does colonizing mushrooms ALWAYS need to be in an enclosed medium?

[ongos]

why can't it be left out in the open instead of having substrates in a bag, plastic, or bottle? Now on headypoo's website they are selling zoo manure substrate, but I would have to mix this with a "spawn". WHAT IS A SPAWN? Why would I need this "spawn" to be mixed with a substrate when I thought a substrate is all by itself ready to be used and injected with a spore, without this "spawn"? I'm looking into growing using manure soon instead of grains. Headypoo's website also sells casing mix. Why is this needed? I'm guessing that after the zoo manure substrate becomes colonized, I dump it on top of the casing, or do I mix the colonized substrate with the casing?

 

[It's a baby!]

You should go to shroomery, but to answer your questions: leaving substrates exposed to the air before they are well colonized leads to contams. Spawn is grain used to colonize a bulk substrate like manure straw or coco coir, you can't go straight from spores to a bulk substrate, you need to go from spores (or agar slants or whatever) to grain, then when that grain is colonized you spawn it to the bulk substrate. You don't dump the colonized substrate on the casing, the casing goes on top, though you don't really need it with bulk substrates.

But go to shroomery, you're pretty much guaranteed to fail with your state of knowledge as it is.

 

[ongos]

thanks. I used wild bird seed grow bag to inject my spore into. This must be the "spawn" then but why the company who sold it to me called it the substrate? Looks like I'm going to have to buy another substrate then? So once this wild bird seed bag is colonized, I then place it inside a grow chamber then dump substrate on top of it (zoo manure substrate). Although I was told I can grow inside this wild bird seed "grow bag", then there must be no need for a substrate? But isn't this the substrate already? Or is it a spawn?

Also, once the spawn or substrate is colonized, what makes it ok to be out of an enclosed medium and onto a more open environment like a grow chamber for the fruiting process, is it because it already "colonized" which means once it has colonized, contaminants can't attack it?

You should go to shroomery, but to answer your questions: leaving substrates exposed to the air before they are well colonized leads to contams. Spawn is grain used to colonize a bulk substrate like manure straw or coco coir, you can't go straight from spores to a bulk substrate, you need to go from spores (or agar slants or whatever) to grain, then when that grain is colonized you spawn it to the bulk substrate. You don't dump the colonized substrate on the casing, the casing goes on top, though you don't really need it with bulk substrates.

But go to shroomery, you're pretty much guaranteed to fail with your state of knowledge as it is.

 

[Rabbit]

In simple terms, if the "grow" isn't enclosed at all times it is possible for all sorts of nasty things like mold to start growing instead of the mushrooms. So the basic idea is to isolate it from the outside environment and when it does need to be exposed to it, do it quickly and "clean" (wash your hands for starters ). I've never grown them, but I did a lot of research on it at one time.

Listen to the guy above, go to the place he recommended, everything you ever needed to know on the subject is over there. There is also a big thread on the subject here but I don't have the link atm.

I'm not trying to come off as a know-it-all, I'm just begin up front with you. Right now, you're just wasting time with your current project. It might yield something, but it likely won't be mushies. Start over, ditch the "grow kit" and do some research. You don't need a "kit" from some shady company, if you do the research you'll know what supplies you need and can put it all together yourself and have awesome results. Its work man, just like everything else with a good pay off.

I wish you luck. I would link you directly to material on the subject but I'm not sure if that's within the forum rules. Just go use google, what you need should be the first result.