44 replies to this topic

[psychoknot]

FOAF wants to use worm castings as bulk subsrate per this tek, however... this FOAF hasn't grown the mycelium in a medium spawn bag (the unit of measure for volume of spawn to use in the tek), the FOAF used pint jars.

After using the forum search function (why so inefficient?), nothing was produced.

FOAF looked online to determine volume of medium spawn bag, converted this to cups, and got 27.something cups, or about 13.something-else pints. Somewhat disconcerting considering the amount of spawn available to this FOAF. Of course it occured to this FOAF that the tek could be manipulated with cunning to fit the amount of spawn available, but this FOAF wanted to hear from people who have used medium spawn bags.

Does anyone have, from personal experience, an estimate for how much spawn (in cups) is yielded by a medium spawn bag?

[highflyer]

I can tell you that the large size bags can easily accomidate 7 level quart jars worth.

[Hippie3]

lol
reckon it depends on how much one puts in the bag
but i know
it would hold much more than i would use,
smaller batches sterilize better.
i place about a full quart of rye in the medium [8 inch wide] bags,
leaving plenty of room for some air inside.
one could easily use 2-3 that muchand still do very well.

[highflyer]

I can tell you that the large size bags can easily accomidate 7 level quart jars worth.

Only use the larger amounts in the bags if you are doing g2g transfers and not starting from spores....

Longer PC times may also be necessary for larger amounts.

[psychoknot]

Sounds like my FOAF is in good shape for his first casing.

[Hippie3]

Only use the larger amounts in the bags if you are doing g2g transfers and not starting from spores....

Longer PC times may also be necessary for larger amounts.

that bears repeating

[psychoknot]

I want to apologize for the Why So Inefficient comment.

I didn't mean mycotopia has a bad search function, it has a good one as far as forum searches go. I just don't know why forum searches on any site bring back so much stuff that is unapplicable.

[Hippie3]

gotta better define the search,
more keywords help

[destroy_erase_improve]

the only "problem" ive had with the search button is that it seems to promote my ADD lol. i search for something, it links me to something with a few different subthreads , a few extra links in the archives.and next thing i know, im all over the place, trying to absorb all kinds of different information. lol and half of it wasnt even what i was searching for.

but i guess thats not the boards fault
i need to upgrade my brain ram i think

[morthos]

Morning! First, could someone please give me a link to a vendor that sells spawn bags, or better yet, tell me of plastic bags that would do as well? I don't need an inoc. site - I'd do this in a glovebox.

If mailing time is too much, I'd try the following instead;

Start up a bunch of 1L~1.5L invitro brf/verm jars. My idea is to mix up/pc/inoc 125ml jars, then use those as spawn after they've colonized. 125ml's should colonize in 2~3wks, yes? I'd pc 3 500ml jars of substrate and mix the spawn within glovebox to fill the 1.5L jars. I should think the 1.5L jars would colonize & fruit in 2~3wks this way, with a total time from spore to giant Invitro fruit being 4~6 weeks.

Any thoughts? Thx!

[Hippie3]

Start up a bunch of 1L~1.5L invitro brf/verm jars. My idea is to mix up/pc/inoc 125ml jars, then use those as spawn after they've colonized. 125ml's should colonize in 2~3wks, yes? I'd pc 3 500ml jars of substrate and mix the spawn within glovebox to fill the 1.5L jars. I should think the 1.5L jars would colonize & fruit in 2~3wks this way, with a total time from spore to giant Invitro fruit being 4~6 weeks.

you're saying jars
but you mean bags, yes ?
the plan sounds reasonable
if a bit optimistic on the time frame

[Hippie3]

btw
my other site
www.mycrotopia.com
offers already filled & sterilized bags of our brf mix
at a reasonable price.

[petri]

Turkey bags withstand oven/pc temps if you need a bag like right now. Otherwise, I would recommend a bag with filter patch.

[morthos]

Thanks guys!

I am using jars for both the 125ml and 1.5L sizes, yes. I suppose adding a couple weeks would make the estimate more realistic. I've been having good spawning speed lately with Tapalpa. :)

I'll try turkey bags...I don't want to wait for shipping from the US. They can be found at large grocery stores, I assume.

[morthos]

If I go with turkey bags, should I create a breathing patch by duct-taping a piece of tyvek over a cut hole? If I were to inoculate or spawn into bags I'd be doing a good 6 quart volume per bag as I've an 8-quart pc. I could create this patch after pc'ing, inside a glovebox and during some manner of inoculation.

Do turkey bags breathe, or should I try the above so the substrate has gas exchange for colonization?

[morthos]

Come to think of it, why not simply try growing within bags with a number of tyvek patches? Let the substrate colonize and fruit in the bag?

Patches would have to be built into the bag post-pc within a glovebox. At least one patch should be below the mass to encourage CO2 to fall out of the bag...that might mean inserting a plastic mesh 1/4" thick under the mass(post-pc and in glovebox again) and patches under that for air flow...

Does this make sense? The # and size of tyvek patches takes some thought...

Any comments?

[SolveEtCoagula]

So in the corner I've been hiding in for the past few months I have attempted bulk spawn bags. More than 20 :(

I can get quart jars to work when ever I want but these spawn bags are giving me hell. I bought the damn 100$ impulse sealer so I am quite content on making them succeed.

Problem: After sterilization and innoculation they seem fine for several days. By the 3rd or 4th day there is never any signs of growth. The bags expand with air and water collects on the sides of the bags. The water drips down onto the spawn and causes wetspot and the the bag goes to hell. I've tried every trick in the book according to the threads and write ups I have read and can't figure out why the hell it is doing this. I am leaning towards the spawn being to saturated but I am using rye grain and corn (in seperate bags of course) and having the same problem.

Could it be too much heat being applied to them through the heatpad? I buffered the bags between the heat pad by using a bunch of shirts and books so this is seeming unlikely. I think maybe too much soaking when doing the presaok I may cut it down to 10 hours because 15 and 24 (ones I have always used and recomende din most teks) result in the same problem....

Any ideas?

[karlfinn]

Hmmm..your soak time seems ok, make sure you let it drain really well. ARe you going over 80 degrees with the heat pad..if so it could be getting too hot..those big bags build up alot of heat all on their own, especially when grouped together with too much insulation. are you using a hepa hood to work in?
That bacillus is either not getting taken care of in processing or it is coming in thru
post-sterile contams. A little condensate in the bags should not cause wet spot all on its own . Just IMO though.