7 replies to this topic

[Needles]

After spending time studying about the health benefits from taking or using C. sinensis I decided to look into ways to cultivate this mushroom. Looking to what others were doing and larger companies that were selling capsules were doing. I found that most companies were just selling mycelium or ground up inoculated grain. I know from first hand that Reishi mycelium is just as medicinal as the fruits. Experimenting with different broths and fermentation techniques I found that a simple barley malt formula of 20 grams of malt to 400ml of water worked the best.
Starting with a nice monoculture of C. sinensis once again I would harvest and blend the culture then using a sterilized syringe to draw up the chopped up mycelium. Injecting 5cc of solution into each jar of malt broth. Placing jars on magnetic stirrers is a simple option although not necessarily needed. A marble works fine to stir the broth. Once the jar gets about a one inch cap of mycelium it's time to harvest and dry once the cake has dried a small coffee grinder is used to pulverize the mycelium



Once pulverized I packed 1/10 g of mycelium into bell caps for consumption.

[Microbe]

Love the blender blade lids!

[Needles]

My latest experiments with C. sinensis has been with chicken eggs. This was my first attempt so there was a bit of a learning curve inoculating a egg. Once again starting by blending a culture and soft boiling a dozen eggs. I tried drill bits to make a hole in the egg big enough to fit a 16 gauge needle. A number seven scalpel with a number eleven blade worked great and it could be sterilized in between uses. Another mistake was choosing a 10cc syringe to use for injection. To much liquid would enter the egg and crack it. I will use a 2 or 3 next time. Here are a few photos of my work station.

[CatsAndBats]

As far as I know, the most treasured medicine with the cordyceps militaris  is the colonized bug/pupae FYI.

 

Good stuff @needles! Let's grow!

Edited by catattack, 05 December 2016 - 09:20 AM.

[Microbe]

Im walking into work now but i want to talk about inoculation of a chicken egg later. Do you like the utinsel sterilizer? I almost bought one but i was told it took almost 30 seconds or longer to get it glowing. Is that your experience with the unit? My torch at full flame is less then 3 seconds for syringes and about 6 to get a scaple blade glowing.

Im surprised your threads are not getting more attention! Great quality pictures as well!

@catattack is the only other brother i seen work with this species. I wouldnt mind working with ergot sclerotium which is of the same genus, i think. But i don't want my limbs to fall off so im kind of scared. I have performed lsa extractions from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose and Morning Glory seeds but always wanted to extract from ergot for some reason. Anyway getting off track. Cool thread!

Edited by Microbe77, 05 December 2016 - 09:27 AM.

[Needles]

Im walking into work now but i want to talk about inoculation of a chicken egg later. Do you like the utinsel sterilizer? I almost bought one but i was told it took almost 30 seconds or longer to get it glowing. Is that your experience with the unit? My torch at full flame is less then 3 seconds for syringes and about 6 to get a scaple blade glowing.

I just got the bacti-cinerator a couple weeks ago, killer deal on eBay. Old but brand new in the box. True, it takes a while to heat up but once it's ready it's on. Three or four seconds and unless you have some sort of extremophiles your good to go. I was using a torch too then found a propane burner that works very well if you look at the photo above there is a blue spray bottle, it's filled with 91% isopropyl. I use it often to help keep things sanitized and with that open flame I get a bit nervous. Using the bacti-cinerator helps with that worry.....

[Needles]

As far as I know, the most treasured medicine with the cordyceps militaris  is the colonized bug/pupae FYI.
 
Good stuff @needles! Let's grow!

Yes, let's grow indeed.... Winters here and it's time to prepare for a nice spring harvest.....

[Microbe]

I get what you mean about the iso and open flame. I used to get nervous when using a torch after sanitizing my gloves and wrists. My homemade hand sanitizer which is 91% iso and aloe Vera makes me feel like im putting napalm on at times but i have not caught fire yet.

I literally do have a self extinguishing plan in the event it happens which is executed in 3 seconds or less, im serious lmao. Being a level 2 firefighter, well was, i am very conscious around fire safety.

Alright im done with my clutter posting. Nice gadget, and if i can get a scaple glowing in 5 seconds, i damn sure can get a sharp or piece of nichrome glowing in no time.