P. Cubensis - Z Strain & Dancing Tiger log

canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Hey I haven't been on in a few months but I just recently (two days ago) started some jars for a crop so I'll be following it in this thread, hopefully all goes well

I sterilized for 2-2.5 hours this time around to be safe, so if anything goes contam I have NO clue why lol

Thanks for watching, I'll post pics later this week or weekend when there's some mycelium to look at
 
J

Jobo

Well-Known Member
what method of sterilization are you using? If your not using a PC you cant guarantee its sterile.
 
A

AKRevo47

Well-Known Member
Jobo said:
what method of sterilization are you using? If your not using a PC you cant guarantee its sterile.
Click to expand...

It still has a high probability of being sterilized though. My friend used a small pot and sterilized one jar at a time for 60 mins each and he has never had a contaminated jar to date!
 
J

Jobo

Well-Known Member
AKRevo47 said:
It still has a high probability of being sterilized though. My friend used a small pot and sterilized one jar at a time for 60 mins each and he has never had a contaminated jar to date!
Click to expand...
Well if it works for you then use it. I could never get steam sterilization down so i just bought a PC
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Hahaha thanks for the comments guys I'm looking forward to having you follow the grow

I used to use a regular pot with a lid to sterilize which was only successful 1 of 3 or 4 times (I probably just got lucky), which led me into buying a 5.5L pressure cooker this time around (it only reaches a max 11.something PSI [comparable to 15 for most other PCs] which I read is acceptable but you have to prolong the sterilization which is why I did over 2 hours worth)..

By the way AKRevo47, I watched that show in your avatar for the first time a few days ago.. it was messed up but great entertainment I must say - I was hysterical the whole way through
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Mmm alright last night I checked the jars and there were the beginnings of mycelium growth (it spread a bit more this morning)... It's going to be a challenge but in order to be sure I don't contaminate the jars I might leave them colonize for just over another week (so until the first weekend of July) until I check them again, but so far so good, and it seems the mycelium from Dancing Tiger is colonizing faster than that of Z Strain

You can check out my outdoor NL grow in the meantime if you like, I should get some more photos by the end of this weekend for that one

Peace
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
K well I obviously lied about how long I was going to leave the jars alone without checking them, I'm too anxious... so 5 of the 8 are showing signs of SOMETHING, 3 of the 5 are GOOD mycelium, the other two look a bit less white and more creamy though so may be mold, and the other 3 just aren't responding at all, there's nothing going on in them

I'll wait a bit longer
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
give us a picture, I'll try to help.
I wouldn't worry about the beige looking myc, it happens....

In my experience 99% of what goes wrong, starts with the syringe makeing process.
Unsterile syringe contents will contaminate 9 times out of 10, if not more.
Also not flameing the needle in between jars, is asking for it.
Injection of lots of spore or liquid mycelium is another baddy, the more stuff you squirt into your sterile jars, the higher the statistical odds gets for intruducing contaminants, aim for 1ml or less.
If you take care of that, you should have 0 problems.

Once in the jars and past the 4 day mark, you should realy be all good. Provided you make provision for adequate gas exchange. Especialy important when working with grains. I find a simple 10ml hole plugged with aquarium filter floss (polyfill), is the best for this. Twyvek can be used but I find it hard to get a nice seal that prefents dust and airborne spores getting past. DON'T use cotton wool, it gets soggy, is crap hard to get a needle through, and is made of stuff the shrooms can eat.


I cant even remember when last I had a contam, and I'd hate to say how many jars I make in a month.

Of course, and this is personal opinion, which could be influenced by environmental factors...I think cakes are a waste of time.
 
thehairyllama

thehairyllama

Well-Known Member
I wanna start growing mushies too but nervous because I have no clue what im doing. It will take me a while to understand it all and be confident that im not wasting my money =D. Perfection is key.
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
I'm happy to announce that 7 or 8 jars now have healthy mycelium growth, some are more mature than others but they're all doing well (the one without mycelium doesn't have signs of anything, no mold/contam either which is good)
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Everything's still going well.. I finally realized that the reason one of the jars didn't respond at all is because I totally forgot to inoculate it.. during the inoculation process I had gotten mixed up with the jars at one point and forgot which ones I had already done and I guess as such I left one out.. I'm going to wait another week most likely until I birth them and then into the fruiting chamber it is (I'll post some pics when I put together the fruiting chambers and then again when the cakes are ready to go in)

Good news is all the jars that did in fact respond responded positively and are at least 75% colonized.. man I'm getting excited
 
Barron

Barron

Well-Known Member
I just ordered Z Strain last night for my first attempt to grow mushrooms!I'm excited as hell but a little nervous I'm not going to do something right. Subscribed..
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Nice all I can say is be as sterile as possible and you should do fine

The 7 jars are colonizing a bit slowly at this stage so I moved them to a slightly warmer location in hopes that they'll pick up the pace.. I also set up my fruiting chamber so once all the temps and humidity are stable I'll get some pics
 
canadianreefer

canadianreefer

Well-Known Member
Alright so here's a pic of my set up as promised.. I figured I'd take the picture without flash to give it a cooler effect plus it shows the spectrum of light (its a 15W daylight fluorescent tube)

The temperature inside the chambers is about 75-80F and between 90-100% humidity.. I NEVER thought I would get it on the first shot but I guess the way I set it up it all just came together

The light fixture is fixed to a wood slat which is fixed onto the inside of the lid of the bin and it's all very secure.. the wire runs clean too

Comments welcome and appreciated

EDIT: I'll most likely be giving it another 10-11 days until birthing for the mycelium to get a good hold on the cakes and sort of spread inward and I'll be checking the cakes every 3-4 days or so in the meantime to monitor their progress
 

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