154 replies to this topic

[insight]

Agreed. While a spawn run is taking place, I usually keep the tray covered and unexposed to any light or air exchange until its ready to be exposed to fruiting conditions.

[Grateful_soldier]

ok, thats pretty much what he thought, thanks!

[Id13]

Hi, my FOAF was thinking about trying the invitro tek and had a few questions about lighing. They bought a little stand that holds a lightbulb and plan on using this for both heat and light. However, they are not entirely sure how to do this. They noticed that the invitro tek on this site is very non-specific about how much light to give. Would it be fine to just leave the light on 24/7 for heating purposes? Also, should the amount of light given change depending on the cakes phase of growing (like, should should the amount of light given be different once the cakes are fully colonized?). One more thing that they were not entirely sure of is heating. Should the cake stop being incubated once starts pinning, or ever?

Thanks!

[python]

any light for any amount of time (preferrably more than less) is good for invitro from day one.........and yes it can be used for heat

[hoova53]

i have my setup in a room where there is NO light...i was wondering how much lighting is needed a day.. I have a florecent light...someone told me that 30 mins a day is fine

[encapsulated]

Yeah from what i understand lighting is not that big of a factor but i think that if you replacate the outdoor environment that it will do them better.But yes light is just to tell the pins which way and when to form and grow but it is not needed for the mushroom itself to grow if that makes sense to you.In conclusion 30min a day should be fine!!!!!!!

[hoova53]

oh ok...cause someone had told me 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off...but i was thinkin that's for bud...i dont think shrooms need that much light to pin

[Spark]

Lighting is always good because you can see your mushrooms grow.:)
I used to keep the light on 24/7 but i don't think it makes a big diffrence.

[koreanindica]

Lighting is always good because you can see your mushrooms grow.
I used to keep the light on 24/7 but i don't think it makes a big diffrence.

same here

[hoova53]

ok i have another question......is it alright if i turn the light on at 10 pm one day and then like 3 pm the next or should i turn the light on around the same time everday?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Once the pins have set, the light is really basically just an indicator of which way to grow. 8hrs of light each day=much straighter mushies. You can actually make them do all kinds of curves and stuff by moving the light around!

I don't think that the on/off time varying will make any difference at all. Mushies don't use the light for growing energy, just as a way to know they've hit the surface of the substrate so it is time to pin.

That said, FOAF still does 12 on/12 off with his tubs...

[Lazlo]

I do the same as Dial 8.

[reefer]

same here

[beebopboy]

I turn on the light at night when it's cooler in the house so the heat in the chamber is kept at about 75 degrees

[Dr_Love]

Light doesnt really matter for the most part. Like encapsulated said, light just tells the pins where to grow. So the only time you need light is when your waiting for you caseing layer to pin. But the only big factor that you should know about light is that, say your using a casing method and you have your crop in a clear or kind of clear container. Mushrooms will grow anywhere there is light so you want to make sure that the bottom and sides of your container is wraped with somthing to keep the light out like duct tape, or paper or somthing like that. Otherwise some of your mushrooms will grow on the bottom of your crop where you cant get to them.

[hogwild]

a very minimal amount of light is required, technically one minute of light per day would initiate pinning. IMO sunlight(indirect) during the whole day or about 10 mins of direct sunlight is all thats needed to initiate pinning. During the fruiting process your mushrooms will go all over the place if there isnt some light to tell them which way is up.

[maynardsdick]

12/12...cant hurt to mimick nature

[puppydog23]

for pinning and fruiting is it cool to just leave the lights on all the time, or should i turn them off and on like day/night?

[perrch01]

I would turn them off at night but thats just me. I give mine about 30 minutes of light a day and thats it, unless it is winter then I give them around 12 hours of light b/c it keeps the heat up