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paradox_
Life as Shaun



Registered: 07/17/07
Posts: 349
Loc: BC
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Before I begin
#7457673 - 09/26/07 09:15 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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So I decided to start my first grow a few weeks ago and mailed in for 3 syringes from Ralph's. I have one each of B+, Cambodian and Dixieland. Originally I had wanted to start with the B+ as I have heard it is a good beginner's strain and fairly easy to work with. I don't know much about the other two however, and Dixieland seems especially hard to find information on from old threads. Should I continue with the B+ for my first grow, or is one of the other strains better suited for a first timer like me?
I'm pretty much just following the "Let's grow mushrooms" pf tek as I don't want to get into bulk substrates yet and just want to get a basic feel for what I'm getting myself into.
My verm seems to be the coarse variety and after much searching around, it seems there are about as many people who find coarse verm to work best as there are those who prefer fine. There seems to be no problem with simply throwing the coarse verm into a blender to get it to a fine quality so I can use either.
I have decided to experiment a bit to see which works best for me, basically there will be:
6 coarse verm substrate jars with 3 fine casing layers and 3 coarse casing layers
6 fine verm substrate jars with 3 fine casing layers and 3 coarse casing layers
People seem to find that the fine verm holds more moisture, which makes sense as it has a greater surface area. The coarse verm on the other hand is said to create a more airy substrate/casing layer.
My problem here is my syringes are all 10cc's. Is a 10cc syringe enough to inoculate 12 jars? I have found most people use 1/4 cc per inoc point (I will be using 4 per jar). Will I be shooting myself in the foot trying to stretch 10ccs out over 12 jars? I don't really mind using only 10 jars but as you can see that would screw up my plans for experimenting with coarse/fine verm.
Unfortunately I can't get ahold of a PC so I will be using the boiling method to sterilize my jars.
90 minutes of boiling is the prescribed amount by the video PF tek. Some posts mention that boiling the jars longer than 30 minutes lowers the nutrient contents of your substrate causing a much longer colonization time (two months from 90 minutes boiling), is this true?
Everywhere I look it seems people have different thoughts on boiling times, most being between 30 and 90 minutes. I don't think Fractional Sterilization is relevant as I am using BRF, but would letting the jars cool completely in between 30 minute boiling periods be a viable way of getting around possible adverse effects of over boiling?
The jars will be in a dark spot as close to 81F as I can get it.
So I think that covers everything I can do in one night, but I am just wondering before I start if there are any huge flaws in what I'm doing. If so please point them out. I realize a lot of the questions I'm asking are more opinion based than fact, but I wouldn't mind getting an idea of what most people think.
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cbiegel
A Dude

Registered: 02/19/07
Posts: 284
Last seen: 15 years, 8 months
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Re: Before I begin [Re: paradox_]
#7457725 - 09/26/07 09:24 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Just to address the verm issue; I think the courser verm works well in a cake and the fine is best for the dunk and roll. I can say that I think that the coarser verm is MUCH better for the dry layer than the fine. The fine has a much greater chance of wicking water from the jar and no longer being a dry layer.
-------------------- Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.
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paradox_
Life as Shaun



Registered: 07/17/07
Posts: 349
Loc: BC
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Re: Before I begin [Re: cbiegel]
#7457877 - 09/26/07 09:57 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Ill definitely be using coarser verm for the dry layer then.
I think I'm just gonna go for it now though. If things don't go 100% as planned I won't lose any sleep over it as this is my first grow.
For reference, I'm going to use the B+ and only make 10 jars. They will be boiled for 60 minutes. I'm still curious about a few of my questions though, so please let me know what you think.
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veda_sticks
Cultivator




Registered: 07/29/07
Posts: 14,191
Loc: UK
Last seen: 4 years, 25 days
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Re: Before I begin [Re: paradox_]
#7458913 - 09/27/07 05:47 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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If u get the chance, invest in a pressure cooker, even with the pf tek, while many people have had success with boiling sometimes it may not.
But as long as u do everything sterile, then u should have no problems, when u make up ur substrate, make sure it is well mixed so its fluffy or ur cakes will have trouble colinising the middle (happened to me, cut an uncolinised part of cake of the bottom and found that the middle wasnt as colinised as i thought even after a month incubating).
Im on my first attempt too, and i boiled for 90 minutes, my colinisation seemed a tad slow but could just be my substrate mix. I also got 3 continated jars in a row on the last batch (4 jars) but this could have been due to usen the oven tek (stay clear, it doesnt work, think about the air currents and u can understand why) Make up a glovebox for inoculating this will eliminate another source of contams.
And follow the teks exactly, they are tried and proven to work.
Im sure u will get going nicely it really isnt that dificult and if something goes wrong somewhere then no need to fret, source where it went wrong and try again.
good luck, in a few weeks u will hopefully be birthing those cakes.
If u r wondering what a mushroom cake smells like, u will know when u sniff it i was worried when i opened my first cake as i had no idea, it smells kinda like an edible mushroom but its very strong!!!! n earthy. theres no mistaking it even if u have never smelled it.
-------------------- PF TEK - writeup by EvilMushroom666 Lets Grow Mushrooms - RogerRabbit & RoadKills website with sample videos plus the full PF TEK video series. Alot of great information - BUY THE DVD Cakes can and will pin! - So you think cakes suck for pins. Your wrong Franks Simple Coir/Verm Tek Franks Proper Pasturisation Tek Franks Spawning To Bulk - Monotub Professor Pinheads RTV Injection Port Tek Foo Mans No Soak WBS Prep Tek
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