No more odered spore syringes

[coconut1225]

a cuple months ago i order 2b+ syringes and 12 brf cakes. Both from different sources. the cakes were here with in 4 days. I was suprised
and very happy. I put them in the fringe and waited for my syringes.
2 weeks had gone by since my order and was getting nervous because i didnt want my cakes to go bad. I checked on my order at their site and
the order had been processed but not shipped. I emailed the place but never recieved an answer. I gone ahead and ordered some cambodian strain from another place and recieved them with in a week and it just so happened that the b+ arrived the same day.
although i was happy to have my b+ syringes i was a little worried because i could not see any spores when i shook them. Which i know
spores are very small and can't always be seen with the naked eye but this stuff looked like water. The cambodian syringed ordered from the competitor was very dark and i could see them very easily.
I innoculated 8 jars with the b+ and 4 with the cambodian strain and placed them in incubation.(double tub with fish tank heater) 3 weeks
after innoculation the cambodian were fully collinized and have cased them. they look great. (but am having trouble fruiting though) The b+ nothin. not one straind of mycelium.
i think i was dicked around and screwed on the deal.
From now on i would like to make my own syringes from spore prints but haven't tried yet. looking forword to it though once i have the money to get one. or if i could ever get my cambodians to fruit. not yet though.

none of the orders were from any sponsors on this site. which was a mistake by my part. You live and learn

[director of sound]

i had the same prob with a golden teacher syringe, got no myc after 2 weeks and ended up getting a bacterial contam. TGS is a good place from what i hear. i got some syringes on order now for a month hopefully soon ill get em. with the poweroutage they had their back ordered but worth the wait. i usually get the spores in before i order bags if thats what im gonna do. you could allways get a $50 PC at wallyworld and re PC your stuff if you think it went bad.

or make your own cause you have no fn idea when those jars/bags were PC'd or how long they were in the mail.

[coconut1225]

i thought about pc the cakes but was worried they are too dried out by now. they are 1/2 pint jars. alluminum foil over the lids but still they are more than a cuple months old.

plus i don't realy have the money to order any spores or a print right now. i will just have to wait a while i guess

[director of sound]

you could allways open them and add about 5cc of distilled water and that should get them to the right point. ask around for trades you can make your own glove box outa a aluminum foil lined cardbored box and do all your work in there. just pc some water and a syringe plus what ever other tools you'll use for 30min at 15psi. lysol the inside of the box once everythings in it and seal it up. let it rest for about 10min and make sure you wipe down your stuff with iso and flame it before use. (dont PC your lighter!!!)lol

[coconut1225]

cool. i might just do that if i can get a print soon. thanks

[ishkaboo]

Why would you order the BRF cakes? It is very easy to do it on your own, buy some brown rice flower from the grocery store and some vermiculite from the hardware or lawn and garden store and follow the PF tek. That way you can guarantee your work. You already have the 1/2 pint jars too. I guess you would have to get a PC but if you intend to actually grow mushrooms the right way you should have a PC. You will end up using it for more than just pressure cooking BRF jars.


As far as the syringes go, next time just use a sponsor and this won't happen. I can personally vouch for TGS, very reliable and very affordable, I love the monthly special. The syringes were very dark and always sterile.

[tbonus]

I put alot of faith & confidence in TGS,as well as ALL other sponsors at this site.If they werent reputable,Hippie wouldnt have them around.Thats why this is by far the best site for this hobby,GLUK!

[mushit]

Originally Posted by director of sound

lysol the inside of the box once everythings in it and seal it up.

Small point:

Don't use Lysol. It is nasty shit. It tends to produce mutant fruits. Not to mention what it does to you. Oust is better. Alky is even better.

[mydarling]

Originally Posted by mushit

Don't use Lysol. It is nasty shit. It tends to produce mutant fruits. Not to mention what it does to you. Oust is better. Alky is even better.

beware: alcohol can also produce mutants if used in excess. case in point: rosecomb



personally i like mutants and think they're pretty sweet so i don't mind... but just FYI.

[coconut1225]

i ordered the cakes because i didnt have a pc yet. but plan on getting one soon. maybe for mybirthday. its coming up next month. it would be a nice present for myself

[M&M420]

No need for a PC for plain ol BRF.I boiled my cakes for the first few months before I went ahead and bought myself one.Soon if everything goes as planned I'll be dropping $400 on a new one.

[M&M420]

Originally Posted by mydarling

personally i like mutants and think they're pretty sweet so i don't mind... but just FYI.

I agree

[coconut1225]

how long should i boil the cakes and how much water?

[M&M420]

Once you make your cakes put a piece of foil over the lid and screw the ring over that to prevent water from seeping in.Take some jar rings and put a layer in the bottom of the pot.Cover that with foil and set the jars atop of that.This prevents the heat from cracking the jars.Then just fill er' up to halfway of the jars.The steam from the water will sterilize what the water doesn't touch.You want to make sure the pot doesn't run dry but not so much water it boils above your jars.Also there is no need to leave it at a rolling boil the entire time.You just want a steady boil;No more no less.High temp setting does nothing more than just run the pot dry faster.Slap the lid on and if possible set a book or something on top to hold a bit more steam in.Leave it like that for 45 minutes only to check on the water about halfway through.Here is a step by step

http://forums.mycotopia.net/cakes-br...c-brf-tek.html (BASIC BRF TEK)

[ishkaboo]

Be aware that I used that partial sterilization technique and 11 out of 12 cakes became contaminated with a bacterium, then later on trich showed up. Since buying a PC I have gotten 0 contams.

I recommend a PC just so you don't go through all the trouble I did wasting materials and such.

I got a pressure cooker for around 150 that fits 12 jars on the bottom perfectly, and leaves room for stacking, 400 seams kinda high.

[M&M420]

Fractional sterilization isn't needed for cakes.I boiled/steamed my cakes for quite a while and never lost one cake out of hundreds to a contam that wasn't attributed to the inoculation.I don't see how you ran into so many problems unless you were trying to steam supercake.I know it sounds like a lot of money but trust me it's well worth it.I'm looking at the AA 941 which can hold 32 pints or 19 quarts.Plus it is metal on metal with no gasket to replace down the line.I doubt I would cook that many jars but it comes in handy for spawn bags

[coconut1225]

thanks for the info. i may give it a try soon if i don't get a pressure cooker

[ishkaboo]

Originally Posted by meanman420

Fractional sterilization isn't needed for cakes.I boiled/steamed my cakes for quite a while and never lost one cake out of hundreds to a contam that wasn't attributed to the inoculation.I don't see how you ran into so many problems unless you were trying to steam supercake.I know it sounds like a lot of money but trust me it's well worth it.I'm looking at the AA 941 which can hold 32 pints or 19 quarts.Plus it is metal on metal with no gasket to replace down the line.I doubt I would cook that many jars but it comes in handy for spawn bags

Ahh that sounds like a wild PC I bet it is well worth the money.

I just haven't had much luck using the partial sterilization technique and a PC solved all my problems. Maybe the needle was somehow contamed, after all that particular syringe was from before I knew of the sponsors here.