94 replies to this topic

[Kraven]

Pouring 40 trays of MEA right now, for next week while I'm recouping from surgery I can continue my agar work

[coorsmikey]

Good luck and healing vibes to you Brother with your upcoming surgery!

[Kraven]

Thanks CM, the thoughts are well received and appreciated.

[CatsAndBats]

Thanks CM, the thoughts are well received and appreciated.

 

I do discounted surgery for VIP members. #justsaying        ;)

[CatsAndBats]

I dont care if its off topic, I want to post in CandB's thread. 

 

 

The way I do agar now..... CandB's Black Cat MEA agar.

 

 

 

 

CandBs Black cat plates.jpg

 

Awwwwww, shucks. <3 ya man!

[PsyBearknot]

What temp or PSI?

Edited by PsyBearknot, 11 July 2018 - 01:58 PM.

[creativeinfinity]

 

Hey Cat, do you know if your agar produces better results than plain old dog (or cat) food agar?

 

Let's be clear, agar is an open ended tool that one can use however one sees fit, adjusting to one's style/goals. My style is to do large runs, let's call it "agar carpet bombing".  I play a numbers game and use all my extras as inoculant for quart jars, as I'm isolating out desired genetics and a true mono culture/s at the same time. I switch up my nutrition to keep the myc interested and because I like fucking around with recipes.

 

As seen here:

 

https://mycotopia.ne...r-30/?p=1358542

 

And gave me the experience to answer this with confidence:

 

https://mycotopia.ne...r-30/?p=1358111

 

Dog food agar was my first successful agar recipe and I never looked back. I am of the opinion that every agar enthusiast should have 2-3 go to agar recipes. None of mine are better, but they serve a purpose (usually )!

 

 

Beautiful!

 

Hi Cat and Frog,

I wanted to avoid spamming so I addressed this post to both of you, I got recommendation to check this thread after making post about agar. I have access to agar powder with no problems, but I can only get maltosis (which is described as fruit extract) instant potatoes are mostly available only with nasty additives. I would love to make some universal agar both for gourments and cubes and pans, can you guys please help with some substitute for that Mea/pea or good recipe? are catattives enhancing the recipe? does they shorten the lifespan of agar plate?   I would highly appreciate your help , have a beautiful weeekend

[peacefrog]

Do you have a brewery store near by? You can find dextrose there. It may be labeled as “corn sugar”.

Here is a link to an old thread of mine that explains some easy agar recipes:
https://mycotopia.ne...le-and-recipes/

And a link to how I make poo water agar for copes/pans:
https://mycotopia.ne...re-agar-recipe/

Perhaps this will help some?

Edited by peacefrog, 22 July 2018 - 06:52 AM.

[creativeinfinity]

can I use powdered agar + maltose ? If yes in what  weight ratio please? I also got some batches of D-glucose is that usable with powdered agar? Thank you

[ShroomyTravellerFromAfar]

CatsandBats :) Thanks i modded your agar recipe on your first page it looks good.  LME power or ME (too much sugar and is darkish like maple colour - 49g/100g sugar)

 

Your substrate jar is that 1L size?

 

MaltExtract - in liquid form

https://www.woolwort...rs-malt-extract

 

Light Malt Extract ( $ 2 cheaper) powder

https://www.bigw.com...-500g/p/730390/

[CatsAndBats]

can I use powdered agar + maltose ? If yes in what  weight ratio please? I also got some batches of D-glucose is that usable with powdered agar? Thank you

 

 

CatsandBats :) Thanks i modded your agar recipe on your first page it looks good.  LME power or ME (too much sugar and is darkish like maple colour - 49g/100g sugar)

 

Your substrate jar is that 1L size?

 

MaltExtract - in liquid form

https://www.woolwort...rs-malt-extract

 

Light Malt Extract ( $ 2 cheaper) powder

https://www.bigw.com...-500g/p/730390/

 

Those jars are 1/2 pints:

 

https://www.walmart....t-12pk/43184792

 

I typically do 10g nutrition, 10g agar to 500ml as my basic starting recipe.

 

I'd watch using liquid nutrition as it can throw off the density of the cooked agar and it might come out too soft, like jelly or worse, agar soup. I actually dug around and found a method for converting syrup to sugars when Hyphae said he has tons of maple syrup:

 

https://mycotopia.ne...r-30/?p=1358111

 

Personally, I avoid liquid nutrition and just find powdered/pulverized/crystalline nutrition, it's way more consistent and easier to measure IME. One can score dextrose powder and malt at brewing supply stores. One can find potato flakes at the grocery store for like $2-4, I'm still on my first box. I mean you could use powdered bugs, anything really.

 

The whole point of this thread is to make agar as easy and as accessible as possible. You're both definitely on the right track IMHO.

Edited by CatsAndBats, 29 July 2018 - 09:48 PM.

[ShroomyTravellerFromAfar]

Thanks CatsandBats,

 

I saw some videos of liquid nutrition and it looked dark the malt extract, and took forever to drip into the bottle of agar poweder

 

I will go the light malt extract powder or look for potato flakes since they are cheap, and some sawdust, since they are wood lover the P.Subs

[Jrotten]

Question regarding no pour. Do you set the jars aside after they are cooled for any length of time to see if they are clean? I’m worried I had the lids on too loose. I have single piece metal lids on 4oz jars. Once I was down to ambient pressure I opened up the PC, tightened the lids, then put them back in the PC with the still hot water for slow cool down.

My concern is that the lids may have been too loose and I contaminates them in the time it took to tighten them... or am I probably just being a worry weiner?

Just realized I bumped a really old thread. Apologies.

Edited by Jrotten, 10 February 2020 - 04:36 PM.

[macgyver]

Question regarding no pour. Do you set the jars aside after they are cooled for any length of time to see if they are clean? I’m worried I had the lids on too loose. I have single piece metal lids on 4oz jars. Once I was down to ambient pressure I opened up the PC, tightened the lids, then put them back in the PC with the still hot water for slow cool down.

My concern is that the lids may have been too loose and I contaminates them in the time it took to tighten them... or am I probably just being a worry weiner?

Just realized I bumped a really old thread. Apologies.

It's always nice to have peace of mind with stuff like this, if you have the patience to wait to see if anything grows or not for 5-10 days then it won't hurt anything!

[CatsAndBats]

Attention, all no pour agar enthusiasts. I recently learned the term "fingertip tight", it's canner community lingo. It's when one tightens a jar using only one's fingertips. It's the sweet spot between too tight or too loose. This assumes one is using a silicone ring and plastic lids, which IMHO one should be using for all jars anyway.