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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek - grain to bulk in one sealed container * 2
    #6043723 - 09/09/06 09:34 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Finally finished editing and uploading, thanks for your patience!


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

Edited by buckaroobanzai (09/10/06 02:14 PM)

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Intro / syllabus [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043727 - 09/09/06 09:37 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Abstract: Popcorn and a coir/castings/poly bulk substrate are prepared and layered in a filter patch spawn bag or ½ gallon canning jar. The popcorn is inoculated with liquid culture and then incubated until run. The fully run popcorn is broken up and spawned into the bulk substrate without opening the bag/jar. The spawned bulk substrate is again incubated until run. The resulting “bulk nugget” is then fruited invitro (or birthed, cased and placed in fruiting conditions). The nugget is then harvested, dunked and returned to fruiting conditions to flush again. Invitro fruiting is the focus of this Tek.

Liner notes/thank yous: I would like to thank my wife and editor, without whom I would be very lonely and plagued with run on sentences. I would like to thank you, the grower, for seeking this information and bringing the Psillys into your life. Real, lasting change happens one person at a time – the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step. I would like to thank Sporeworks.com for their pre-sealable vented spawn bags and killer customer service. I would like to thank Professor Fanaticus just for being the crazy bastard he is. The importance of his early work cannot be overstated and I think it is very important to remember where we came from.

Preface: This Tek is not written with newbies in mind. Please reread that sentence. This Tek assumes that you have already mastered liquid culture and built/tested an incubator. This Tek assumes you have already built/tested a dehydrator. This Tek assumes that you have fruited out at least a few cakes. This is absolutely NOT intended to be an all encompassing Tek.

So, without further adieu, may I please introduce: Buckaroo Bulk Nuggets (BBNs for you chronic “acronymer” types)…

A bulk substrate contains a lot of food and a lot of water which mycelia can use for mushroom production. Also, a colonized bulk substrate is highly resistant to contamination. Fruiting bulk substrates (with or without casings) can be a highly productive endeavor but you can’t directly inoculate bulk substrates. You have to spawn them (in “open” air) with crumbled cakes or colonized grain. Also, because of the open air thing, you need to Pasteurize (instead of sterilize) bulk substrates. Although working with bulk subs can be more productive, working with bulk subs can also be intimidating and frustrating (especially at first).

Cakes are great because the substrate remains in a sterilized/filtered environment until it is fully colonized. The fully colonized cake is highly resistant to contamination when it is finally birthed and fruited in “dirty” air.

BB nugs are an attempt to consolidate into one Tek some very desirable characteristics of cake growing and bulk substrate growing. BB nuggets colonize completely in a sterilized container (like a cake) but include poo and a water reservoir (like a bulk substrate). The attempt here is to create a “best of both worlds” Tek. A “natural progression” bridge between cakes and bulk subs, if you will.

BB nugs could very easily be thought of as “bulk cakes.” Larger and square(ish) cakes…but cakes none the less.

How are BB nugs like cakes? You can fruit them invitro…like cakes (invitro fruiting is detailed in this Tek). You can DE case them for better results…like cakes. After a flush, you can dunk them…like cakes. They are highly resistant to contamination…like cakes.

BB nugs are a “safer” way of exploring/exploiting bulk substrates than the commonly used “crumble and spawn” Teks. A BB nugget project is less likely to contaminate than a “crumble and spawn” project. Why?

BB nugs are less likely to contaminate for one simple reason: the bulk sub/ grain spawn is never exposed to unfiltered air until after 100% colonization is achieved. The whole process (grain inoculation, incubation and spawning) happens in the same pre sterilized container. The chances of ruinous invading microbes ruining your project are severely curtailed as compared to “crumble and spawn” projects.

By focusing on invitro, this Tek is in no way trying to imply that casing and fruiting a BB nug in a proper terrarium does not have good results. A cased BB nug does quite nicely in a terrarium…just see the Afterwards.

In an attempt at modularity, this Tek is broken down into the following sections:

1. Hydrate popcorn
2. Prepare bulk substrate
3. Layer substrate/popcorn, seal and Pressure Cooker (PC)
4. Inoculate bag/jar with Liquid Culture (LC)
5. Incubate until popcorn layer is colonized
6. Spawn and incubate until colonized
7. Introduce light and fresh air
8. Harvest
9. Dunk and wait for the next flush
10. Return to step 7 and repeat until contamination (or lack of space) becomes a problem
11. Afterwards…


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"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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I. Hydrate Popcorn [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043742 - 09/09/06 09:44 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Hydrate popcorn

The point of this step is to get as much water as possible into the popcorn without the kernels bursting.

Required supplies:
1. Popcorn
2. Double boiler
3. Stove
4. EarthJuice tea
5. Tap water

A lot of burst popcorn kernels is bad. Too many burst kernels make for sticky popcorn. Sticky popcorn is difficult to work with (it needs to be rinsed thoroughly) and is more likely to cause problems later. The goal is to have less than 1% burst kernels after full hydration.

Begin by soaking your popcorn in plain tap water for 24 hours. It will not absorb much water, but all the contaminants on the kernels will germinate. The PC run can kill germinated contaminants much easier than un-germinated contaminants. The 24 hour pre-soak isn’t a requirement, but it is a good idea.

Popcorn will need to be slowly simmered over low heat in order to hydrate without bursting. Simmering over high heat will cause excessive bursting. A double boiler works extremely well for cooking popcorn, though simply using the lowest heat setting on your stove will work.


Double boiler (stainless pot, mixing bowl and lid)

You can simmer popcorn in plain tap water, but EarthJuice tea works better.

Submerge the popcorn under about 1.5 inches of water/tea (the popcorn will swell, cover it deep) and cook it in the double boiler for 2.5 hours. Stir it every 20 minutes or so while cooking.

If you simmer directly on the stove top, it will only take about an hour.

Check the popcorn every time you stir it. Once the popcorn is swollen and soft enough to cut in half with a fingernail, it is ready.

If you end up with a lot of burst kernels, rinse the popcorn quite thoroughly with hot water.

Using a colander, drain the popcorn. If you use EarthJuice, don’t pour it down the drain. Reserve it for re-use in the next step to hydrate the bulk substrate.

Using a big fork, stir the hot popcorn in the colander until it stops steaming (about 15 minutes). All the excess water will drain and/or evaporate, leaving the popcorn perfect for the next step.

Popcorn hydration is not critical with this Tek. Because the popcorn will be layered on top of bulk substrate, any excess moisture won’t pool up and become a problem. Don’t worry about getting the popcorn super dry.


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"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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II - Prepare Bulk Substrate [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043767 - 09/09/06 09:54 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The point of this step is to optimally hydrate the bulk substrate, in preparation for mycelia growth.

Required Supplies:

1. Coconut coir
2. Worm castings
3. EarthJuice Tea
4. Polyacrylamide or vermiculite
5. Large bowls
6. Large spoon
7. Glass measuring cup
8. Syringe for precision water measurement
9. Large knife
10. Digital scale


Polyacrylamide is optional. There are some potential health risks with using it. You can ignore the poly entirely and replace it with an equal volume of vermiculite, if you have problems with poly. Caveat emptor!

This recipe shouldn’t be considered exact. You may not be able to get the same brand of castings and coir mentioned. Even if you do get the same brands, water levels in different products can vary a lot. The instructions to determine appropriate hydration can be applied to any brands.

The substrate recipe is roughly 40/40/20 coir/castings/poly (if not using poly, use 40/40/20 of coir/castings/vermiculite).

You can hydrate everything with water or EarthJuice tea. EarthJuice works better.

You should test your coir and castings carefully to determine how to hydrate them properly before wasting any EarthJuice tea. Coir/castings that are too wet will wreck your project so determining the ratio of dry ingredients to tea is pretty important.

To test the coir, take 2mg dry and very finely shredded coir and slowly add very hot water (use a 10mL syringe and add by drop) until hydration is appropriate. Hydration is “right” when tightly squeezing the 2mg of coir in your fist produces 1-2 drops of water. Drier is better than too moist. General Hydroponics coir usually wants around 3.5mL water per 1gm of dry coir. When you determine how much water to add to the coir, write it down immediately. FOAF likes to keep the unused coir brick in a gallon Ziploc and write the hydration formula on it with a Sharpie.

Using the same process, test 10mg of worm castings. Use very hot water and add by drops. Stir the castings continuously while adding water. Let castings rest for 30 seconds after you finish stirring before judging hydration. When the 10mg of castings squeezed hard drips 2-3 drops of water, hydration is just right. Wiggle Worm castings usually want around .3mL water per 1gm of dry castings. Again, drier is far better than too moist. When you determine how much water to add to the castings, write it down immediately.

Use basic math to determine how much coir, castings, poly/verm and EJ tea you need to make the desired mixture (40/40/20). Realize that volume is irrelevant and water (tea) is very heavy. Add the weight of the dry ingredients AND the tea that hydrates them. Check your math and add it up one more time. These percentages are very important.

Coir will come in a virtually impenetrable block. Use a large knife and peel off thin flakes by stabbing into the block’s edge and then slowly bending the knife blade away from the block. Be CAREFUL when working with a large knife and a coir block. It is very easy to slip and stab/cut yourself quite badly.


Coir block stabbed in the side with a knife.

Put the flakes of coir in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Shredding the coir into corn flake size pieces will make hydrating it easier. Measure the amount of EJ you need, heat it up in the microwave (steaming hot) and then pour it slowly over the coir. Pour SLOWLY and distribute the EJ over the top of the coir evenly. The coir will swell and darken. After about 1 minute, scrape the coir out into a bigger container with a fork and cover it to prevent evaporation. Let the coir sit and expand/hydrate for 15 minutes before continuing.


Dry coir in a measuring cup.


The same volume of coir after hydration.

After a few minutes, when the coir is cool enough to touch, run your hands through it. Break up any chunks and bits you find into fine powder. This will take a few minutes. Run your hands through the coir and carefully powder it all (meditate and say a little prayer, if the mood strikes you). You may want to add a little more tea at this point. Hydration is perfect when a big fistful squeezed tightly results in 4-5 drops of water. The coir should NOT drip when you pick up a fistful until after you squeeze (tightly). If you get the coir too moist, add a little dry. Mix very thoroughly after adding anything. Too dry is better than too moist.


Fistful before squeezing.


Fistfull after squeezing.

Taking a picture of dripping water is beyond my abilities. Note how dry the first fistful of coir looks. Note that in the second picture (after squeezing), some moisture has pooled around my FOAF’s pinky finger and evidence of a drip is visible on the bottom edge of my FOAF’s hand. This is properly hydrated coir.

That is “field capacity hydration.” A fistful squeezed very tightly will produce about 4-5 drops of water. You have to squeeze it TIGHT to produce any water. The fistful doesn’t drip freely without squeezing. If your fistful produces more than 7 drops, add some dry. Again, a little too dry is much better than too moist. You can always dunk to add moisture before fruiting.

A wet substrate will colonize very slowly and will most likely contaminate.

As always, a little dry is better than too moist.

The worm castings must be hydrated slowly with a lot of stirring or they will tend to turn to mud. Earthworm mud is bad and will ruin your project. Properly hydrated worm castings are quite fluffy. Moistened castings have a lovely smell of fresh loam.

To hydrate worm castings, heat the requisite amount of EJ tea in a microwave and then add it SLOWLY in 80-100mL increments to the castings. Using a large syringe to drip the EJ all over the surface of the castings is a great idea. Stir for at least a minute between each addition of EJ. Stir from the bottom and really mix things up. Break up any chunks you encounter. If you don’t stir the castings very thoroughly and add the EJ slowly (in small amounts), you will have disappointing results. If you over hydrate the castings, you can add dry (with lots of stirring) until you get it right. Too dry is better than too moist.


Dry worm castings.


Properly hydrated worm castings.

Take 500mL of EJ and heat it up to steaming in the microwave. Add 1/8 cup of polyacrylamide crystals and stir carefully until the crystals are fully hydrated and no more free water is present. This will take 5-9 minutes. If you don’t stir continuously, the crystals will not absorb the “dirty” EarthJuice completely. Make up smaller (or larger) poly/EJ recipes as needed. This recipe produces about two cups of hydrated poly.


Polyacrylamide crystals hydrated with EJ.

Put the castings, coir and hydrated poly in a big bowl and stir very thoroughly until things are uniformly mixed. There should be no dry pockets or lumps. Use a large enough bowl that you can stir well without slopping material over the sides. Once properly hydrated and mixed, this stuff is called bulk substrate.


Bulk substrate (coir/castings/poly)


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"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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III - Layer popcorn/substrate, seal and PC [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043779 - 09/09/06 09:58 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

This point of this step is to add the popcorn and bulk substrate to the container, seal it up and sterilize it in the Pressure Cooker (PC).

Required Supplies:

1. Hydrated popcorn
2. Hydrated bulk substrate
3. Pre-sealable filter patch spawn bags or ½ gallon jars
4. Impulse sealer (if using spawn bags)
5. Large glass/measuring cup
6. Filtered lids with silicone injection ports (if using jars)
7. A pressure cooker capable of maintaining 15psi

By volume, you want 1 part popcorn to 3 parts bulk substrate. You can use less popcorn, but the nugget will colonize more slowly.

Using a measuring cup or big glass, add the requisite amount bulk substrate to the bag/jar. After putting the bulk substrate in the container, gently tamp it down. Don’t pack it tightly; just get the surface uniform and remove any air pockets.

Using a measuring cup or big glass, pour the hydrated popcorn over the top of the bulk substrate.

The popcorn MUST be below the level of the filter patch. Popcorn touching the filter patch is very bad and can lead to contamination.

DO NOT MIX THE POPCORN AND BULK SUBSTRATE. You want two very distinct levels of strata: popcorn on top and bulk sub on the bottom.


Substrate containers (bags and a ½ gallon jar)

Triple seal the pre-sealable spawn bags with the impulse sealer. Leave some air in the bags. If using jars, screw on a filtered lid with at least one silicone injection port. Either Tyvek or polyfill will work for the filters. A bag/jar needs some air exchange to be successful.

After the containers are prepared and sealed up, PC them for at least 60 minutes @ 15 psi. Ninety minutes is safer, especially if you are cooking 3 or 4 big bags.

Let the containers cool overnight in the PC.


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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IV - Inoculate bag/jar with Liquid Culture (LC) [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043793 - 09/09/06 10:01 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The point of this step is to get the liquid culture onto the popcorn without introducing contaminants.

Required supplies:

1. Rubber gloves
2. Face mask
3. Glove box or flow hood (optional)
4. Electrical tape
5. Duct tape
6. Sterilized bags/jars
7. Isopropyl alcohol
8. A Sharpie
9. Mini blowtorch lighter (for flaming syringe)
10. Liquid culture
11. 10mL or 60mL syringe and needle

Wear gloves and a mask during this process, and observe your best sterile procedures. Inoculation is the time when contaminants are most likely to find their way in and ruin your project. If you can do inoculations in a glove box or in front of a flow hood, you should do so.

If using spawn bags, you need to choose an injection site at least four inches above the popcorn layer. Pick a spot on the bag which is opposite the side with the filter patch.

Before gloving up, tear off a strip of duct tape and a strip of electrical tape for each bag to seal the injection sites. These strips should be 3-5 inches long.

Before injecting, wipe the inoculation site down with alcohol and then let it dry. If you leave the area wet with alcohol, the tape won’t stick to the bag properly.

Uncap the LC syringe and flame the needle. Dribble a little LC out of the syringe until the needle sizzles and cools down. Don’t inject using a red hot needle, it will melt the bag and make a very large/ungainly hole.

Insert the needle into the bag and squirt in the liquid culture. Try to dribble it down the sides of the bag and also spray it across the top of the popcorn. Be gentle – you do not want to tear the bag.

Do not get any liquid culture on the filter patch. A wet filter patch can let contaminants through.

Add a lot of liquid culture. The more you add, the faster your project will grow. A medium spawn bag should get at least 35mL-60mL. A half gallon jar should get at least 25mL-50mL. This is where 60mL syringes come in very handy.

As soon as you finish inoculating, remove the needle from the bag, cap the syringe and lay it down. Immediately put a piece of electrical tape over the inoculation hole. Press/smooth the tape down firmly. Put a piece of duct tape over the electrical tape and again press/smooth firmly. If you are paranoid, a second piece of duct tape (perpendicular to the first) won’t hurt a bit.

If using jars, the process is basically the same, only without the tape. Flame/cool the needle and dribble/squirt LC down the sides of the jar and across the top of the popcorn. Again, use plenty of LC.

Write the inoculation date and strain on the bag/jar. The duct tape on the bag is excellent for writing on with a Sharpie.

DO NOT SHAKE THE CONTAINERS. The corn and substrate should remain as two discrete layers.


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Daily upload limit? [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6043803 - 09/09/06 10:08 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Well, I was going to publish the rest of the Tek but apparently there is a 2mb daily picture upload limit which I (stupidly) didn't notice when I started the thread.

I'll finish her up over then next two or three days when I can add more pics.

Please don't add to the thread until it is complete. Thanks for your patience!!!


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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V - Incubate until popcorn layer is colonized [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044621 - 09/09/06 04:07 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The purpose of this step is to incubate the bag/jar at an optimum temperature until the popcorn layer is fully run (colonized).

Required supplies:

1. Inoculated nuggets
2. Incubator



A bag and a ½ gallon jar, 80% colonized.


Two bags, 90% colonized.


Close-up of a very nearly colonized bag (aggressive mycelia has already started invading the bulk substrate).


A ½ gallon jar with a fully colonized popcorn layer


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"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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VI - Spawn and incubate until colonizeded [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044645 - 09/09/06 04:22 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The purpose of this step is to mix the popcorn and bulk sub and then incubate them until the sub is 100% colonized.

Required supplies:

1. Bags/jars with fully a colonized popcorn layer
2. Incubator


If using spawn bags, knead the bag thoroughly until the popcorn and bulk sub are well-mixed. After mixing, gently tamp the bag down to remove air pockets. Do NOT pack the substrate tightly.

If using jars, bang them against the heel of your hand (or a spare tire) until the popcorn layer breaks up and then shake the crap out of them until the popcorn/sub mix nicely. After mixing, gently tamp down the jar to remove air pockets. Do NOT pack the substrate tightly.

After mixing the bag/jar, return it to the incubator.

Please be aware that kneading/shaking will make all the pretty white mycelia disappear. This is not a problem and is totally to be expected. The bag/jar WILL recover!


Bulk jar before shaking


Bulk jar after shaking.


The same jar, 48 hours later.

After 100% visible colonization, my FOAF likes to wait an additional 3 days before opening the bag/jar. The mycelia has a chance to penetrate the substrate more fully and become even stronger and more resistant to contamination (so goes his logic). Waiting a week or two (if fruiting space is scarce) won't ruin things. I saw a fully colonized nugget go almost 4 weeks in the fridge and then fruit.


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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VII - Introduce light and fresh air [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044662 - 09/09/06 04:30 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The point of this step is to induce the fully colonized bulk nugget to pin and produce fruit.

Required supplies:

1. Light source (indirect sunlight works)
2. Timer if light source is artificial
3. Box to hold container and light source if stealth is an issue
4. Hair dryer
5. Duct tape (if using bags)
6. Atomizer for misting

To stimulate quick and healthy fruiting, you need three things: light, fresh air and high humidity.

If you need stealth, put the bag/jar in a box in your closet and give it light with a small fluorescent fixture on a timer. If stealth isn’t a major concern, indirect sunlight is perfect.

Don’t sit the bag/jar on the window sill in direct sunlight, though. The bag/jar will get overheated in direct sunlight. A few hours of indirect sunlight per day seems to be damn near perfect.

Fresh air exchange is easiest to accomplish with a hair dryer set on cool. Just open the bag/jar and blow in some fresh air once or twice a day. Three or four times per day is better, but be careful to avoid drying the nugget. Cut fresh air to once per day after pins show.

High humidity will be maintained by the bag/jar itself. Bags should be duct taped shut except while you are doing air exchange. Jars should have their lids in place unless you are doing air exchange. Good humidity levels will be indicated by condensation inside the bag/jar. Do not worry about the air getting stale if you miss a day. The filter in the bag/jar will keep things from getting nasty in one or two days.

If the walls of the bag/jar are dry, you can mist them (very lightly) when doing air exchanges. Misting excessively is a good way to get contaminants and cause pins to abort. Don't mist excessively. Don’t mist at all after pins show.

Misting probably won’t be required and a bunch of pooled water on the bottom of the bag/jar is VERY bad.

As always, a little too dry is much better than a little too moist.


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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IX Harvest [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044719 - 09/09/06 04:56 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

The point of this section is explained by its name!!!

Required supplies:

1. Rubber gloves
2. Face mask
4. Tweezers (to harvest tiny aborts)
5. Long fork/tongs (if afflicted with Yeti hands that don't fit into jars)
6. A dehydrating apparatus

When you harvest your mushrooms, it doesn't hurt to wear gloves and a mask. Doing it in front of the a hood or in a glove box is helpful, but not requisite. Always work as cleanly as possible when the nugget is exposed. A contaminated nugget will not produce another nice fat flush.

You need to remove all mushroom material when harvesting. Don’t be afraid to take a little divot of substrate if a shroom is holding on tenaciously. Twisting sometimes helps. My FOAF feels it is better to pull of a little substrate than leave adult mushroom tissue (which tends to rot quickly).

After harvesting all the large mushrooms, check the nugget carefully and remove all the babies and aborts. Random pea to marble sized chunks of mycleia may also form, harvest them as well. Aborts and baby pins are the most potent mushrooms – collect them all, even the small ones. Fresh aborts is my very favorite way to consume shrooms.

When harvesting a spawn bag, just pull the bulk nugget out and go to work. No matter where you work, be as clean and gentle with the nugget as possible. Harvesting a bulk nugget jar is basically the same, you just reach into the jar instead of cutting it open. If your Yeti sized hands won't fit through a widemouth jar, hit the kitchen for tongs, long cooking forks, long spoons, etc.

You do not want any mature mushroom tissue to remain on the nugget. Mature tissue will tend to blacken/rot and invite contamination after the upcoming dunk.


Spawn bag bulk nugget, fruited invitro (bag removed).



Same nugget, top view



Same nugget, abort harvest. One of the things my FOAF digs about invitro is all the 1-3cm aborts. Lovely little things to nibble on.


Mature 1.5 gallon bulk nug jar.


1.5 gallon bulk jar harvest (nice caps removed for printing). Invitro fruit is not the most photogenic of things, though the bluing is always pretty.

Please note: the jar above had the lid removed and was finished in a terrarium (though it started invitro). That is why the caps are protruding so far above the top of the jar. They made for good prints.

Below you can see how overgrown the jar was. Seeing this, you might better understand why the lid was removed and it was finished "topless" in a terrarium!


1.5 gallon bulk nug jar, 12 hours after lid removal


Same jar, different angle. The caps were really pretty.

Immediately after harvest, you should begin drying the mushrooms via your preferred method. My FOAF likes his cold air food dehydrator.


--------------------
"Life is short and pain is long and we were all put on this Earth to help each other."
-Stephen King, Firestarter

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Re: IX Harvest [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044765 - 09/09/06 05:29 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

very nice pics!


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OfflineRogerRabbitM
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Re: IX Harvest [Re: ohmatic]
    #6044862 - 09/09/06 07:53 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Agreed. Thanks for the writeup.
RR


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OfflineBabo911
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Re: II - Prepare Bulk Substrate [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6044889 - 09/09/06 08:11 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Quote:

buckaroobanzai said:
To test the coir, take 2mg dry




This was the only thing that stumped me... that isn't that much coir or am I just stupid....

a mg is .001 of a gram right?

Nice write up, although I don't personally like pop-corn, I think I am going to use your 40/40/20 as a sub next time. :smile:


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InvisibleDety
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Re: IX Harvest [Re: RogerRabbit]
    #6045014 - 09/09/06 09:11 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Quote:

RogerRabbit said:
Agreed.  Thanks for the writeup.
RR




:thumbup: :thumbup:

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Offlinefingers
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Re: IX Harvest [Re: Dety]
    #6045208 - 09/09/06 10:13 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Brother Buck,

Good to see the pics to this one. I dont recall seeing these on the Tope. Anyway man, it's good to see ya online again. I've been wondering whats goin on for the past few days now.

I'll throw u a quick PM come to think of it.

take care brutha :smile:


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InvisibleS33D
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Re: Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek - grain to bulk in one sealed container [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6045279 - 09/09/06 10:35 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Maybe I'm missing something but why create two separate layers? Why not mix all of your ingredients together inoculate the whole bag and shave a day or two off your incubation time?

Great write up  :thumbup:I just don't get that one part :smirk:

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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Re: Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek - grain to bulk in one sealed container [Re: S33D]
    #6046083 - 09/10/06 07:34 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Roger – Thanks for your help on it!!!

ohmatic – many thanks!

Babo911 – you are absolutely correct. That should say work with two gram (not milligram) samples. I couldn’t afford a scale that would be accurate to 2mg! Good eye. I’m gonna have to whack my editor with a herring. Also, this works just fine with WBS or rye berries, should pcorn not be your stylen. My FOAF just happens to have this 50 pound sack of popcorn…

Fingers – Whas up??? Yeah, this was up at the ‘Topia, but I published it a while before you joined. Gotta remember to dig through the archives, brutha!

S33D – the point of the layers is this: The mycelia will colonize the “plain” popcorn much quicker than it would colonize the bulk sub (sometimes bulk won’t colonize worth a darn or it is just super slow with direct inoculation). But, popcorn is quick to colonize and mixing the colonized popcorn into the bulk makes it go quickly as well. This is basically the same process as any grain spawn to bulk substrate project, this just all happens in one container. You can also have good results with this process with a spore syringe (spores also like pcorn), something that is all but impossible with direct compost inoculation.


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OfflineBabo911
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Re: Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek - grain to bulk in one sealed container [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6046160 - 09/10/06 08:37 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

I use 1/4 cup dehydrated coir and then hydrate via syringe till at field then measure wet coir and come up with my dry to wet ratio.

It works better for me that even though I have a scale I work better in cups hehe.

Yea I am going to have to try your spawn bag way next time with some WBS. Just seems to cut out alot of potential contams while spawning.

I am going to make some nuggets then crumble them in a tub.... is that wise?


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OfflineKaptKid
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Re: IX Harvest [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6046231 - 09/10/06 09:30 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Far Out

Great write up. Will have to try this sometime


:sun:


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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Re: IX Harvest [Re: KaptKid]
    #6046756 - 09/10/06 02:00 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Babo911 - once you have fully colonized nugets, I would suggest fruiting it as is. If you crumble, it will slow things down until the network rebuilds and there is always the chance a contam will grab hold on some newly exposed substrate. Not that crumbling it wouldn't work, just that I wouldn't.

Now that my upload space is back, some more pictures. I squished 'em so I could get more in, sorry for the lowered JPG quality. These are pics nuggets that got cased and fruited in a terrarium (and one more jar).


That one was sweet, because it threw out only one shroom on the right side, but it was a real whopper!


I'll accept an ugly gnarly stem on a 68gm mushroom, how about you?



Reverse view of that same nug, lighter for scale.



Please ignore the fruitless half of the nug, it was part of a Verm Vs. Coir casing experiment (coir won this one).


Another Coir Vs. Verm experimental nug - he was let go real long to collect spores.


Nugget clusters are beautiful things!!!!


Here is one more bulk nug done in a 1/2 gallon jar. These work really nicely.


And finally, here is a nug that was fruited up on it's end almost completely buried in casing (another coir vs. verm project).


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Offlinebuckaroobanzai
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Thanks, by the way... [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6046795 - 09/10/06 02:19 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

For the warm welcome and good ratings!


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Invisiblellamabox
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Re: Thanks, by the way... [Re: buckaroobanzai]
    #6047250 - 09/10/06 04:34 PM (17 years, 6 months ago)

:levitate:

Nice BB


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Offlinefingers
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Re: Thanks, by the way... [Re: llamabox]
    #6052436 - 09/12/06 04:27 AM (17 years, 6 months ago)

Outstanding as always B,

Question though, are these the same batch as the 'coir VS Vermic' thread you posted back on the tope?
That thread nailed the coffin shut on the coir/verm argument for me. Thanks for that. I tried a cake in pure verm just to see it for myself, and the results were precisely like yours.

Anyway buddy, take care

Fingers :smile:


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