110 replies to this topic

[Omega 11]

my foaf set a couple fully colonized pf cakes in a perlite terrarium on the top shelf of his closet. In trying to be stealth, he realized that the indirect sunlight was entering the room at about the same level as the cakes. A week and a half later, he is seeing his mushrooms growing out sideways (parallel to the perlite). Would it be possible for him to adjust the direction, say if he were to place a flourescent above the terrarium and shut the closet door? or is it too late once fruiting has began. He's aware that nature's light source is constantly changing, so he assumes that this will work. Any ideas = appreciated by foaf.

[the_chosen_one]

Should work. Just depends on how far along they are.

[hydrodad]

Yes, Depends how far along they are. And yes, natures light source is always changing, but I noticed when I lived out in the country near fields and woods, that the mushrooms that grew wild only had so much direct light a day along the tree line and it came from a particular direction (due to the trees) and the rest was indirect. They grew straight up.
So I assume that the light your's get now is limited and whether it be indirect or what, it still only comes for a limited time from one direction and is not strong enough to reflect off the closet walls with the door open to provide actual reflected/indirect light from other directions.
So yes, get a flourescent (low wattage) and stick it the closet for future grows and things will be good.
Photo 1: is from an under bed grow with florescent lights aiming from the sides with white reflective poster board attached to the underside of the bed and layed onto floor for reflection.
Photo 2: is a closet grow with the light above the boxes and reflects onto the wall opposite of the boxes when the door is closed.

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[Lazlo]

Hey Hydrodad. Where did you get the Y's and the rest of you're fittings for the tubing? Pet store?

[hydrodad]

The fittings are for "bubble tubing/suction tubing" used in hospitals. But I have found similar fittings at the hardware store (not wally world) in the plumbing section that work just as well, except I have to pay for them at the hardware store :)

[Stenciler]

I'm using a basic aquarium/ 3" perlite combo and fanning when I feel like it. There's a basic flourescent light around 1' - 15" above the perl level, and I've just been leaving it on 24 hours and things seem ok. Is there a reason to give them a dark cycle other than saving energy? They're not phototrophic organisms, and from what I've read the more intense the light, the better the pinset.
Do they grow faster or better in the dark? If so, it seems that full light (though slowing growth a little) would still yield a more structured shroom. So far they're definitely more manageable and upright with a 24 hour light source to grow toward.
So I'm curious... what's the science behind the 12-16 hour ideal?

[python]

They're not phototrophic organisms

no, but they are phototropic....which means that they grow in response to light and do mot need the energy of the the sun/light to grow such as photosynthetic plants.....

light scedule matters little.....but in my case i prefr to mimic the outdoors as thats where they would naturally grow.....so i give them a night and a day........(and it saves energy too)

peace.......

[rocketman]

Snake is exactly right. I have kept shrooms in a closet where the only light coming in was weak and indirect from a nearby bathroom window. They dont need much for growing.

[synth]

whatever works for you. leaving light
24/7 won't hurt them, but it's not
really needed either.

[Felix]

You know you have too much light when the caps start getting lighter.. i planted a cake in a house plant in a north faceing window half the cake was shaded the other was in almost direct sun it was cased with coir/verm.. the shaded side had fruits with noticably darker caps then the highly lighted side..

[Stenciler]

interesting...I had no idea that coloration was a signifigant signal. Mine are defnitely a bit light, I suppose a dark cycle would be nice for them. Thanks all...

[surfanarchist]

Hey all,
I know, again with the questions? Thanks, everyone here has been so cool.
Anyway, my FC is an opaque plastic bin which gets a butt-ton (that's a metric term) of condensation on it. It's clear enough that I can see into the bin to read my thermometer/hygrometer when the condensation is poured off, otherwise I can't make out anything but shapes. The whole thing sits in front of a window which gets good indirect sunlight. Is that allowing enough light for pinning?

Thanks all.

[surfanarchist]

Thanks!

[Hippie3]

gets a butt-ton (that's a metric term) of condensation

:lol:

[Antranik]

Hey guys. The only light my terrarium gets is when I open it for a couple minutes to fan it 2-4 times a day. It's either indirect sunlight coming into the room or just some incandescent bulbs at night. Will this be enough light to trigger pinning? Has anyone had success doing this? Do I need to take it out specifically to get more bright (indirect) sunlight?

[hogwild]

Fact: it takes only a few seconds of light to initiate pinning. Indirect sunlight works best. Red bulbs will not initiate pinning. Your cakes will fruit fine w/ just a tad of light to initiate pinning and let the mushrooms know which way is up. Peace