☛ Official ☚ [Mushrooms Subthread] Different Strains & Cultivation
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Venrak
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It has to be a closed container like a rubbermaid container. Soak perlite with water and toss it in, a few cm deep. Place your cake inside.It has to be in the dark, at slightly above room temperature.
I suggest going to that site I PMed you and doing some reading, as it's all covered.
I suggest going to that site I PMed you and doing some reading, as it's all covered.
Last edited:
that-phish-dude
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You should look around for PF TEK. That will be an affordable and good start. Very detailed instructions various places on the internet.
cryptix420
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^ That isn't really necessary. Shrooms can grow at temps in the 60's, just a bit slower. Heat increases the risk of contamination as well as drying out the shrooms.
Jesusgreen
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For the mushrooms to fruit they need light.
Protocal
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Mushroom Cultivation
I've been reading on in-home mushroom cultivation for the last couple of weeks and have become pretty interested in the whole concept of it. I'm going to be moving back out of my parent's house here in a few weeks and I've decided to start growing mushrooms once I get settled into my new place seeing as how it looks to be fairly inexpensive and easy to do. I've got most everything planned out but I still had a few questions my usual sources didn't seem to address. First off I noticed that the instructions most sources have given me only require brown rice flour and vermiculite to use as raw compounds for the mushroom substrate, but most naturally occurring mushrooms are accompanied by some form of manure. Are brown rice flour and vermiculite the only ingredients necessary to create the substrate material or is manure of some sort also needed? And if it's not necessary would it help or hurt the substrate and the mushroom growing process in any way by using it? Secondly, I've seen a lot of different methods and have a rough idea on how to create one, but I wanted to know if there were any cheap and effective ways to produce a GOOD terrarium that will provide the best environment to promote mushroom growth without buying all sorts of expensive materials and equipment? Any tips or info on either one of these as well as general tips/guidelines for growing would be a great help.
I've been reading on in-home mushroom cultivation for the last couple of weeks and have become pretty interested in the whole concept of it. I'm going to be moving back out of my parent's house here in a few weeks and I've decided to start growing mushrooms once I get settled into my new place seeing as how it looks to be fairly inexpensive and easy to do. I've got most everything planned out but I still had a few questions my usual sources didn't seem to address. First off I noticed that the instructions most sources have given me only require brown rice flour and vermiculite to use as raw compounds for the mushroom substrate, but most naturally occurring mushrooms are accompanied by some form of manure. Are brown rice flour and vermiculite the only ingredients necessary to create the substrate material or is manure of some sort also needed? And if it's not necessary would it help or hurt the substrate and the mushroom growing process in any way by using it? Secondly, I've seen a lot of different methods and have a rough idea on how to create one, but I wanted to know if there were any cheap and effective ways to produce a GOOD terrarium that will provide the best environment to promote mushroom growth without buying all sorts of expensive materials and equipment? Any tips or info on either one of these as well as general tips/guidelines for growing would be a great help.
Solipsis
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Manure is not needed, it does provide a higher quality substrate because it could be considered a more highly preferred food for the fungus/mushrooms. There is probably more sulphate in it, among other things... which boost qualitative and quantitative growth. Sulphate is an example of a nutrient that is important for the flourishing of many organisms. Too much of it in an aquarium typically results in quite a lot of algae.
You can always supplement your substrate with sulphate by adding a pinch of gypsum (plaster of paris powder), but this is advanced stuff and you can definitely forget about that for the while to come. Pulling off a basic grow is what you ought to aim for, trust me. It's plenty fun and the yield should make you quite quite happy. If not the first time right away, then just repeat.
I recommend you start with the brown rice flour and verm to make cakes, as described in the famous PF Tek. It's recommended all around for beginner's, I did it too and I am glad I did.
When you start getting the hang of it, I myself liked the switch to trays with rye kernels - then also using casing methods (adding a protective top layer on your tray). I made trays by crumbling cakes, because before the crumbling, those cakes have the advantage of growing very safely inside jars or filter boxes until colonized.
An example of why rye is more tricky is you have to kill contaminants in the cores of the kernels by first letting them soak and germinate a little before sterilization. Also, getting the casing right and everything... it's just added factors where it can go wrong, just a bit more delicate.
Manure is of course not harmful itself considering it's a more than decent substrate - just as long as you get the mixture right making your substrate. The way it could hurt your grow is if the manure takes too much place of ingredients that make your substrate porous. Porous meaning air should be able to flow through it like a sponge but even more open than that. If it's too solid, places where the mycelium cannot breathe, it does not want to grow.
A terrarium is an example to give you an idea of what might be used: it's closed and you can see through it to monitor what's going on and what you are doing when handling stuff. But a glass terrarium does not provide airflow by itself. You need gas exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide), so some system would have to be arranged from the top to ventilate. I say: forget a glass terrarium - that would be unnecessarily complicating.
Look up shotgun tek. A huge plastic Curver / Rubbermaid type box can be used that is transparant. I recommend DIYing an acrylic see-through window on top, a big one in the lid to have topside view and oversight. Drill some holes in the sides, there's your airflow. It's wise to plug the holes with a little cottonball pluck.
Get perlite (buy big, not super-overpriced small baggies), wet the perlite thoroughly through a strainer to first wash it, then soak it - then let it drain well. You might want to use pre-boiled water for the soaking part to minimize contaminations. But later you should always make tinfoil coasters to put the cakes on anyway.
Sterilize the inside of your box, your so-called Fruiting Chamber is what it's called - by cleaning with alcohol. Close the lid as much as possible to avoid new contaminations.
Depending on the volume of the box, put in like 4 inches of perlite.
Your shotgun terrarium-imitation is ready for newborn cakes now. The perlite slowly lets the water you soaked with evaporate over the course of at least 3 weeks, if not 4-5. Prepare this growing chamber just as your cakes or trays start pinning, then there is plenty of time just to let the mushrooms grow in the fruiting chamber without air humidity dropping.
There are ultrasonic air humidifiers but that too is advanced. Or maybe not if you're plenty rich. I do think those can get you to 100% Rel. H a bit closer.
I built a sort of frame myself to make an extra level or 'floor' to put cakes or trays. This is risky though because it can make it hard for moist air to envelop the top floor just as well.
For the humidity, get a little meter to monitor. Should be a pet store item.
Cross-reference some different beginner TEK descriptions at the Shroomery where you should see plenty of similarities with my tek advice. Compile the consistent DIY 'recipes' wisely to get a feel for what kind of thing is generally a smart approach for beginners.
Last but not least:
Be sure to search for RogerRabbit, a Shroomery expert mycologist who made excellent tutorial video's.
And I have to ask you to use the Psychedelic Index and Beginner's FAQ in the future - these would have allowed you to post your question in our centralized Mushroom Cultivation subthread. Our crew can merge this into that thread later, especially after you get back to us on all of this.
Good luck!
You can always supplement your substrate with sulphate by adding a pinch of gypsum (plaster of paris powder), but this is advanced stuff and you can definitely forget about that for the while to come. Pulling off a basic grow is what you ought to aim for, trust me. It's plenty fun and the yield should make you quite quite happy. If not the first time right away, then just repeat.
I recommend you start with the brown rice flour and verm to make cakes, as described in the famous PF Tek. It's recommended all around for beginner's, I did it too and I am glad I did.
When you start getting the hang of it, I myself liked the switch to trays with rye kernels - then also using casing methods (adding a protective top layer on your tray). I made trays by crumbling cakes, because before the crumbling, those cakes have the advantage of growing very safely inside jars or filter boxes until colonized.
An example of why rye is more tricky is you have to kill contaminants in the cores of the kernels by first letting them soak and germinate a little before sterilization. Also, getting the casing right and everything... it's just added factors where it can go wrong, just a bit more delicate.
Manure is of course not harmful itself considering it's a more than decent substrate - just as long as you get the mixture right making your substrate. The way it could hurt your grow is if the manure takes too much place of ingredients that make your substrate porous. Porous meaning air should be able to flow through it like a sponge but even more open than that. If it's too solid, places where the mycelium cannot breathe, it does not want to grow.
A terrarium is an example to give you an idea of what might be used: it's closed and you can see through it to monitor what's going on and what you are doing when handling stuff. But a glass terrarium does not provide airflow by itself. You need gas exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide), so some system would have to be arranged from the top to ventilate. I say: forget a glass terrarium - that would be unnecessarily complicating.
Look up shotgun tek. A huge plastic Curver / Rubbermaid type box can be used that is transparant. I recommend DIYing an acrylic see-through window on top, a big one in the lid to have topside view and oversight. Drill some holes in the sides, there's your airflow. It's wise to plug the holes with a little cottonball pluck.
Get perlite (buy big, not super-overpriced small baggies), wet the perlite thoroughly through a strainer to first wash it, then soak it - then let it drain well. You might want to use pre-boiled water for the soaking part to minimize contaminations. But later you should always make tinfoil coasters to put the cakes on anyway.
Sterilize the inside of your box, your so-called Fruiting Chamber is what it's called - by cleaning with alcohol. Close the lid as much as possible to avoid new contaminations.
Depending on the volume of the box, put in like 4 inches of perlite.
Your shotgun terrarium-imitation is ready for newborn cakes now. The perlite slowly lets the water you soaked with evaporate over the course of at least 3 weeks, if not 4-5. Prepare this growing chamber just as your cakes or trays start pinning, then there is plenty of time just to let the mushrooms grow in the fruiting chamber without air humidity dropping.
There are ultrasonic air humidifiers but that too is advanced. Or maybe not if you're plenty rich. I do think those can get you to 100% Rel. H a bit closer.
I built a sort of frame myself to make an extra level or 'floor' to put cakes or trays. This is risky though because it can make it hard for moist air to envelop the top floor just as well.
For the humidity, get a little meter to monitor. Should be a pet store item.
Cross-reference some different beginner TEK descriptions at the Shroomery where you should see plenty of similarities with my tek advice. Compile the consistent DIY 'recipes' wisely to get a feel for what kind of thing is generally a smart approach for beginners.
Last but not least:
Be sure to search for RogerRabbit, a Shroomery expert mycologist who made excellent tutorial video's.
And I have to ask you to use the Psychedelic Index and Beginner's FAQ in the future - these would have allowed you to post your question in our centralized Mushroom Cultivation subthread. Our crew can merge this into that thread later, especially after you get back to us on all of this.
Good luck!
Last edited:
Protocal
Greenlighter
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Wow thanks a lot man. You gave me a good bit of info I've been searching all over for. I won't give out a source but I'm gonna buy a pre-made grow kit I found since it'll save me a good bit of money buying all the equipment separately. It contains 12 pre-made sterile PF tek style substrate jars, 2 clear rubbermaid tubs, a submersible fish tank heater with adjustable thermostat, an air filter including a silicone air filtration tube with a built in HEPA filter, digital thermometer/hygrometer/humidity gauge, 1 gallon of fine imported horticulture grade Perlite, an electric 24hr timer, an incandescent and an LED light, sterile latex gloves and alcohol swabs. I will make sure the environment is sterile, and then inoculate each jar with 1cc of spore solution. (I've already got my spore syringe source picked out and I found which strains are easiest to cultivate and good for beginners, I decided to get one 10ml syringe of PES Hawaiian mushies and one syringe of Cambodian cubes.) Then I'm going to (before I drill the holes of course) fill my tub up with enough water for my fish tank heater to work in, and keep the water at about 75-80 degrees since the jars themselves generate heat and I wanna avoid possible contamination. I'll leave the tub in a dark place (probably my closet) and place the thermometers and such inside and leave the lid off so I can keep an eye on them. Once they've become 100% colonized I'll set the jars aside to create my FC. First I've heard from a few different sources that "shocking" the cakes is possible by placing the cakes in the dark/cold water and letting them sit for 24 hours before placing them in the FC, is there any truth to that? Either way, I'll drill the holes in my terrarium, and then hydrate the perlite by placing it in a strainer and running cold water over it, then straining it and placing it in the bottom of my FC until it's filled about 3"-4" from the bottom. Once I'm done, I'll birth my colonized cakes (possibly using the shocking method) and place them on tin foil squares on top of the perlite. I'll leave room in the tub for a container of room temp water which I will use to humidify the FC further by using the air filter and filtration hose to create bubbles in the container which will humidify the inside. I will also place my submersible fish tank heater inside the container to increase the humidity again and raise the temperature if needed. I'll keep the FC in partial light inside my room and keep it at a constant 70-75 degrees with the humidity at about 90%, until the cakes start pinning at which point I will increase the humidity to 99% because I've read that too much humidity can delay the pinning and production of mushies. And that's it I guess. Any hints/tips or do you see anything I did wrong?
I was also using Shroomery to get a majority of my questions answered but it's been down since I woke up this morning and is still down apparently. I think they're doing a server update or something. And thanks again for the tips.
I was also using Shroomery to get a majority of my questions answered but it's been down since I woke up this morning and is still down apparently. I think they're doing a server update or something. And thanks again for the tips.
Jesusgreen
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when should air exchange begin for shrooms?
I was planning to begin growing shrooms in a rather "ghetto" method where they stay in the jar the whole time. Im sure youve seen this guide www.shroomery.org/8438/How-to-Grow-Psychedelic-Mushrooms
I understand terreriums are mkre convenient but im unable to right.
So I was wondering when air exchange should begin. Im assuming i should keep the jar sealed until the mycelia growth finishes, but once mushroom growth started I planned to put holes in the lid and that type of tape that allows air exchange but blocks out contaminents. Am I right in doing this or should air exchange be allowed through the entire process. Sorry for the stupid questions I just want to do this as well as I can.
I was planning to begin growing shrooms in a rather "ghetto" method where they stay in the jar the whole time. Im sure youve seen this guide www.shroomery.org/8438/How-to-Grow-Psychedelic-Mushrooms
I understand terreriums are mkre convenient but im unable to right.
So I was wondering when air exchange should begin. Im assuming i should keep the jar sealed until the mycelia growth finishes, but once mushroom growth started I planned to put holes in the lid and that type of tape that allows air exchange but blocks out contaminents. Am I right in doing this or should air exchange be allowed through the entire process. Sorry for the stupid questions I just want to do this as well as I can.
need help tips/info on magic mushroom grow!
i am currently growing some magic mushrooms for the first time and i pretty much have no problem or trouble understanding the process of what i am supposed to do but i have been incubating the substrate for the colonization process for about two to two and a half weeks and it is starting to colonize slightly faster but as i understood it should only take 1-3 weeks and they have only colonized pretty much around the sides almost all the way around about half way down the sides substrate jars and nothing on the tops of the substrate cakes doubt they will be completely colonized by the 3 weeks and they are getting moisture inside the jars and the mycilym not on all of it but small parts a light brown tinge to it concerned that it could be mold and just need to know if i should pull them out and stop this part of the process now and grow what i can cause i may not have injected enough spores into the jars to colonize the whole thing and just grow the mushrooms in the next stage before it is a waste and get nothing instead of a less mushrooms or cut the mycilym up and reintroduce them to new substrate jars and start the process over again as i would rather have some mushrooms rather then none?
i am currently growing some magic mushrooms for the first time and i pretty much have no problem or trouble understanding the process of what i am supposed to do but i have been incubating the substrate for the colonization process for about two to two and a half weeks and it is starting to colonize slightly faster but as i understood it should only take 1-3 weeks and they have only colonized pretty much around the sides almost all the way around about half way down the sides substrate jars and nothing on the tops of the substrate cakes doubt they will be completely colonized by the 3 weeks and they are getting moisture inside the jars and the mycilym not on all of it but small parts a light brown tinge to it concerned that it could be mold and just need to know if i should pull them out and stop this part of the process now and grow what i can cause i may not have injected enough spores into the jars to colonize the whole thing and just grow the mushrooms in the next stage before it is a waste and get nothing instead of a less mushrooms or cut the mycilym up and reintroduce them to new substrate jars and start the process over again as i would rather have some mushrooms rather then none?
jfischer218
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Your shrooms are infected and have mutated to a different strand of non-psychoactive psilocybin. Same thing happened to me a while back. What you need to do is spray a light coating of ether or ammonia over whats growing so that it goes back to the psilocybin strand that messes you up. Not too much anmonia though, ust enough to cover it.
Happy shroomin'
Happy shroomin'
so what your saying if i don't do that and take the substrate cakes out and start growing the mushrooms without spraying them lightly with either of those their will be no pyshcodellic effect when they are consumed right? and is either of them either or anmonia better to use then the other? thanks for the info by the way!
and should of thought of this on last post but if use anmonia in spray bottle should it be straight anmonia or water it down at all and using either can i use possibly aerosol can of starting fluid which is either but not sure if there are any other chemicals in that that would effect it and would be better of just using the anmonia?