25 replies to this topic

[Fungusaurus]

High y'all.

Im tired of growing in plastic tubs, too much work with cleaning and all :puke:
Im thinking of using this tek http://www.mycotopia...es/5/11766.html
No more cleaning boxes i hope ...

got a couple of q's though.

Can pure straw be used in this tek or will it contaminate to easy?

Straw is the only sub I have alot of, but maybe case it with storebought compost?

How much do I have to clean the plastic bags?

THx n' peace out ~~Fungusaur

[golly]

Yuppers...that should work ,,U may want to chop the straw a little finer so it has good density for easy colonization and spawn liberally so it's quick...
I think i would prefer clear or white plastic for the top cover ..
The perferation in the cover is important and a great way to do that is to fold the plastic 3 or 4 times ,place on a wooden board and stab with a steak knife really fast - U can make like 500 tiny holes in a miniute...

[Fungusaurus]

ok thx, nice tip with the plastic, chop chop jack the ripper style LOL

[cloudtop]

I actually did a synthesis of this and a tub tek by lining a 53qt Sterlite tub with a large trashbag and then going about as though it were a regular tub. I had a couple of acceptable flushes, but I'd recommend possibly reducing the moisture a bit more than is common for the tub tek as the trashbag was difficult to keep moisture from. In retrospect, this could have been caused by the plastic forming a better seal with the lid or by it just generally insulating better. In the past I've not done a casing layer, so I don't know if that would increase success.

You might also consider adding a thin strip of tacky stuff or double-sided tape to the inner edges of the container to hold the bag down a bit better.

Let us know the progress.

[Lazlo]

That works fine. Watch out for the mega amount of condensation that will build up on the plastic. If the droplets start to drop from the plastic, simply shake them off of the plastic.

[Lazlo]

Here's some Orissa's that I grew on my dresser in a baking pan. There's saran wrap gently laid on the tray and it was lifted up a few times a day for air exchange until the mushrooms had tented the plastic wrap. Misted accordingly and that's it.http://mycotopia.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14416&d=1135718613

[Hippie3]

you ever get bacterial lesions where the plastic touches fruitbody ?
i get a nasty black slime fairly frequently

[Lazlo]

you ever get bacterial lesions where the plastic touches fruitbody ?
i get a nasty black slime fairly frequently

I do. And the plastic tends to make the caps grow out gnarly too if they're touching the plastic for long periods of time. Just a slight sign of bacteria from the plastic touching the caps. Here's an example. I never took the plastic off until harvest. There's blotch on all of the caps and see how they're a bit gnarly as well? hehe

http://mycotopia.net...30&d=1130113589

[Fungusaurus]

Hey I made some cardboard boxes with pure straw and they seem to do fine, waitng for pinning on the first couple o' test boxes. Black plastic bags on inside, layers of straw and spawn. I'll throw some pics of the project

But...look what I just got to play with:

Yummy a big pile of 2years old composted horse dung :p

Just made another cardboard box with about 10 quarts compost and about 3 quarts popcorn spawn, cant wait to see how it will do.

[Lazlo]

:thumbup: That stuff looks really good.

[Fungusaurus]

it seems like its perfect composted, but my first attempt with it went to hell
cuz I was to lazy and didnt do it properly. Didnt drain well enough, didnt have a layer of pure dung on top of the sub/spawn mix, had to much sub/spawn mix in the box = too close to the plastic sheet etc...to green hell it went.
What a waste of popcorn spawn.... :mistrust:


But heres a couple of my test cardboard boxes with straw and popcorn - they seem work out fine.


just gave the two firstones a casing of verm - not too much of a pinset. Too lazy again, henceforth you may call me fungusaurus the lazy :drk:
When do I ever learn to do that little extra effort to make things better?

Last one here, the straw dried out on top, think I'll get myself together and give it a nice and juicy 60/40 verm/coir/lime casing, or what do you think?

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[golly]

I wouldn't case that straw as u would be trapping mold spores on uncolonized material ...try some other method to rehydrate...

[Hippie3]

a pity those aren't in baskets
else you could flood the straw with a hose
like Visions laundry basket tek

[Fungusaurus]

Thx for your feedback golly and hippie3.

ahh the fractal of mush growing...as soon as one problem is dealt with, numerous new probs to deal with comes to light. :headbang:

I have some thoughts on how to rehydrate that box of straw.

1. Inject water into it with a syringe and let it fruit from the box.

2. Flood/dunk it in the box/plasticbag and then flip it out of the box onto some sort of screen/net, let it drain off and fruit it in a large tub.

3. Spray with bleach solution and give it a verm/coir/lime casing that can be watered.

Any healthy advice on this?

[golly]

I like plan B ,i mean 2 ...If u flood n drain then you coulf flip it out onto the tubs lid and remove the plastic...Just fruit upside down....

[Fungusaurus]

Ok thx golly, Ill give it a shot.

Btw a box almost ripe

[Lazlo]

Nice job!