32 replies to this topic

[fahtster]

that theres a pretty mushroom. :) i like em short and fat. nice going on yur first! :)

fahtster

[Boarders]

Final update on first flush - total yield 84g wet. Not bad for a first attempt. I have a feeling she wasn't giving enough water and they dried out a little. She was afraid of causing abhorts if she misted.

There's still a few little pins present on the casing. Should she pluck them now and dunk the tray, or leave them to mature prior to dunking?

My FOAF thanks you guys for your encouragement. It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for 'topia and one of the sponsors.

[Boarders]

Result is 7.2g cracker dry. Man these mushrooms smell awful. I've never eaten cubies and never smelled them until she did this grow. Smell like some stinky cheese! :thumbdown:

[Felix]

Dunk and hope for a plentifull 2nd flush.

[Boarders]

She dunked the casing in tap water, leaving submerged in the fridge for 24 hours, drained the excess, covered with fresh vermiculite and stuck it back in the FC. Pins started to show within a couple of days.

She told me things have been going well, but was away for 36 hours which prevented fanning. The fruits formed irregularly probably due to the excess CO2.

I was sent this picture today, the stems seem dark, woody and slightly translucent. Is this due to the lack of fresh O2 and buildup of CO2? The deficiencies in the casing are where 4 fruits with broken veils have been harvested. The second flush seems a little more plentiful but the fruits are definitely smaller.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1167622748

Attached Thumbnails

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[siam_jim]

yep that will do it. next time make poly fill plugs.

siam

[Elf Salvation]

Nice! What strain is that?

[Boarders]

Siam: there's 14 holes covered with a breathable membrane cover around the box. Surely this breathes as well as polyfil with the added benefit of excluding contaminating microorganisms?

Elf: It's PF Classic

[Hippie3]

polyfil also filters/excludes microbes
nice as being synthetic it, unlike many natural fabrics,
is not food for microbes so it won't itself be a target

nice fat specimens
pf always were thick in the stems,
nice grow.
my only 'pointer' might be to
add some coir to the casing mix next time,
mixed in with the vermiculite
seems to really improve pinset
:bow:

[Boarders]

Thanks for the suggestions Hippie3, I'll pass them onto the one in charge. She basically used 100% vermiculite and no coir etc for ease and to watch the basic maturation of mushrooms. I might add that the vermiculite wasn't pasturized either.

She apparently has another jar that was fully colonized at the same time as the current tray, but it's gone into the fridge for another day.

Second flush was down on first - 4.73g cracker dry.
I guess the low O2, high CO2 dampened the yield significantly.

[Lazlo]

Nice job man! Those are pretty indeed.

Coir works as a casing inoculant and another water source when used mixed with non-nutritious casing materials like vermiculite and peat moss. Or CAC (compost at casing). The coir, compost, exc. works a secondary nutrient source for lagging mycelia that's colonizing up to the top of the casing. It definately helps for sure. This is yet another reason I like to use potting soils for casing.

The original way to do this was called CI (casing inoculant). CI'ing is when a minimal amount of grain spawn was mixed into the casing material prior to being applied. Coir, compost or even a minimal amount of a manure can work in the same manner as a secondary nutrient source to improve pin sets and the speed of casing colonization. See what I mean?

[Jetson]

what are measurements of that tray?
Nice pics :)

[Boarders]

Thanks Laz for all that information. The other reason for forgoing the coir was that she'd read about trich in compressed coir bricks as an aid to its garden use. She wasn't sure if simple pasturization would be enough and didn't want to PC it making it sterile. She new results could be obtained from the non-nutritive verm and ran with it.

Jetson, the tray is small at 6.5" x 3.5" x 1.5".