5) Spore strain choices. Log thought that the selection of the spore strain would be predicated on the action of the pod - would the pod do better with heavy, large mushrooms such as Indians, or do better with numerous, smaller mushrooms like Gulf Coasts? However, the choice of strain apparently did not matter as much as Logical thought. Both the Indian and the Gulf Coast produced the approximate weight of each other, about 115 wet grams over the life of each cake (112 for Gulf Coast, 118 for Indian). To Log, the choice in strains is more of a preference when it comes to the new hydrapod.
There is one consideration, that the grower should choose a strain which produces 2nd flushes reliably. A strain which is not induced to produce more than once is not going to use the pod effectively. (Log will discuss the breakdowns of weight later, and his general observations on them.) Since the hydrapod could hypothetically support continuous flushes, the grower should use a multi-flushing strain which exploits this feature. Again, Log will try to address multiple flushing later as well.
6) Spore age issues. Log made an interesting observation during this grow log. Namely, that "old" spores do not necessarily perform at a lower par than "fresh" spores do. Log used spores that were from 6 months to over a year old, stored in vendor syringes at room temperature. Though the oldest spores, the Gulf Coasts, took longer to fully colonize than the Indians, they fully colonized a pint cake in approximately 3-4 weeks, in too humid conditions. And the subsequent mushrooms produced could not be said to be of a lower quality based on the age of the spores, nor the vigor of the mycelia. When compared to the end result.
A side note: The Gulf Coast syringe was an original "print in a syringe" from 3Mshroom, who is no longer a vendor due to personal issues. His dark syringes are a thing of legend among older growers such as Logical. 3Mshroom's Gulf Coast is a very impressive fruiter, whose quantities are commendable. For growers interested in numerous, reliable flushes, 3M's Gulf Coasts would be a good choice for those who can still find them.
7) Rosecombs. Logical found that the occurance of one rosecomb on an Indian mushroom to be a strange anomaly, since he does not have any contact with petroleum products. Log also found that another pod user has reported a rosecomb while growing, as well. Log only had one, and does not think that the occurance was more than a freak occurance. But he also thinks it is important to note the occurance to potential and current pod owners, in order for others to watch for the abnormal appearances.
8) Post-1st flush, dunking? As noted above, after the 1st flush was fully harvested, the cakes went thru substantial shrinkage and bluing due to water loss. They were still heavy with compacted substrate, but it was dry. Logical relied on the action of the pod to rehydrate the cakes, but they did not recover as fully as Log would have expected, and would likely recommend to other growers that the cakes be dunked after the 1st flush. The reasoning for this is as follows:
The 1st flush of each cake was 475 wet grams, approx. 68 grams per cake. Assuming 90-92% water, each cake "lost" about 60 grams of water in producing the 1st flush. This is over 2 oz. of water per cake, that should be resupplemented with each flushing. This is over 14 oz. of water - almost a pint needed to return the cakes to their optimal production. Log feels that the large amount of substrate could not be supplemented enough, even with the full action of the hydrapod. This is not a "knock" at the production of the pod, but a reality - there is no way to resupplement that much water into a substrate without doing it manually.
Logical decided not to rehydrate the shrunken cakes, and still had a very very respectable 2nd flush from it. He also stopped the log early; there is no way to determine how many more mushrooms would have been produced had the log not been stopped early. The 2nd flush is comparable to that of the 1st. However, though the numbers are impressive, they do not reflect the fact that the cakes were not producing with the vigor of the 1st flush. This loss of vigor is the reason Logical would reccomend dunking, or should have dunked himself.
Dunking is not for every case, and not for every pod user. Log's cakes were just very shrunken. Not everyone will have such a change in their cakes, and they should therefore not dunk. And rely on the pod's action. But those who's 1st flush robs the substrate of its weight and power, seriously consider to dunk.
Log believes that the even-ness of the 1st flush as compared to the overall sporadic production of the 2nd is the result of the cakes not being optimally hydrated. The 1st flush was the cakes at optimum, and the 2nd cakes were suboptimal performance. All things were equal at the 2nd flush (pod, etc.) except for the water loss.
9) Drying method. Logical would like to cut & paste this note on drying that he posted above. He oftens notes novice growers using high-tech, and high-energy use methods of drying. Logical believes that the low-tech way is more responsible - that the extra use of ecological and natural resources in using electricity for fan drying, etc. is superfluous and wasteful. His method is able to easily dry the hydrapod's output with no excessive space or contraptions needed, and as non-intrusive as possible.
"Logical has followed a drying method for quite a while. He lays the harvest ON paper sacks (the heavy kind from supermarkets), and cleans them thoroughly of vermiculite or casing material. Do not place mushrooms in the bag to dry from both sides, this encourages rot. He usually does not have to cut or open the stems due to "fat asses", and doesn't cut up the mushrooms unless they are truly waterlogged. He then takes the paper sacks and lays them up high (dresser, wardrobe, bookcase) to dry. The mushrooms will get fairly dry, but not cracker dry. The heavier the paper sacks from the supermarket, the more water they will help carry away from the mushroom. In other words, the lunch sacks you pack an apple in aren't any good - Logical tried but never had much luck with them. When they get fairly dry (1 - 2 weeks), Logical places them on a wire rack in a drying chamber, full of damp-rid. He leaves them in the drying chamber for as long as possible, and at least a week or so. The mushrooms will easily become cracker dry in a few days- you have to test if they are dry for yourself, it is no good to gauge in days. Then, store as usual."
Logical also would like to note that no extra wire is necessary. A grower could line a low-rise sealing rubbermaid with similar paper sacks from the supermarket. One layer of cut-up paper is fine. Then, set up a "Damp Rid" container system - the one that comes with its own drip system. Not the "refill", but the container. Set the prepared container in the centre of the low plastic bin, and place the semi-dry mushrooms around the container in as close to a single layer as possible. Seal bin, let sit for at least a day before checking on it. The damp rid container will seal the water from the mushrooms. One container is enough (the small package with the drip system) for more than the harvest of the hydrapod, when dried using the supermarket bag system described above. Stems will snap within 2-10 days, and neither the bottom of the container nor the mushrooms will be "destroyed" if the container system is used.
Logical will address the last comment, "Weight and production, comments overall," in another post in a day or so. Thanks.
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