ok, ive never shared in the art of growing, i usually pick out the cowfield when it rains, but sometimes i dont want to wait for rain, i have some questions, any help would be appreciated
1. are home-grown shrooms(the cheap 10 dollar syringe) more/less/equal potent than the brown and white ones that i get from the cowfield?
2. (this may be dumb) when do i take the foil off of the jar? i will do a simple cubensis cake, but no procedures specify as to when to remove the foil from the jar.
3. i still live at home with parents, how easy is it to hide the whole project? what were the hardest things to hide from parents? i would never try to grow weed in house with parents, but this is a much smaller project, correct?
4. why is it important to use a large tub to put the cakes to incubate? if i have only one starter cake, why couldnt i use a large cup?
5. seeing as i live at home, i need to budget my time, if i have all the materials, how long will it take to mix the flour/verm/water, sterilize the jars, innoculate, then put into tub to incubate?(not counting incubating time)
6. the procedures i read said to put damp verm in the bottom of incubator to keep moist, but i read other posts where people spray the sides. do i use both, damp verm, and apraying technique, or do i choose which is best for me?
7. whats the deal with peroxide?other posts mention peroxide, but no procedures say anything about it.
8. my moms diabetic, so she always has syringes, and we have water at home, would it be cheaper/convenient/easier/better/possible(?) to buy dry spores and mix at home?
9. when innoculating the cakes, do i remove the layer of verm at the top of the cake?
thats all the questions i have right now,so any help on any number of questions will be greatly appreciated. k+ to all that help-lol
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I'm new to this too, but I'll answer the questions that I can...
2. The only time you remove the tinfoil is when you stick the syringe need in the jar to innoculate. The idea is to lift up the foil for only as much and as long as it takes you to get the spores in the jar, and then promptly put it back on. And the foil stays on throughout colonization.
3. Shrooms require less room, but more sterility and attention. If you decide to run a setup with a humidifier, fish tank heater and air pump, you'll be taking up more room, and run the risk of being found out (sound of the equip). But supposedly you can get away with a heating pad for the colonization phase and just perlite humidity for the fruiting stage.
4. I remember see a tek somewhere with the use of a 2 liter plastic soda bottle cut in half and down to size for a single cake. That's what you want.
5. If you're efficient...mixing the substrate, 5mins; sterilizing, 20mins; waiting for the jars to cool before innoculating, at least 12 hours; innoculating one jar, 5 mins.
6. I think you mean perlite, not verm. It's a porous rock that wicks moisture into the air, therefore increasing humidity. For optimal conditions in your setup I would use perlite and misting.
7. I think the peroxide is to help keep down/destroy contams.
8. I believe insulin needles are small 30 guage, and spore syringes are usually a larger 18 guage. But then again spores are quite small, and they may work. The needle length also needs to be long enough to penetrate the top layer of verm to get into the actual substrate, and the closer to the vertical center and against the jar glass, the better and more even the colonization.
9. No, leave that verm in. It serves as a contam barrier for the substrate. Also remember that before you put that layer on top wipe the inside of the jar sides above the level of the substrate very clean.
-------------------- "My head feels like a frisbee."
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I'll try!
>1. are home-grown shrooms(the cheap 10 dollar syringe) more/less/equal potent than the brown and white ones that i get >from the cowfield?
I have never tried ones out of a cowfield so I have no real reference. Usually 3 grams is a good trip for me, that is dried weight of course, around 30 grams wet.
>2. (this may be dumb) when do i take the foil off of the jar? i will do a simple cubensis cake, but no procedures specify as to >when to remove the foil from the jar.
The only thing I use foil for, is when steaming/pressure cooking the jars. After that, the tape on the holes covers well enough.
>3. i still live at home with parents, how easy is it to hide the >whole project? what were the hardest things to hide from >parents? i would never try to grow weed in house with >parents, but this is a much smaller project, correct?
Just to point it out, this is still a felony so your parents can get in trouble if you get caught. Other than that, the hardest part would be hiding the pot boiling. Mix it up in your room or bathroom, then boil the jars when they are asleep or out. Just make sure they don't look in your room to often, you could put it in your closet/under the bed.
>4. why is it important to use a large tub to put the cakes to incubate? if i have only one starter cake, why couldnt i use a >large cup?
I really don't see that much a difference from incubating, though I'm not going for really fast times. I just leave them in a drawer in my bathroom.
>5. seeing as i live at home, i need to budget my time, if i have all the materials, how long will it take to mix the >flour/verm/water, sterilize the jars, innoculate, then put into tub to incubate?(not counting incubating time)
Just mixing everything up and sterilizing can take anywhere from 1 hr 15 min, to 2 hr. Depends on how quick you move, if the PC is ready right when you finish and such. Then you have to let them cool which takes another coupla hours, less if you use the fridge. Innoc only takes a coupla minutes.
>6. the procedures i read said to put damp verm in the bottom of incubator to keep moist, but i read other posts where people >spray the sides. do i use both, damp verm, and spraying technique, or do i choose which is best for me?
Damp Verm is useless, it does not work the same as perlite. Get a bag of PERLITE from Walmart. I suggest about 2 in" perlite to 1/2" water. You should fan the terrarium once a day, and hand spray if it ever looks low. If you have a tight fitting lid for it, the spraying may not be needed. Some people use saran wrap to cover it, seeing as it is very cheap. Spraying the outside edge of the terrarium will make the saran wrap stick better, therefore sealing it a little bit better.
>7. whats the deal with peroxide?other posts mention peroxide, but no procedures say anything about it.
Peroxide is used to kill contams. Perlite can get contamed sometimes, sitting in the terrarium. After every batch of cakes (usually 8-12 for me) I empty out the perlite and use new. I have never had a problem with contams in it, but I do run a hepa filter next to it. Anytime I add water to the perlite, add a some peroxide to the tank, just make sure you don't hit the cakes. The peroxide will only be active for the few seconds/minutes while it kills everything.
>8. my moms diabetic, so she always has syringes, and we have water at home, would it be >cheaper/convenient/easier/better/possible(?) to buy dry spores and mix at home?
I'm not sure if the needles for diabetics would be right, but it is possible I assume. Just make sure the needles are at least long enough to get through the vermiculite layer. The way I built my collection is simply ordering them from spore vendors. I started with syringes because they are a LOT easier for the beginner. Not to say it is difficult, but for my first time I didn't want to worry about contams. If you decide to get a spore print make sure you have a draft free room to work in. There are a few good teks on this in the Shroomery FAQ, I can't explain them quite as well as they do. I would recommend just getting syringes for your first time.
>9. when innoculating the cakes, do i remove the layer of verm at the top of the cake?
NO! The vermiculite layer is there for a reason, don't mess with it. Just insert the syringe all the way down, it will go through the layer is you follow the teks listed here.
That should be all of your questions! Also, one more suggestion would be to use more than one jar at a time. If you are able to, I would suggest 5 or so. Thats 2ccs of spore solution per jar, or you could make more and stretch it thinner. Doing more cakes will allow for a bigger harvest, and more importantly less risk. Only growing one jar on your first time is almost set up for tons of worry. You have never followed the sterilization techniques, and it is more possible to contam. Losing your only jar would be a lot worse than losing 1 out of 5. Not to say you couldn't pull it off, but personally I wouldn't want to worry about it. If you have any more questions please post away but don't PM. Posting lets others read it ;-)>.
Elendril
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