Uncle bens, why does this continue? Why are people such ardent supporters?
It's a mush cult mystery without a reasonable answer.
Maybe I'll just lock every new UB thread goimg forward 
This is some of my recent contributions to other UB threads. Have fun reading.
Every new grower equates any result with success. "I grew mushrooms, therefore x technique works", appears to be the sentiment. I would like to think that a simple, logical, reasonable explanation as to why this technique is less than desirable would be sufficient, so here it goes:
Grain packets inoculated with contaminated spore solution, filtered by micropore tape covering a hole opened by non-sterile scissors or blade, may in fact result in mushrooms; however, the gods of probably dictate that:
Quote:
You may reasonably expect a man to walk a tightrope safely for ten minutes; it would be unreasonable to do so without accident for two hundred years.
Volume will reveal flaws in any technique, or inoculum. Uncle Ben's "tek" was designed by and employed by people who do not understand the basic principles which have been handed down to us by the wider scientific disciplines of microbiology, bacteriology, and mycology.
Uncle Ben's tek is the bacteriologists equivalent of inoculating agar with spit, then streaking with an isopropyl soaked fingertip to streak for species identification.
This is why the wider world of commercial mushroom farming sees us like this:
 
Even if Uncle Ben's pouches were immaculately sterile, spore solution isn't. Spore syringes are not sterile, although some are admittedly cleaner than others. Even if you inoculated an UB pouch with clean LC or an agar wedge without having first cross contaminated the bag while opening it, you're still left with a bag filtered by micropore tape.
It can work, but why would you bother? Let's remember that this "tek" is used to produce spawn, unlike PF tek. Contaminated spawn becomes exponentially worse when introduced to bulk substrate, bacteria and mold love warm humid environments.
PF tek on the otherhand is designed for septic spore solution, it's designed with failure in mind. The nature of the PF recipe/tek is to fruit directly from the inoculated substrate, the granular rice flour keeps bacteria locked in place, allowing for the possibility of a small flush even when contaminated.
New cultivators do not appreciate the sheer simplistic genius of the PF tek. PF tek can be inoculated without a SAB or any consideration for aseptic technique, or previous experience.
PF tek doesn't require a pressure cooker; PF tek is inexpensive; PF tek is noob friendly; PF tek is designed for use with spore syringes; PF tek is designed to be run cheaply in volume, and is the only acceptable, reasonable introduction tek for new growers exploring the cultivation of many active species without the requirement for obtaining expensive equipment.
PF tek is the only appropriate entry level tek. There is no comparison, there's no contention, there's no competition.
Uncle bens fails on every single point of analysis; Failing to see this is either the result of incompetence, or intellectual dishonesty, probably both simultaneously, unless you're a freshly minted cultivator.
Rice packs = spawn, spawn is at least an intermediate level cultivation practice. The use of spawn is by definition more advanced than fruiting from PF jars, therefore PF is far less complicated, and far more noob friendly. Failure will be higher with UB when compared to PF, making PF the obvious choice for folks who want a hassle free, simplistic, inexpensive introduction to mush cult that produces results.
If producing your own BRF with a coffee grinder is too much of a pita, pre-milled brown rice flour is widely available and very inexpensive. Hydrated brown rice flour mixed with vermiculite is the superior comparative media.
Rice packs produce a high rate of failure, largely due to the use of septic spore solution being introduced to a moist environment. Spawn is inevitably mixed/disturbed at some point, whether it's directly after inoculation, during spawn run, or just prior to spawning.
Bacteria has limited motility without the presence of sufficient moisture, or when i when agitation/shaking has been removed from the process. Using too much spore solution will exacerbate bacterial infections due to increased bacterial motility throughout the medium; however, even when a single drop of MS-solution is used, the agitation of the rice prior to spawning blends the bacteria (or any other contaminant) globally throughout the packet, and then homogeneously throughout the bulk substrate at spawning. Bulk substrate is a water reservoir, contaminants love moist environments.
It's worth mentioning that any disruption of the mycelial colony via breakage will weaken the organisms ability to stave off infections, this is why spawn will stall post shake: stalling = contamination which has taken advantage of the weakened host. This also applies to the bulk substrate post spawning. Infected spawn will grow slowly, produce metabolites, Trichoderma, molds, and aggressive bacterial blooms.
It's at this stage when the new grower must decide which tubs to purchase, what hole configuration, what brand of coir to use, how much water is required, if pasteurization is required, etc, up to and including never ending threads asking the same questions ad nauseum. This is when I say: have you ever heard of PF tek?
UB produces failure on a biblical scale. Loss should be factored into any pricing analysis, failure means: more spore solution, more packets, time wasted, etc.
PF Tek, on the otherhand is not spawn, it's a type of "all in one" fruiting substrate. The entire life cycle is played out in one sterile container. The design prevents cross contamination, provides adequate filtration; The substrate remains intact throughout, limiting the scope of inevitable infections by removing agitationof the substrate.
By maintaining the integrity of your media your colony will have a greater chance of producing fruit even when threatened by aggressive bacteria, this is simply not the case with UB. The granular structure of the BRF/vermiculite combo further restricts bacterial motility.
You don't know what you don't know. This is basic and self evident to anyone with an understanding of cultivation practices, the mushroom life cycle, and a basic understanding of contamination.
PF requires a pot, water, brown rice flour, and vermiculite. The one time purchase of jars is just that, one time. These jars can be truly sterilized, can be reused hundreds of times, they're capable of maintaining sterility, and are nearly fool proof.
New growers lack the requisite experience to identify problems with spawn. Spore solution to spawn will produce contamination, the same contamination will present itself in pf jars. UB packs restrict visibility, which makes identifying contamination difficult unless absolutely obvious, Trichoderma or some other mold would be an obvious indicator to some, while others confuce with bluing.
Contamination identification is an intermediate to advanced level cultivation skill. Even when bacterial, yeast, or mold contaminations are apparent to more advanced growers, the noob will ague as though their personal identity has been violated, then proceed to expand their rekt spawn.
PF is designed to allow maximum visibility when injecting spore solution down the face of your glass jars. This visibility allows the new grower to correlate outcome with growth patterns. They quickly learn which visual identifiers correlate to either outright failure or reduced fruiting performance without sacrificing downstream resources.
No shaking, no spawning, no requirement for ninja eyes. Even a highly infected cake can push a fruit or two.
Uncle bens is a spawn production tek that at it's core is essentially a contamination expansion tek.
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