Trying out a refrigerator as a grow chamber. Got a digital Radio Shack combo thermometer and hygrometer, but recently saw on this site that they?re not very accurate (like +/- 8%). So I thought that the humidity was about 93%, but it seems like it?s probably much lower. I?m getting pin heads, but the cakes aren?t very fuzzy, and the few shrooms that have grown are pretty strange (weird caps that don?t mature). Most of my info comes from the MMGG, but this is my first time w/ a big space like a frige. The frige is a fully operational frige, and I?ve got it on a digital timer set to come on 4x/day for about 20min each time- Helps keep the temp around 77 (but w/ some fluxuation).
The cakes have been in the frige for about 2 weeks now, and aren?t doing very well (no contam prob?s, just environment).
So I?ve got a lot of questions-
1. What?s the actual temp range, what?s best for pining, and what?s best for fruiting? Do fluxuations in temp hurt the growing shrooms? ex: if pinheads have formed, and the temp varies through out the day from 75-80.
2. How do you use Perlite? Can I just pour some distilled water on it and put it in a pan?
3. What is dunking? What do you dunk the cakes in, for how long, and do you dry them w/ a sterile paper towel or something afterwards?
4. Humidity: 90-100% for pinning, and 80-90% for fruiting- is that correct? I?m going out to get a cigar humidor hygrometer, so hopefully that will provide me with more accurate readings.
5. If my cakes have been in an environment that?s less than ideal for 2 weeks (not humid enough me thinks), what?s my best plan of action? I?ve got about 30 cakes that should be producing a lot of shrooms, but instead, are just pinning strangely and the 2-3 shrooms that did grow are small mutant shrooms.
Even if you can only provide info on one question, I?ll take any suggestions you?ve got. I am very thankful for any help that any of you can offer. Sorry for so many questions, but I thought I knew what I was doing (have had great success w/ cakes in smaller chambers before), but obviuosly, something?s wrong- or a lot of something?s are wrong. Just to let you all know, I?m going to switch to rye grain (I?ve heard it?s much easier), but in the meantime don?t want to lose the time and money invested in these cakes that are already fully colonized.
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Well before I answer any questions I have one for you, how are your cakes getting light?
Ok now to the questions 2. I just put the perlite in a strainer and rinse it with water for a couple of minutes. then put it in the terrarium, but you can put perlite in a dish then put some water in there as well, It is usually recommended that you add some peroxide to your perlite.
3. You can dunk by placing your cake in a clean jar (whatever size big enough to hold your cake) then fill up the jar with distilled water. Put the lid on tight and leave it for 12-24 hours. You can put the dunk into the fridge to cold shock, this helps induce pinning as well.
4. For cakes the humidity should always be in the 90's.
5. You can either try to get the humidity up in the fridge or move them to smaller terrariums. I would probably move them to smaller terrariums while you try to get the humidity up in the fridge, if you can maintain proper conditions in the fridge then you can transfer them back. But why you would want to, I'm not sure, but hey I'm not growing them, you are.
Good Luck.
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how do they get light? I installed a flourescent light bulb (wrapped in a garbage bag to keep it dry), and it's on a timer.
thanks for the info- it's very useful- I just added another fish bubbler (was using only one before) so I think that should take care of the humidity. I'm also calibrating an analog hygrometer that I got today, so by tonight I'll be able to tell if the conditions are right- before trying a move to smaller terrariums.
-------------------- ...how will humans evolve? What will we become next?
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