Bulk substrate, spawning through full colonization: a photo essay

[BuckarooBanzai]

One of the biggest points of concern amongst the newbies is, “WHAT SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE????” I got some good feedback on the last photo essay I published on PF cakes. If you haven’t seen it, take a peek:
http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=10056 (PF jars, inoculation through birth - a photo essay)

Based on that, I thought a similar essay on bulk substrates might be useful. So, I took some pics of my FOAF’s latest work and collected them here.

A few things to be aware of:
1> This is an isolate (a damned good one) and grows quickly.
2> My FOAF spawns at a very high rate, usually 1:3 (spawn to substrate), so it grows very quickly. Popcorn is damned cheap, after all.
3> This project was incubated at 81F, so it grew quickly.

The point here is pretty simple: this project grew very quickly. Your results will probably be a little slower (or maybe faster, my FOAF ain’t no mycologist). This essay is not meant to show you exactly what your project will look like at a given time. The idea is to give you an impression of what your project should look like as it progresses – the time frames can vary a LOT. Don’t freak if yours goes a little slower!

The spawn (popcorn) and bulk substrate were prepared following the process outlined in my Buckaroo Bulk Nugget thread:
http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=11576 (Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek (invitro, spawn bags and/or ½ gallon jars))

After spawning, the bulk substrate was incubated at 81F with a very loose fitting aluminum foil cover. The popcorn was prepared in a medium sized pre-sealable spawn bag from Sporeworks.com and inoculated with 60mL of liquid culture.

The strain is B+ (originally acquired from Sporeworks.com).

So, without further adieu, the essay…

Substrate just spawned:



Substrate at 1 day:



Substrate at 2 days:




Substrate at 3 days:




Substrate at 4 days:




Substrate at 5 days:




Substrate at 6 days:


Take note of the metabolites (yellow “mycelia piss”) starting to accumulate in certain spots. This is perfectly normal and nothing to be concerned about. Sometimes my FOAF pours it off (when he notices it) and sometimes it is left sitting (when he is lazy). It is probably better to pour it off but leaving it alone isn’t a guarantee of failure.

This project will be incubated for an additional 48 hours to let the mycelia penetrate the substrate as fully as possible. The additional incubation is NOT required, but my FOAF feels that it helps. He also lets cakes go 48 hours after full colonization before introducing light.

PLEASE BE AWARE: these pictures are a mixture of the best images of a couple of different projects that were run at the same time (same isolate, same substrate, but different containers). If you note a little variance, that is why.

So, there you have it. Questions?

[the jesus]

Been waiting for this one. I am sure it will be a big help to many. Nice to see the Institute expanding. Excellent as always.

[CoyoteMesc]

that is damn fast from my foaf's
spawning experience...
Do you layer or kinda mix the spawn in?
(question probably answered in your Bulk nugget thread) sorry for the quick answer request

[Hippie3]

nice

you're using worm castings right ?
make your own or commercial,
if commercial what brand using ?

[BuckarooBanzai]

My FOAF found that layering spawn and bulk substrate really didn't work very well (for him). Everything is just mixed up as thoroughly as possible with a big spoon. No problem on questions, man. That is what the thread is for!

The worm castings are all commerical and the brand is "Wiggle Worm Soil Builder." FOAF has been brewing casting teas for his special plants for a number of years. Wiggle Worm is the most uniform in composition and quality that FOAF has worked with.

[cap]

Originally Posted by BuckarooBanzai

My FOAF found that layering spawn and bulk substrate really didn't work very well (for him). Everything is just mixed up as thoroughly as possible with a big spoon. No problem on questions, man. That is what the thread is for!
The worm castings are all commerical and the brand is "Wiggle Worm Soil Builder." FOAF has been brewing casting teas for his special plants for a number of years. Wiggle Worm is the most uniform in composition and quality that FOAF has worked with.

ditto.
www.vermiculture.com

[Hippie3]

yeah, i've used their stuff before, very good .

[dial8]

Nice write up as always, bb! You plan on casing it or not? Looks like it would do really well uncased.

thats gonna help a lot of people! great work buckaroo!
is it just me or does having castings in bulk substrates make myc grow faster than normal?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Thank you all very kindly!

I don't know about faster, but mycelia really tears through castings. I think it is because they don't form the hard/dense areas like manure does. Just speculation, though.

No chance in heck of that getting cased. It would just slow things down.

[Hippie3]

true, castings are fluffier than dung, esp. if the dung hasn't been finely shredded. but i think much of the speed of growth observed is due to the high incubation temperature- it really makes a huge difference.

[Freaky]

Excellent as always BB!!!! Great pictorial!

Glad to hear you're going to let it go uncased, it looks like it'll pin in no time.

[TheJackal]

AWESOME, AS ALWAYS!

[dial8]

I usually achieve full colonization of straw in around 7-8 days (I'm a heavy spawner) but I've never seen a pin before day 14. Do you see the same thing, bb?

[malefacter]

my foaf places his pasteurized straw/compost mixture in a bucket along with spawn places a lid on the bucket and rolls it around the house for an even mix

[BuckarooBanzai]

Yep, 13 or 14 days is usually when they pop, though sometimes even a tad longer (16-17 days isn't unheard of - my FOAF usually drops 'em to the 70-72 range to fruit). The high incubation temp / heavy spawn ratio is primarily to get an advantage over the contaminants - it doesn't really bring faster fruiting.

Well, it might be faster than a really light spawn ratio, but probably not by a lot.

My FOAF has never been able to get straw to do anything but turn into a stinky (but colorful) mess! It is cool how each of us has our own favorite processes to discuss without dissing how other folks get 'er done - it lets the newbies know how many different ways there are to succeed!

[dial8]

And there are a whole bunch of different ways!

[Punkd]

Any chance of an update on the fruits of this ?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Sorry, FOAF didn't take any harvest pics.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Got a harvest pic now.

1st flush from a tray done in the exact same style (same substrate, same isolate, even the same containers) as those above: