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 ludus_tonalis
Stranger
Registered: 08/18/08
Posts: 8
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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 Highmountain compost just arrived 
#8811373 - 08/22/08 01:48 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Hi all, let me apologize for not knowing much about this stuff. I am helping a friend, and have been reading quite - name the book and I have it. He is more a doer than a learner, and I am interested.
He has five quart jars that are close to being fully colonized. The plan was to birth, dunk and roll and generally just do the PF tek thing. I came across some interesting posts on compost, and had him place an order from highmountain. It arrived today, but I havent seen it yet.
Here are my serious of rather stupid questions. Given all of the reading I have done, Im still missing some crucial points when it comes to working in bulk.
1. Highmountain says to use 1 quart of rye with their compost. Is there any issue with using BRF instead? I doubt it but have to ask.
2. If you had 5 big-boy quarts would you go with highmountains suggestion of 1 quart of colonized substrate to 10 pounds compost? Seems like using two or three or even all of them makes the most sense - but I am very likely missing something here.
3. My friend does not have a flow hood and doing this work in the glove box would be impossible. How worried does he need to be about contams? Would the oventek be a decent solution?
4. I assume the process is simple - take the compost mix in the crumpled colonized substrate and try to distribute it evenly - even it all up, and case. Is that correct?
5. Would hydrogen peroxide help at this stage?
6. If you had this stuff what kind of fruiting chamber would you use? This is the hard one. He can keep it clean or have good air exchange but not both. Sucks but it is kinda the case - he has an old fridge in the basement which would work beautifully but fanning in the basement strikes me as pretty dangerous - as it is not a finished basement and is crawling with bugs (IMHO). I asked if he would be willing to put a small blower/hepa on it - but he didnt know.
7. FINALLY (and thanks for reading) what casing should he use if contam issues are paramount?
Thanks
=Ludus
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 Rahz
Alive Again
Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 9,334
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Re: Highmountain compost just arrived [Re: ludus_tonalis]
#8811602 - 08/22/08 02:35 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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BRF can be used. I've noticed though that growth is slower, though I never perfected the PF tek and my jars probably weren't the healthiest. If you decide to use BRF, a cheese grater works wonders.
Not sure about weight, but you want one part spawn to 5 parts substrate, or somewhere around there. You can go higher, but 1:5 is a good ratio for quick colonization without wasting spawn.
Once the spawn (or BRF) is colonized, there is no more need for a sterile environment. If the substrate is pasteurized well, and the spawn is colonized, and mixed in well, contams won't usually have a chance.
>>>>4. I assume the process is simple - take the compost mix in the crumpled colonized substrate and try to distribute it evenly - even it all up, and case. Is that correct?
Close. Spawn is mixed with the substrate, and evened out in the grow trays. So, 4 days or so for the substrate to colonize. The casing is then added, and 4 days or so for the casing to be grown through.
Peroxide isn't needed. The only peroxide I use is in the humidifier water.
Open air isn't normally an issue once the casings are ready to fruit. I wouldn't want bugs crawling around in there though. A mono-tub with polyfill stuffed holes might be an option.  Either way, with adequate air exchange, you should get at least a couple flushes. The biggest danger is low FAE in a dirty environment.
Any non-nutritious casing will work. I'd suggest 50/50 reed sedge peat/vermiculite with some calcium added.
Search for mono-tub and check out a few different casing recipes. Might want to go over a couple grow logs to see how the substrate and casing colonization goes.
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rahz
comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace
"Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free."
~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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ludus_tonalis
Stranger
Registered: 08/18/08
Posts: 8
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: Highmountain compost just arrived [Re: Rahz]
#8811680 - 08/22/08 02:51 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Rahz,
Thanks a ton for the info. I know it takes time to answer those questions.
Thanks for correcting my terminology. Let me just go over it once more - spawn (fully colonized in jar or bag), substate (i.e. compost) is used to create more spawn, and casing is the layer to keep things moist and safe. Correct? Finally we have our tray which enters the FC after the initial spawn has colonized the substrate, the casing has been done, and it is ready to fruit. Do we indeed call that a "tray" or is there another more clear word? For instance "cake" has the same meaning for everyone, what do we call these "trays".
I'm glad to hear that a cased tray is not quite as vulnerable to attacks.
Thanks
=Ludus
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Rahz
Alive Again
Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 9,334
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Re: Highmountain compost just arrived [Re: ludus_tonalis]
#8811956 - 08/22/08 04:09 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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No problem. I highly recommend you look up some casing recipes/techniques, and spend some time in the grow log... cause there's a lot of finer points and tips to be found.
Anyway, only sterile substrate (usually grain, PCed in jars) is referred to as spawn. Substrate is simply a growing medium, though spawn is obviously in it's own class, and must be sterile to be properly called spawn. h-poo, compost, etc. is considered a -bulk- substrate. We go from spawn (sterile substrate) to bulk (hopefully pasteurized), and case that when it's fully colonized. Once mycelium is breaking through the casing, into the FC it goes. Generally, anything that's been cased gets called a casing, though tray will work.
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rahz
comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace
"Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free."
~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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tripchip
The Mushroom Monkey
 
Registered: 07/07/08
Posts: 1,154
Loc: African Jungle
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Re: Highmountain compost just arrived [Re: ludus_tonalis]
#8811971 - 08/22/08 04:12 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Do we indeed call that a "tray" or is there another more clear word? For instance "cake" has the same meaning for everyone, what do we call these "trays".
I'm glad to hear that a cased tray is not quite as vulnerable to attacks.
Thanks
=Ludus
WHAT DID YOU CALL IT A TRAY!!! DAMN YOU!!
lol jk
yeah tray is fine. for example... you have some straw and horse poop cased with a 50/50 mix in a tray/pan/kitty litter box/tupperware whatever your using you can call it that. for the most part i would say tray unless i wanted emphasize that I was using something unique.
PEace
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Psilocybe Cubensis
Psilocybe comes from the Greek root "psilos" meaning bald head and Cubensis because it was first recognized as a new species from specimens collected in Cuba.
 CHIP
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