• Everything other than hot peppers. Questions, discussion, and grow logs. Cannabis grow pics are only allowed when posted from a legal juridstiction.

Growing mushrooms

oysters (kings and otherwise) will probabnly to better on a sub other than brown rice and verm. you will get mushrooms, but the yield probably wont be as high as you would like.

It is a good way to get started and get some experience.

keep posting questions or experiences here. it looks like there are some experienced growers here.

I have been growing off and on for about 13 years.
 
mushroombob said:
oysters (kings and otherwise) will probabnly to better on a sub other than brown rice and verm. you will get mushrooms, but the yield probably wont be as high as you would like.

It is a good way to get started and get some experience.

keep posting questions or experiences here. it looks like there are some experienced growers here.

I have been growing off and on for about 13 years.
Click to expand...

I plan on trying to grow them on some cardboard that's been sterilized in boiling water when the jars colonize.

That and maybe some coffee grounds.
 
I'm really nervous some mold is going to show up... I took the best precautions I could though so hopefully nothing will...
 
My typical method is to glove up, wipe down every tool with alcohol, and bleach the workspace. I haven't had any contams yet. I do not see the added benefit in using a respirator but if I start getting contams I might invest in one. I think following this method your most likely source of contams is going to be your spore solution.
 
I wiped all tools and surfaces with rubbing alcohol then flam sterilized my needle and injected. After each container I flame sterilized. After each injection I sterilized with alcohol. I didn't have a glove box to do all this in otherwise I would have.
 
I honestly think that glove boxes can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a very sterile way to do things, on the other if your glove box gets any kind of contamination you are probably going to lose your whole batch. Also, the whole idea of working inside of a box without my normal dexterity and amount of space I think would lead me to make mistakes thus leading to contams.

I would definitely wait and see before you consider building any kind of glove box, don't fix what aint broke.

I know what you are thinking though, I am sure you have read lots of stories on some "other forums" (shroomery *cough cough*) about people getting nasty contams. Just remember, most of those people are 15 year olds trying to grow mushrooms in their bedrooms without mom finding out. They don't follow directions exactly, like we did, and then they get on the forum and whine about their jars getting contaminated. I remember what my bedroom looked/smelled like when I was 15, nothing sterile about it.
 
theghostpepperstore said:
I honestly think that glove boxes can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a very sterile way to do things, on the other if your glove box gets any kind of contamination you are probably going to lose your whole batch. Also, the whole idea of working inside of a box without my normal dexterity and amount of space I think would lead me to make mistakes thus leading to contams.

I would definitely wait and see before you consider building any kind of glove box, don't fix what aint broke.

I know what you are thinking though, I am sure you have read lots of stories on some "other forums" (shroomery *cough cough*) about people getting nasty contams. Just remember, most of those people are 15 year olds trying to grow mushrooms in their bedrooms without mom finding out. They don't follow directions exactly, like we did, and then they get on the forum and whine about their jars getting contaminated. I remember what my bedroom looked/smelled like when I was 15, nothing sterile about it.
Click to expand...

You did get the forum right ;) I've read a lot on there. That is true about a glove box though. If not properly sterilized consider it a contam box instead of a sterile work environment. Since I'm not growing any special mushrooms I can work in my kitchen without fear of my parents knowing and not have to try and keep it in my room (not sterile for sure)
 
Look at all this cardboard! I won't be short on any to try my hand at growing my mushies on. :)
IMAG0129.jpg

P.S. I work for a mailing company so theres an abundance of cardboard ;)
 
Cardboard will work well.

I threw some old king spawn into some boiiling water soaked old notes from college (regular paper) and stuffed it into a growcery bag and left it in my garage for a few week, and when it was exposed to fruiting conditions it exploded.

There are pictures of it posted on a certain site mentioned before, I tried to post here, but I am not sure how and I am too tired to mess with it right now.

Sorry.... but good luck!
 
theghostpepperstore said:
I am working on morels this year as well, though I probably wont be doing any kind of grow log or anything until I have the process nailed down. I finally feel like I am getting pretty good at substrate colonization and fruiting. Commercial morel growing is like the holy grail here in the Mississippi valley. The first person to really figure it out is going to be rich very quickly. The last time I was in London, I found them in a street market where they were being sold for nearly $200/kg dried.
Click to expand...

I am from Carthage mo. and one of the things i miss is the springtime mushroom hunts and bags of morels. They were so good. I saw a bag of 4 dried morels for $14. evidently I have eaten several hundred dollars worth of morels at once.

Anyway, on a recent trip I was driving from carthage to K.C. and there was a big sign for someone who produced morels.

If I found a good way to produce morels I would spend a lot on security and do anything I could to keep it a secret.
 
frosty said:
I am from Carthage mo. and one of the things i miss is the springtime mushroom hunts and bags of morels. They were so good. I saw a bag of 4 dried morels for $14. evidently I have eaten several hundred dollars worth of morels at once.

Anyway, on a recent trip I was driving from carthage to K.C. and there was a big sign for someone who produced morels.

If I found a good way to produce morels I would spend a lot on security and do anything I could to keep it a secret.
Click to expand...
I would too. Growing and cultivating morels for retail can make a lot of money. So security would be a big thing to get to protect your investment! There are local morel hunts and you buy a membership for the trip on this one website. I think it was about 179 dollars to go for the day and everyone just picks huge bags of morels and everyone pools them together and they make several dishes at a hotel for everyone to eat and you get to take some home.
mushroombob said:
Cardboard will work well.

I threw some old king spawn into some boiiling water soaked old notes from college (regular paper) and stuffed it into a growcery bag and left it in my garage for a few week, and when it was exposed to fruiting conditions it exploded.

There are pictures of it posted on a certain site mentioned before, I tried to post here, but I am not sure how and I am too tired to mess with it right now.

Sorry.... but good luck!
Click to expand...
I'll try and see if I can find a picture on that forum. :P

I checked my jars and my log and... YES!!! GROWTH!!!
The log
IMAG0132.jpg

IMAG0133.jpg

IMAG0134.jpg


Just about everywhere other than the slits I cut grew... But that's expected. When you first grow them in the jars you'll see them pressed against the sides since those are areas of high humidity.


The jars (I only thoroughly checked one since I cut the foil short on one side)
IMAG0136.jpg

IMAG0135.jpg

IMAG0137.jpg


You can see the spiderweb like mycelium growth in these pictures. I'll give it about 2 weeks before I think they will be fully colonized. Then I can birth them and try to colonize some sterile cardboard :)
 
Yep. :) These little guys grow fast! I've seen time lapse videos on youtube but you never really realize how fast they grow until you grow them yourself and see it first hand.
 
im intrigued, i think i might have to give this a whirl... maybe more of the outdoor log kinda thing though. because i live in a dry climate i wonder if that'd work though. Cool thread..... I'll be watching
 
bushwhackxj said:
im intrigued, i think i might have to give this a whirl... maybe more of the outdoor log kinda thing though. because i live in a dry climate i wonder if that'd work though. Cool thread..... I'll be watching
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks! :)
You can buy dowels for inoculation online for shiitake, oyster, etc. Just keep in mind when you go that route it takes 6 months to a year for signs of growth due to the nature of actually colonizing and fruiting on a log. The benefit to this though is that you can keep the log for 2-4 years and expect fruiting from it! You generally want to keep any inoculated and colonizing substance moist. High humidity is very beneficial for fruiting mushrooms. If I remember correctly high humidity helps the caps form better, like, they aren't tiny. They fully develop and form caps. But too much humidity will lead to soggy and rotting mushrooms. Personally, I'd say first time around grow a "log" like the one I bought. That way when you try colonizing a log you don't give up and toss it out while they're doing their thing making that log their home.

IMAG0148.jpg
 
IMAG0151.jpg

And all the jars are showing growth of mycelium! :D
No cantams it looks like, so that is quite exciting for me :) I'm really excited for my king oysters.
 
Glad to see there is a mushroom log on here ^^ It's looking good thebat, for your next round I would recommend doing grow bags or you can take those jars you currently have and do a "straw log". I'm not sure if you've heard of or seen them, but its a massive bag full of straw with holes that get hung from the ceiling and you just innoculate it and watch mushrooms grow. I've also seen people do straw in a laundry basket with a bag, looked like an interesting method ^^ Do you plan to just let them grow out of the jars or are you going to add the jars to a larger substrate? Sorry if it's been mentioned before and I just didn't see it ; ; Looking good though :) Good luck!


(Edit for the straw logs and such, make sure its always pasteurized substrate)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top