar is just starting to show growth now. i am more concerned about the millet jars- none of them show any signs of growth at all. of course, some jars were inoculated with more solution (+/- ~1cc). so, some are bound to grow faster than others. but 8 days just seems like a long time to not see anything. the jars seem to have the right moisture content- they look good- no visible or smellable mold or contamination. the millet jars are definitely stickier than the rye jars, but they are still very shakable.
am i still being impatient??
red
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