94 replies to this topic

[Needles]

The charcoal may work as long as you can pass a needle through it. I'm talking a great big 13 or 14 gauge hundred millimeter bad boy. I have tried that poly-fiber stuff but a needle gets stuck in it. I am about ready to prepare the tools needed to inoculate these bags. I will be passing the needle through the fiberglass/vermiculite past the holes drilled into the can. It would probably be simpler just to tie the bag with something like a tyewrap then inject through the filter patch but I'm trying to avoid any extra holes being poked in the bag. As far as pressure cooking for two hours, it's wood and dense and there's a lot of it. You want to get the heat to the center of the stuff to make sure everything has been sterilized. I have got by with 1 1/2 hours

[happy4nic8r]

Ah so it's because of the mass of the substrate.

 

How much would you guess it weighed?

 

I didn't realize you were using this as an injection port.

 

Doesn't that leave at least one big hole in your filter?

 

Weakest link.

 

I guess you'll see, at least the worst you can get is fibreglass or vermiculite.

 

I did my second 6 quart slurry inoculation this morning. 

 

Stuck my last 4 agar plates, we'll see how that works.

 

This was done with slurry from pf cake jars fully colonized + 1 week.

[Needles]

Ah so it's because of the mass of the substrate.
 
How much would you guess it weighed?
 
I didn't realize you were using this as an injection port.
 
Doesn't that leave at least one big hole in your filter?
 
Weakest link.
 
I guess you'll see, at least the worst you can get is fibreglass or vermiculite.
 
I did my second 6 quart slurry inoculation this morning. 
 
Stuck my last 4 agar plates, we'll see how that works.
 
This was done with slurry from pf cake jars fully colonized + 1 week.

These bags came to about 6 1/2 pounds I like to use seven but I came up a little short with sub this time. My mulch was frozen and I had a hard time gauging 30 cups.
Once the vegetable can filter is taped inside of the filter patch bag the needle passes through the drilled holes on the bottom of the can and you can spray the sides of the bag on all sides. I will try to add some photos of that tek tomorrow.

[happy4nic8r]

Look forward to it.

 

What brand of shroom was this one? Reishi?

[Needles]

Look forward to it.
 
What brand of shroom was this one? Reishi?

Yep, I bought a LC of Reishi from someone a couple years ago and had good luck with it. Though I would share some of my findings, kinda a chance to give back from what I have learned from everyone here.

[Needles]

Just thought I would add a photo of the tools that will be used to perform this mycelium transfer tonight. I have been using the slurry technique since the 80s. The only thing is we used turkey baysters and glass Waring blenders. Now it is a Waring blender blade fashioned on to a ball plastic jar lid. These little self-healing injector port plugs have turned this all around for me too. To harvest the mycelium I will take a vegetable peeler that has been broken and attached to a chopstick lol, being careful just to cut under the surface and not taking too much agar. I like to use 13 and 14 gauge needles. Even with that chunks of agar can still get stuck in the needle. I believe harvesting the agar is the most critical part of this procedure, as The culture will be exposed to air from the petri dish to the jar with sterilized water. So time to clean and set up a HEPA filter and get ready for everything to cool down.

[Needles]

Throwing out another sidebar, this is my first king oyster mushroom. This block has been living by a north window as I had to tear down my old fruiting chamber to build a new one. It has been hard to keep the top of this block hydrated therefore the little cracks in top cap although the ones at the bottom of the tote are growing wonderfully well. I do have to add these are the first oyster mushrooms that I have been able to eat raw. It is very dense and chewy. But has a very mild mushroom flavor, can't wait to cook with them tonight.

[happy4nic8r]

If that thing gets any bigger you're going to have to make a locked room in the basement.

 

How can you sleep with that "night stalker" in your house. (jk)

 

I have those same syringes, but mine have a really small hole in them, not good for anything but liquid.

[Needles]

 
I have those same syringes, but mine have a really small hole in them, not good for anything but liquid.

If they are b&d or any other glass syring with a lur lock tip you should have a large enough opening, it's the gage of the needle that makes it.

[happy4nic8r]

Mine are B-D 20cc with 10, 14, 18 gauge luer lock tips. If you say the opening of the glass nozzle is big enough, I'll take your word.

 

The 10 gauge needle has a bigger hole than the glass.

 

I have a 10cc that has the same sized glass nozzle.

 

I guess it makes a difference how coarse your slurry is, since you can't really strain it.

 

Is there a wax or silicone that you can use to free up the piston? One of mine are kind of sticky, one actually falls out.

 

If I swap them it gets hopelessly stuck.

Edited by happy4nic8r, 29 January 2015 - 02:03 PM.

[Needles]

Mine are B-D 20cc with 10, 14, 18 gauge luer lock tips. If you say the opening of the glass nozzle is big enough, I'll take your word.
 
The 10 gauge needle has a bigger hole than the glass.
 
I have a 10cc that has the same sized glass nozzle.
 
I guess it makes a difference how coarse your slurry is, since you can't really strain it.
 
Is there a wax or silicone that you can use to free up the piston? One of mine are kind of sticky, one actually falls out.
 
If I swap them it gets hopelessly stuck.

I thought lurlock tips were all the same, guess not. I have had syringes get totally stuck and a bath in a pot of boiling water did the trick.

[happy4nic8r]

Roomis: These were the agar plates I ran with a slurry to grain transfer, pf cakes to wbs.

 

One of them got gouged, but all of them are growing out.

 

It's been 24 hours.

 

Edited by happy4nic8r, 29 January 2015 - 04:05 PM.

[Needles]

Roomis: These were the agar plates I ran with a slurry to grain transfer, pf cakes to wbs.
 
One of them got gouged, but all of them are growing out.
 
It's been 24 hours.

Its hard to see but it looks like they are growing out bacteria. Especially if it's only been 24 hours, anything that looks wet and greasy is bacteria. you may want to post those pics to the masses in the magic forum for a more expert opinion.

[happy4nic8r]

I will, more experience with these last four and I'll almost be able to ask an intelligent question.

 

The jars were starting to pin in the jars, they were ready to go, and all six of the quarts are starting as well. If that's all bacteria, then WTF.

 

it's fun to watch though, bac, whack, or jack, huh??

[Heirloom]

Roomis I have found that gypsum dissolves easy in warm water. do you grind it get more even distribution in your substrate?

nice write up. I look forward to future posts

[Needles]

Roomis I have found that gypsum dissolves easy in warm water. do you grind it get more even distribution in your substrate?
nice write up. I look forward to future posts

I had always used powdered gypsum mixed with the dry sawdust and wheat bran. Our local feedmill only started stocking the pelletized kind so I just ground it. I will try it whole for my next gain soak. Thanks for pointing it out. It can be a mess grinding the stuff.

[torn2bits]

Roomisigloomis,
I've missed your thread but want to say ,your work so far is amazing,keep at it man.
I wish you'd share your technique of mounting a blender blade set onto the mason jar lids like in your photo,this would be beneficial to many on this forum.
Keepem growing ToRn

[Needles]

Geez guys I have to admit when it came time to mix substrate I left out a key ingredient. Wheat bran is used as a nutrient for these and other wood lovers. I used to shop GNC for my wheat bran, most of them carry it and it is a easy stop to get a few small bags if needed. If you plan on using a lot or growing different strains then wheat bran that is used for worm food works great. I found a vender online a much less expensive alternative to human consumption grade wheat bran.


I try to keep it pretty simple so that it wouldn't be too confusing for me to mix my substrates. I use cups but you can also use pounds if you want to. For instance if you have
100 pounds of sawdust and wood chips. Then use
10 pounds of wheat bran. Plus
1 pound of gypsum
I have even been known to throw in some powdered lime. Maybe a half cup per 100lb I added it to the mix for no reason other than to see if it would help. I found no advantages.
The cup that I have used in the photo above holds 15 cups so two scoops of sawdust and two scoops of mulch. Would be 60cups, so add six cups of wheat bran and 3/4 cup of gypsum. Just a little more than the recipe above, it doesn't seem to hurt to add extra.

So i will add wheat bran for the rest of the blocks and we will see if there is a difference in the development.

[Needles]

Roomisigloomis,
I've missed your thread but want to say ,your work so far is amazing,keep at it man.
I wish you'd share your technique of mounting a blender blade set onto the mason jar lids like in your photo,this would be beneficial to many on this forum.
Keepem growing ToRn

I could do that, it would just be a matter of showing what blender to look for and also what drill bits work best. Would I start a new thread or just add it to this one?

[happy4nic8r]

add it to this one.