165 replies to this topic

[elfstone]

A close personal friend of mine happened upon a strain of Ps. mexicana while traveling in Huatla de Jimenez, which he collected within about 200 yards of the former dwelling of Maria Sabina. This strain is a very prolific fruiter and of superior quality. The effects are marked by a deep mental clarity, serenity, and magical quality unlike anything else.

As we all know, cultivating Ps. mexicana requires good airflow, high humidity, and proper lighting. I have found the following setup to be perfect for cultivation of this species:

This uses a 32L Really Useful Box that I picked up from Office Depot:

www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/usa/html/onlineshop/rub/b32_0litreUS.php

The humidity source is an Imagine Gold Tropic Aire Humidifier Air Exchanger:

www.amazon.com/Imagine-Gold-Tropicaire-Humidifier-Exchanger/dp/B000634980/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Which is powered by a Rena Air 300 air pump:

www.amazon.com/RENA-AIR-300-PUMP/dp/B000255MVA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1331486285&sr=1-1

Using a 15/64 inch bit, I drilled a single hole near the top, which lines up with the hole already present in the snap handle and lid. This size hole perfectly allows the plastic airline tubing to fit securely and snugly into the box.

This is a shot of the total setup:



Here you can see where the hose fits through the handle into the side of the box:



A shot from inside the box, which shows how the dispersing tube fits:



And another from the side of the box to show how the hose fits through the hole in the handle, the lid, and into the box:



Another shot from the top of the box:



I prefer electronic sensors to estimate humidity and temperature:



And a GE 6500K Daylight CFL light source works best in my experience:



Here is a shot of the CN-Mexicana strain in it's early stages:



And of a culture my friend, the traveler/collector, fruited:

Edited by the_chosen_one, 22 May 2012 - 01:31 PM.
edit tags only

[MrGumball]

Spawn? Sub? Does it produce stones too?

[elfstone]

It does produce stones, but that is not it's main quality. I am not fond of stones due to the nausea factor. The carpophores are superior to any mushroom I have ever had.

[teonanacatl]

I made the original collection on the ps. mexicana featured in this post, and yes they do indeed appear to form sclerotia. Sclerotia formation seems to be largely contingent on the sort of substrate used. This particular strain of mexicana did not do well on a straight-grain substrate, but thrived on a mixed substrate that included a predominance of rye grass seed as well as supplemental rye grain (for moisture content), oatmeal (which I believe is important for solid fruiting and sclerotia formation in mexicana) and rye or wheat bran.

Sclerotia formation does not really distinguish this particular strain of mexicana. Having personally spent the last 20 years of my life cultivating, eating and experimenting with all the various strains and species of psilocybin mushroom, what makes this particular strain of mexicana exceptional is it's outstanding purity, potency and productivity in the fruiting bodies. Having experimented with several of the sclerotia-producers, my general observation has been that the carpophores/fruiting bodies are themselves far superior in terms of the quality and depth of the experience itself.

I have observed this strain to be significantly more potent than what is typical of ps. mexicana, though my sensitivity has increased dramatically over the years. From what I can tell, this strain of mexicana is three times the potency of your average cubensis and infinitely purer. With the above fruiting-medium, I yielded 60grams of dry carpophores from 3 quart jars. In terms of psilocybin content, that is the rough equivallent of 180 grams of dried cubensis from only 3 quart jars. Considered thusly, this strain of mexicana is the purest and most efficient producer of clean, organic psilocybin I have ever worked with.

[anne halonium]

interesting, where do i get my mitts on spore prints?

[torus314]

interesting, where do i get my mitts on spore prints?

I second that. :D

[knowninvisibilities]

I second that. :D

I'll third it? ;)

[busboy2004]

I'll third it? ;)

I'll forth it?

[Lookin 2 Grow]

hahaha!!!!

5th.. :)

Sounds like you have a good strain there mate..

I had a couple of Tropic Aires running through my cake tubs when I first started growing. For some reason it never worked out. I added a small amount of bleach to the water to avoid contams & that worked but the Tropic aires actually dropped the humidity for some reason. Then I went back to the old KISS method (hand spray bottle) & had much better luck.

Peace & enjoy those fruits,

L2G

[stonesun]

I'd fifth it,
but already got a print from elfstone...
Thanks for both of you to share,
and look forward to my growlog!

[eatyualive]

sweet nice job.

[Dr.Hallucination]

Very nice work elfstone.

[elfstone]

The substrate was 130g ryegrass seed, 20g Irish steel cut oats, a pinch of gypsum, and 150ml water per jar. The casing is straight peat moss with calcium carbonate 10:1 ratio.

Here is a photo of the first flush from this morning:



I have been told the first flush is lanky and the mushrooms tend to bend over, while the second is more like the one in the first photos in this post.



To print these species, I prefer a sterile glass slide, placed inside a glass petri dish, and I use a syringe with a 27.5 gauge needle to place multiple droplets on the cap twice a day to maintain it's moisture level. The prints take several days to make, but come out dark and thick.

[elfstone]

A couple more photos snapped with my iPad3:

[Dr.Hallucination]

Absolutely stunning elfstone.

[anticheffy]

Yes , a superior effort with excellent results and great pics.:eusa_droo

[darkman]

any chance of getting a print as well? PM?
Trade? You've probably already got what I have though. MDK and PF. Just getting back in the hobby after 18 years. Would love to try my hand at these little gems.

[darkman]

your temp and humidty gauge where did you get those?

[darkman]

A couple more photos snapped with my iPad3:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]260353[/ATTACH]


[ATTACH=CONFIG]260354[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]260355[/ATTACH]

Those probably dry up to nothing huh?

[elfstone]

Actually, they are fairly high yielding with solid long stems. Given the talk around 450nm LED lighting, the next grow will use this as a light source:

http://www.amazon.co...32089100&sr=1-5

Should prove interesting.