Psilocybe cyanescens

[waylitjim]

This is a tub of Psilocybe cyanescens. The project was started with a Ps. cyan syringe from the Sporelab. 1/2 pint jars of BRF were innoculated and 3 weeks later the BRF was spawned to quart jars of alder chips.
Once 5 Qt jars were colonized, they were mixed in a tub with 10 Qts of freshly soaked alder chips, for a total of 15 Qts. The substrate of chips is about 4 inches deep. This tub was allowed to sit and colonize for 2 months.
Next a casing layer was prepared. A mixture of a cactus soil, vermiculite, coco coir, and small alder chips were moistened to field capacity. A 1/2 inch layer was applied over the top of the chips.
Next grass seed was sprinkled on top. The grass will be allowed to grow on the casing layer providing shade and creating a moist micro climate for cyans thrive. Here's a few pics of the process.
As an experiment, the tub will be fruited in an outdoor shed this Fall.
If all goes well, it should look like that last picture.

[1dumbmyco]

It will be a long summer of yearning to see your results. Thanks for sharing and best of luck. Cybin....not just for homemade cubies anymore. The new breakfast cereal.

[waylitjim]

Ps cyans are usually grown outdoors in nature once the temps drop into the 50's.
A shed is being used for more protection since this is a populated urban area.
The tub will be exposed to the colder outdoor temps, and will have some natural air exchange.
This experiment was inspired by a nice greenhouse grow by Mikeofyle.

http://archives.mycotopia.net/discus...tml?1108233091

[spacecake]

So Wajlitjim ,your not sitting still either !!!

How long do you soak the chips ?

[Lazlo]

Nice work Jim, as usual!

Jim, thanks for posting such great info with pics on the woodlovers! I appreciate it cuz I'm learning more about them! lookin' good and can't wait to see them in the fall!

[waylitjim]

Originally Posted by spacecake

So Wajlitjim ,your not sitting still either !!!
How long do you soak the chips ?

The chips were soaked for 48 hrs. Since they float, they were held under water for maximum water retention. For this project, the initial Qt jars of alder were sterilized for 1 hr. - just to be safe since BRF was involved. Once the mycelium network is established, just soak new chips and add them to your patch as needed, which is usually after each season.

Pasteurizing isn't necessary if your work is clean. Once a bed of woodlovers is established, there is very little risk of the project contaminating. Wood chips and other lignious substrates are very selective and rarely contaminate. Therefore pasteurization can be adequate - but sterilization can be fine as well. I generally tranfer to a small amount of straight moist woodchips and then increase woodchips as it colonises...no pasteurizing or sterilizing.

Another method some growers use for Ps cyans is to use a small amount of oat bran with your woodchip spawn. Using oat bran in small amounts with you woodchip spawn boosts colonization times (compared to woodchips alone). If you go this route, just don't forget to pressure cook the jars since grains are involved. Try soaking chips until waterlogged then boiling, drain well, mix in some oat bran (20/1 or less) then load into jars, pressure cook and innoculate.

The addition of oat bran can boost colonization times by 20% and the risk of contamination is fairly low because there's not a lot of oat bran in the spawn, it's mostly wood. Also, outdoors the oat bran works better than whole grain because it doesn't attract as many pests.

[ill eagle]

Another thing that boosts colonization time is to use chips of different sizes, all the way down to very small (but not sawdust. That way your substrate is more "filled in" and not just a mass of fairly large chunks.

[max]

Excellent work, simply perfect!

I hope you grabbed some spores, they are getting harder to find every year. We are totally out!

[ill eagle]

Excellent indoor fruiting pic!!
I'll say it again though- if you live outside of this species natural habitat most people find that azures are easier to fruit and more potent to boot.
Max, why don't you offer azures? I sent you a print a several years back.

[armorking1]

Looks like you'll be really busy this summer with that project.

Hey, are cyans really that much harder to get to fruit than cubs?
I noticed that the jar's don't look as thick of the white stuff as cubs...is that typical of cyans colonizing jars?

[Hippie3]

great work as usual
thx for sharing

[bluewell]

Originally Posted by ill eagle

Excellent indoor fruiting pic!!
I'll say it again though- if you live outside of this species natural habitat most people find that azures are easier to fruit and more potent to boot.
Max, why don't you offer azures? I sent you a print a several years back.

Have you and others who say that used Ps. Cyanescens from more than one source? (And where do you live? It could be that this is true for where you live but not for everywhere else?)

i love the fact that during the winter months i can just run a intake hose from a box outside my window and get 35-50 degree temps all day long . im really thinking of doing some indoor grows with ps.cyans . i didnt get any this year because i forgot to add new chips and they just didnt get the wood they needed this year . nice tek waylit . this is why i voted for you as one of the top 5 growers on the myco-web .
later VII

[sadsoul]

Nice grow like always , you should be called ( Pan Cyan Wizard ) , i love your threads they always have something new to learn...

Best wishes ! Always ! sincerely .....................

[Hippie3]

we sure see more cyan success indoors than we do w/azures

[osoloco69]

an update please

[Hippie3]

been almost 2 years,
how they doing ?

[mycobri]

i dream of wavy caps

just working with these now &
i wouldnt have a clue if it werent your posts waylit

woodlovers

[mjshroomer]

Its a shame that all of the photos to this were lost in the USA mail when I moved back to the mainland from Hawaii.

But here is a closet of Psilocybe cyanescens just getting ready to fruit. some have appeared but the major flushes were fantastic. Grown on alder chips known as Steer-Co from Sawdust Supply , a major landscaping firm which is responsible for 90 percent of all Seattle outdoor patches of P. cyanescens.

Great job Waylitjim

mjshroomer

[waylitjim]

Wow, those are great photos MJ.
Any idea how the cool temps were maintained.

wow indoor cyans! more details mj!!!

[eatyualive]

its always a pleasure seeing your pics waylit!
yes please more info... did they use an indoor walkin cooler or something?

[mjshroomer]

Originally Posted by eatyualive

its always a pleasure seeing your pics waylit!
yes please more info... did they use an indoor walkin cooler or something?

No, they were grown in an indoor basement in February and March during a long cold winter, something Seattle has not seen in years. These were grown in the in the late 1970s in Steer-Co alder wood chips.

Each box produced close to three pounds or more of fresh thin stalked cyans.

We later transplanted the mycelia form the boxes after picking several flushes into a public area and the next two years, shrooms appeared naturally. But then disappeared by the third year. That is their normal cycle and if the mulch is not replaced each spring, the shrooms disappear after the third year of growth due to a loss of nutrients in the chips.

mjshroomer