quote:

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Originally posted by muchmush:
after 2 days i saw first grow-signs. however, the "mycelium" growing was blueish-greyish, maybe even a little green? now normally i would say: contamination, shit. it strikes me as weird however, that this contam appears exactly where the spore-water was. okay, that would mean i got a contaminated syringe. then again, i also see those yellow drops which would be a sign of mycelium, right? i also noticed that there are quite a few water-droplets inside the jar, could it be that the mycelium turned color because of excess moisture?

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I would have to so you are going to have to wait a bit for a good ID. If you got a whiter/whitish kinda zone growing around the permiter of the grey-green zone then you are more than likely looking at a Penicillum.

Prolific in areas with spoiling foodstuffs, practice good hygene yo! Or do you eat Roquefort Cheese? It also strikes often substrates poorly prepared and undergone secondary heating.

Although keep in mind it is not as prevelant as Trichoderma. Other green molds that look similar in appearance are Cladosporium and Aspergillus.

If you don't practice safe lab then you may contract some real nasty LDs ... If you are lucky you may get the molds and bacteria the military uses to make things like Anthrax as well as others that make Anthrax look like underarm deoderant spray.

Heh... how's that for motivation to play it clean

sorry, i can't really hit the right keys no more, tears are rollin...

*sniff*

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-"let's go do some crimes."
-"yeah, let's go get sushi and not pay."

quote:

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Originally posted by muchmush:
anywho, your recommendation would be to toss them? no chance of it being mycelium at all?

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When in doubt, toss em' out.

Practice clean techniques. Maybe learn sterile tissue culture on agar... worth it in the long run.

It was weird. Almost white with a slight grey/blue tinge. Not very aggressive, the mycelium and contaminate staked out their turf and then coexisted. It looked almost identical to mycelium except fot the color. It never formed obvious sporulating bodies the way that most molds will. The weirdest thing about it was the smell. Not unpleasant or pungent but definately not mushroomlike. I can't really give a good description of the smell except to say that it was easy to tell it wasn't mushroom mycelium and was the only definative indicator.

I have never seen this contaminate again. The species I was trying to fruit with it was an unidentified wild psilocybe from florida that I never got to fruit. A strong cubensis strain might be able to have fruited with this contaminate. If the spores are irreplacable you might try, otherwise it is always wisest to kill contaminates immediately.

DD

And there are old mushroom growers.

but there are no old and bold mushroom growers.

Pathogenic bacteria are, almost without exception, anaerobic. To mention anthrax as a danger in mushroom cultivation is ignorant. Anthrax (for example) requires an oxygen free enviroment and specialized media (fresh blood agar) for culture. Don't eat bacterial contamination and you'll have no worries.

Mold spores in quantity can provoke an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals. Don't snort or eat mold spores and you'll be fine. Likewise mushroom spores can cause reactions too, same warning.

The reasons to maintain basic hygiene and cleanliness are for mushroom culture cross contamination. If you maintain a clean enough enviroment for successful cultivation, you will have no health concerns personally. There are enough things to worry about in mushroom cultivation without the bogus fear of "anthrax".

DD

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If you have a pressure cooker, a quick run 15 psi for 20 minutes before clean out is good. If you don't have a pressure cooker, gently open jar lids to avoid blowing spores everywhere, then pour in enough 90% isopropyl alcohol to wet the substrate down (about an ounce per 1/2 pint). Let it soak for a minute before cleanout. Do your cleaning in an area removed from culture work.

DD

[This message has been edited by Doktor Dung (edited April 13, 2000).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Doktor Dung:
This thread brings up a point I think it is important to comment on. The likelihood of picking up a pathogen (getting sick) from mushroom cultivation is [b]extremely low. There are reasons to be careful with contaminates, but contracting a disease isn't one of them. Anyone who tells you different is scaring you. Anthrax (for example) requires an oxygen free enviroment and specialized media (fresh blood agar) for culture. Don't eat bacterial contamination and you'll have no worries.
[/B]

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You and I argue polar opposites which is kind of dangerous. The middle ground is the best approach.

I am not here to deliberately scare anyone but I want to bring people more motivation to not be lax.

I will post the background details on my original post below and take the time explain it all. For now, however, It is also in the hobbyist counter culture level that if anyone did grow any of the nasties I list below that it has an good chance of going unreported to us here at shroomery.

Details of Contams

ASPERGILLUS

Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus Less nasty, just causes "Musrhoom Worker's Lung Disease"

PAUL STAMETS NOTES This is a dangerous genus. Since encountered in the course of mushroom cultivation, precautionary steps should be undertaken to minimise exposure to these toxic contaminants.

CRYPTOCOCCUS

Typically inhaled, 1979 breakout in Tennesee.

FUSARIUM

GEOTRICHUM

Well thats enough my fingers are telling me to give it a break. This is an incomplete list but the information is out and because its everybody's own path they are in control of they can do what they want with this.

Let me ask you all this, do you have the knowhow, knowledge or equipment to deal with any of these let alone even identify them properly in the first place? How many of the above pass by unknown when a smart cultivator just outright tosses any culture that looks contaminated into the garbage?

Is this all of the baddies out there? :P

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What do I do?

I just follow what Stamets has admitted to in countless writings, he was damn happy that he resisted so many times in his early life eating or getting near anything he did not know about. Today with his increased knowledge he can see what he was really up against.

I am a hell of a lot more lax personally than I should.

Everything you posted from Stamets of course is true, but reports of isolated outbreaks of some fungal disease aren't really useful for risk assessment for the hobby home cultivator. Contaminated mushroom cultures are no more, nor less, dangerous than a moldy slice of bread or that rotten tomato in your vegetable crisper. That should maybe both reassure cultivators and maybe raise questions about the safety of your vegetable crisper.

DD

Burp!