PF jars, inoculation through birth - a photo essay

[BuckarooBanzai]

A FOAF sent this to me, so I'm posting it. Please not that "I" from this point on refers to him. Also, PLEASE don't comment until I finish the thread. I'll indicate completion with a "post is complete" message. Thanks for being patient...

As always, click any picture to see the full sized version...

Premise:
I have noticed a lot of questions about what jars "should" look like. Does mine look right? Does it look dry? Does it look wet? Should it be farther along than this? What SHOULD my jar look like on day 5?

In an effort to help aleviate some newbie stress, I’ve decided to put together this photo essay on the "standard" life cycle of a jar. Please note: these jars are Mycrotopia substrate, they were inoculated with liquid culture, they were incubated at 83F and the strain is a very aggressive B+ isolate. The end result of these four factors is that these jars grew very quickly.

If your jars are "standard" BRF mix, they will go just a little slower. If you are incubating at a cooler temperature, your jars will go just a little slower. If you are inoculating with spore water, your jars may be a day or two behind these. If you aren’t using an aggressive culture, your jars may go a little slower.

Don’t be horribly concerned if your growth spots are smaller, or take longer to show up. This essay should NOT be taken as an absolutely literal interpretation of what you will see. Even following these exact parameters, different strains can grow at different speeds.

This is an FYI of what you MIGHT see. It is NOT an absolute ruler to judge your success by.

Strain: B+, agar isolate
Jars: wide mouth ½ pints, silicone injection ports with double tyvek vents
Substrate: Mycrotopia mix (http://www.mycrotopia.com)
Incubation: 83F, total darkness
Liquid culture: malt extract, dextrose and Karo (4% sugar by weight)

Jars were inoculated with a total of 2mL of liquid culture (.5mL per injection site). The sharpie nmbers on each jar indicate the jar and inoculation site. Six jars were originally photographed for this essay, the slowest and fastest were discarded. The pictures you see below are of jar 4, the “median speed” grower of the group.

It is HIGHLY recommended that you use Mycrotopia mix substrate for jars. The mix is, quite simply, superior in speed (and later production) to a “plain” BRF mix. Ordering directly from Hippy3 is the “best” way to go, because the mix is always perfect and every order helps support this wonderful site. If you can’t afford to buy Mycrotopia mix, a little digging on this site will locate Hippy3’s recipe and allow you to make your own Mycrotopia substrate. “Plain” BRF WILL WORK ADEQUATELY, if that is your choice. Mycrotopia substrate just works a little better...

Standard BRF Vs. Mycrotopia mix:
Attachment 23163
BRF (left), Mycrotopia (right) at 3 days of incubation


Some growth was noted at sites 4 and 1 on day 1 (24 hours after inoculation). The growth areas were so small, however, that they were difficult to photograph effectively without an exteme closeup. Closeups can be extemely misleading - I wanted you to see the jar in toto. Also, those starting with spore water will likely not have visible growth on day 1. As a result (and to avoid confusion), we will begin with jar 4 on day 2 (48 hours after inoculation):

Day 2:
Attachment 23150
Jar 4, inoculation site 1, 48 hours growth


Attachment 23151
Jar 4, inoculation site 2, 48 hours growth


Attachment 23152
Jar 4, inoculation site 3, 48 hours growth


Attachment 23153
Jar 4, inoculation site 4, 48 hours growth



Day 3:
Attachment 23154
Closeup, jar 4, inoculation site 1, 3 days growth


Attachment 23155
Jar 4, inoculation site 1, 3 days growth


Attachment 23156
Jar 4, inoculation site 2, 3 days growth


Attachment 23157
Jar 4, inoculation site 3, 3 days growth


Attachment 23158
Jar 4, inoculation site 4, 3 days growth

[BuckarooBanzai]

Day 4:
Attachment 23164
Jar 4, inoculation site 1, 4 days growth


Attachment 23165
Jar 4, inoculation site 2, 4 days growth


Attachment 23166
Jar 4, inoculation site 3, 4 days growth


Attachment 23167
Jar 4, inoculation site 4, 4 days growth



Day 5:
Attachment 23168
Jar 4, inoculation site 1, 5 days growth


Attachment 23169
Jar 4, inoculation site 2, 5 days growth


Attachment 23170
Jar 4, inoculation site 3, 5 days growth


Attachment 23171
Jar 4, inoculation site 4, 5 days growth

[BuckarooBanzai]

No photos were taken on day 6...

Day 7:
Attachment 23172
Jar 4, innoculation site 1, 7 days growth


Attachment 23173
Jar 4, innoculation site 2, 7 days growth


Attachment 23174
Jar 4, innoculation site 3, 7 days growth


Attachment 23175
Jar 4, innoculation site 4, 7 days growth



Day 8:
Attachment 23176
Jar 4, innoculation site 1, 8 days growth


Attachment 23177
Jar 4, innoculation site 2, 8 days growth


Attachment 23178
Jar 4, innoculation site 3, 8 days growth


Attachment 23179
Jar 4, innoculation site 4, 8 days growth

Additional photos after day 8 were not taken, as they seemed rather redundant. This cake was birthed 72 hours after the last photograph, even though they were fully colonized a day before. I always wait until 24 hours after full coloniation to birth a cake. You don't have to do this, but it helps guarantee that colonization is complete inside the cake. Complete colonization is CRITICAL if you intend to crumble the cake for spawn.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Okay, that's it, post is complete. Comment as you see fit...

[Hippie3]

fully colonized in 8 days ain't bad.
your post almost reads like an ad for mycrotopia.com,
i appreciate the kudos.


know what you left out ?
the view of the bottom,
often the last spot to finish.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Damned if I didn't forget underside photos. Totally escaped my mind. Friggin' stoners...

As to the commercial aspect, hey, pictures speak louder than words!

Mycrotopia substrate is simply faster and more productive than "plain" BRF. FOAF has seen too many cases of this to deny it's essential truth. Speed is of the essence with cakes, so why not use a substrate that gives you a leg up in that category?

Since you've been generous enough to publish your recipe, even folks that are doing a grow on a "shoestring" (or are afraid of mail ordering) can take advantage of the speed boost. Of course, I didn't link directly to that recipe, even though I know it is out there.

As Martha says, "It's a good thing."

[Hippie3]

the current recipe-

i use lake water with 2 tablespoons of liquid kelp extract added per
gallon
i toss a cup of worm castings in a 2.5 gallon jug with that and let it
brew a couple days

> a batch = 12 half pints

each batch gets 4 cups verm, medium horticultural
2 cups coarse ground rice
2 cups water 'tea'

then i add

1 teaspoon of nut. yeast,
1 tablespoon bee pollen,
1 tablespoon flax seed, mixed 50/50 red and golden
1 tablespoon shredded coconut meat,
1 tablespoon blue corn meal
1 tablespoon yellow corn meal

and mix well

[BuckarooBanzai]

And that's why I didn't link to it! I figured if you wanted it right here, you could put it right here.

I also had a little sneaking suspicion that the cornmeal might have made it into the mix.

Looking forward to trying the "new brew!"

[Hippie3]

in larger bulk amounts [in my mycrobags]
i also add 1 cup of popcorn
per 'batch' above
to further lighten the mix
and aid fast colonization.