All things shrooms

[tobh]

Given the issues I've had with the gasket on this cooker, I highly recommend spending the money up front and getting a quality All American. You can get one a couple quarts bigger than the one pictured for ~$500 new, and it'll outlive you and your grandkids. I'll be getting one myself within the month because this PC is not gonna keep up with my demands.

 

[tobh]

And done. Lost 150ml of agar to boil over, thinking as a result of the gasket issue, so only ended up doing 14 plates. The empty one will be used for a spore print per a recommendation another mycologist gave me for when you pulled too many plates from a sterile sleeve.

 

[Stoneyluv]

And done. Lost 150ml of agar to boil over, thinking as a result of the gasket issue, so only ended up doing 14 plates. The empty one will be used for a spore print per a recommendation another mycologist gave me for when you pulled too many plates from a sterile sleeve.
View attachment 15522

making/pouring agar is my favorite part of the whole process. always made me feel more of a scientist than a grower! i'm curious if you have any cons on using coloring in your agar?

i really like your new clean air setup... i'm just a glovebox pion! hehe

 

[tobh]

making/pouring agar is my favorite part of the whole process. always made me feel more of a scientist than a grower! i'm curious if you have any cons on using coloring in your agar?

i really like your new clean air setup... i'm just a glovebox pion! hehe

I like playing with the coloring. At some point I'll get into adding antibiotics, but for now I just mess around with it, trying to figure out how it works.

This batch of agar likely will get tossed though. Dunno if it was the coloring or the temperature fluctuations or if I fucked up while mixing it, but there were some solids in it while I was pouring.

I've done activated charcoal plates too, and don't like em. You can't shine a light through the plate and get a clear visual of what's happening whereas with coloring you can. Coloring can be tricky though because it can impact the visibility of contaminants. So, you gotta pick your colors wisely.

 

[tobh]

Oh, and avoid red because certain red dyes have antifungal properties.

 

[Stoneyluv]

I like playing with the coloring. At some point I'll get into adding antibiotics, but for now I just mess around with it, trying to figure out how it works.

This batch of agar likely will get tossed though. Dunno if it was the coloring or the temperature fluctuations or if I fucked up while mixing it, but there were some solids in it while I was pouring.

I've done activated charcoal plates too, and don't like em. You can't shine a light through the plate and get a clear visual of what's happening whereas with coloring you can. Coloring can be tricky though because it can impact the visibility of contaminants. So, you gotta pick your colors wisely.

wasn't sure when i saw yours natural color... eyes and ears open and askin questions first. didn't know if there was a reason i didn't know about. i never made red before.. i stuck to darker colors because it was easier to see growth. i'm a raiders fan so black is my favorite agar color!

 

[Observer]

I like playing with the coloring. At some point I'll get into adding antibiotics, but for now I just mess around with it, trying to figure out how it works.

This batch of agar likely will get tossed though. Dunno if it was the coloring or the temperature fluctuations or if I fucked up while mixing it, but there were some solids in it while I was pouring.

I've done activated charcoal plates too, and don't like em. You can't shine a light through the plate and get a clear visual of what's happening whereas with coloring you can. Coloring can be tricky though because it can impact the visibility of contaminants. So, you gotta pick your colors wisely.

Oh neat idea...dyeing the agar

 

[Aqua Man]

I haven’t partaken with mushrooms in a couple years but 1/2g of the PE was enough to tell me that the hype of the PE is imo warranted.

I dont think i could be socially comfortable with more than 1 gram. However i think a nice 2-3g would be perfect for a home experience when you dont have to try and communicate with others

 

[tobh]

i'm a raiders fan so black is my favorite agar color!

gonna have to figure out how to make multi-colored ones to rep the patriots color scheme just for you

or, make some neutral plates and figure out the right cultures needed to make that happen.

 

[Zen_seeker]

i found a paper punch makes a perfect 1/4" hole, no burrs. a dull drill for other sizes.

I do that for soft pots and stuff I put grommets in. Thought it would damage the punch. I also use a leather punch. Might try that too.

 

[Zen_seeker]

I haven’t partaken with mushrooms in a couple years but 1/2g of the PE was enough to tell me that the hype of the PE is imo warranted.

Now you’re just being a tease

I dont think i could be socially comfortable with more than 1 gram.

Only ever did LSD or shrooms with close friends. Of course being high in public when 16-22 is a bit different than when you’re a grandfather.

However i think a nice 2-3g would be perfect for a home experience when you dont have to try and communicate with others

Isn’t then when the telepathy kicks in.

Next time you’re in the city here you have a safe space and garden you can chill in bud. Cold cider/beer and a vape to help take any edges off. Just don’t get to close to the BBQ.

 

[Stoneyluv]

gonna have to figure out how to make multi-colored ones to rep the patriots color scheme just for you

or, make some neutral plates and figure out the right cultures needed to make that happen.

oh that would look way too cool!!! even if it was just a swirl or tye dye looking would be badass!!!!

 

[Observer]

This was one little ball of mycellium a few nights ago

Then two clumps of mycellium

Now one big clump of mycellium spreading lol
This isn't really "sealed" at all.

There's a hole right under this lid.

I have not lifted these lids off at all.

I'm from Missouri ok I gotta see shit with my own eyes lol

 

[Observer]

This one looks like it's getting mushy, like the rice is "sweating"

Too much heat? Too high water content?

The little cup appears to have less water content.

 

[Observer]

this is playing god in a small sense

trying to get one specific thing to grow

 

[tobh]

This one looks like it's getting mushy, like the rice is "sweating"

Too much heat? Too high water content?

The little cup appears to have less water content.

Give it a smell without removing the lid. IME when jars start to look wet, there's bacterial infection. It smells sweetish sour.

 

[Observer]

Give it a smell without removing the lid. IME when jars start to look wet, there's bacterial infection. It smells sweetish sour.

Thank you tobh

I'll attempt

 

[Observer]

Give it a smell without removing the lid. IME when jars start to look wet, there's bacterial infection. It smells sweetish sour.

I think I do smell a sweet sour smell.

Damn.

Did I not "pasteurize" good enough, long enough?

Lack of oxygen?

Gotta find out what went wrong or I'll never correct it perhaps.

I do think a cap or polyfill on the lidcap would be a good idea for oxygen/air exchange for the germ stage though, or agree.

 

[Observer]

Give it a smell without removing the lid. IME when jars start to look wet, there's bacterial infection. It smells sweetish sour.

Observing this

 

[Observer]

And there's not really a way to save it either I suppose.

Oh well

Perhaps I did not pasteurize it correctly

Hot or long enough

 

[Observer]

No apparent sweat or smell from around lid on little cup batch.

 

[Observer]

I'll knock it out of the park eventually

 

[tobh]

Yeah, so the most common cause is two fold: excess moisture content and inadequate sterilization. With grains it's critical they are at field capacity but dry on the outside before going into jars. Then, sterilization must be absolute -- either through extremely high temperatures such as in a PC or repeated exposure to high heat over a prolonged period such as via boiling the jars multiple times over a period of days.

Another tell tale sign is how the grain looks wet. If it's kind of a mucous-jelly type appearance, guaranteed it's bacterial. There's no recovery. I've seen Psilocybe mycelium overtake trichoderma and grey molds, but bacteria is a whole other beast. Especially the bacterias we tend to be faced with that creates antifungal compounds.

FWIW, I've confirmed a syringe I bought from a less reputable retailer is fully contaminated. I lost about a dozen jars last year to this syringe, but decided to try to get a culture going on agar. None of my other plates have germinated but that plate is exploding with bacteria across the streak pattern. It happens. Sometimes it's not you, sometimes it's your seed source.

 

[Observer]

Yeah, so the most common cause is two fold: excess moisture content and inadequate sterilization. With grains it's critical they are at field capacity but dry on the outside before going into jars. Then, sterilization must be absolute -- either through extremely high temperatures such as in a PC or repeated exposure to high heat over a prolonged period such as via boiling the jars multiple times over a period of days.

Another tell tale sign is how the grain looks wet. If it's kind of a mucous-jelly type appearance, guaranteed it's bacterial. There's no recovery. I've seen Psilocybe mycelium overtake trichoderma and grey molds, but bacteria is a whole other beast. Especially the bacterias we tend to be faced with that creates antifungal compounds.

FWIW, I've confirmed a syringe I bought from a less reputable retailer is fully contaminated. I lost about a dozen jars last year to this syringe, but decided to try to get a culture going on agar. None of my other plates have germinated but that plate is exploding with bacteria across the streak pattern. It happens. Sometimes it's not you, sometimes it's your seed source.

Gotta reply from a real keyboard.

 

[Observer]

Yeah, so the most common cause is two fold: excess moisture content and inadequate sterilization.

I can fix this, and do a longer higher sustained temp pasteurization.

doing a 1:0.67 rice/water ratio seems to be pretty damn good range for the water content
185g rice 158g water
i did 156g water, perhaps 150-155g water per 185g rice in that 12oz jar, would be better.

With grains it's critical they are at field capacity but dry on the outside before going into jars. Then, sterilization must be absolute -- either through extremely high temperatures such as in a PC or repeated exposure to high heat over a prolonged period such as via boiling the jars multiple times over a period of days.

i could "pasteurize" more than just once, boiled it one time for 2 hours.

Another tell tale sign is how the grain looks wet. If it's kind of a mucous-jelly type appearance, guaranteed it's bacterial. There's no recovery. I've seen Psilocybe mycelium overtake trichoderma and grey molds, but bacteria is a whole other beast. Especially the bacterias we tend to be faced with that creates antifungal

definitely mucous-y plus the smell = bacteria infection.

compounds.

FWIW, I've confirmed a syringe I bought from a less reputable retailer is fully contaminated. I lost about a dozen jars last year to this syringe, but decided to try to get a culture going on agar. None of my other plates have germinated but that plate is exploding with bacteria across the streak pattern. It happens. Sometimes it's not you, sometimes it's your seed source.

have not considered this, good point.
thanks for bring this to my attention.

this narrows it down, thanks for youre help @tobh

 

[Observer]

if i dont get impatient and clean the jar out and start another batch by the time i move in the next 3 weeks hopefully


after i get moved, itll be one of the first things i start doing, boiling shit.

lol

 

[Aqua Man]

This one looks like it's getting mushy, like the rice is "sweating"

Too much heat? Too high water content?

The little cup appears to have less water content.

Mushy is usually bacteria

 

[Aqua Man]

So here is another consideration. Many endospores are heat resistant. Because of that we want to allow them to germinate before PC them. This gives us the best chance to kill everything when we PC.

I have tried a few ways but IMO the one that gave me the best results was to cold soak my grains for 12-18 hrs at room temperature. Depending what grains your using you want to test out small batches first. With my rye berries i found 12 is enough to get good hydration but not enough to burst.

This allows time for the endospores to germinate so when you PC you kill everything.

After the soak i put them in a pot on the stove and bring them just up to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 min.

Then strain them and dump them into a clean bin and let them air dry until they are dry on the outside enough that they don’t stick to anything…. Mixing occasionally to keep the moisture even. It evaporates quickly because the grain at hot. Then i add 1/4 tsp of gypsum per Quart of grain to further help them from sticking together and that bring the outside moisture down a bit more.

Some like to add gypsum and some don’t. Personally i feel it helps with contam as it does help the PH a little to keep it less friendly for bacteria and more friendly to fungi. Plus calcium is important for the mycelium also.

Then when i feel i have the right outside moisture i jar them. When i roll the grains in the jars they should not stick to the sides and should not see any liquid/wetness on the grains against the glass. At this point a little to dry on the outside is fine IME because they will pick up a little moisture from pressure cooking.

I use poly and put tinfoil over the tops sealing it as well as possible. Sometimes i will use rubber band to keep the tinfoil tight to help prevent more moisture in the jars since they are usually perfect hydration level when i put them in the PC.

Then i PC for 90min at 15psi. After i let them cool i leave the tinfoil on until i inoculate them and i give each jars a good shake and roll to get any condensation off the walls and the inside bottom of the lid to prevent bacteria since they love standing water.

Then i inoculate and thats how i do it… its been very successful for me to try to make sure i get the endospores to germ before PC.

 

[tobh]

What he said

 

[Observer]

Looks like I may just have a clean batch of cubecellium.

Al though this isn't much to fruit.

But I can in theory exponentiate this batch correct?


So clean out jar, add rice/water, pasteurize more than once, under sab take few grains mycellium rice add to new jar?

 

[Aqua Man]

Looks like I may just have a clean batch of cubecellium.

Al though this isn't much to fruit.

But I can in theory exponentiate this batch correct?


So clean out jar, add rice/water, pasteurize more than once, under sab take few grains mycellium rice add to new jar?

Correct… I usually toss a heaping tablespoon of fully colonized spawn points nto each 1qt jar

 

[tobh]

ideally you'd do a 1:1 ratio to ensure fast colonization. so, take the first colonized jar and divvy it up equally between two jars. take those two colonized jars, split across four jars. keep on until you have the volume of spawn you want.

it's not a hard and fast rule but having more active colonization points in new jars significantly decreases the risk of contamination.

 

[Observer]

Thanks y'all

 

[ninjadip]

Correct, prints are legal in most states. ID, CA, and GA all have restrictions, but everywhere else they're legal. Live mycelium cultures of actives are not, at least not without very special and restrictive licensing.

I am curious about this myself. I've ordered liquid culture 3x now, comes from MI and is shipped to me in VA. No discrete shipping. They do mention on the site not to mention growing them in reviews and only to mention scientific research... It's such a fuzzy area lol

So technically this isn't on the up and up I take it?

Edit, I believe I'm a few days away from fruiting and I'm losing my mind I'm so excited!!

 

[tobh]

So technically this isn't on the up and up I take it?

Correct. Technically the retailer has violated federal law by germinating the spores to create the liquid culture, and you've potentially violated federal law by purchasing what equates to being a precursor for the manufacture of a controlled substance. IANAL but personally I wouldn't fuck with liquid cultures of actives. Simply too much risk of various flavors for me to to be comfortable with that.

Even the "for microscopy purposes only" disclaimer on spores is a bit loose, and I'm not sure it would stand up as a legal defense in court for retailers. I think their only saving grace is they cannot control what customers do with the warez they sell after the transaction is completed, kinda like the old method of putting "for novelty purposes only" on cannabis seed packs.

 

[Observer]

75-85f

 

[tobh]

75-85f

lookin nice and healthy

 

[Aqua Man]

Getting some chunky ones from this flush.

 

[tobh]

Getting some chunky ones from this flush.

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hell yeah. love when you get hero dose sized mushrooms. nothing quite like grabbing a 1/4 oz mushroom instead of a half dozen tinies equal to the same weight

 

[Observer]

Getting some chunky ones from this flush.

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Start to ENVY it after you're first flush