Cakes nearly ready to birth, input is very welcome.

[GoodMojo]

I've taken some pics of my first shot at growing. I have followed the PF tek pretty much to the letter to this point.

The jars were inoculated 15 days ago, have been kept in a closet with temps between 74-78. The verm that is seen along the top of the cakes is the dry layer that has gradually fallen between the jars and the slightly shrunken cakes. There appears to be plenty of moisture in the cakes, as there are tiny droplets clinging to the inside of the glass--not much, but a little. There is NO water pooling in the jar bottoms.

The surface of the cakes are a bit irregular in places. I think that in my effort to not compact them when filling, I may have actually not made them quite tight enough.

My plan is to birth them as cakes to a FC with pearlite (this time around). I had been thinking of using the Shotgun FC. There seems to be as many detractors as there are proponents of that method. Thoughts? (I live in the Mid-Atlantic region so it's neither arid nor oppressively humid (Florida humid) here.

The cakes are nearly there. Only one is lagging significantly, as can be seen in the photos. I especially would appreciate input as to how to tell when they're good to go. Again, I've read some contradictory opnions on this. BTW, I know they're not ready yet-- I may dress funny but I'm not stupid.

Thanks, and be well!

[boots420]

well basically they will be ready to birth when they are completely colonized 100%. Once completely colonized i give the jars an extra 3 days or so then birth them to the fc.

other than that.... according to your pics: your almost there.

you shall be doing the pinning dance soon.....


i have never heard of this shotgun fc. but i do know that perlite is def the way to go for your first time around. easy as pie.

[weeeeeee]

yep just wait a bit longer m y friend as you know simple perlite chamber with losts of FA
E will do you fine dont put the caakes right on the perlite though i NEVER cram my substrate into jars the more arid the metter IME but it seems to be workin usually when people do that i see fewr bigger boomers just my two cents peazzzzz ninja and those look if i forgot kiind of out of it at the moment

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by boots420

i have never heard of this shotgun fc. but i do know that perlite is def the way to go for your first time around. easy as pie.

i dunno crumbling those bad boys and casing is always more FRUITful for me ... im corny but whatever i love crumbling cakes with just a little worm poo i dunno so much to be done im confusing you well maybe not but im rambling goodbye sorry for fuckign your thread

[GoodMojo]

I've read so much I think I'm confusing myself. So when they are ready to go, they should look like snowballs? ...meaning little if any verm showing?

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by GoodMojo

I've read so much I think I'm confusing myself. So when they are ready to go, they should look like snowballs? ...meaning little if any verm showing?

ok so when you first think they are done let them sit 2 more days then they are done congrats any idea what you plan to do with them yet

[GoodMojo]

Originally Posted by weeeeeee

ok so when you first think they are done let them sit 2 more days then they are done congrats any idea what you plan to do with them yet

Well, I had planned to fruit them as cakes, but as the time nears and having read quite a few thoughts similar to yours, I may just crumble one or two.

[weeeeeee]

yes please experiment itll be good for you introduce you to bulks which i believe are teh way to do unless you have a lab but any who..... i found this and recommend it for 2 half pints. its like 3 quarts thats tiny youll want atround like 12 or somthin i dont knoww never tried one that small.
paint the sides and bottom black get some worm casting or to keep it simple some coir maybe some supercake mix blahtooo much man i am smacked or something i hav ebeen rembling all over these forums tonight

[MLBjammer]

Weeeeee, you must have a hell of a good buzz going !

As far as crumbling and casing, it is a good idea. Don't case the bottom--waste of energy--and use straight vermiculite or verm/coir. Look at the old Hongus Tek for pointers.

Peace.

[whatchamacallit]

SWIM, depending on how many jars one has, would try invitro for one or two, case one or two, and fruit the others in cake form, maybe DEC, em.

[MLBjammer]

Yes, always keep a few invitros for insurance. I did not mean for you to case all your cakes.

[firerat]

Originally Posted by GoodMojo

Well, I had planned to fruit them as cakes, but as the time nears and having read quite a few thoughts similar to yours, I may just crumble one or two.

I wouldn't do that yet man. Follow the PF tek and get a few good flushes. Then play around with crumbling and all that. Get a few successful grows.

Trying to jump into the more advanced stuff can be a bit disappointing. Letting a few go invitro is a good idea as well.

If they are ready to birth, give the cakes a dunk for about 8-10 hrs.and birth them in your FC. (Do you have an FC set-up yet?)

Case with some verm (double end or just the top, whatever you want to try). Keep the RH up as close to 100 as possible by misting every few days. If you see moisture on the sides of the FC, you are good.

Be patient, don't open the FC too much, and you will succeed in no time.

Good luck.

[BuckarooBanzai]

You don't have to wait for the verm layer on top to colonize. Just the BRF needs to colonize. You will scrape off the top layer of verm when you birth them anyway. Don't birth any cake until all the visible BRF is completely colonized.

If you build an incubator of some sort and get the jars up to 83F-84F, they will grow much, much quicker. A cardboard box wrapped in a blanket and sitting on top of the refrigerator (or television) will usually work quite nicely.

Cakes need nearly 100% humidity to fruit. I would leave the tub totally sealed and do manual fanning 3-4 times per day for fresh air exchange.

Put about 1/2 inch of moist Perlite on the bottom of the tub. No standing water. Every time you open the tub, the walls and lid should be moist with condensation. If they are not, mist the walls and lid.

Do not sit the cakes directly onto the Perlite. I like to use little aluminum foil boats to sit them on.

If you put a layer of moist vermiculite under the cake and on top of it, you will get better results (that is called double ended casing or DEC).

If you use a 50/50 mix of coir and vermiculite to DEC, it works even better.

I would not try crumbling and casing yet if I were you.

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by MLBjammer

Weeeeee, you must have a hell of a good buzz going !

As far as crumbling and casing, it is a good idea. Don't case the bottom--waste of energy--and use straight vermiculite or verm/coir. Look at the old Hongus Tek for pointers.

Peace.

i would never case the bottm unless it is a BRF cake did i say that hahaha i hope not i was destroyed last night i was simply suggesting experimenting with crumbling cakes to get the man or woman familiar with casings/ bulks

i like the idea of keeping some for invitro and fruiting some as is and playing with the others whether it be crumbling for just casing or spawning to a bulk sub

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by firerat

I wouldn't do that yet man. Follow the PF tek and get a few good flushes. Then play around with crumbling and all that. Get a few successful grows.

Trying to jump into the more advanced stuff can be a bit disappointing. Letting a few go invitro is a good idea as well.

see i totally oppose your ideas of keeping it simple the first time around especially if he has multiple jars like that to play with he has a couple days till they are ready anyways so why not spend that time and read up on casings, bulks, and other fruiting techniques

i suppose you could let your cakes flush a couple times then experiment with crumbling your slightly used cakes that would provide even more time for learning

[MLBjammer]

I always advise a little experimentation. Heck, it is the only way to learn--as long as you aren't sacrificing an entire grow. I guess it all depends on how much mush you want.

Weeee, you are a trip!

[firerat]

Originally Posted by weeeeeee

see i totally oppose your ideas of keeping it simple the first time around especially if he has multiple jars like that to play with he has a couple days till they are ready anyways so why not spend that time and read up on casings, bulks, and other fruiting techniques

i suppose you could let your cakes flush a couple times then experiment with crumbling your slightly used cakes that would provide even more time for learning

Yeah I see what you're saying weeee. And if he/she has enough cakes, maybe crumble a few and see what happens.

So long as there are enough to follow through with the simple tek first, experimenting could be fun. But keep focus on the PF. The main goal of grow #1 is actually producing fruits. Nothing is more frustrating than spending all this time researching, building, then having it all fail due to contams or whatnot. (ask me how I know )

Jumping right into casings and all that right off the bat has more potential for failure and can be disheartening. He's already through the hard part of the PF. Why not follow through, get some fruits, celebrate, then give something harder a shot next time.

I'm from the school of baby steps. Learn the most simplistic methods first, then grow from there.

Just my advice speaking from personal experience. YMMV

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by firerat

Yeah I see what you're saying weeee. And if he/she has enough cakes, maybe crumble a few and see what happens.

So long as there are enough to follow through with the simple tek first, experimenting could be fun. But keep focus on the PF. The main goal of grow #1 is actually producing fruits. Nothing is more frustrating than spending all this time researching, building, then hving it all fail due to contams or whatnot. (ask me how I know )

Jumping right into casings and all that right off the bat has more potential for failure and can be disheartening. He's already through the hard part of the PF. Why not follow through, get some fruits, celebrate, then give something harder a shot next time.

I'm from the school of baby steps. Learn the most simplistic methods first, then grow from there.

Just my advice speaking from personal experience. YMMV

and good advice too my friend i just saw all those jars and was trying to push the good ol true topiate spirit of experimentation and gaining of knowledge i also highly recommend keeping some for standard fruiting in a perlite chamber or invitro