48 replies to this topic

[waylitjim]

This thread was created to take some of the mystery out of growing woodlovers. The process is highly enjoyable and with a little patience, so are the fruits of your labor. The methods demonstrated here can be applied to Psilocybe cyanescens, P. azurescens, P. subaeruginosa and other temperate and tropical woodloving species.

This thread contains four main sections:

I. Building Spawn using Grains

II. Creating an Outdoor Bed

III. Making a Woodlover Liquid Culture

IV. Creating a Fruiting Substrate without Grains

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Part I ~ Building wood chip spawn using grains.

Supplies needed:

-A tub lined with corrugated cardboard.

-Hardwood chips, I'm using alder, but most hardwoods will work. To prepare the wood chips, soak them overnite in bleach water (1.25 tbsp bleach per gallon.) They do not need to be pasteurized or sterilized.

-4 jars of spawn. I used the standard PF Tek recipe. (But other grains can also be used.)

http://mycotopia.net...53&d=1137464906

http://mycotopia.net...54&d=1137464906

http://mycotopia.net...55&d=1137464906

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[waylitjim]

Add a 2 inch layer of soaked alder chips ontop of the cardboard and spread them out evenly.
http://mycotopia.net...56&d=1137465111

Crumble 1 of you BRF jars inside a ziplock bag.
http://mycotopia.net...57&d=1137465111

Spread this spawn evenly across the wood chips.
http://mycotopia.net...58&d=1137465111

Add a second layer of wood chips covering the BRF.
http://mycotopia.net...59&d=1137465111

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[waylitjim]

For the middle layer, I use 2 BRF cakes.
http://mycotopia.net...60&d=1137465237

Crumble the cakes and spread em' evenly across the wood chips.
http://mycotopia.net...61&d=1137465237

Cover with a fresh layer of chips.

http://mycotopia.net...62&d=1137465237

http://mycotopia.net...63&d=1137465237

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[waylitjim]

Take your last jar of spawn and mix it in with the top layer of wood chips.

http://mycotopia.net...64&d=1137465351

http://mycotopia.net...65&d=1137465351

Cover the tub with aluminum foil and poke a few holes for air exchange.

http://mycotopia.net...66&d=1137465351
Set your tub aside to colonize for the next couple months.
http://mycotopia.net...67&d=1137465351

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[waylitjim]

One week later you should see some new growth. The mycelium will spread out and colonize the entire tub of chips. Once this spawn is mixed with your outdoor garden, the growth will be explosive. Following this method you can make many tubs and many gardens.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1137465701

http://mycotopia.net...69&d=1137465452

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[waylitjim]

Part II ~ Creating an Outdoor Bed

While your wood chip spawn is colonizing, it's time to create your outdoor bed.

1. Buy some bulk alder chips.

http://mycotopia.net...72&d=1137466738

2. Soak them over night in large tubs to achieve proper hydration.

http://mycotopia.net...71&d=1137466738

3. Choose a shady spot in a safe location and lay down cardboard cut to the shape of your plot.

4. Cover the cardboard with a fresh layer of soaked alder chips.

http://mycotopia.net...73&d=1137466738

5. Grab one of your fully colonized tubs and dump it out. Spread out the colonized chips and mix in some nice organic soil. Add another layer of freshly soaked chips.

http://mycotopia.net...70&d=1137466738

What you're trying to do is layer wood chips/soil, spawn, wood chips/soil, spawn, untill your bed is 6 inches deep. It's helpful to build a wooden frame around the bed.

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[waylitjim]

Organic soil is mixed in with each layer of fresh wood chips. The soil is an important part of fruiting azurescens and cyanescens. The mycelium needs the microbial activity to form healthy mushooms.

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[waylitjim]

Un-pasteurized shredded straw was also mixed in with the chips, soil and spawn. The straw helps to retain moisture and keep the bed aerated. We're almost done!

http://mycotopia.net...77&d=1137467284

http://mycotopia.net...78&d=1137467284

http://mycotopia.net...79&d=1137467284

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[waylitjim]

For a finishing touch, rhododendrons were planted.

The rhododendrons will provide some shade and give the garden a "normal" look. ;)

http://mycotopia.net...80&d=1137467443

http://mycotopia.net...81&d=1137467443

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[waylitjim]

This is how I make my woodlover liquid cultures. The process starts with soaking hardwood chips in water over nite. The water absorbs nutrients from the wood chips which makes an excellent broth. The tea is poured thru a coffee filter to strain out any small particles, in this case hickory chips were used. 250 ml of hickory tea was added to the baby bottle and 1 tsp of Karo was added. Here's some of the supplies.

http://mycotopia.net...20&d=1152573545

I used a baby bottle for the LC. The top is snipped off, and the nozzle is stuffed with polyfill.

http://mycotopia.net...22&d=1152573545

The tea is microwaved for 3 minutes. After it cools, an azurescens print is added.
These pics show the growth 48 hrs later.

http://mycotopia.net...23&d=1152573545

http://mycotopia.net...25&d=1152573545

The LC can be used to create your final fruiting substrate.

http://mycotopia.net...30&d=1152574775

If all goes well, we'll have another pretty vase of azures.

http://mycotopia.net...27&d=1152574354

http://mycotopia.net...26&d=1152574354

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[CannAmerican]

Great innovative tek waylit!! I must admit to lurking for some time over your threads, I am just so curious about woodlovers. I've never even eaten any yet! Could you clone an azurescens into that tea? I'm just wondering if it's possible as the stems are so small, I'm not making a request (or am I??) :D

[golly]

Wow ,,,doesn't get simpler than that...So just 3 mins of nuking is enough..?
May have to give 'er a go....

[rockawayrooms]

"WOW"what a KILLER of a thread,
you never cease to amaze Jim.:)
Looks like i am going to have to give
this a try real soon:D

[shobimono]

How do you microwave an lc for 3 mins without it boiling over?
My microwave seems to boil lc way earlier than that. Even stopping it, swirling the liquid, and restarting it will still boil over.

[llamabox]

Have you tried this with other wood lovers as well?
Say the Ps. caerulipes.....

[waylitjim]

Could you clone an azurescens into that tea?

You can definitely clone fruits in a LC. This is a nutrient rich solution, so spores and tissue will grow out very fast. Prime sites for tissue extraction are the thick tissue at the base of the stem, and the fleshy tissue inside the cap above the gills. Tear the cap or the stem in half (not cutting, the blade can be a vector for contamination) and a small piece of inner tissue is carefully extracted (with a flame sterilized blade). Make sure you touch and extract nothing but clean tissue from inside the mushroom. If you use the base of a stem, be sure to extract tissue at least a half inch above the base to avoid contaminated tissue that is in contact with the substrate. The excised tissue is then dunked in a 10% peroxide dilution (10ml 3% diluted with 90ml sterile water), and transferred to the woodchip/ karo tea.

Wow ,,,doesn't get simpler than that...So just 3 mins of nuking is enough..? May have to give 'er a go....

I've played around with varying lengths of time. With my microwave on low, the solution is boiling after 1 minute. So the LC gets 2 minutes of boiling. I've had no contamination problems with this technique. I tried 5 minutes, but it seemed like overkill. The solution would usually boil over after 3 minutes.

[waylitjim]

Have you tried this with other wood lovers as well?
Say the Ps. caerulipes.....

I just finished a LC with Psilocybe subaeruginosa. I'm sure any woodlover would love this brew.

How do you microwave an lc for 3 mins without it boiling over?
My microwave seems to boil lc way earlier than that. Even stopping it, swirling the liquid, and restarting it will still boil over.

I have a slow cook feature on my microwave. It's under the low setting. After 1 minute, it reaches a slow rolling boil. By 3 minutes it's boiling rapidly. I only fill the bottle 3/4 way up so the poly fill doesn't get wet.

[Cybin]

Hey jim how do you normaly prep your wood chips?

...couldnt really find any info :neutral:

[waylitjim]

I soak the chips in water for 24 hrs. or untill they're fully hydrated. Rarely do I pasteurize or sterilize the woodchips. I do add bleach to the soak water to kill off any molds or endospores living on the wood.

[SharkieJones]

Very nice tek Waylit. I'm bookmarking this.