strawnet bars

[truth=peace]

a FOAF has been experimenting with strawnet.
this is basically a sliced cake / edging tek.
1 QT jar rye spawned to strawnet/castings (about 50/50) in a plastic bin about 2" x 6" x 10".
The bin was put in the FC, and 1/2 cased with a little Peat.
The first flush sucked. So, my FOAF sliced it into SIX pieces -
each about the size of a big snickers, and dunked for 1.5 hours.
then rolled it in coarse verm.
this produced a slightly better, but still weak second flush.
So they were dunked again, and this time placed on a layer of perlite,
and covered in a layer of verm,
which was watered with a syringe, once pins formed.

Here are pics of the third flush. decent pinset / fruits.
i think this tek has potential with a better, cloned strain.

either way, it was worth the effort.
the two darker pics are of the same bar - different angle.
the last pic is the yield from one bar.

[reverend trips]

Very nice!

How did you prep the strawnet?

[truth=peace]

thx rev

the strawnet was prepped simply by adding hot water.
the castings were pasturized in the microwave. then added to the strawnet.

maybe next time we'll prep the strawnet, by adding boiling water - with a touch of bleach.
not sure if the castings are necessary?

it's interesting to watch the strawnet change from green to yellow over time.
i wonder why that is? i dont think the drop of bleach in the dunk water would do that?

[Hippie3]

cf. http://forums.mycotopia.net/mushroom...t-journal.html

[eatyualive]

it's interesting to watch the strawnet change from green to yellow over time.
i wonder why that is? i dont think the drop of bleach in the Dunk water would do that?

foaf don't know if ive ever witness this. usually once it colonizes. you cannot see the color anymore. all foaf sees is white.

my suggestion is this.

boil your strawnet for 30 mins. strain it out for about an hour. mix it 1/3 ratios of these three items. strawnet/coir/verm.

this mix is then stuck in turkey tins and pasteurized at 200 degrees for 4 hours. spawned when cool with two quarts per turkey tin. you don't have to do this if your getting away with just adding boiling water.

a foaf of mine doesn't usually do anything but boil. other foaf, boils then pasteurizes especially if you add verm or coir. this is ideal.
then make your log. remember this stuff can take abuse very heavily and i think i read an article a while ago talking about how grass is a bit more contam resistant. and i don't remember the reason. lol.

dunk the hell out of these logs if your first flush isn't impressive. you can get away with a 4 hour dunk between flushes with excellent results. don't be afraid to give those logs a good beating.

this stuff works very well. with coir even better. and make sure when you mix it up. you make sure its completely pulled apart as opposed to being clumpy in areas. it fruits better this way.


you will find that it often shoots out such heavy pinsets that sometimes you will have to dunk before the flush. so don't be afraid.

keep messing with it and maybe add like 10% dung to your mix. the good thing about this stuff is that it should flush out consistently through many flushes. its always dependable. keep messing with it, and when you find that moisture content. you will be bangin flushes. good luck!

next time you get a chance, try filling an entire bin with it at the bottom then spawning that. then let it colonize and birth. it works really well and requires very little maintenance. it will most likely benefit you bc the substrate will produce its own moisture and you won't run into the cakes drying out. and it may help you relieve the pain of adding perlite to the bottom. either way it works. but if you get a chance its worth a try.

[truth=peace]

eatyou,
how exactly do you set up your tubs?
when you spawn, do you layer? do you use a casing layer on top?
and it looks like you put in the FC right when it starts to poke through?

i think i incubated this one too long.
i dont have a pic, but it was covered in white at birth.

thanks for the advice.

[eatyualive]

Originally Posted by truth=peace

eatyou,
how exactly do you set up your tubs?
when you spawn, do you layer? do you use a casing layer on top?
and it looks like you put in the FC right when it starts to poke through?

i think i incubated this one too long.
i dont have a pic, but it was covered in white at birth.

thanks for the advice.

http://forums.mycotopia.net/grow-cha...ngle-tubs.html

1) follow this link. it tells how foaf sets it up.
2) no foaf does not layer. only if applying a casing at the time of spawning. foaf mixes it all in nice and even trying to get every piece of spawn touching substrate.
3) the trays used are the fruiting chamber. it doubles as a tray, incubation chamber, and fruiting chamber all in one.

you should be ok. just keep fanning and let it fruit. then do some rehydration of your casing layer using a sprayer or a dunk.

patience is a virtue. the link above should have some pics of what things look like for you to see where you stand. hope his helps.

also: just posted this

http://forums.mycotopia.net/fungi-gr...rass-info.html (Wheat Grass Info)

[truth=peace]

thx.

already have a greenhouse setup in my closet,
was thinking of doing prettymuch what you said,
except when it's time to fruit, put the whole tub in the greenhouse.

*going to use a slightly smaller tub, so it fits in greenhouse.

anyway, i get the concept. thanks again for all the advice.
wont have any spawn ready for a few weeks now,
but i will post updates as they occur.

[truth=peace]

FOAF strawnet expectations have been met.
thanks to eatyou

FOAF used a multispore LC >
rye and birdseed >
strawnet, verm, coir, castings
pretty much followed eatyou's guide
(spawn ratio a bit high - maybe five or six qts to turkey tin sub)

and FOAF very happy with the results
the fruit seems very very healthy and dense
couple big ones around 8" or so.
85-90% full canopy

+ FOAF use shorter rubbermaid 10 gal tubs (24" x 16" x 8.5"),
so they fit in smaller greenhouse in small closet

FOAF has two humidifiers hosed in, the RH stays at 85% or so
FOAF uses press n seal on bins, gradually pulling back the corners,
more and more, eventually removing completely during cropping.

This works well b/c the greenhouse offers good airexchange,
without maintenece.
the humidifers can go about four days, untouched.

concerns:

-small patch of trich in the corner,
which FOAF just cut out and then dabbed with H202.
hopefully not a huge threat

- the fruit was tenaciously attached,
and it was difficult to harvest w/ out tearing the sub.
we'll see how the 2nd flush turns out.

[twoguysupnorth]

what is strawnet actually? heard alot about it but i havnt ever seen it. why do i want to say watch the corner?

[truth=peace]

strawnet is used as a substitute for straw, when laying grass seed.
it is made from wheat grass, and comes in little green pellets,
which break up and expand, when mixed with water.

the hard part is finding it.
i had to order mine, and the shipping was more than the 50 lb bag!

but it was totally worth it, since a little goes a long way.

look at the above posts c/o eatyou - there's a link to one of his strawnet grow logs.

[eatyualive]

O I guess I dont need to case, after dunk?
i would prefer not to -

anyway,
first flush was great. i did notice a small amount of trich in the corner, which after harvest, i found that was due to a small amount of uncolonized sub - on the bottom of the sub. you couldnt see it, and the trich creeped up to the top.

i have since removed this section, and sprayed surrounding area with bleach h20. I did lose about 1/5 of the total sub, but i'm still hoping for a decent 2nd flush .

thanks.

ive got a very detailed diagram of what i do after a dunk. its all illustrated and everything in this tek below.

http://forums.mycotopia.net/grow-cha...ngle-tubs.html (Eatyu's How To (dub tubs and single tubs))



now. to answer your questions.

you do have to be careful not to birth your sub too early. if you see a tiny spot of uncolonized sub and don't want to wait, just pick it off and birth the entire tub. do it with gloves on and cleanly.

you can dunk for about 8 hours then birth. it requires no casing. try it and hope for the best. foaf doesn't even toy with trich when it comes to water. you may be biting off more than you can chew by spreading it via water. but if its already destined for death, dunk it and see what happens!

[twoguysupnorth]

i had someting along the same lines. after first flush and flooding the myc started growing in a corner by amazing amounts. i cased/patched it once but the next day it was much larger. the next day i had trich. one tray lost, but the other is coming along well on the second flush, i made sure to drain it very well.