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mushroom spore: syringe vs. print

ongos

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 9, 2011
Messages
610
so the strain I bought was only available as print, not in syringe. I don't know exactly the concept of what a spore and "print" is (print as in printed on paper?). A syringe I can inject to incubate the spore into mushies. Now, does a print spore work in a similar way that it is placed in some jar for incubation? If I got it all wrong, please explain. I appreciate the google suggestions but this forum exist for a reason too you know?<3
 
You can make your own spore syringes with the print. Thats what I have done. Its easier that way if you are using the PF TEK method.
 
also, you can make several syringes from a print, so overall they are better value (and more mushrooms :D).
 
generally you should use google first and ask questions later eh? also, shroomery.org ahs topics on just these questions so might want to head there for further study (which you will need, if you are serious about growing)

a spore print is just all the spores a mushroom cap releases when it matures. the harvested cap is placed over tinfoil or paper and left overnight, the spores fall on the surface and cling to it.

from a print, in sterile conditions, you just scrape off the spores into a container with distilled water, mix them up a bit, and suck it up in syringes. presto. you now have a spore syringe. depending on the volume you made, several syringes can be filled from the same print. usually, a 1/4 print is mre than enough for a good syringe solution.

best of luck.
 
As they said, prints are used as they are more economical in terms of spore count as well as for storing. However, they need to be made in a sterile condition or you'll have to do cleanup work.
 
does a print need to be in syringes for it to work? why can't I just scrape the print and work with it without syringes? Is a syringe really needed?
 
well you dont NEED the syringe. the thing is, working with dry spores is rather difficult, and with difficulty comes greater risk of contamination. you could of course scrape some spores and use them as such...
the syringe also facilitates hydration of the spores, and mixing a liquid in the substrate is easier too... but depending on the tek used, im sure someone can do it without one
 
Prints have a better shelf life, but they require an extra step to be ready for inoculation and that is to suspend them in sterile water. It is an extra step that can go wrong. But of course chances of that are slim if you will just follow sterile procedure like you should do in all subsequent steps as well.

I advise you to look up the series of videos by RR (RogerRabbit) a member of the Shroomery, he's a freakin master that guy. He relaxes me like Bob Ross although not quite to that extreme extent. Those videos are a perfect guide.

I also advise you to investigate liquid culture. It's an alternative to direct use of the spore syringe, in short: you inoculate a mixture that has sugars like honey in it and get the spores to germinate. Then if you do that you have a much bigger volume to inoculate with, plus it saves time because they are already germinated so colonization is much faster and even more aggressive. If you're really a beginner though, start with just the syringe and some PF cakes.
 
Since OP is a beginner, he should DEFINITELY choose to get a pre-made sterile spore syringe from a reputable vendor.

Making syringes from prints can get you several more syringes, but obviously requires sterile technique, which is one of the things that OP needs trial and error to learn.
 
Perhaps you're right about that, it depends on how handy he is with these sorts of things to begin with, one option is to save the print and start with a syringe... there are so damn many strains available and a lot of the variation is marketing technique anyway. Don't buy into it so much, many Cubenses end up being very similar - in that they can all vary a lot in appearance due to genetic variation of multispore technique and the endless possibilities of conditions of cultivation.

Another option is to build your own glovebox very easily from a big plastic storage container often used for monotubs. That's a fine temporary substitute for actual laminar flowhoods and what have you.

But yes a valid point made by greenmeanies is that it's quite possible to fuck up the sterile technique if you don't know what you're doing so get or build good equip or eliminate a point of failure by starting with syringe. And filterboxes.
 
thanks everyone. but here's the thing, I bought my spore at a reputable online seller. the spore was only available as print not syringe. i also have the mushroom cultivation kit called hydroshroom. The instructions for it to cultivate mushroom required injected the spore into the jars (my spore is not in a syringe, it's a print). So now since I know I should use a syringe to inject the spore print into the jars, I went to CVS to buy a pack of syringes. I ask for syringes, I was sold insulin syringes. I was told this is for insulin shots, it's a syringe, it does not have insulin in them. That confused me a bit on why a syringe would be called insulin syringe. Does size of syringes matter? It's a 1ml/cc syringe. I have seen youtube videos about mushroom cultivation but I need as much answers as I can get. anyway, the hyrdroshroom kit i bought has instructions that i can inject between 1.5ml to 2.0 ml of spore solution, now since my syringe's capacity is only at 1 ml, will this be fine? how much spore print should it have and how much is water? is this all variable? the instruction mentioned about using clean water, is water on the faucet clean enough? is cold water ok? spring water? i find it amusing why the "cleanliness" and "sterileness" when mushrooms in the wild grow on the dirtiest shits.
 
true, but I heard tampanesis was the mildest of all psilocybin. that's what attracted me to the spore but it's only in print. other recommended spore?

Perhaps you're right about that, it depends on how handy he is with these sorts of things to begin with, one option is to save the print and start with a syringe... there are so damn many strains available and a lot of the variation is marketing technique anyway. Don't buy into it so much, many Cubenses end up being very similar - in that they can all vary a lot in appearance due to genetic variation of multispore technique and the endless possibilities of conditions of cultivation.

Another option is to build your own glovebox very easily from a big plastic storage container often used for monotubs. That's a fine temporary substitute for actual laminar flowhoods and what have you.

But yes a valid point made by greenmeanies is that it's quite possible to fuck up the sterile technique if you don't know what you're doing so get or build good equip or eliminate a point of failure by starting with syringe. And filterboxes.
 
hmm, i dont think i will get to all your questions but i will try.

first i recommend you read up a bit more on the growing. this is not to discourage you or me acting like a dick, its jsut that you have lot of questions that are answered already in guides all over the net. since you are at the beginning its normal to have a lot of questions, but it is a lot easier to get answers if people think you did your homework. :)

so, an insulin syringe is a normal syringe that is smaller (less capacity, 1ml) and probably has a needle already attached. these are not ideal, as the needle is quite fine and might clog up when injecting.

the idea of the spore print is this. all the spores are on a surface, stuck to it. it is a dry sterile medium that is very good for storage.

to create a spore syringe, you need a normal syringe (~5ml min, 20ml probably is overkill), and several needles. all of these sterile.
in sterile conditions (the glovebox people mention, though it is possible to do without it if one is patient and very meticulous), you scratch off ~0,5 square cm from the print (so you detach the spores using the tip of a sterile needle) into a sterile solution (this can be distilled water, for instance, and will be the ml you want, for instance, 5-10ml). faucet water is not good enough, as it isnt sterile, but you may use water for injections that might be sold in pharmacies. an alternative is to use bottled spring water, if it is sterile (and unopened!). the solution is mixed. this now contains thousands of spores in a watery medium.
using a new needle and the sterile syringe, you suck up the solution.
presto. you now have a spore syringe.

usually people leave the spores in this solution to hydrate for a up to a couple of days, but they can stay like this for a long time too.

alternatively, you could go for a liquid culture first. this means putting the spores into a sterile solution of water+sugars (think preparing a mix of water+honey, then sterilizing it in a jar). the spores get transferred in this solution, and germinate (they will create "fluffy clouds", that you can use later to colonize jars).

the talk about sterility and cleanness is that you want to give only your spores the best shot at growing, not all fungus or bacteria. if you dont, the substrate you have is a hospitable environment for a lot of things to grow, many of which might kill off the fungus.

good luck
 
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