470 replies to this topic

[Arathu]

New old stuff.....I was sitting here yacking about run capacitors for blowers (cause mine shit itself and I have to buy a replacement) and the neighbor stops over....

 

He knows what I'm doing because I give him sheephead every year (and I told him I'm going to grow them)

 

"I have an old furnace blower in the shed if you want it"..............twist my arm.......

 

Tight bearings, oil cups, runs smooth and quiet, blasts air.....we'll see if she has what it takes.......

 

I see a flow bench for the dungeon coming soon.....gotta get plenum materials now.....

 

And I'm lining up more logs, pines for Reishi and hardwoods for others...........

 

Another weekend at the Dirtmaker's Acre.......

 

A

[Arathu]

Tore the blower down to pieces, cleaned, sanded, repainted, lubricated, and reassembled......

I should have a new run capacitor here and installed tomorrow.........

 

What color you say? I've painted her flat black of course.....all machines and amplifiers should be flat black.....   IMHO

Wiring is installed, I added an outlet for the light and impulse sealer and I need to pick up a power switch tomorrow......

I'll mount a speed selector on the other side under the blower assembly.....

Coming along nicely..........

 

Got logs for Reishi, now.....to get more hardwood too..........

 

Another day at the Dirtmaker's Acre......
Yeah I did a bunch of gardening too....

 

A

[Ferather]

Very nice thread Arathu, sorry I have not commented yet, not that you need me to, been a bit busy.

I see you have got some serious items, that's very nice to see. I wish you good luck.

 

[Arathu]

Thanks Ferather..............

 

My new run capacitor is installed and mounted, wiring is in conduit and work boxes with power outlet and switch............she's up and running...........

 

And it's flat black with artwork.................hahahahaha 

 

Now I can get back to my agar work..........

 

So I want/need an AA-941 pressure canner..........actually two of them...............

 

A

[Heirloom]

This is a real nice thread. I had a pine fall during a storm about a month ago how long should I wait ( log ageing) to try my hand at growing Reishi on logs.

I want another pc too . A lot of tools have multiple use , can cook food, decarb cannabis ( [email protected])..ectI can think of several uses for a magnetic stirrer.

I('m learning so much here , its exciting

[Arathu]

Thanks Heirloom.....since these will be my first log grows I'm not real sure but I have mine standing up on shingles (isolated from the ground) until I get the plug spawn and then I'm nocking them up.

 

The Reishi we're working with for these logs is ganoderma tsugae which grows on the Eastern Hemlock here.......I'm going to try and get them to grow on pine chip blocks too......

 

 

My wife is ordering me one of these....a brand new AA-930...

 

Her and my daughter have given in and now fully accept my chronic terminal mycophilia........

 

Hahahahaha.....I was dreaming about mushrooms again today (back on midnight shift so I sleep while it's light)

 

I'm even going nocturnal....I'll probably wind up looking just like the Greenman.......

 

A

[Heirloom]

That's a beautiful gift the wife & daughter are getting you. I'll look into that Reishi variety. I'm in Iowa hoping they will grow outside for me. I am willing to bring in a few logs to overwinter if needed. I just need to grow my own for quality and to save money.

[Microbe]

l little "conversation" I just had with a "human" at Scotts about Naturescapes.............

You are now chatting with 'Deidra'
Deidra: Hello, how may I help you today?
Arathu: Hello Deidra....can you tell me what wood specie(s) in particular, is/are used in Naturscapes mulch or is it a mix of various types?
Deidra: I will be happy to assist you today.
Deidra: Please allow me one moment.
Deidra: Do you have the product with you to get the barcode?
Arathu: Additionally is this product fully organic? In other words how would I know that it doesn't contain chemical/pesticide residues without going into the laboratory?
Arathu: It's outside hold on a moment..........
Deidra: Okay
Arathu: 0 32247 86594 4 Triple Shred Brown Mulch
Deidra: Thank you
Deidra: One moment.
Arathu: Cool
Deidra: the wood used in our colored mulches is natural forest products that are by-products of the timber industry.
Arathu: So likely a mix of species then?
Arathu: I'd imagine depending upon what they were working on at the time........
Deidra: We do not have any species in our mulch just wood.
Arathu: OK thanks
Deidra: You are welcome. Please contact us at anytime!
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.

Hahahahahahaha.............shut up and take your pills consumer peasant indentured servant worker slob.....................how dare you question the corporation?

Aren't you on the midnight shift for your overlords? Why are you not in optimal rest status? Your performance and efficiency will suffer as a result of ........ gasp......THINKING........

I'm hoping this was a machine and not a human with a college degree.................

The Matrix is alive and well Morpheus.............

A

Oh wow! Wood of a non species?!!! Lmao!

Being in the business for 15 years that was a authorized seller of Scotts Naturescapes mulch and had a good vendor partner relationship, the product is mixed of various species. The mulch is organic and not treated with fungicides, herbicides, or insecticides. The dye used is natural pigments mind from the earth. Now im sure there is some proprietary information so we dont get the whole story but im certain it is a 100% organic product. At the end of the day it is a byproduct of a devastating destruction; destroying our forests. Scotts is the hunter that comes upon a fresh deer carcass that has been stripped of its antlers leaving the rest to rot and after field dressing it, takes it home cuts, wraps, and packs.

Nice thread by the way! I havent made it through it all the way but i like it so far!

[Arathu]

I remember when waylitjim started using it for growing woodlovers and some of the crap people tried to give him about it. He said that he talked to them about what was in it...........He too reported it's 100% organic......

 

Having poked my nose into more than one bag of the stuff, actually many more than one, I have found no reason to doubt it. I wanted to know if they had an idea of the tree species.......

 

Obviously for their purposes, making money from ground mulch, it's not important...............so assuredly it is a mix of whatever has been industrially removed and ground from where ever the cutting is happening.....

 

As I progress I'm going to try and line up wood chips and sawdust from the local mills and tree trimmers.....like anything else the more personal relationship one develops with people the more honesty one can expect......(in fact I demand it)

 

So when I want hardwood for a project that's what I'll get and etc...... etc...... also I'm going to be growing something for consumption so I will KNOW what it's growing from and where that came from as well........

 

Our world is prime for a return to transparency, honesty, and the absolute highest quality possible................the alternative is just a world of SHITE..........IMHO....and I'm tired of it......

 

Thanks for stopping in Microbe.............you're definitely welcome here at The Dirtmaker's Acre.............    

[Microbe]

got my first 100 filter patch bags delivered and a nice new impulse sealer too.......

Impulse sealer is a good tool to have around but i dont even use mine anymore for spawn bags. I was impulse sealing the .5 micron filter patch bags and out of every 20 or so i would have 1 or 2 break open in the lower corner. I thought they were touching the sides of the pc and melting so i was wrapping not only tyvek around my bags but hand towels also. But it still happend on occasion. What i finally realized is when you seal these, you need to pack the bags as tight as possible or there will be expansion. .5 and 5 micron filter patch bags can be impulse sealed before sterilizing. I have never used the .2 micron so i cant speak to that.

Anyway besides that^, when i impulse sealed my bags, it would take days to inflate so i can inoculate with a glc. So what i started doing was cutting them open, inoculating then impulse sealing back all in front of my flowhood. After a few projects i hated this process and now use releasable cable ties. I twist the bag at the top then fold it over once and clamp it down. Much quicker and it is one less thing you will have in your flow hood or my the looks of that blower you have, a flow room!

So i now just roll my bags up and then roll them up in tyvek and i havent had a bag burst at the lower corner since. I do use my impulse sealer for my substrate bags though. I use vaccum chamber bags and they work great and hold 4 quarts of substrate that is individually measured out and packed. The pic below is one i had in the freezer.

Im do for a grow log with updated processes and methods. I think my last grow log i was still using no tilt jar lids.

You mentioned first filter patch bags, do you have a idea of how your going to work with them?


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Edited by Microbe, 05 June 2017 - 03:55 PM.

[Arathu]

Awesome! I'm intending on starting out with the process (agar plates -> grain jars -> enriched sawdust/wood chip)

 

So agar on plates for germination/initial culture expansion, then grain in quart jars for the spawn run(s) and then into enriched sawdust/wood chip in the bags for fruiting..........

 

I'm sure that things will change as I go forward and develop my processes and I have intent to get a liquid inoculation process going.............

 

My primary focus is to get up and running and then get the Maitake grows going.........I have (as Needles calls it and I agree hahahaha) a dungeon for a basement........

 

The foundation is river stone wall from 1898 with dirt floor, the house is 2 X 16 oak plank balloon framed, it's petrified........it scares the shit out of people and literally looks like a dungeon down there......yes I feed Igor well...he's actually cool.... just misunderstood and he LOVES mushrooms...........

 

I will be able to fruit cool/cold temperature gourmet mushrooms almost year round but certainly through the winter months when others will NOT (unless of course they have what I do)......... 

 

I'm hoping to wind up with a new career or at least a nice side venture and just as importantly another food source for my family, friends, and myself...........

 

A

Edited by Arathu, 05 June 2017 - 06:24 PM.

[Arathu]

The Dirtmaker Scores Again.........

 

Check these goodies out.......

 

The old fella that caught me dumpster diving set "junk" out for me.........this is from an engineering group R&D department so I'll bet this stuff comes from tax deductible projects..........

 

Even the trays are of value to me...I got three of them.....

There are ball valves, pressure switches, DAQ's, D2A units, relay racks, various kinds of heaters, temperature activated switches, pressure gauges, vacuum gauges, SCR's, another ASCO Red Hat,

 

HOLY SHIT!

 

Regulators, filters, and on and on.........industrial control heaven......I'm in geekdom nirvana

 

I'm going to have to save some clams and get a couple nice PLC's or even just build a couple of Linux based control systems...........

 

What a SCORE! I absolutely cannot reveal my source for this one...........

 

Some things have to remain secret......

 

 

A

 

[Microbe]

Your processes will change in time as at the end of the day its about efficiency and return on investment. That is the method i use but with a added step, agar>grain masters>glc to secondary masters>g2g to working spawn>substrate.

I have changed my processes so many times and my wife hates it. For me when i change, its usually another investment such as using bags, i needed a larger flow hood for example.

Being able to grow year round will give you advantage in the market if others are not. I believe in my state there is only 1 mushroom farm and they are seasonal. They grow everything off the land and outdoors. I have contemplated for years now about starting a small scale farm and still may. I will build a facility with climate controls so i can grow year round but still stay seasonally correct if that makes sense. I wont be growing Phoenix Oysters for example in November even though i will have the capability.

Good luck on your new adventure !

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[Needles]

Nice score A, is that another red hat solenoid actuated valve? is that gauge reading inches of mercury? Nice score indeed..

[Arathu]

 

Oh yeah...another ASCO Red-Hat solenoid valve, an oil filled pressure gauge, and oil filled vacuum gauge, a nice little relay board and a USB DAQ in this picture...

 

All quite useful to the automation geek..........

 

Yes I'm absolutely sure that my processes are just in the conceptual stages and will certainly change as I learn and develop....

 

I'm praying that this (or another) new job comes through that stabilizes my schedule and allows me to divert funding to building this venture........

 

It is my intent to have a go at becoming my own boss doing something I love......

 

 

These tiny little PLC's are cool too (I bought this one myself) from Triangle Research International.....this is an older unit but it still works well....

 

Almost all of the stuff I got is used, apparently gently, but still I couldn't afford or justify at this point buying it using the family budget.....

 

Then again maybe I specialize in helping to add more automation to the mushroom industry......and also grow mushrooms...time will tell.....

 

I NEED a welder, and a 1965 Harley Panhead........hahahahaha..........

 

I don't want much.........

 

A

[Arathu]

 

I made my first plastic wide-mouth filter lids......we'll see how they work shortly.......shit I'm still working midnight's even when I'm off...........it's a sickness.......

 

Grain spawn growing soon......hopefully......

 

A

Edited by Arathu, 07 June 2017 - 03:11 AM.

[Heirloom]

Nice find people and corporations throw away so much stuff My brother does a lot of diving and told me he has some lab glass ware for me.I like to watch and learn but I don't think I will ever need to automation that you do.

I stayed up working too late myself, once I start I don't want to stop until I'm finished. I'm waiting on my injection ports to arrive to drill my plastic wide mouth lids. I am having trouble deciding on what to grow next lions mane or ?

[Arathu]

One certainly does not need all of this stuff, especially if shopping in the catalogs vs dumpster diving....

 

In fact none, well very little anyway, of this would be here except for the dumpster diving and great luck (which usually means insider knowledge ) .......

 

The more complex systems are the more that can and will go wrong......... it's about needs and I'm sure efficiency...............

 

Still I know from experience the more stable I keep the environment, the more hands off I become, the better my mushrooms tend to grow.......... 

 

A

Edited by Arathu, 07 June 2017 - 10:34 AM.

[Arathu]

 

So initially I'm going to begin fruiting blocks in this little set up right here.........

 

I have a bit more work to do to it but essentially this is my start.......I have another one just like it as well and room (after a little cleaning) to expand

 

 

And I know Needles wanted to see this so......it's approaching 90F outside......

 

This is pretty much a constant in the dungeon (it will creep up some as relentless heat stretches into the night time but not too much)

 

Winter holds solid in the mid 50's.........I think g. frondosa and other edibles are going to LOVE it.......

 

[Arathu]

 

My new AA-930 PC......for my birthday! Hell yeah!

 

This thing is a beast....seems like a very high quality pressure canner........holds 14 quart jars at a time.....

 

Awesome!

 

A