Jars are Drying Out

boomericaro · 11-06-09, 13:16

I visited my friend the other night who is attempting PF TEK jars right now with OI. As I stated before only one or two points of inoculation germinated per jar and the jars are around 70% colonized but appear to be drying up. They have retracted from the walls of the jar at the point of inoculation and look dry, though there is condensation on the inside wall of the jar. They have been incubating at around 82F. Is there any hope, anything that can be done to intervene and save these jars? My friend has coir, a glovebox, all PF Tek supplies, an terrarium, perlite, and popcorn supplies. Could a chunk of cake that is fully colonized be used to innoculate popcorn jars, more pf jars, or could sections of the cake that arent yet colonized be cut out and be double layer cased in coir? I'm just throwing ideas out, if anyone has advice it would be greatly appreciated.

ThirdEyePriedWide · 11-06-09, 13:37

not an expert by any means, but ill throw in my two cents..

first, i would wonder if theres a strange smell, maybe like a sour apple. if so, its bacterial contamination. the condensation would seem to exclude drying out, as the rice would pull moisture off the sides while drying. from what ive read, most people explicitly denounce casing non-100% colonized cakes. contam heaven. if u try it, id be sure to cut off all thats not 100%, plus a little for safety. maybe wait for more replies tho, and good luck!

boomericaro · 11-06-09, 13:39

There are no funky smells, one jar was opened and experimented upon (kept away from everything else, crumbled up and put between 2 layers of coir in a small dish) and it has that nice mushroomy smell.

Faaip De Oaid · 11-07-09, 02:12

just give it time. i had one jar take over two months! and when i birthed it there was a patch of exposed brf the size of a pencil eraser. luckily it was at the top, so i DE cased it. if your worried abouts contams for DECing, then bake your verm in the oven for 45 min at about 350 degrees F (my guess-ive never had problems with contams from casing pf cakes).

foaf advises to dunk your cakes immediately after birthing, before fruiting. I never have, but it makes sense, alot of moisture is used during colonization. a few youtube videos advise dunking before the first flush, but i think i read that some people feel it to be unnecessary.

make sure its warm, but not to hot. nothing over 80 degrees F. them cakes create their own heat

MLBjammer · 11-07-09, 07:27

If they are colonizing, leave them alone. Cakes will shrink as the mycelium eats the substrate. I would personally flip the cakes over on their lids to aid gas exchange, speed colonization.

I have had cakes take up to 6 or 7 weeks to finish, but they were good fruiters once they got going. Don't birth them early--you are just asking for trouble as any uncolonized part of the cake is a buffet for contams.

As you grow more cakes, your technique will get better, and you will be able to speed your colonization times up. I have been doing BRF cakes for about 8 years now, and my cakes typically are ready to birth in about three weeks from multispore, a little quicker for isolates.

82 F is just fine for your incubating temps. Anything over 85-86 F is asking for trouble.

Good lick!

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11-06-09, 13:16	#1 (permalink)
boomericaro Mycophiliac Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5	Jars are Drying Out I visited my friend the other night who is attempting PF TEK jars right now with OI. As I stated before only one or two points of inoculation germinated per jar and the jars are around 70% colonized but appear to be drying up. They have retracted from the walls of the jar at the point of inoculation and look dry, though there is condensation on the inside wall of the jar. They have been incubating at around 82F. Is there any hope, anything that can be done to intervene and save these jars? My friend has coir, a glovebox, all PF Tek supplies, an terrarium, perlite, and popcorn supplies. Could a chunk of cake that is fully colonized be used to innoculate popcorn jars, more pf jars, or could sections of the cake that arent yet colonized be cut out and be double layer cased in coir? I'm just throwing ideas out, if anyone has advice it would be greatly appreciated.

11-06-09, 13:37	#2 (permalink)
ThirdEyePriedWide Sirius Psychonaut Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 96	not an expert by any means, but ill throw in my two cents.. first, i would wonder if theres a strange smell, maybe like a sour apple. if so, its bacterial contamination. the condensation would seem to exclude drying out, as the rice would pull moisture off the sides while drying. from what ive read, most people explicitly denounce casing non-100% colonized cakes. contam heaven. if u try it, id be sure to cut off all thats not 100%, plus a little for safety. maybe wait for more replies tho, and good luck! __________________ Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced. -T.McKenna

11-07-09, 02:12	#4 (permalink)
Faaip De Oaid Rotten Apple Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 96	just give it time. i had one jar take over two months! and when i birthed it there was a patch of exposed brf the size of a pencil eraser. luckily it was at the top, so i DE cased it. if your worried abouts contams for DECing, then bake your verm in the oven for 45 min at about 350 degrees F (my guess-ive never had problems with contams from casing pf cakes). foaf advises to dunk your cakes immediately after birthing, before fruiting. I never have, but it makes sense, alot of moisture is used during colonization. a few youtube videos advise dunking before the first flush, but i think i read that some people feel it to be unnecessary. make sure its warm, but not to hot. nothing over 80 degrees F. them cakes create their own heat __________________ "Swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human" - MJK

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11-06-09, 13:39	#3 (permalink)
boomericaro Mycophiliac Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5	There are no funky smells, one jar was opened and experimented upon (kept away from everything else, crumbled up and put between 2 layers of coir in a small dish) and it has that nice mushroomy smell.

11-07-09, 07:27	#5 (permalink)
MLBjammer Addicted to Invitro Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,864	If they are colonizing, leave them alone. Cakes will shrink as the mycelium eats the substrate. I would personally flip the cakes over on their lids to aid gas exchange, speed colonization. I have had cakes take up to 6 or 7 weeks to finish, but they were good fruiters once they got going. Don't birth them early--you are just asking for trouble as any uncolonized part of the cake is a buffet for contams. As you grow more cakes, your technique will get better, and you will be able to speed your colonization times up. I have been doing BRF cakes for about 8 years now, and my cakes typically are ready to birth in about three weeks from multispore, a little quicker for isolates. 82 F is just fine for your incubating temps. Anything over 85-86 F is asking for trouble. Good lick!