Noob Takes a Second Run...

[Shady Ways]

SWIM is sticking with what they know and also branching out a little this time.

This round will consist of a recently successful run with mycobags using two new strains (new to SWIM): B+ and PES Hawaiian.

SWIM worked at a completely empty kitchen table after wiping it down with a sponge and anti-bacterial dish-washing soap. He then wiped it twice (top and sides) with Clorox bleach wipes & sprayed the air with Oust. He turned off the central heating system also so that the blower would not kick on during the process.

All items were then laid out onto wax paper. Lastly, latex gloves were put on and he sprayed each hand with a 1:1 solution of distilled water and Iso alchohol. He said he wore a contractor's grade repirator, as well.

Each spore strain was purchased in 10cc vials. He had (12) 1/2 pint pre-sterilized jars from a non sponsor. SWIM said he then noc'd up (6) of the jars with B+ (wiping the needle with an alcohol soaked cotton ball between jars) leaving 4ccs of LC for (1) mycobag. The same method was used with 10ccs of PES Hawaiian.

SWIM thinks he learned from his first run to massage the substrate within the mycobags to spread the LC better through the mycobag's substrate and then gently tamp it down so it's not too dense, but somewhat firm.

When the 1/2 pint jars are 90% or more involved with mycelium, he said he'll be spawning to bulk, starting intially with verm.

His girl wants to start a garden this summer, so he suggested they should get a 16 qt. PC for canning. She loves that he's so accomodating (he,he,he).

[Sidestreet]

Good luck! What bulk substrate does SWUM want to use?

"he said he'll be spwaning to bulk, starting intially with verm. "

Didn't quite catch your meaning there...you mean he'll be spawning just to verm?

[Shady Ways]

Yep, just verm. Said he's trying to keep it simple... He sent me this:


PF-Tek Variation: (simple vermiculite casing)

Items:
Vermiculite
Sterilizing container - bakeable or microwaveable
fruiting container - (see below)
foil and/or plastic wrap

* Remember to practice sterile technique at all times *

Procedure:

1. Follow PF-Tek method until you have a fully colonized cake.
2. Wet vermiculite and put in sterilizing container, sterilize and let cool
3. Sterilize fruiting container and let cool
4. Add 1/2" (1cm) or more vermiculite layer to bottom of fruiting container.
5. Crumble or leave cake whole over bottom layer
6. Cover cake with damp, sterilized vermiculite (note: some growers suggest leaving crumbled cake without casing until it starts to grow mycelium again (24+ hours))
7. Cover fruiting container with foil or plastic wrap, poke holes in covering
8. Let stand

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, many say that pasturizing the verm is good enough, without sterilizing. Time is at a minimum for SWIM and outdoor temps are often below freezing this time of year, so pasturizing soil with a Rubbermaid cooler could be tricky.

SWIM said he ordered some pastuerized hpoo/straw from tennstud for future trials of Hydro0420's TEK.

Any easy, time efficient alternatives would be welcomed, I'm sure!

[Zozo]

very nice, good work

I would like to see how it's going

good luck
zozo

[TastyBeverage]

Technically you are just crumbling the BRF cakes and then casing them with vermiculite. You are not going to be spawning to a bulk substrate. I forget what this is called... the 'Hungous' tek or something like that. It will work well, but won't really get you much more in volume than just fruiting from DEC'd cakes. To get more mass, you have to add something nutritious like poo or straw.

[Shady Ways]

Thanks for the clarification, Tasty! Hmmm... well, mass will of course be the goal. Guess my FOAF will need to re-think the strategy. Guess he's got about three to four weeks to come up with something better.

Back the boards and vaults for him...

[Shady Ways]

Alright, so something more than verm will likely increase fruiting activity. SWIM had orderd pre-past hpoo/straw from tennstud.com, but the guy running it doesn't find it necessary to respond to people so he's cancelling that order. ***He gets the "one-man-show" concept, but this is a hobby based on timelines.*** Other suppliers are showing out-of-stocks of the item. Unless someone has a reliable source to offer, he says he guesses he'll go with peat moss, it's cheap, plentiful and readily available.

Recently acquired a 16 qt PC and found a 2' x 3' burlap bag at a local garden supply store, which he has cut into quarters to accomodate the size of the casing containers and PC. He sewed up (with needle and fishing line) the open sides that remained. Burlap, based on some of his reading, breathes and protects auto clav bags filled with substrate material from touching the sides of the PC. (photos incl).

Is he on the right track? He said he knows there are some other things to add to peat recipies to promote growth (lime, oyster shell, etc.). Anything else you'd suggest to this noob??

[Shady Ways]

Alright... so there seem to be some issues... The jars are in a Rubbermaid tub. For heat there is a terrarium heating pad affixed under an aluminum baking pan which is inverted and sitting in the bottom of the container, below which sits a container of perlite well soaked for humidity creation. Under the Rubbermaid container sits a heating pad set to high (which stays on most of the, but turns itself off mysteriously at times [and no it's not one of those auto shut-off jobs]).

Over recent days it's been at 80 degrees with about 74% humidity. Today when inspected the temp was at 79 degrees and humidity at 54%!

Pulled everything out (after washing hands with anti-bacterial soap) and re-hydrated the perlite with distilled water to raise humidity again. PITA!

Noted some condensation on the bag & jar interiors which I believe is a good sign.

Have got hpoo/straw (5lbs.) waiting for the myco introduction. Hopefully the hpoo/straw will keep. It's pastuerized and the source says it'll keep for months if kept in a cool dry place (true or false?)

[TastyBeverage]

Yes it will keep, but not indefinitely and the colder the better. Best to freeze it, but most ppl don't have room in their freezer for 5 pounds of poop, lol. Good thing it's winter! Just stick it in a box in an unheated room or backyard shed. It will keep for at least a couple of months with no issues.

[Shady Ways]

Thanks for setting my mind at ease, Tasty. Rather than the Hungous Tek mentioned earlier, may be thinking that for the first actual casing tek attempt to go with the 50/50+ tek found over on another discussion board (Ryche Hawk's 50/50+ casing tek version 3.1).

Rounded up the raw materials after some phone calls to various ag stores. Had read that many who varied on the recipe in terms of the hydrated lime got burnt (literally... well their myc did). Decided to go with Hi-Yield brand. Big difference depending on brand, believe it or not. A store rep. at one ag store suggested pickling lime as a substitute.

Here's an ingredient comparison between Hi-Yield Hydrated Lime (top) and Bonide brand (bottom).

[Shady Ways]

Just peeked in on the first prong of the project at 14 days since inoculation. The temp. in the "noc-box" is 83.7 degrees. I think I'll recommend FOAF spin the noc-box on the heat source in case their are irregularities in temp. output.

The B+ 1/2 pints are about 75% myc engulfed, the Hawaiian shows no myc activity and the mycobags (containing a larger substrate volume) have condensation on the walls of the bag, but no visible myc yet.

He anticipates faster results this time with the mycobags as they are in a much more stable environment (couldn't get it stabilized on the first run due to stealth concerns). Once he see signs of myc, he'll massage the substrate material to speed up colonization onto what remains uncolonized.

[Shady Ways]

21 days since inoculation of (6) 1/2 pints of B+.

Well, my FOAF had an extra hour today and felt compelled to do something with his six 1/2 pints of B+ spawn. Out of concern for the viability of the stored hpoo/straw mix he followed the advice initially given by golly and mixed the B+ spawn into what he estimated to be about 3 1/2 lbs. of the hpoo/straw mix (leaving him about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds that easily fit into the freezer for future use as casing). The hpoo/straw was heavier than 5 lbs. as evidenced by the shipping label.

The spawn and hpoo/straw were mixed together (after the breaking up the spawn) in a turkey basting bag and then roughly split into two large autoclavable filter patch bags, binder clipped closed and dropped back into the "noc-box." (see photo)

The B+ spawn smelled fresh & delicious and has proven far more aggressive a strain than the PES Hawaiian currently in development. As healthy as the myc smelled it will easily colonize and overcome any critters in the pastuerized hpoo/straw mix.

If my FOAF ends up with more spawn than can be cased, is there a good way to save / preserve it for future projects?

So that's where that is so far!

[Shady Ways]

Grow log entry... FOAF tried using a heating pad and aquarium heater, but it seems the temperature regulation within the inoculation chamber is inconsistent based on the lack of activity during the current phase of his project.

He said he now understands the simple benefit that comes from having an evenly warmed base in the chamber and has converted to the traditional TiT style chamber.

FOAF is stubborn AND lacks patience! He hopes to grow out if this before he is old enough to join AARP.

The wise man learns from the mistakes of others, the average man learns from his own mistakes and a fool never learns!

[Jigalow]

Nice Log Shady! Cool to see you Rock the B+.

[Sidestreet]

Originally Posted by Shady Ways

Unless someone has a reliable source to offer, he says he guesses he'll go with peat moss, it's cheap, plentiful and readily available.

Hippie3 sells quality donkey poo and lots of other supplies at www.mycrotopia.com

[Shady Ways]

Thanks for the props jigalow and the pointer SG!

As long as my FOAF updated me on the TiT conversion, he let me grab a few shots of his set-up. He said he's increasing the size of his FC very soon to accommodate some anticipated casings.

He said the TiT set-up is sustaining more agreeable temps, holding at around 83.5° in terms of the air at the top level of the substrate surfaces (as measured outside the bags, of course).

He said he's pleased thus far with the h/poo + straw bag progress too (only 8 days since the mix). The B+ is proving quite hardy, while the PES Hawaiian is beginning to vex him somewhat, but all in due time.

So here's to sharing...

[Rhyno]

Does that temp / humidity meter take both readings from the wire or is the humidity sensor on the unit?

[Shady Ways]

Originally Posted by Rhynoceros

Does that temp / humidity meter take both readings from the wire or is the humidity sensor on the unit?

It only reads humidity at the unit, so it's reading the RH of the area surrounding the tub. My FOAF has a second device (therm./hygrometer) inside the tub that reads the RH at 84%.

My understanding is that the moisture needed for mycelium growth in contained within the substrate material and that the primary concern at this stage is preventing direct contact of the bases of the containers with the heat source.

Do you have any advice?

[Shady Ways]

Well FOAF has constructed a larger FC for his "Second Run" project.

He attempted to use a hole saw on the plastic bin after it had been in a cold area for a while which caused some fracturing. No problem... he used some duct tape and tyvek and will fill the successfully drilled holes with polyfill.

He cut an area out of the top to increase the amount light when the project reaches the fruiting stage.

As usual, here are photos of the box construction...

[~Hippie3]

it's the hongus tek as it was called back when.
it's in the vaults.
coir is a better choice
works like both
a casing and bulk substrate.
great stuff.

[weeeeeee]

yeah i was going to say coir will colonize just fine that be the reason why i dont use it in my casing layer anymore i have found peat to work much better for casing

[Smokeless]

Originally Posted by weeeeeee

yeah i was going to say coir will colonize just fine that be the reason why i dont use it in my casing layer

say i were to use hydrated verm as a casing, and use coir as a bulk, what would be the measurements for coir to spawn?

[~Hippie3]

about 1/4 to 1/3 spawn to coir ratio

[weeeeeee]

Originally Posted by Smokeless

say i were to use hydrated verm as a casing, and use coir as a bulk, what would be the measurements for coir to spawn?

i use about a third but like hip said a quarter or more is good the more the marrier ime more spawn = faster colonization times you may want to try some additives as well for added nutrients as coir isnt very rich in them

quinoa, corn meal, bee pollen, flax seed these are all good additives look up the super cake recipe for a more complete list of additives

http://forums.mycotopia.net/cakes-br...e-formula.html

[Smokeless]

Originally Posted by weeeeeee

i use about a third but like hip said a quarter or more is good the more the marrier ime more spawn = faster colonization times you may want to try some additives as well for added nutrients as coir isnt very rich in them

awesome thanks much guys! wish me luck!

[Shady Ways]

Yeah... so it's taken 21 days for the B+ described earlier in this log to fully colonize six half pints.

The PES Hawaiian ain't doin' squat & the hpoo/straw has made little progess since introducing the B+ on December 30th.

The guy that authored the hpoo tek said his stuff was ready for the light cycle in 14 days.

So something with this project is, shall we say... "a little slow."

I really want to believe it's the spores!!!

Oh yeah... and it appears this thread's been "jacked."

[~Hippie3]

very doubtful,
once a spore has germinated
it's job is done.
you got growth which proves successful germination.
therefore the problem is substrate-based most likely,
too wet, too dense, contaminated, etc.
many possible causes for slow growth.

[Shady Ways]

Thanks, hip... but as stated the Hawaiian spores never germinated.

Therein lies the defective spore claim.

[Shady Ways]

FOAF has two hpoo/straw bags into which he's introduced B+ (as described in this thread). The media in the bags seems to be drying out in the TiT incubator. It's been about a month since introducing the B+ to the media, which has yet to fully colonize. The mix volume was about 1 1/2 pints B+ to 2 lbs. of media per bag.

There is some condensation still forming on the walls of the bag, but the media appears to be dry.

Should he introduce additional moisture and, if so, should he use distilled water or a mix of distilled water & H2O2?