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buddyboy
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Registered: 09/25/07
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Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation
#7453017 - 09/25/07 07:08 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Hi, been growing for a few years now. Sometimes I have a problem but after time it gets itself sorted out. However, I think action must be taken with the current problem and I need some assistance... I had some bags of colonised rye grain that I've left a while before casing (which I have done in the past with no troubles), and put in tubs with a casing layer (compost/vermiculite/lime/water). These have then been covered in tin foil to incubate for a week or so.
However, I checked them today and whereas the rye grain usually turns white again as the mycelium recolonises, looking at the side it looks the same as it did when I cased; only where the rye grain meets the damp casing layer I can see the rye grain looking white and fluffy (and on one or two of the four tubs there is mycelium poking out of the top) - so I can only assume that the rye grain has not recolonised because it isn't as wet/humid as it should be, due to my leaving it in the spawn bags for too long maybe?
I was wondering if anybody has a solution, either to dampen the rye grain or anything else if I'm barking up the wrong tree. I was considering taking the whole lot out of the case and sticking onto perlite, but that's impossible as the rye grain isn't sticking together due to the lack of colonisation. Would misting the top of the casing layer a lot sort it out, or pouring water down the sides?
Thanks for any assistance, I was expecting a yield of 2.2kg so to have it all go down the pan would be a terrible waste!
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Bacchus
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: buddyboy]
#7453668 - 09/25/07 10:11 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I recently had the same thing happen with WBS. I threw the trays into my greenhouse and they took off. I would imagine it's a water issue.
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Living on a no-Flash diet is way easier than you think. Give it a shot.
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buddyboy
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: Bacchus]
#7454463 - 09/26/07 05:18 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Bacchus said: I would imagine it's a water issue.
Same here, but what's the best way to get moisture to the bottom of the tubs?
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yepyepyep
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: buddyboy]
#7454570 - 09/26/07 06:19 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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This is only an idea and I'd like to hear from others before you do anything but I think you can probably get away with spraying the casing layer and then remixing everything and recasing. That way you've have a decent distribution of hydrated casing material serving the requirements throughout the colonising casing.
But, waiting until the casing has taken a more solid form and placing on perlite is also a great idea.
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RogerRabbit
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: yepyepyep]
#7454582 - 09/26/07 06:28 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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It's not moisture. I've left mycelium on rye in the spawn bags for six months and there was still plenty of moisture. If the mycelium doesn't recover after shaking, the most likely cause is the grains were contaminated with bacteria. Why would you attempt to case with compost? Compost is a substrate. 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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buddyboy
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: RogerRabbit]
#7454625 - 09/26/07 06:59 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Thanks for your comments, guys.
yepyepyep: I've never heard of mixing the casing layer with the substrate, like you say probably best to hear what others have to say about it. Thanks though.
RogerRabbit: I think it's a moisture issue as where the substrate meets the casing layer, the mycelium has recolonised there, I expect due to the moisture from the casing layer. Plus, healthy mycelium is poking through the top of the casing layer on some of them. Of course, I've seen the creations of yours Hippie3 posted on another site, and you definitely know your stuff, however.
The mycelium did recover after shaking, many times (and smelt like mush, rather than that musty/fruity smell when bags go bad), but when I cased them the mycelium seemed less fluffy and more... looking like withered elastic, if that makes sense (may have lowered the temperature a bit by accident towards the end though, potential factor?). As if the moisture (of which there was much) seperated from the mycelium... but this has happened to me before with no problems.
The compost I use is basically soil from a hardware store, it's just called compost on the bag. I've never had any troubles with it before.
I'm considering opening the tin foil, misting, then placing back in the tin foil and doing again for a few days, see how things pan out. Sound good?
Maybe I should post some pics?
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buddyboy
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: buddyboy]
#7454640 - 09/26/07 07:04 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Just to let people know, the method I used is the MushMush tek, back when it had instructions on the site. Although I make sure I soak and rinse the rye grain beforehand after my disastrous first attempt (where I also managed to mist two of the tubs with the misting container containing bleach solution, not water! ) which yielded one mushroom out the bottom of the container!
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buddyboy
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Last seen: 16 years, 3 months
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Re: Mushrooms cased but rye grain won't recolonise during incubation [Re: buddyboy]
#7464412 - 09/28/07 01:43 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Update: I think one in contaminated but the other three are okay, more mycelium is forming, think I need to give it time. Thanks all for your help.
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