148 replies to this topic

[Jinroh]

I typically use a much higher spawn to sub ratio. More like 1 part spawn to 2 parts sub just because it is faster and the faster you get full colonization the lower the risk of contamination (IMHO).

Since your container is outdoors, it very well could be a sub moisture issue although being outdoors FAE seems like it would be as good as it gets? Has it been dry in your area lately or are you getting sufficient rain? It does not take much to change humidity outdoors and it changes constantly which mushrooms do not like. That and insects are the reasons why I grow indoors. You have very little control over the growing environment outdoors unless you use a greenhouse.

 

I am up in the air as far as casing goes. I am trying casing for the first time right now and so far I can say it definitely helps with sub moisture retention and deterring contamination. I think it also has to do with what your current species likes as well.

 

This is all just my opinion though, I am no expert.

[Spunk]

I dont have better pics. And i didnt take one with small shrooms. As xou see i can menage some air humidity with spraying. Tray was overcrowded, and the mushrooms deformed, some connected and became one body. The pain in the ass was to harvest them and it was impossible to do it properly. And under the ripe mushrooms there were already new little ones and a lot more pins. But they matured before they get full size. Hundreds of them. It was even more problematic to pick them. And I don’t need them. I allready have enough… So I took the fork and slowly removed them along with the casing layer and soaked the substrate. I’m not sure if I should do it, but I’ll know better for next time. It is probably the water content. Too wet to stop forming pins and shrooms and too dry to develop normally. Next time I will try to dunk before the first fruiting.
Maybe is all that i sax and do is wrong, but im learning

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[Jinroh]

I dont have better pics. And i didnt take one with small shrooms. As xou see i can menage some air humidity with spraying. Tray was overcrowded, and the mushrooms deformed, some connected and became one body. The pain in the ass was to harvest them and it was impossible to do it properly. And under the ripe mushrooms there were already new little ones and a lot more pins. But they matured before they get full size. Hundreds of them. It was even more problematic to pick them. And I don’t need them. I allready have enough… So I took the fork and slowly removed them along with the casing layer and soaked the substrate. I’m not sure if I should do it, but I’ll know better for next time. It is probably the water content. Too wet to stop forming pins and shrooms and too dry to develop normally. Next time I will try to dunk before the first fruiting.
Maybe is all that i sax and do is wrong, but im learning

Now that I see how deep that pot is, FAE could be part of the problem. C02 is heavier than oxygen and as you know mushrooms create a lot of C02 as they fruit which if not vented settles down on top of the substrate surface and suffocates the fruit. You need a way to ensure the C02 has a way to get out of the container allowing fresh oxygen in. If you really like using that container, I recommend drilling some 1/4" holes equally spaced every 2 inches or so around the pot just above the substrate surface. This will allow the C02 to flow out and allow fresh oxygen to replace the C02 continuously. Just my opinion but that looks like an FAE limitation with the container.
 

[Spunk]

Thanks man
Should i drill it now when substrate is divided from tray about 1/2 inch?
There is drainage holes on bottom and 2 inch of drainage gravel under substrate.

[Jinroh]

If you mean 1/2" above the surface of the substrate then yes, that sounds about right.

[Spunk]

My english is not quite good
After first flush, substrate shrinked and separated from pot side. So there is 1/2 inch space betwen vertical side of substrate and side of pot. There are drainage holes and drainage gravel on bottom of pot. Would that be sufficient for CO2/air exchange?
Here is photo. Im sure that picture speak english better than me.


I have another pot. It starts producing pins. I drilled holes like you said. The distance between the drilled holes is greater than the one you sugested. I will post progress here

Edited by Spunk, 11 June 2020 - 03:07 AM.

[Jinroh]

Typically the cake should be soaked for 24 hours between flushes. Since you have drainage holes you will need to find a way to block them so you can fill the pot with water and soak the substrate for 24 hours which replenishes the lost moisture from the first flush. Then you will need to drain the water. Since the drainage holes in the pot are on the bottom that won't give the fruits the FAE they require.

 

I also recommend starting a new topic. More people will see your posts and provide input. This thread is very large at this point and posts can get lost easily. I have never cultivated mushrooms in pots like yours, but I am sure other members have and can provide better information than myself.

Edited by Jinroh, 11 June 2020 - 10:23 AM.

[Spunk]

Thanks again.
I'll start a new thread tomorrow. I haven’t actually seen this type of cultivation anywhere. Not because it doesn’t exist, but because I haven’t searched much about cultivation. I made two identical pots in parallel. Mexican and B + akm. The difference is already interesting

[DarkPassenger]

Awesome work Streetside. A one stop guide for beginners. Used it today for my second PF Tek grow. Cheers!

DP

[DarkPassenger]

Meant Sidestreet!

[happytimes]

Hey folks! For the last month or so, I've been on the boards a little bit but mostly what I've been doing with my computer time is this:





It's an up-to-date, all-in-one primer for new growers. It includes a complete PF-tek writeup as well as very basic teks for drying, storage, dosing, recipes, printing, spore water, and cloning.


Help yourself: MAGIC FOR THE MASSES.pdf

[happytimes]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for taking the time to put it together!!

[shiftingshadows]

the pf tek 5th edition, copyrighted in 2000, on page 10, says  'boil [jars with substrate]  for an hour in a tightly covered pot'...

 

the time for pressure canners also seems short:

 

1/2 pint jars - 12 psi for 20 minutes

water bottles - 12 psi for 55 min

syringes and needles - 12 psi for 10 minutes

[Micogi]

Fantastic guide! I only wish I did things a little more like most folk...

 

I did get some good info though, but left with a drying question. Shortly after I started this venture I came across a lightly used horizontal flow dehydrator at a great price so jumped on it.

The tek says after fan drying to use chemicals to achieve cracker dryness, but will a dehydrator get them cracker dry on its own?

 

Also, for spore prints, do you need to do that many, or can you just do one or two caps? Not sure if it's to better odds of getting good spores, or just to have numerous prints.

Edited by Micogi, 03 November 2021 - 11:27 PM.

[rockyfungus]

Dehydrator works fine. Lots of people use silica desiccant packs to keep 'em dry in jars.

 

1-2 caps will yield and endless amount of spores for syringes, agar, etc. 

[shiftingshadows]

As regards drying, where you are (Louisiana is very different from New Mexico, for example) in terms of the humidity and temperatures and how long you intend to store them, are also factors to consider. Vacuum packing (with for example a food saver and storing in a freezer may also be options). If you want a desiccant, DampRid is available at Homedepot, and silica gel from amazon.

[Defacto]

Thank you Sidestreet!             

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

Newbie bump

 

This guide is a great set of info for anyone wanting to get started. Read it, then read it again, and then read it a third time and it will really sink in. Print it off and read it in the bathroom if thats your thing. Great little guide containing all the info a person needs to get their feet more than wet in the hobby

[Sidestreet]

Thanks Rooster

 

It's just one rudimentary way of doing things, but I intended it to be stand-alone, so that someone brand new to the hobby could get started with no other written resource--of course it doesn't replace our Topia community!

[Micogi]

Newbie bump

 

This guide is a great set of info for anyone wanting to get started. Read it, then read it again, and then read it a third time and it will really sink in. Print it off and read it in the bathroom if thats your thing. Great little guide containing all the info a person needs to get their feet more than wet in the hobby

 

What a bump, it's top of the list! Ha, you know it's pinned right, so it never drops out of position lol

 

100% agree, depsite not following the method, I still like looking to it as a reference. Very informational from top to bottom.