They can be difficult at times, with this method you can grow them in 5 easy steps. This recipe was intended for P. cyanescens, but can also be used for cubensis.
1-Measure and prepare your substrate
2-Load substrate into the jars and pressure cook
3-Innoculate with spores, liquid culture, agar wedge or slurry
4-Apply casing layer
5-Fruit your jars
I've been using plastic PP5 containers containers which work great. I can fit 9 into the PC at once, and this recipe will make 9 containers. Each lid has a 1/2 hole drilled in the top with a tyvek patch. I use a hot glue gun to apply the filter patch. Here's a pic of the lid and container.
1- Measure and prepare your substrateShred 10 cups of horse manure very finely and soak in water overnite. I like to add a half cup of bleach and hydrated lime to the water. The next day pour thru a collander and squeeze the manure out by hand. Set the manure aside, and remember it will not be pasteurized.Add 10 cups of vermiculite to a large bowl and stir in 2 cups of brown rice flour. Moisten the vermiculite and brown rice flour to field capacity using regular or distilled water.
Combine the BRF/Verm with the horse manure and mix it up really well. You want to evenly distribute the brown rice flour.
2- Load substrate into the jars and pressure cook
Gently pack down the substrate so there's no big air spaces. As usual, add a nice layer of dry vermiculite on top. Seal the lids and cover with aluminum foil. Sterilize in the pressure cooker for 1 hour.
3- Innoculate with spores, liquid culture, agar wedge or slurry
If you only have spores, you can also use this substrate recipe. Starting with spores will add about 1 week to the colonization time. My agar method goes as follows, shoot 6 ccs of sterile water onto a colonized agar plate. Using the needle tip, mix up the mycelium and water and draw the slurry back into the syringe. No need to dig into the agar layer, just scrape the mycelium off the surface of the agar. Inoculate the containers with 6 cc of mycelium water. They'll be colonized within 15 days and ready to fruit.
4-Apply casing layer
I like to use 50/50 cactus mix and vermiculite. Before mixing in the vermiculite, add hydrated lime and gypsum to the cactus mix, this will help pH balance the casing layer. This casing mix works great for Pans, it has good aeration and is fairly contam resistant. The cactus mix contains forest humus, sphaghnum peat moss, earthworm castings, and sand. I pasteurize the casing mix for 1 hour. After it cools, apply the casing layer 1/4 - 1/2 inch deep. Hydrate the casing layer really well and cover the jars with foil for a few days. Usually 2-3 days is sufficient, this gives the the mycelium a chance to recover. Make sure to poke a few holes in the foil to allow air exchange and prevent cobweb mold.
5- Fruit your jars
Finally! The fun part. Remove the foil from the jars and place them into the fruiting chamber. Only mist the casing if it's dry. Misting the mycelium can delay pinset, and misting pins can cause aborts. Pans will normally start pinning 7-10 days after casing. Just remember to keep the temps warm, the air fresh, and the humidity high. That's it for Waylit's Pan cyan Tek.
Good Luck ;)
~Waylitjim
