Stropharia Rugoso Annulata (SRA) growlog

[shobimono]

Back in Decemeber I saw a post on another board about a guy in New Zealand finding some Stropharia Rugoso Annulata (SRA), these are also known as wine caps or garden giants.

523623546-wine1.jpg 523642014-wine2.jpg 523642019-wine3.jpg 523642025-wine4.jpg

He generously sent me a print which I added to the library, and then promptly forgot about it.

20060307_sra_print.jpg

I recently remembered the print and decided to create some spawn and try growing them in my garden this year, I also wanted to try a small indoor grow with them too.

I pulled out the print, created a spore pouch (Make spore syringes/pouches - Airport in action) and used this to shoot up 7 pints of wbs. This is what they looked like at room temp after 10 days.

20060311sra_wbs_spawn_day_10.jpg

After another week the spawn was ready and I began to make some tubs.

I pasturized some straw

20060317srabins123create_03_straw_pasturized.jpg

and soaked some wood chips

20060317srabins123create_01_sra_spawn_and_alder_chips.jpg

I originally planned on using 4 pints to make 4 tubs.

20060317srabins123create_02_sra_spawn_and_alder_chips_front.jpg

but it turned out I didn't have enough wood chips and hadn't prepared enough straw for that, so I ended up using 3 pints to make 3 tubs.

Tub 1
20060317srabins123create_04_sra_bin1_front.jpg 20060317srabins123create_05_sra_bin1_top.jpg

Tub 2
20060317srabins123create_06_sra_bin2_front.jpg 20060317srabins123create_07_sra_bin2_top.jpg

Tub 3
20060317srabins123create_08_sra_bin3_front.jpg 20060317srabins123create_09_sra_bin3_top.jpg

Tubs 1, 2 and 3
20060317srabins123create_10_sra_bins_1_2_and_3_created.jpg

This species appears to be an a fairly fast colonizer and it's really rhizomorphic. A week later the tubs look like this.

Tub 1
20060324_sra_bin1_front_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin1_top_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin1_closeup1_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin1_closeup2_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin1_closeup3_day7.jpg

Tub 2
20060324_sra_bin2_front_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin2_top_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin2_closeup1_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin2_closeup2_day7.jpg

Tub 3
20060324_sra_bin3_front_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin3_top_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin3_closeup1_day7.jpg 20060324_sra_bin3_closeup2_day7.jpg

Two days later I decided to create 2 more tubs. I wanted to use the last 4 pints of spawn and really fill the tub up so I made plenty of straw and wood chips.

Spawn
20060326srabins45create_01_sra_spawn_for_bin_4_and_5.jpg 20060326srabins45create_02_sra_spawn_rhizo_closeup.jpg

Tubs 4 and 5
20060326srabins45create_03_sra_bins_4_and_5_front.jpg 20060326srabins45create_04_sra_bins_4_and_5_top.jpg

After four more days, it is now at day 13 for the first 3 tubs. They are growing nicely and look like this.

Tub 1
20060330srabins_sra_bin1_front_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin1_top_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin1_closeup_day13.jpg

Tub 2
20060330srabins_sra_bin2_front_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin2_top_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin2_closeup_day13.jpg

Tub 3
20060330srabins_sra_bin3_front_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin3_top_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin3_closeup1_day13.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin3_closeup2_day13.jpg

Tubs 4 and 5 are at day 4 and are coming along nicely already due to the higher concentration of spawn in the tubs.

Tub 4
20060330srabins_sra_bin4_front_day4.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin4_top_day4.jpg

Tub 5
20060330srabins_sra_bin5_front_day4.jpg 20060330srabins_sra_bin5_top_day4.jpg

[shobimono]

Usually I get lazy at the end of the garden season and leave all the plants to go to seed, and die. Then I let everything sit over the winter and I deal with it in the spring. I used to clean all the vegetation out and put it on my compost pile, but I figured since i was planning on growing the SRA I would just turn all the vegetation into the soil so when the mycelium spread from the mother bed it would find extra food in the soil.

About 2 weeks ago I found out the ground wasn't frozen at all in my garden so I turned it over. The weather has basically held and spring is progressing, so I figured it was time to create the first bed in my garden.

This is where the bed will be.

20060407srabed_01_site_chosen_for_mother_bed.jpg

I stuffed a bunch of straw in a five gallon bucket, then filled it with water to wet down the straw while I made the bed. As I pulled out the wet straw, most of the water was left in the bucket. When the bucket was empty of straw, I filled it up again, stuffing it into the leftover water. I ended up doing this 3 times after the initial filling of the bucket with straw.

20060407srabed_02_straw.jpg

Here are some soaked alder chips.

20060407srabed_03_soaked_alder_chips.jpg

Here are the 2 tubs used in making the bed.

20060407srabed_04_spawn_used_to_make_bed.jpg 20060407srabed_05_spawn_used_to_make_bed_open.jpg

I dug a hole about 2ft wide x 2ft wide x 6in deep.

20060407srabed_06_2ft_x_2ft_x_6in_hole.jpg

I placed a layer of straw on the bottom of the hole and added some wood chips.

20060407srabed_07_bottom_covered_with_straw_and_chips.jpg

To this I broke up the contents of one tub and spread the spawn around.

20060407srabed_08_spawn_added.jpg

I added another layer of straw on top of this. Then I added some more wood chips, and on top of that I spread the second tub of spawn

20060407srabed_09_2nd_layer_straw_chips_spawn.jpg

This was covered with a layer of straw.

20060407srabed_10_layer_of_straw_on_top_of_2nd_layer.jpg

Then the soil was shoveled back in place on top of the bed.

20060407srabed_11_topped_with_soil.jpg

The layering of the bed is as follows (from top to bottom)

soil (surface)
straw
spawn
wood chips
straw
spawn
wood chips
straw
soil (bottom)

At this point I also decided to take the 3rd tub, add some soil from the garden to the top and try to grow it indoors.

20060407sraindoor_01_spawn.jpg 20060407sraindoor_02_spawn_open.jpg
20060407sraindoor_03_topped_with_soil.jpg 20060407sraindoor_04_topped_with_soil_angle.jpg

I'm hoping the weather stays relatively warm and moist and maybe in a month or two I might see something pop up.

The pics look great!!

[golly]

Great project shob....i tried an outdoor rugosa patch along with hypzigus but only the hypzigus fruited...
Seems like a worthwhile mushroom though as it has a long fruiting season + they're HUGE n tasty from what i hear....best o luk....

[siam_jim]

i can't wait to see this...got some going now but it keeps dying on me...shobi is the garden shaded some? how about the when watering the garden plants will it affect the
mycelium growth?

peace
saim

[reverend trips]

This should be good, hope you get huge fruits like in the pics.

[Hippie3]

great thread/pix

sure glad you are back, shobi.

[srgtm1a]

Excellent pics shobi...very nice write up too! I recieved my prints from the same person as you. I am interested to see how this turns out from the wood sub. I am using a different mix of materials, but yeah, it is very rhizo and a very fast colonizer. I have my outdoor beds setup as well, can't wait.

The indoor grows i'm doing seem to be taking forever + a day They are totally colonized, but getting them to pin has been a challenge so far. Can't wait to see your results.

[python]

yes,awesome project and nice detailing............



can't wait to see the results

[troutlips]

Cool thread shobi!

[Pedestrian]

Outdoor grows are the best. You get to see shrooms fruit from the hand of nature. Id also like to add that its often a big hand IME the fruits arent as plentiful but they can get massve and are more "special" if you know what I mean

Keep up the fantastic work. Thanks for all the photos and detail shobimono!


-Ped

Originally Posted by Hippie3

great thread/pix

sure glad you are back, shobi.

Ditto

[cap]

everything looks super
best o luck on yer new adventure
sporeworks also carries a variety of winecap
i have been eyeballing it ever since i found their site way back when
a wild specimen tho, oolala! and just look at the size of this friggin beasht!

[SharkieJones]

Nice pictures. Great write up. Keep us updated.

[shobimono]

Originally Posted by siam_jim

i can't wait to see this...got some going now but it keeps dying on me...shobi is the garden shaded some? how about the when watering the garden plants will it affect the
mycelium growth?

peace
saim

The garden isn't shaded. I ended up putting a layer of straw on top to help keep moisture in the soil. It should stay moist here for the next 2 months before it really starts to dry up. In addition to that, I will be planting vegetables around the bed that will help provide shade as they grow.

I also bought a drip irrigation kit for the vegetable garden. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time but have been to lazy to actually get around to doing. Now with this bed as incentive to get the kit, I'm looking forward to setting it up.

I still have 2 more bins totally full of spawn that will be used to make another bed at the other end of the garden. I'm going to try to get this done in the next week or so.

[siam_jim]

shobi the indoor project looks so promising, i have my in tubs with straw now and will do the same as your and see what happens. i was thinking tho, doesn't the indoor tub need drainage holes and plants?
peace
saim

[panic]

very cool. will kep looking at this thread to see what happens.

[{Mr}fLoYd]

YAY ! ! ! ! SHOBI U MAKE ME SOOOO HAPPY! ! ! i have 2 qts of colonized popcorn of king stroph and had planned to do almost the exact same thing, so im anctious so see how things go. I will probably be starting mine sometime around the end of the month so you will have almost 4-6 weeks on my project. i think im going to do two beds and then a very small second oyster bed too. HOORAY ! ! if nothing else we can compare notes. Also i have read that the King Strophs do not do well indoors because they require a non-sterile growing enviroment (I.E. not like Cubies that require sterilization and cleanliness) and they have a very long fruiting cycle. Not that either of these is really any sort of problem its just what i have read. best of luck and ill post my stuff when i get around to it.

Floyd

[BuckarooBanzai]

EXCELLENT write up and pics. Very simple but plenty of detail. Most inspiring. Thanks!

[anticheffy]

WOW!!!!

that is one awsome appetizer !!!!

[mycobsession]

Really great thread Shobi. Thanks for taking the time to share. I will use this as my bible when I get around to trying to grow these myself.

[shobimono]

Originally Posted by siam_jim

shobi the indoor project looks so promising, i have my in tubs with straw now and will do the same as your and see what happens. i was thinking tho, doesn't the indoor tub need drainage holes and plants?
peace
saim

Drain holes would help any drain away any myc piss or excess moisture, but I also think not having them won't relly hurt anything, so I don't have plans to add them.

I don't think they need plants.

In Stamet's The Mushroom Cultivator there is a picture of SRA fruiting off pasturized straw cased with peat. It mentions the casing can't be sterilized, which suggests that the organisms left after pasturizing are not only beneficial, but necessary for this species. This was the reason I figured I would try soil straight from my garden. I have more spawn going now, so if this one trichs out then I will try another bin and pasturize the soil instead of just using is straight from the garden.

Looking damn good, shobi, and I am really glad you are back posting!

[the_chosen_one]

Originally Posted by dial8

Looking damn good, shobi, and I am really glad you are back posting!

Ditto this!!! Very nice shobi. Planting mine this weekend. Thanks for all the info. I think I'll save some spawn for an indoor run.

[Spark]

[shobimono]

I took a look at the indoor bin and the myc has already broken through the soil casing layer.

20060414sraindoor_day7.jpg

I will probably let this bin go as is and start another indoor bin when the new spawn is ready. With the new bin I think I will add a thick layer of peat over the soil layer.

[golly]

Looks good man ,i think the addition of garden soil to the casing maybe a good move as it proly has a million times the microbes of peat...Thinking of trying something similar to fruit my Pans....

[Bobcat]

Don't drink alcohol when you eat your SRA's, not any for a full day after you eat! Trust me... the results aren't cool! They use up some form of enzyme in your tummy. At least that is what Stametz says. All I know for fact is that they will make you cringe if you mix!

[Bobcat]

Oh, and

[srgtm1a]

I'm really interested in seeing how your indoor grow goes....3 out of 4 of my trays got trich after day 40 . They were fully colonized and looked great, the damn things just wouldn't pin...I tried everything, then finally got trich. I burried the healthy one the other day in the outdoor bed.

great pics so far shobi!

[the_chosen_one]

Originally Posted by srgtm1a

I'm really interested in seeing how your indoor grow goes....3 out of 4 of my trays got trich after day 40 . They were fully colonized and looked great, the damn things just wouldn't pin...I tried everything, then finally got trich. I burried the healthy one the other day in the outdoor bed.
great pics so far shobi!

Damn I'm sorry to hear that srgtm1a! I was looking forward to that one. I still haven't gotten around to mine yet...should be right now but look where I am hahaha. Could be at least two reasons for the lack of pinning. The bacteria in the substrate itself are dead or the spawn run co2 levels were too low. (pgs 337 - 338 GGMM) The co2 levels during the spawn run are very high 20,000ppm with a drop to 1,500ppm to form primordia.........wow! That's quite a bit compared to many of the other vars listed in this book. (tco starts flipping pages)

[shobimono]

I got some time the other day and made the second SRA bed.

This bed used 2 five gallon buckets of straw and a bag of alder wood chips. The straw and wood chips were soaked overnight.

20060415srabed2_01_straw_and_wood_chips.jpg

The spawn for this bed was the 2 tubs I created a couple weeks earlier.

20060415srabed2_02_spawn_used_make_bed2.jpg 20060415srabed2_03_spawn_used_make_bed2_open.jpg

The first bed was made by creating layers of straw and wood chips with crumbled spawn added to these layers.

I decided to try a different method with the second bed.

The idea for this bed is to keep the spawn a solid whole piece and cocoon it in straw and wood chips.

Here is the site selected for the second bed

20060415srabed2_04_bed2_location.jpg

I dug a hole about 3ft x 1.5ft x 8"

20060415srabed2_05_hole_3ftx15ftx8in.jpg

I lined the hole (bottom and sides) with straw,

20060415srabed2_06_hole_lined_with_straw.jpg

and added some wood chips.

20060415srabed2_07_woodchips_added.jpg

I removed the spawn from the tubs, keeping them in whole blocks which I layed them end to end. This will hopefully create a nice solid starting point for growth.

20060415srabed2_08_spawn_added_end_to_end.jpg 20060415srabed2_09_spawn_closeup1.jpg 20060415srabed2_10_spawn_closeup2.jpg

I threw some more wood chips on top of the blocks,

20060415srabed2_11_spawn_topped_with_wood_chips.jpg 20060415srabed2_12_spawn_topped_with_wood_chips_closeup.jpg

and then covered the blocks with straw and wood chips.

20060415srabed2_13_spawn_covered_with_straw_and_wood_chips.jpg

I added some more straw,

20060415srabed2_14_more_straw.jpg

the rest of the wood chips,

20060415srabed2_15_more_wood_chips.jpg

and then covered this with soil.

20060415srabed2_16_covered_with_soil.jpg

The idea with this bed was to create a solid core than had an immediate source of food (straw and wood chips) surrounding it on all sides.

I really don't know what to expect with these beds, but I figure I have a better chance having more than one.

A layer of straw was added over the soil to help keep the moisture in and provide shade until the plants get growing.

I'm also curious to see if there is a difference in growth rate between the two styles of beds.

[shobimono]

I also created another 3 bins.

These were created the same way as the previous bins were. They are a mixture of straw, wood chips and wbs spawn.

20060416sraindoor234_01_spawn_straw_wood_chips.jpg 20060416sraindoor234_02_bins_closed.jpg 20060416sraindoor234_03_bins_open.jpg

These will be used for more indoor attempts. I'm hoping to get lucky and see fruits, but only time will tell.

[siam_jim]

all of mine died again...maybe its too hot here

[shobimono]

Originally Posted by siam_jim

all of mine died again...maybe its too hot here

This species does appear to be a cooler weather mushroom.

According to Stamet's The Mushroom Cultivator;

Spawn run and casing temps - 76-82f with thermal death being reported as low as 90f.

Primordia formation and cropping temps - 55-62f

[Hippie3]

any update ?

[shobimono]

No fruits from any bins.

The first bin colonized the surface of the soil some more

20060427sraindoor1_01_top.jpg

I added some peat to the top

20060427sraindoor1_02_top_after_peatcasing.jpg

I had added some soil to the top of the second bin

20060427sraindoor2_03_soil_added.jpg 20060427sraindoor2_04_soil_added_misted.jpg

After it colonized a bit more I added some peat to the top

20060427sraindoor2_01_top_4_days_after_casing_with_soil.jpg 20060427sraindoor2_01_top_before_peatcasing.jpg 20060427sraindoor2_02_top_after_peatcasing.jpg

The third bin was just cased with peat

20060427sraindoor2_02_top.jpg 20060427sraindoor3_02_top_after_peatcasing.jpg

After colonizing they look like this.

20060517sraindoor1_02_top.jpg 20060517sraindoor2_02_top.jpg 20060517sraindoor3_02_top.jpg

The first bin is getting some trich on the side. That's why the top looks uncolonized. The bin was actually stuck out in the sun to try to slow down the trich. The third bin is starting to attract fungus gnats.

If I don't get fruits I will bury these bins in the garden with some straw.
The outdoor beds haven't produced anything. I'm not sure whether to expect anything from them this season or not.

[srgtm1a]

Nice Pics.

I ran into the same problem with mine indoor....after quite some time (40-45 days), they all started to trich....I also had the gnat problems too.

I've tried everything with those, but for some reason, they just wouldn't pin indoor....they looked just like yours...healthy, and lookin' like fruits any day....but no fruits.

I setup my outdoor beds in late march (still snow on the ground) and the mycelium is just breaking the surface now...so I think you will have better luck with your outdoor.

These take a very long time to grow...which is why I can see mushroom manufactures stay away from cultivating it.

Hopefully you will have better luck with your outdoor beds!

[Hippie3]

These take a very long time to grow

how long is a
very long time ?

[srgtm1a]

for me it took (so far):

about 14 days to colonize the WBS spawn (quarts)

about 16 days to colonize the straw/coir/dirt/compost/wood chips I spawned to.

-56 days in the outdoor bed to do the mycelium run to finally hit the surface.

So far, it's been roughly 86 days total for the outdoor (start to finish) and no fruits just yet. I think it will def. fruit though. From others i have spoken with that were successful with outdoor...this is a normal time frame

According to GGMM:

SPAWN RUN:

25-45 days

PREMORDIA FORMATION:

14-21 days

Fruits:

7-14 days with 3-4 weeks in between flushes.

The problem with indoor is that, in this type of time frame, anything that was sterile, will no longer be sterile.....so most indoor grows get contaminated long before the fruiting cycle starts. The substrate for these has to be sterile, but these require a casing layer that is not sterilized or pasteurized....which eventually leads to contam indoor a lot of the time.

[{Mr}fLoYd]

Yeah staments says that the long fruiting cycle creates problems with indoor growth and since the SRA's dont like/need a sterile enviroment it provides even more possible problems best of luck to both of you i think mine are going to start too late and im screwed ... oh well **shruggs**

[the_chosen_one]

I've also noted (GGMM) that the myc actually likes to be disturbed as well. Seems like that wouldn't so much effect fruiting as it would growth of the myc. I'll have to do a refresher on that chapter.

[shobimono]

I checked the first bed and myc is finally hitting the surface.

20060524srabed1_01_surface_myc1.jpg 20060524srabed1_02_surface_myc2.jpg 20060524srabed1_03_surface_myc3.jpg

The "grass" is actually wheat that is growing from berries left on the straw used to cover the bed.

[maynardsdick]

very nice shobimono.

[Hippie3]

how 'bout
now ?

Originally Posted by Hippie3

how 'bout
now ?

I'm wondering how it is going too

[the_chosen_one]

Me too!

[shobimono]

I tried some different things with the indoor tubs. One I put outside in a shed. The other two I put in a cool basement.

Trich, and eventually fungus gnats too, pretty much completely overtook the two bins in the basement. These were just put outside and will be buried.

The outside bin had been exposed to some sunlight to try to control some of the trich. While sunlight will kill trich on the surface, it doesn't do much to trich in the middle of a substrate.

I ended up doing surgery on the bin and removing a good portion of it.

01_after_trich_surgery.jpg

I mixed up some peat and verm

02_peat_and_verm.jpg

and this time added a thicker casing layer than before

03_thick_casing_layer.jpg 04_thick_casing_layer_side.jpg

this bin has been put in a cool basement.

[srgtm1a]

Have you had any luck getting pins on your outdoor beds yet?

I have visible mycelium all over the place on mine, but still no pins....aaaaahh....

I am giving a second and last go at mine (got some more WBS colonizing)....trying something similar to you...going to put them in bins, but this time, leave the bins outside in a shady corner...not going to make a bed this time. Almost 4mo now and no pins on my outdoor beds.

[shobimono]

My garden doesn't get any shade during the day so I am creating shade for the first outdoor patch (this one had the spawn/straw/woodchips spread into layers). The second outdoor patch (2 big blocks of spawn buried in straw) has not had artificial shade provided. It gets minimal shade from sunflowers and other plants along the edge of it's border.

The beds get moisture from drip irrigation lines that are spread throughout the garden. The myc has reached the surface in both beds, and has even started climbing all over the lines.

20060702srabed1_03_myc_growing_on_dripline.jpg

I haven't seen anything other than surface myc from the second bed, so I went to check the first bed. The shade for the first bed is provided by a wire frame about 5 inches tall that is covered with cardboard.

I lifted the cardboard and look what was staring at me.

20060701srabed1_01_first_fruit.jpg 20060701srabed1_02_first_fruit_closeup.jpg

I replaced the cardboard, but had to check on it's progress the next day. It's gotten slightly bigger.

20060702srabed1_01_first_fruit.jpg 20060702srabed1_02_first_fruit_closeup.jpg

I also found a second fruit.

20060702srabed1_04_second_fruit.jpg 20060702srabed1_05_second_fruit_closeup.jpg