How much light needed in fruiting chamber?

[BBlack]

I've been asking around on other boards and such, and some say the cakes will need 12 hours of light each day in the fruiting chamber. Others say only a few minutes of light are needed per day.

Which is correct?

Also, I plan on putting holes along the bottom on my fruiting chamber, a rubbermaid tote, and fanning it out every day for a minute or so. Is this enough?

Thanks!!

[marmy]

"Need" is the optimal word here.

Just go with 12 on 12 off and you will be fine.

I would fan it a couple 2 or 3 times a day though... After you have pins of course

[shroom31]

yeah if u have a shot gun FC u might be able to get away with not fanning a couple times a day, hell ive left mine for a few days and never had problems. also for the light i just use the natural light we get every day

[BBlack]

Fan after I have pins? Or fan a few times a day UNTIL I have pins?

Will a small plexi glass rectangle in the lid (it's an opaque tub) work?

Or I can use a clear plastic tub and cover it with a white trash bag and let ambient light seep in, will that be enough light? I need this to be a stealth grow.

[shroom31]

I just fan once i put in the FC until they all spent if i remember to do it that is. The more fresh air u give the better chance ull keep contams from forming. most contams dont like O2 but love CO2 which is why u fan to get the CO2 out. I have a shotgun FC with holes in like half of the tote so its not really full blown shutgun chamber. but for the light i just have a clear tub that you could buy at water. u really dont need light but it helps to keep the shrooms growing strait in a sence.
If u want it to be stealthy just put it in ur closet and use like a touch light with rechargeable batteries or use a light in there. Or if u keep ur door locked just keep the tote on ur floor and let the sun light hit them... theres many possibilities u could do for light. as i mentioned i just use natural light coming in my room
Good luck

[ishkaboo]

As long as the FC is getting some indirect sunlight, from an open window for example, it will be fine. Mushrooms are not photosynthetic, they do not need light to grow, but light helps initiate pinning and tells them which way is up. As long as you have a window letting light into the room you'll be fine, I never even bothered with any sort of light setup and everything always turns out fine.

If its in a closet or something you might want to have a light source tho, but IMO 12 on 12 off is sort of excessive and a waste of electricity, just a few hours a day should suffice.

[mydarling]

12/12 is definitely NOT necessary. ishkaboo's advice is dead-on. seriously you don't need 12 hours of light.. that would probably dry out the substrate anyway. just ambient sunlight is fine... you can use a clear tub, or an opaque tub with a clear lid, or a completely opaque tub if you open it on occasion for FAE anyway... fan 1-2x per day until you get a pinset, then you can fan 2-3x per day with fruits. you need a balance of enough FAE to combat contams but not too much FAE that your substrate dries out. these things depend on the size and thickness of your tub, the temperature and humidity, etc. you will learn soon enough how much FAE your particular tubs need.

[StroFun]

ime none is best. i usually get more weight from no light

[Hippie3]

you'll have to show us some pix to prove that claim, stro.
light is needed to form pins,
tested fruiting in the dark extensively with invitro jars
and got very damn little,
a few pins at best likely triggered by the light used to inspect the jars.
in other words
i just don't believe you.
i'm calling bullshit on you.

[mushroommaster7]

lol....



i've heard a small wattage to be best, 13 or so? low heat = low fire risk i'm thinkin

[StroFun]

I misspoke with the darkeness thing. i meant that i did not use any supplemental lighting. Ambient lighting gave me the best results and i'll see what i can do for your pics but i doubt i have what will satisfy you.
With supplemental lighting about 13 horus a day i got smaller mushrooms that had larger caps. With light they seemed meatier but without light i got better results in the end. I'll dig up some pics for you friend if i still have them.

Swim was using EQ and SA and HB on pf cakes as well as bulk tubs of coir.
Was not impressed with EQ even with LC Innoc. SA worked best on bulk and HB gave more dense fruits from PF cakes. in the end SA although hollow stemmed, outperformed HB and EQ. SWIM's LC contammed and i lost about 9 runs in a row before i figured it out and gave up on the glovebox. SWIM is currently switching gears to updgrade equipment and then SWIm will have plenty of pics for you Hip.

[Smiling Turtle]

I really like this thread.....it cleared up alot of confusion i had.
But one question still bugs me. Lets say you leave your FC in your room for the day to receive indirect sunlight. But than once the sun goes down, and you turn on your home lights....do you have to put the FC in a dark room or can it just stay in place throughout the day?

[mydarling]

you can leave it there. darkness is not necessary during the fruiting stage. if you do leave it in the light all the time, just make sure to keep an eye on the humidity and temperature and adjust your fanning/FAE schedule accordingly!