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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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What in the sam hill am I doing wrong.
#6726013 - 03/29/07 07:55 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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I looked around for some information regarding the following, and I mostly found stuff about casings. Sorry for asking yet another retarded newbie question, and I hope you'll bear with me.
I would take a picture, but due to technical difficulties, this will not be happening at this minute. Hopefully I can get one soon.
First flush, six PF-style cakes. They've been "first flushing" for about three weeks now, growing very slowly. I've got a 3' x 1.5' x 1' "Rubbermaid" brand fruiting chamber, with 2.5" of perlite on the bottom. Temperature is about 75 degrees, humidity hovers at 93% RH consistently. It rises to 93% quickly after fanning, which I do about 5 times daily. Light is 12 on/12 off. I dunked three of the cakes (but did not roll) and left the other three as they were birthed. I mist the walls after fanning.
- One cake is growing a lot of mushrooms that appear to be stalled on one side of the cake, or they are growing VERY slowly. This is my best cake.
- Two cakes are growing one or two larger mushrooms, but also appear to be stalled. One of these cakes did put off a 4" x 12.5 gram mushroom in the very beginning, but I haven't seen anything similar since.
- The other three cakes are only growing a couple of "hairlike" mushrooms. One of these is a cake I did dunk. The mushrooms grow to about 1" tall, and about a 1/16th of an inch wide, then the stalks started to turn black. I have picked the "aborts" and begun the dunking process anew - and this time I plan to roll in vermaculite, just to see if I can salvage the situation.
What can I change, alter, re-do, or otherwise modify to salvage what is becoming a pretty bad situation? About a week has gone by and I have seen no real growth on any of my cakes. They WERE growing - by leaps and bounds. And suddenly, with no provocation or intervention that I am aware of, stopped. If the shrooms on the cakes that do have what I would consider "real mushrooms" eventually bloom, I'm going to re-dunk, and this time, roll them. Anything else to be done?
Save me, Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726029 - 03/29/07 08:01 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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do you mist the shrooms?
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: LayYouIn]
#6726039 - 03/29/07 08:04 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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No, not directly. Just the walls, and sometimes misting into the air far above the mushrooms (2-3 feet above). The humidity climbs up so quickly, I occasionally omit misting entirely.
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kyleda1kid
Student (here tolearn)


Registered: 03/27/07
Posts: 276
Last seen: 16 years, 5 months
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: LayYouIn]
#6726047 - 03/29/07 08:07 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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he specifically said the walls after fanning. "I mist the walls after fanning."
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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: kyleda1kid]
#6726051 - 03/29/07 08:08 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
kyleda1kid said: he specifically said the walls after fanning. "I mist the walls after fanning."
i know, i was just asking. sometimes when i mist to heavy mine will just stop growing like that.
dont know man.
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kyleda1kid
Student (here tolearn)


Registered: 03/27/07
Posts: 276
Last seen: 16 years, 5 months
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: LayYouIn]
#6726073 - 03/29/07 08:14 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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ohh, that's cool, just pointed that out in case you didn't see it.
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: kyleda1kid]
#6726112 - 03/29/07 08:25 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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I could be overspraying on the mushrooms - I'll halt all misting just to see what happens. Dunno, I took some pictures of my set-up and my lady will be resizing them shortly.
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BlehMaestro
Stranger



Registered: 03/02/07
Posts: 754
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726198 - 03/29/07 08:54 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Try to raise RH to 95-100%. Give them a few more days, and if they aren't growing AT ALL, then pick everything off, re-dunk and roll, and try again.
Although, perhaps there is a contam on the inside of the cake?
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: BlehMaestro]
#6726234 - 03/29/07 09:02 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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How would one suggest checking for contamination on the inside of a cake?
Also, I'm having trouble getting it over 93. More perlite hasn't helped. Not sure if the meter is bad, it appears to work. Any suggestion to raise it higher?
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BlehMaestro
Stranger



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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726244 - 03/29/07 09:06 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't know, you probably just want to wait it out. At least you got SOME mushies growin...
Did you wait at least a couple days after they 'looked' fully colonized or did you start fruiting them immediately after the outside looked all white?
What kind of hygrometer do you have? It's likely that your RH is at 100% your meter just might not be reading it.
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: BlehMaestro]
#6726258 - 03/29/07 09:10 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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My hygrometer is some random unit I got from home depot. It's one of those weather station things.
I did wait several days after full colonization. However, given how slowly the mycellum grew, it's possible there was stuff in the middle that was left uncolonized.
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BlehMaestro
Stranger



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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726268 - 03/29/07 09:12 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hmm, dunno what "one of those weather station things is" but considering that it's probably pretty accurate. Unless it was really cheap, then it's probably good. Hmmm, I'd really like to see some pics.
If you really want to, sacrifice one of your cakes and cut it open, then you could probably bury it in some dirt outside and keep it moist and im sure it will still grow.
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: BlehMaestro]
#6726283 - 03/29/07 09:16 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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The pictures are en route as I type. Ten more minutes and I should have them posted. I'm thinking if my attempts at rolling the cakes fail, I'll cut one open and take a peek.
I'm hoping for at least one shroom coming up. I need to make a print or I'm all out of spores. =(
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure


Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: BlehMaestro]
#6726294 - 03/29/07 09:19 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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The advice to raise humidity to 99% to 100% is sound. You should also roll in dry verm after dunking. The verm acts as a casing layer that you can mist to hydrate the cake during the flushing cycle. You can also pour water right on the cake to hydrate it. Misting the walls is useless. The moisture needs to be on the cake, not on the walls. Make sure you have drain holes in the bottom so no water will be standing as that renders any perlite below the water level useless. After dunk and roll, place the cakes so what was at the bottom of the jar becomes the top. Most jars are concave on the bottom, so this leaves a 'divot' in that part of the cake, which is perfect for holding water. You can pour it directly on, and it will soak in over time. Cakes need a lot of moisture to fruit.
Try 3 1/2" to 5" of well drained perlite instead of 2 1/2". That should get you up to 99% humidity.
Don't cut open a cake. Contaminants will be on the surface. Good luck. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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psilog
{o:o}



Registered: 08/10/05
Posts: 581
Loc: home on the range
Last seen: 5 months, 28 days
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726297 - 03/29/07 09:20 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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dude! prepare a LC and maybe scrape a little myc from your cakes...
I think this will work for the LC and you don't necessarily need spores!
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PoC
Relax



Registered: 03/10/04
Posts: 2,142
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: psilog]
#6726381 - 03/29/07 09:37 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
psilog said: dude! prepare a LC and maybe scrape a little myc from your cakes...
I think this will work for the LC and you don't necessarily need spores!
...is it just me or is this completely coming from out of nowhere?
Edit: (In other words I'd completely disreguard the last post)
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Edited by PoC (03/29/07 09:38 PM)
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RogerRabbit
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: PoC]
#6726388 - 03/29/07 09:38 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yea, bad advice too. If you inoculate an lc from a cake that's been exposed to the air, it's sure to contaminate. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: psilog]
#6726514 - 03/29/07 10:10 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Tomorrow, I will head to Home Despot and pick up some additional vermiculite and another bin to catch drainage from the holes I will be drilling.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
Here are the pictures, which I doubt are helpful at this point.






Edited by toastdth (03/29/07 10:10 PM)
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BlehMaestro
Stranger



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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726571 - 03/29/07 10:27 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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The pins look good. They must not have enough water, that is the only explanation at this point. Take RR's advice and deliver water to them somehow.
You should be able to get these to finish off, if not just pick everything off, re-dunk and roll.
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wiggles
Miffed a Milf


Registered: 11/09/05
Posts: 2,615
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: BlehMaestro]
#6726585 - 03/29/07 10:34 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Buy a fish tank bubblier and put it in the chamber in distilled water. It'll help increase your rh and free you up a little. Also, try fanning a bit more. The more FAE the better.
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  You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug, especially when its waving a razor sharp hunting knife in your eye. Hunter S. Thompson
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psilog
{o:o}



Registered: 08/10/05
Posts: 581
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726626 - 03/29/07 10:51 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
toastdth said: I'm hoping for at least one shroom coming up. I need to make a print or I'm all out of spores. =(
not really from out of no where...I was just throwing the idea out there.
In the little experience that I have (3/4 of a grow) hehe...I haven't been rigidly following sterile technique. I'm yet to have a contam problem and I'm just waiting for fruits at this point... Maybe I will be bitten by the contam bug but, I'm not too worried about either. I haven't been wreckless, but i'm not pulling my hair out neither...this is a pretty fun hobby for me and intend on keeping that way...time will tell though, at this point I don't have a reason to be extremely serious about the procedure. I also believe, one learns a little this way!
I'll say it again, not to be a dick but just because i'm entitled to it...you may ignore this or whatever. Try making an LC if you're worried about not having innoc/spores. Maybe not from scraped myc as RR doesn't suggest but from some mushroom tissue...This may be disputable but I have read a few things that support this.
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farva86
I dont want alarge farva. Iwant aleeder-a-cola


Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 267
Loc: MIddle of Nowhere, AR
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: wiggles]
#6726632 - 03/29/07 10:53 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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i have a similar "weather station thing" that i think hes talking about except i got mine from RadioShack.
 as u can see its sunny in my room tonite. as far as i can tell the thing is pretty accurate. it has rh, temp, pressure, and more unnecessary shit. kinda kewl actually.
-------------------- Eddie Money doesn't have to put up with this shit. The wonder has a name: shrooms.
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: farva86]
#6726675 - 03/29/07 11:04 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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Oh man. Now I wish i went to radioshack. Mine has a remote temperature sensor ONLY. How useless is that?
Here is me when I found this out: Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
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farva86
I dont want alarge farva. Iwant aleeder-a-cola


Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 267
Loc: MIddle of Nowhere, AR
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6726712 - 03/29/07 11:13 PM (17 years, 3 months ago) |
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ya it was ~$43 with tax. i dont think a temp sensor will do u any good in ur fc. rh is what u want to be monitoring. they also had a thermometer/hygrometer combo (not wireless) for 19.99 but i want the pro shit. heres a pic of the box if u wanna return ur home depot one and get this.
-------------------- Eddie Money doesn't have to put up with this shit. The wonder has a name: shrooms.
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toastdth
strangest
Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 138
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: farva86]
#6729138 - 03/30/07 06:04 PM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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I'd like one last bit of professional advice I'd like to have:
I just brought the three cakes that were dead stalled out of a dunk, and rolled them.
Should I pick all the apparently stalled shrooms off, and dunk/roll the other ones as well?
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farva86
I dont want alarge farva. Iwant aleeder-a-cola


Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 267
Loc: MIddle of Nowhere, AR
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Re: What in the sam hill am I doing wrong. [Re: toastdth]
#6730294 - 03/31/07 12:35 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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i havnt done cakes so im not to sure on this but if my memory serves me correctly i believe ive read that u should pick all the pins, aborts, etc. off
-------------------- Eddie Money doesn't have to put up with this shit. The wonder has a name: shrooms.
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