Questions about long term culture storage

[extrememetal43]

Greetings everyone how've u guys and gals been? I havent been around to much just keepin a low profile out travelin this summer...fests etc. doin my thing.

I'm not going to be growing for some time. I'm thinkin i wont have to have any grows or experiments goin on for a while like up to a year i think, at least until next summer. But, i have some cultures i do not want to lose. Especially my F+ clone because it is one for the ages. The thing is no joke, this clone is top notch. But, im not going to be able to keep anything in my house as far as cultures etc. I have a safe place to keep all my prints and supplies but as far as live cultures im not goin to have a refrigerated spot.

I was wondering what would be the best way to keep a sample of this. I was thinking maybe an LC would get the job done and maybe stay good for up to a year unrefrigerated but im not sure, what do you all think?

Is there anyway i can keep my agar plates of this clone alive unrefrigerated? what can i do with my agar plates?

Also, speaking of these agar plates. they were stored in a refrigerator for some time and im having a hell of a time reviving them, im showing no growth in my attempts.. now that i think of it the refrigerator has a flaw where the refrigerator freezes up here and there for about a day until i realize it. Could i have killed the cultures if they temporary froze for a day or two along the way. Im thinkin that may have happened. What is the lowest temp cubie cultures can be stored and survive. also, what is the optimal temp that cultures should be stored at so i know for the future? I really do feel that these agar plates have been killed by the freezing.

Im kinda thinking that the best way to keep this clone is just to keep a dried mushroom sample and try and revive it years down the road whenever the time comes. what do you guys think is the best way to keep these clones i have alive?

[Sideshow]

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

I was thinking maybe an LC would get the job done and maybe stay good for up to a year unrefrigerated but im not sure

In my experience, LC's only last 6 months or less. Milage will vary.

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

Is there anyway i can keep my agar plates of this clone alive unrefrigerated? what can i do with my agar plates?

Many plates that I have kept over a year were iffy. Agar is indispensible, no doubt, but a major PITA.

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

Also, speaking of these agar plates. they were stored in a refrigerator for some time and im having a hell of a time reviving them, im showing no growth in my attempts.

Ditto.

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

What is the lowest temp cubie cultures can be stored and survive. also, what is the optimal temp that cultures should be stored at so i know for the future? I really do feel that these agar plates have been killed by the freezing.

I have read that mycelium can be stored at amazngly low temps if
it's done right. But what is practical? IMO, the best way to store cultures would require no refrigeration and last the longest.

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

Im kinda thinking that the best way to keep this clone is just to keep a dried mushroom sample and try and revive it years down the road whenever the time comes.

I've tried this a handful of times with zero success (specimen was cracker dry, but only a few weeks old), I know others here have though.

Originally Posted by extrememetal43

what do you guys think is the best way to keep these clones i have alive?

http://forums.mycotopia.net/liquid-c...k-revised.html (-Fahtty Isolation/Mycelium syringe tek- *REVISED*)

This is the best and easiest way I have used to store cultures for +/- a year. The advantages of this tek are many - No refrigeration. Instant LC when you are ready to use it. I use the tyvek lids for almost EVERYTHING now. Wish Faht was still around

Anyway, good luck!

[Scratch]

Sideshow,

Thanks for the fahtster tek link.

That tek sounds fabulous.
What a jewel.
Small, simple, and lots of uses.

Just to be sure I understood what
you just recommended...
Do you use the fahtster jar for long
term storage, or, the myc syringes?

[MLBjammer]

Use the jars, as the tyvek allows the contents to dry out. Just rehydrate later. The syringes you would want to use immediately.

Just another one of Fahtster's great teks. Faht is AWOL, I hear.

[Sideshow]

Exactly what MLB said