Bwpz' First PF Tek Attempt

That pressure cooker weight.

I've decided to skip making cakes, and basically do one of those zombie tubs without the self FAE/mist parts. I can manually do it, I don't have anything else to do haha.

Blackhash said:

Yes just misting the sides of the tub and the substrate will give it enough RH to fruit.
Just remember to cease misting the sub when you see pins, then to start back up when they start growing into mushrooms.

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Would you also suggest less FAE to keep humidity high since you cant mist any more?

Bwpz said:

That's interesting, so I won't need any perlite or anything? Didn't think so, that thread didn't mention it. So in the mono tub, misting and going FAE will make it fruit?

So after I make the tub, give it 14 days to colonize, then pull it out the garbage bag and wait a couple days (?) and start with mist/FAE to make it fruit?

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no it shouldn't need perlite from what i have read, they seem to say the bulk substrate is enough to keep humidity up and misting the walls like Blackhash just suggested, but i do need clarification myself because everything i know is from reading and studying for hours on end, not first hand experience, i am new to this on my first run, and after reading i was like "fuck it!" im going bulk! so i might add a little perlite at the bottom of my tub any how, just for the simple fact you cant mist when pins develop, so how the hell you keep humidity high without misting while all at the same time try to have your important FAE, perlite in the tub seems to be the answer.
Also since my bulk is in a tin tray i can take it out of my bucket when pins set, then add wet perlite to my bucket then put my tray back in on top the perlite, problem solved.

I'mma just spray the tops of the sides of the tub and do FAE when pins set so no water gets on the pins but it gets water in there.

tryingtogrow89 said:

Would you also suggest less FAE to keep humidity high since you cant mist any more?

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You're supposed to make the polyfill holes in the zombie tub 1/2" to 1". The closer to 1/2" the less FAE, meaning the higher humidity. I read that from the link he gave me

You still think you need that weight?


Look, there are half a dozen ways to precondition the air before you pump it into your chamber, a nice one is to get one of those electronic fogger things, put it in a sealable container that holds a quart or more of water and use a simple aquarium pump to pump air into that container and another tube going out of the top and into your fruiting chamber. That way you continuously pump fresh, 90 percent RH air into your chamber - a 6 dollar air pump will change 60 quarts several times an hour. I can't believe you guys are going through so much trouble over these things. Mushrooms like stable conditions, "fanning" the air every couple of hours isn't conducive to natural growth AND, stagnant air invites Trich.

I figured I do need the weight man, I don't know exactly why, but why would it come with it if I didn't need it?

And I really don't have the extra money for a fogger and whatnot, that'll have to be the second batch.

Also, 3 of my PF Jars got trich, so I threw em out

Now I'm confused, did you get a weight with the thing?

canndo said:

Now I'm confused, did you get a weight with the thing?

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No it came without the weight. On the weight it has markings for 5, 10, and 15 PSI, and I don't have it.

It comes with it if you buy it new, but I bought it on craigslist.

So do you have the lever device on the top of the cooker or not? Hell, just put some water in the cooker, close it up and see what happens. You should know how it works before you start to use it anyway.

canndo said:

So do you have the lever device on the top of the cooker or not? Hell, just put some water in the cooker, close it up and see what happens. You should know how it works before you start to use it anyway.

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Yes, I have the lever device thing. It rotates and whatnot, and is spring loaded. The only thing I'm missing is the actual round weight that goes on it.



See how it has the round weight on it? Mine doesn't have that, and is just the spring loaded valve thingy.

Look, the spring/lever acts as a weight. You don't need the weight if you have the spring/lever. The only thing you don't know is how strong the spring is. If you put some water in the cooker and fire it up you can tell how strong the spring is by looking at the pressure guage. If it points to 15 lbs before steam starts coming out you are fine and can spend your money on other things.

That would be great, I'mma go test that now.

Dude that told it to me said I just gotta put it at the right temp (on the gauge it has the PSI's and the temps for that PSI).

Yes I would definitely test it out and see how high the PSI goes.
And that sucks that some of your jars got trich man!
Although there are 600 mold spores per cubic foot of air, kind of scary if you think about mushroom cultivation.

If you happen to have an air purifier in your home, those get rid of mold spores in a whole room in an hour or so.
They are pretty expensive, and not necessary, so if you don't have one, dont worry.

Practice sanitary proceedures and keep your substrates out of the growth zone for trich or any of the others and you will do fine. HEPA filtration systems are fine but controling conditions is far better.

Don't get the substrate too wet for too long
don't let there be stagnant air
keep your substrate/casing PH basic
If in doubt change your RH to 75 or 80 - your first line of defense is strong healthy and totally colonized substrates so keep your RH high at first.

Finally, if you see trich on the surface, you can arrest it's growth with a baking soda solution dripped on the outbreak or you can use salt to the same effect. This is good if you want that last flush to finish.

here is a side note for anyone thinking about being lazy with their sterilization.. I made up 6 BRF cakes and set them in a corner (just the jars with brf and verm top layer) forgot about sterilizing them for 4 days.... WOW talk about explosive contaminate growth!!! good thing I PC'd my other jars and haven't opened the PC! lol now I have to get off my ass tonight and knock em up! (BTW Tossed the contam'd jars I have another 12 so I have plenty plus as Bwpz has done I will probably move on to a bulk mono tub after the first couple of grows simply for ease as I have a pressure cooker and that seems to be the biggest expense no matter what you do (and it was a freebie! Can't beat that thanks mom! you have no Idea why I wanted one )

Look, you MUST be careful with contaminated materials. Aspergillis, actinomycetes (rare), mucor, gotricheum, and fusarium can be harmful to man, Aspergillis is particularly nasty. If you see your jars getting infected you should resterilize them for an hour in your cooker before you clean the jars - NO shortcuts or you could find yourself with a host of mold related diseases of the lung, skin, nose eyes or ears - Or you could just get a nasty form of cancer. Trich is harmless however.

canndo said:

Look, you MUST be careful with contaminated materials. Aspergillis, actinomycetes (rare), mucor, gotricheum, and fusarium can be harmful to man, Aspergillis is particularly nasty. If you see your jars getting infected you should resterilize them for an hour in your cooker before you clean the jars - NO shortcuts or you could find yourself with a host of mold related diseases of the lung, skin, nose eyes or ears - Or you could just get a nasty form of cancer. Trich is harmless however.

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Can you tell me how to notice the different contaminates? I just know to look for green mold.

Bwpz said:

Can you tell me how to notice the different contaminates? I just know to look for green mold.

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pretty much anything except white is a contam.
here is a picture guide of common contams.
http://www.shroomery.org/5276/What-are-common-contaminants-of-the-mushroom-culture

I don't think he is worried about contamination so much as disease. There is a white mold commonly called cobweb mold you will lose your crop if you see it so throw everything away that has come in contact with it. Mucor looks like tiny black pins, aspergillis comes in several colors but the black one or the yellow ones are the more unpleasant, Monila looks like pearlite and only turns pink in the later stages - monilia is the main reason I NEVER use pearlite for anything. Geotrichium starts white but becomes pink, red, or orange, Fusarium can be pink, red, yellow, violet or white.

canndo said:

Look, you MUST be careful with contaminated materials. Aspergillis, actinomycetes (rare), mucor, gotricheum, and fusarium can be harmful to man, Aspergillis is particularly nasty. If you see your jars getting infected you should resterilize them for an hour in your cooker before you clean the jars - NO shortcuts or you could find yourself with a host of mold related diseases of the lung, skin, nose eyes or ears - Or you could just get a nasty form of cancer. Trich is harmless however.

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I hope you were not referring to me? I tossed the jars completely I was not going to bother cleaning them, I have another12 fresh jars I haven't even opened yet.