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mutex
Pissing in thegene pool



Registered: 08/20/07
Posts: 90
Loc: The spork fukulum
Last seen: 9 months, 13 days
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help! casing stalled...
#7716712 - 12/04/07 06:12 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hi Shroomery,
The short version:
I spawned a few quart jars of both WBS and rye to 60/40 coir/coffee. I then cased with 50/50. I cased on 11/18, its now 12/4 and they're still not doing very well. I took them out of the incubator 11/30, and removed the covers due to flies and they looked way too wet. I left them open and put in the FC to dry out a bit (mistake I think) 1 came to life a little bit, but not alot. I dont know if I should cover them back up & incubate, leave them in the FC, put wax paper on them etc.
The gory details....
I had about 12 quarts of spawn, 6 brazilian and 6 cambodian. Each strain had 3 rye and 3 WBS. Aside from the cambodian colonizing very slow all seemed to go well. I spawned to 60/40 coir/coffee. The temps started dropping around here and the room got down to 65 so I wasnt surprised when they colonized slow. I just ignored them for a couple weeks. I read on here somewhere that people left non-refrigerated substrates out and as long as they werent exposed to pinning triggers they'd be fine. So I waited till I had a free weekend to case them. I thought the cool temps would help keep contams away. That ended up being about a month. When I went to case them, aside from what I believe was alot of mycelium piss, all looked well.
I followed RR's casing recipe that roadkill posted here. Aside from doubling the recipe, I followed it exactly, even searching through old posts to see what brand lime RR used (I believe its Hoffman) so nothing would be off: 10 cups of peat 10 teaspoons of Lime 10 tablespoons of gypsum mixed that up really good dry... then added 10 cups of water...
PH looked good, although I found the litmus strips annoying (things like "is that a dark dark green or is that a wet dark green?") Water content seemed a bit high, but its my first time casing so I wasnt sure. If you gave it a really good squeeze a tiny stream would come out. Pasteurized by keeping them between 150-170 for over an hour in boiling water and let them cool overnight. I used jar lids on top of the substrate to get a even layer. I sealed with tin foil, poked a few holes and covered with micropore tape, and threw em up on a shelf.
I checked after a few days to see if mycelium was poking through, and nothing. Gave it a few more days...nothing. It started getting cold around here and the room was getting colder everyday, when it hit 60 I went and bought a space heater. Room's now 72-75. A few more days I checked, hoping the heat helped, its been over a week. Nothing. I give them another week and when I check 1 of them has fruit flies. Lovely.
I remove the tin foil from all of them and replace with saran wrap, picking all the flies out. After I do this a few days later 1 starts coming to life, a few small myc spots poking through. I unwrap it and put it in the greenhouse. Humidity is around 89%, temp 73. Indirect sunlight plus a 6500K light in the ceiling fan that I turn on around 8am, off around 5pm. Its slowly starting to come along...but really slow.
I unwrap 2 of the other bins and put them in the greenhouse. Its been about 5 days since then and they still arent doing do anything. I still have one covered up incubating thats stalled as well.
I must of read every post on here with the word casing in it 10 times. Ive reread Hyphea's Pinning Strategy over and over again, but I cant find anything wrong. Im surprised they arent green yet, but im sure its coming.
So, any ideas? It looks like 1 will work but the others ive already written off as learning experiences, probably hard to gauge whats wrong unless your here looking at them.
Wrap the stalled ones back up and back into the incubator? Leave them out in the greenhouse? With or without wax paper? Dunk the substrate and add a new casing layer or fruit without one? Crank the heat? Put chocolate frosting on it and try to sell it as cake to old people? I tried yelling & swearing at them but that didnt work.
Pics for people that like those sorta things...The "good" casing is on the left, 2 closeups of the bad ones, and a pic of the one still incubating with the foil removed:




Any advice or pointers to what I did wrong so I wont repeat it next time is very appreciated!
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thedefone
deus ex machina

Registered: 10/06/07
Posts: 1,883
Loc: Gondwana
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Re: help! casing stalled... [Re: mutex]
#7717011 - 12/04/07 07:23 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Im surprised they arent green yet, but im sure its coming.
Quote:
When I went to case them, aside from what I believe was alot of mycelium piss, all looked well.
Did you pasteurize your coffee/coir? From my limited experience, I think you're looking at contamination. What with your description of metabolites, flies, and extended colonization times, to me, it looks like a dark road.
On the other hand, you may just be waiting for the bulk to completely colonize. I have read some threads that recommend the "frosting layer" of spawn on the top of your bulk, when you spawn.. maybe if you did frost, your sub wasn't completely colonized, and the stalling is your mycelium completly colonizing the bulk?
Shit.. I don't know. Keep your temps like you have them now (72-75), and keep that casing moist. Maybe put that wax paper on them, if only in the slim hopes that molds do pop up while you're not looking, the spores might not get very far; besides, it can't hurt your pinning.. I'd just leave them to fruiting, keep my eyes open for the contams, try to control the flies and pray for the best. Maybe you should start making that chocolate frosting soon........
Good Luck.
--------------------
I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
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mutex
Pissing in thegene pool



Registered: 08/20/07
Posts: 90
Loc: The spork fukulum
Last seen: 9 months, 13 days
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Re: help! casing stalled... [Re: thedefone]
#7720213 - 12/05/07 03:42 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Yup, I pasteurized everything. I did frost the casing though. I just went through some old notes and realized everything I made with that syringe/strain.....cakes, LC, WBS to coir...took alot longer than the other strains. Sometimes 3X longer. I dont think the cold temps helped it either.
Nothing smells or looks funky yet, and a vinegar flytrap seems to be keeping the flies away. I'll keep the wax paper on and the casing moist like you said, and wait and see what happens!
Thanks again for helping me out
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