27 replies to this topic

[Barn]

Hey People,

This is my first post here and I hope you guys can help me out,
I'm just about to relocate from Vancouver to Toronto or Hamilton.

Here in Vancouver, I can get Alder really easy from Blueberry farmers, I just give them a few bucks and they let me take as much sawdust as I want.

I was wondering if any of you guys had ideas for a reliable source of good quality Alder Sawdust in the Toronto area. I don't mind driving a bit to get good stuff.

I've tried some googling and I'm not really getting the information I'm looking for. If someone can point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks guys,

Barn.

[Hippie3]

you got craigslist in canada ?

[hyphaenation]

Any fishing supply store or most hardware stores carry hardwood chips such as maple, alder, oak & hickory. They are used for smoking fish.

[vitae1234]

This thread should help ya oot a bit...

Where Can I Buy Hardwood CHUNKS for my Smoker? - Ontario (including Toronto) - Chowhound

Also, Hamilton is the armpit of Canada, stick with Toronto :)

[parmato]

I am the beginer in mushroom cultivation. I 'll start with making of sawdust base subtrate for oyster mushroom. Anyone can tell the right composition of the substrate that meet the optimal result in yield. I found various ratio of yield ( from 40% - 80% of subtrate weight) through any resource. What factor that make the difference?

[bear]

In my opinion the biggest difference will be made by
Genetics - Isolate using liquid culture or the faht cloning tek, 9er tek, etc.
Nutrition
Environment - Oysters want lots of FAE - high CO2 levels make them take odd shapes

[Hippie3]

80% is what spacecowboy mentions
http://mycotopia.net...ng-kitchen.html

[hyphaenation]

substrate FORMULATION

The common industry standard by dry weight is 80% hardwood sawdust with 20% supplement. The most common supplement is millet and wheat bran. Water is mixed in until it barely drips from the substrate when squeezed with a fist. The use of both supplements to the sawdust versus just the bran or millet tends to produce better results. However, this is species and strain dependent, as different mushrooms have different needs. For example, Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms tend to grow better with a higher supplement level, but Reishi mushrooms show nicer fruit body formation when a lower supplement level to the sawdust is used.

Substitution of other supplements such as rye grain and/or brown rice flour work great too. The use of wheat bran and millet are just industry standards. The main purpose of the supplement is to add readily available nutrients to the mushroom in order to speed up production. Wheat bran is probably the cheapest supplement, but wild birdseed has shown increasingly great results and is very inexpensive.

Not all sawdust is the same. Sawdust varies from source to source and it holds moisture more or less based on its particle size, type, and initial moisture content. The best consistency of sawdust to use is a 50/50 mix of fine and coarse particles. The fine sawdust has the consistency of flour, where as the coarse is just above that or even as dense as hardwood mulch. Keep notes on formulas for replicating the substrate formula that works the best given your situation. Here is a generic fruiting formula by volume:

* 2 parts hardwood sawdust
* 1 part wheat bran
* Add water same as before

The key to a good fruiting formula is largely based on reliable mushroom spawn and experimentation. Always experiment because each mushroom strain has different characteristics. Find what works best for your situation, and then build on it.

For shits & giggles I included a link to some pages from GGMM.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 
•