Anybody growing mushrooms willing to talk???

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
As spicy as P. ovoideocystidiata anyway.. which they used to call blue foots as well, before they made the distinction between the 2 species, back in 2007 I think. If those kind grow around where you live, I wonder if ovoids do too then. You would be able to find them already, because they start fruiting in the spring, unlike the cearulipes which come with fall rains i'm guessing.. They do look kind of similar to each other, I can see why they were mistaken for so long..
 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
I dunno though. If you showed that pic without saying what they were, I would think you had azurescens. They look just like it...
They do have the ufo shaped umbo but are way smaller then azur's and im on the east side in michigan.. no azur's here.. we do have afew psilocybe mushys .. no ovoids up here yet.. northern ohio is as far as they've made it.. yet.. im sure with time they'll be around.. im really wondering if wavy caps would survive are winters. I would love to try them.. evey time ive tryed to order some they were always out of stock..
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
It's 2 years past the date on the label, not that it should matter. Not gonna risk it, or sure what happened. The other ones look fine.

Think I'm gonna get a few more, now that i'm ready to try.

EDIT: Apparently it does matter, and the vendors state the spores only only viable for around a year. I'm gonna order a new bundle, but still probably use the other ones that don't look funky.. I didn't store them in a fridge either, just stashed them away.

Having experimented with such things I can tell you that mass spore degradation is progressive. A percentage of spores virtually dissolve as time progresses. This process accelerates. It is slowed in cooler conditions. But this is all pretty obvious. What isn't is the fact that a few spores may well survive at the two year mark and beyond. Of course the trick is using agar and large numbers of spores on your dish. I've had success at three years.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Having experimented with such things I can tell you that mass spore degradation is progressive. A percentage of spores virtually dissolve as time progresses. This process accelerates. It is slowed in cooler conditions. But this is all pretty obvious. What isn't is the fact that a few spores may well survive at the two year mark and beyond. Of course the trick is using agar and large numbers of spores on your dish. I've had success at three years.
1664662386559.png Yea I never got around to using them, and didn't store in a cool place. The one on the left is the only one that looks funky, the other ones are still clear..


Are you saying I can still squirt it out onto some agar, and isolate the good myc where the bad stuff isn't growing? Or is that just for older non contaminated syringes.. My other 2 are the same age, but still look ok. I was gonna get a whole new batch soon and make sure to use them right away.

Almost done setting up an area to do it all in :)
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
You guys reccomend to use SAB when working with agar and doing transfers to isolate stuff too?

I have a small HEPA 99.9 filter, probably 4 x 8 inches, and was thinking I could cut an opening in another clear tote, seal it around the opening, and hook up a small inline or cage fan with a shroud to flow through it. A mini flow hood the size of a SAB... Take me an hour to build I'm guessing, think its worth doing?
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
View attachment 5206208 Yea I never got around to using them, and didn't store in a cool place. The one on the left is the only one that looks funky, the other ones are still clear..


Are you saying I can still squirt it out onto some agar, and isolate the good myc where the bad stuff isn't growing? Or is that just for older non contaminated syringes.. My other 2 are the same age, but still look ok. I was gonna get a whole new batch soon and make sure to use them right away.

Almost done setting up an area to do it all in :)
Squirt a good bit on your agar and wait. If it grows, you are good. Do it on several plates.

If you want to save for a longer period, squirt it in a plain dish and let it dry. (The new stuff, the old won't work much). Then it should be good for four or five years.
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
You guys reccomend to use SAB when working with agar and doing transfers to isolate stuff too?

I have a small HEPA 99.9 filter, probably 4 x 8 inches, and was thinking I could cut an opening in another clear tote, seal it around the opening, and hook up a small inline or cage fan with a shroud to flow through it. A mini flow hood the size of a SAB... Take me an hour to build I'm guessing, think its worth doing?
Still air is plenty good for quick agar work. You may make things worse using that filter unless the flow is right.
 

oldsilvertip55

Well-Known Member
Fungus mites. I had such a bad case that after I sprayed I had a good half cup of them dead on the floor. Just like spider mites but they like mushrooms

Phorid flies.

Fungus gnats

STABLE FLIES! if you work with horse manure eventually you will encounter them. They are small flies that have tiny scissors as mouth parts. They like to find your legs, snip a bit of flesh and lap up your blood. It hurts.

Growing mushrooms is fun.

Contamination is usually a puzzle. There is a black mold, aspergillis Niger. It is capable of germinating through tivek and other air filters. It drives its mycelium through the filter and then breaks off into your substrate. You think you got a good bag, you shake it one last time and in a day or so you have a bag of inky mush. Took a long time to figure that one out.

Bad grain

Popcorn is sometimes sprayed with fungicide, not a damn thing will grow on it. Organic rye often is teaming with cysts that require days of moist time and 4 hours of autoclave in order to kill every last one. And you had better kill them all.

It's a nasty microscopic world.
i 'am still learning some of the terms ,know nothing about mushrooms ,just know i like them!
 

crankdoctor

Active Member
Do they put stuff in feed that kills the effect now? Talking about wild shrooms in cow Pattie’s. I used to live in Westin Fl many years ago and hit the farms and collect. But I hear they put something in feed now. My daughter grew them for a few years but never asked the prosess. Interesting topic!
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
i 'am still learning some of the terms ,know nothing about mushrooms ,just know i like them!

You likely need not know ANY of the things I posted in this thread. You need to have been consecutively growing various sorts of mushrooms for many years in order to have encountered any of these horrors.

Not to worry should you intend to try your hand.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
They do have the ufo shaped umbo but are way smaller then azur's and im on the east side in michigan.. no azur's here.. we do have afew psilocybe mushys .. no ovoids up here yet.. northern ohio is as far as they've made it.. yet.. im sure with time they'll be around.. im really wondering if wavy caps would survive are winters. I would love to try them.. evey time ive tryed to order some they were always out of stock..
Cyans are pretty abundant up here in the PNW, and sometimes you find massive flushes! Funny though, it's usually in your friends neighbors grandma's flower bed (the guy that posted here earlier about doing lawn care in seattle knows what's up, lol), and mostly in places a more responsible adult wouldn't be wandering around these days.. I still manage to keep a stash of them around though.. This year I'll be looking for a new sample to put in my own bed :)


Azzies though, you gotta drive a little farther out to the coast, where its sandy, where they are for sure. I never really made the trip to look for them, I know friends that do. Never found them randomly either, but they are around here.

Funny how all those species mentioned can somewhat resemble each other, at different stages of growth, or in different environments, weather conditions..
 

oldsilvertip55

Well-Known Member
He is referring to the genus (?) Psilocybe cubensis. The most common of all domesticated Hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Moderate strength, among the bottom of the group as far as quality of experience but the most easily grown.
thanks for that@canndo, this helps me a lot.
 

southbayLA154

Well-Known Member
Hey what’s up guys ! Im new to growing mushrooms I’ve done some reading
I’d like to bury some mushrooms I have into some substrate possibly indoors or outdoors

from what I have on hand what can I mix up for the substrate?

peatmoss
Coco coir
Malibu compost
Vermiculite
Perlite
Straw

I’m thinking of doing the coco coir with vermiculite mix ,

do I absolutely need gypsum?
Also can I add some compost as well?
Can I add perlite aswell ?

so I would be mixing ..

1 part coco
1 part Malibu compost
1 part perlite ?
1 part vermiculite
5% gypsum if needed ?

do I add the compost & gypsum before adding boiling water to sterilize?

or add the gypsum after sterlizing
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
Hey what’s up guys ! Im new to growing mushrooms I’ve done some reading
I’d like to bury some mushrooms I have into some substrate possibly indoors or outdoors

from what I have on hand what can I mix up for the substrate?

peatmoss
Coco coir
Malibu compost
Vermiculite
Perlite
Straw

I’m thinking of doing the coco coir with vermiculite mix ,

do I absolutely need gypsum?
Also can I add some compost as well?
Can I add perlite aswell ?

so I would be mixing ..

1 part coco
1 part Malibu compost
1 part perlite ?
1 part vermiculite
5% gypsum if needed ?

do I add the compost & gypsum before adding boiling water to sterilize?

or add the gypsum after sterlizing

More vermiculite, you dont need the gypsum. Boiling water will not sterilize. Try bringing your substrate to field capacity (squeeze a fist fill, if a few drops of water exude, you are good. If rivulets come its too much). Place it in a pan, cover with foil and cook in your oven at around 170 f for a few hours. Let it cool to under 100 and put your spawn in. Cover with foil again, a few holes for air. Put the thing in a nice warm place for a few weeks.
 
Top