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b0n0b0
Stranger
Registered: 10/30/07
Posts: 1
Last seen: 16 years, 3 months
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Hello world.
#7579169 - 10/31/07 12:58 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hi guys. First and foremost, I want to thank everyone in the communities for their wisdom and insight, in getting me this far.
So I have recently become quite fascinated with the field of mycology. My interests driving me to purchase some some spores (from 101) and PF cakes (via ebay). My current living situations don't really allow for a pressure cooker, either wise I would have made my own. Anyways, about a month ago, I inoculated the jars, and put them in my miniaturized 'simple-minds' style incubator. I would say the growth rate was relatively slow, taking about a week to show the first signs of the good stuff. Over the next few weeks it became thicker and fuller, but the growth near the top of the jars was stunted. I waited for about a week at this stage waiting for the mycelium to fully overtake the jar, but still it didn't grow in the higher altitudes. In my impatience, I made the decision to move the cakes into a fruiting chamber today. With haste, I revamped my terrarium, the previous design being a clusterfuck in the annals boyscoutistic engineering. My inspiration was mostly 'Poor-man's Pod', but miniaturized. In the most sanitary conditions, plopped them on in. The cake in the rear of the photos was pseudo-dunked. I submerged it in distilled water, and removed some of the excess vermiculite. It is also flipped upside-down relative to its position in the incubator.
And thats my story...
But I've got a couple of questions.
1. I'm paranoid about contaminations. A friend of mine attempted growing, and the first batch, even with pearly white jars, turned pink and green in the fruiting chamber. Is there anyone that can give me some insight into the quality of my jars?
2. What does your incubator smell like? I noticed a somewhat foul odor coming from mine. It wasn't what I would describe as moldy, but it wasn't what I would describe as mushroomey. The colonized jars however have look healthy, and have little to no odor, but what smell they do emit, is like a mushroom.
3. Does anybody have a ideas as to why the to top of my jars didn't fully colonize? Is it perhaps a problem of circulation, or should I have flipped my jars?
4. How do the cakes and chamber look to you all?
Thanks again.
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TurntableJunky
Ethno Grower



Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 4,742
Loc: Sydney
Last seen: 15 years, 9 months
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Re: Hello world. [Re: b0n0b0]
#7579172 - 10/31/07 12:59 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Made your own pressure cooker. And also the top of the pf tek jar didnt colonize because its not meant to. Its a dry verm barrier for keeping out contams.
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bmy
Stranger to myself



Registered: 09/19/07
Posts: 222
Loc: Planet Earth
Last seen: 13 years, 11 months
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Quote:
TurntableJunky said: Made your own pressure cooker. And also the top of the pf tek jar didnt colonize because its not meant to. Its a dry verm barrier for keeping out contams.
I think he/she referred to the pf-cake, as in "if I had a pc I would have made my own cakes" 
Welcome to the forums b0n0b0!
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Edited by bmy (10/31/07 02:35 AM)
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TurntableJunky
Ethno Grower



Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 4,742
Loc: Sydney
Last seen: 15 years, 9 months
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Re: Hello world. [Re: bmy]
#7579230 - 10/31/07 01:36 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Ahk lol.
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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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With the pf tek, u can steam sterilise in a pot of boiling water with the lid on tight for 90 minutes. U dont need a pressure cooker for the pf tek, but its still recommended.
Pf tek jars have a dry verm layer at the top that wont colonise, its just there to stop airborn contaminates from getting to your nutritious substrate, when u birth u clean that part of.
What does your incubator consist of?? It shouldnt smell, give it a good clean out.
As for the cakes themselfs, sounds like they are fine, as long as they are nice and white, and smell shroomy. They might bruise blue which can happen from rough handling or them drying out, so if u start to see colour like this then check out posts on bruising before getting all panicky and thining you have contams.
Once the cakes are fully colinised they should be fairly resistant to contams. After your cakes are spent, clean your FC out and either bake ur perlite in the oven if u plan to reuse or just throw it out and put fresh stuff in.
-------------------- 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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Pr0_X
CultivationLifer



Registered: 01/18/06
Posts: 617
Loc: Igloo's and polar bears
Last seen: 16 years, 1 day
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I need to get something out of the way for all the new cultivators out there..... You NEVER ever attempt to build a pressure cooker, failure will result in death or permanent disfigurement.
With that out of the way.
With the pf tek boiling cakes in a pot of water for 90minutes is only a partial sterilization and gives you a much shorter window to fully colonize a cake, try adding the dry verm layer as Veda_sticks stated above and apply a double layer of aluminum foil if it makes you feel better.
Your incubator smells funny because a jar has a bacteria contam, smell each one closely to pinpoint which one it is and then remove it. Also, the smell of the incubator should loosely resemble baked bread, fresh mycelium smells identical to fully mature mushrooms, so proper spawn should smell just like a mushroom (if that makes sense) 
The top of the jar didn't colonize because of excessive moisture loss, you are probably incubating at to high of a temperature which would also explain a bacterial bloom in your jars. Flipping the jar's is to release pent of CO2 but pf usually halt at the bottom, unless you have the dry verm layer on top I don't suggest doing this, just leave them be until they're done.
Happy Halloween
-------------------- It's okay to hurt my feelings cause you know, they're so numb anyway. but I guess it's what I get for being to fuckin stupid to stay away - Jake - Support the FSR at www.fsrcanada.com and www.fsre.nl
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