Mushroom Grow Journal - PF-tek, Casing

ballo

Well-Known Member
you don't want light getting in...indirect sunlight is supposedly good but too much will hurt.
 

JinxedSoul

Active Member
light doesn't hurt your shrooms or the mycilum. You want to use a non transparent tub to prevent side pinning. A black garbage bag works great as a liner.

Side pinning is when the mushroom starts to grow on sides of your substrate and they get all squished up against the side of the tub.
 

potheadsmoker

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, used to grow a lot of mushrooms a while ago and stopped to grow weed... but now im back and I thought id make a grow journal for anyone new or thinking about growing mushrooms

Im attempting to grow as many as I can as cheap as possible, Ill be using the pk-tek to make the base and then case to get the most from them

I'll go into as much detail as possible to help out anyone who wants to follow along... and please feel free to post or ask questions

Making The Jars

First thing you have to do is make some jars to intially grow the mushrooms in, this is a super important step to get right because it determines how successful you are

One thing which I will stress this entire grow is BEING CLEAN... there is high risk of contaimination which causes people to get very sick, so every step I take I usually clean my hands with rubbing a, and all the surfaces and the jars

What you'll need:

1) 12 - 1/2 Pint Jars

I use 1 pint jars usually because you get more but theres a lot more risk and it takes a lot longer, so for this grow i went and picked up some 1/2 pint jars... you want them to be wide lid so you can take out the substrate easy when its done... this will cost you around 7 bucks





Cleaning the Jars

You'll want to make sure the jars are 100% contaimination free before you fuck with them anymore

Put as many jars as you can fit into your big pot... put lids or something at the bottom so the bottom of the jars does not touch the bottom of the pot... fill water in the pot till around half way up the jars



A lot of people swear by pressure cookers but for this style of mushroom growing I tend not to be bothered with it... one thing to note is that when you use a big pot this white shit may be all over the jars, this is just calcium build up and shouldn't be concerned with, this happens a lot with old or not 100% clean pots

Bring the pot to a boil for 90 MIN!!!! this is very important

However you will want to cheak now and then to make sure there is enough water in the pot lol so it doesn't burn

After 90 min turn off the stove and DONT open the pot, leave them overnight to cool... 6 hours min time needed for this... if you have to use the pot again for more jars make sure you put the ones you take out in a very very sterile place while you wait

Tomorrow ill show ya how to knock up the jars with shrooms

first of all its call sterilizing not "cleaning" second of all id recommend you to use a pressure cooker until you have more experience using alternative methods of sterilization thirdly that calcium build up is from your water you have hard water so add vinegar to bring the ph down

Hey everyone

something i always forget to do is when you boil the jars you should make sure that the lids are not on tightly... or it causes the glass to crack:



3 of my 12 were like this, they are ok for this grow but i'll toss them for the next one

i always forget lol, got a few more jars this time then i wanted haha
that is not from putting the lids on tight that is from putting the jars directly on the bottom of a pot and it getting to much heat put directly in on spot on the glass, to prevent that put some ball jar lids on the bottom of the pan and sit the jars on those
sorry i think you took the post the wrong way, i meant for someone who has never grown before, the bigger bulk ways are more expensive and complex... it costs me literally 10-15 dollars every 3-4 months with what i do (i make the spore prints)... and for people who have never grown or dont know the procedure i think this is the easiest way...

i've used WBS and 50/50+ casing and they are great, just find that people who i know who started with them had a lot of problems and dropped more then me

again this is all IN MY OPINION lol

personally your opinion to me or anybody that has read this thread is worthless because in my opinion your a newbie that thought he knew what he was doing and failed miserably, i am in no way trying to be a dick i just hate when false information is given period! i dont like to be given false information because that causes me to fail! if your information isnt tried and true it shouldnt be posted as if you have 15yrs experience post it as "i dont really know what im doing but this is my attempt at this any help would be nice" now im guessing the reason why there hasnt been an update is because your methods failed you, dont attempt to try sterilization without a pressure cooker unless you have some type of experience with canning or something of the sort or else you will fail, certain bacterias and endospores can withstand extremely hot temperatures that is what cause your contamination, the pot of boiling water is only reaching at most 212 c on the stove the pressure cooker is at least 220 c thats the temperature in which those organisms die at....now you welcome if i helped in anyways and im sorry if you feel offended
 

Coop25

Well-Known Member
i agree with Potheadsmoker, iv been reading up on the PF Tek method for about a month, and in no way did i ever hear boiling a pot of water would work, YOU NEED A PRESSURE COOKER
 

Thompson3600

Active Member
I am interested in this too. I ordered a 10mL syringe of Amazon spores from spores101.com
Just for your information spores101 has been getting a bad name with all the bad spores they've been sending out. More than 10 people I've talked to said there spores didn't germinate, not even a contaminant. When they looked under the microscope it was nothing but distilled water.
If you want a reliable source that is #1 and has been for quiet some time.... www.sporeworks.com and www.ralphstersspores.com




both are types of cubes, and truthfully i've done a lot of mushrooms and they really have no difference between then, just what you expect the mushrooms to look like... the potency really comes from how you grow them... but again this method to the best methods is very little difference in how strong I personally find (and other people i know)

1/2 pint jars
Growth in jars: 1-3 weeks (but can max at 2 months but super rare)
Casing Before Flower - 3-4 days
"Flower" - 3-5 weeks

all and all expect to take 6 - 8 weeks... for the first flush (which is a picking of mushrooms) then you can grow from them 2-3 more times which only take a few more days

the only difference between 1/2 pint and 1 pint is that the bigger jars take 3-5 weeks to grow in jars but you get twice as much, everything else is the same

im expecting to pick mushrooms from the end of sep to the end of oct, max mid nov
Potency is 95% genetic. If you want consistant potency learn agar and isolate.
People have repeadedly found that 'room temperature' colonzing mycelium is by far better than an incubator which can and has caused mass amounts of metabolites(and stalled jars which mushroom mycelium will die at 108F+) which is secreted by the mycelium due to stress. They show up by temperature fluctuations or bacteria contamination. Anyways, what they have repeadedly found out is that regardless of strain of cubensis is Growth slows down tromendously below 69F where it speeds up quiet a bit until about 75F where it goes flat until 81F(When I say flat it means that there is no increase/decrease in growth due to temperature), where it goes flat again until 83F where it falls of sharply. At 86F growth has slowed down nearly 50% of what it was at 75-81F so definatly don't go over 80-81F if you want maximum amount of growth. These tests were conducted on petri dishes that produced little to no heat due to the thin layer of mycelium. In jars up to several degrees are higher when mycelium is colonizing(a process called thermogenesis when mushroom mycelium generates its own heat). I've personally seen a 30F increase from the ambient room temperature to the substrate temperature. Once the mushroom mycelium is reaching full colonization that heat drops off tromendously.

Closests make for horrible incubation and fruiting chambers which hold in old stale air, often have elevated temperatures, high humidity which is more likely to grow trichoderma(the common green mold) than mushroom mycelium.

Put them at room temperature at ambient room lighting. Light does not affect colonizing jars at all. They don't simulate pinning(Fresh Air Exchange, Bacterial Contamination, Temperature Fluctuations, Early Pinning Strains cause early pinning). That's another thing in The Mushroom Cultivator that needs to go away. That was said 20 years ago and Paul Stamets doesn't even say that bogus incubate in darkness anymore. He later changed that in Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. If you visit fungi perfect(his mushroom farm) you'll see 10,000 square feet of incubation area under high spectrum 8' shoplights 10-12 hours a day.

Don't toss contaminated cakes, if there is mushroom mycelium too. Go outside and take the substrate out and bury it 6 inches under in some well nutrient compost, grass clippings, etc....anything organic. If conditions are good they'll fruit again.




Metal - the reason you experience that kind of high from golden teacher is because usually the caps are very big on them... eating the caps give you more of that kind of high wereas the rest of the shroom gives you a different more subtile high

Dabu - yes the short ones which you have pictures of are 1/2 pints just like mine, i use the taller ones because of personal preference, i tend to find them easier to do stuff with, but both are good to use :)
Caps are no more potent than the stems. That's a myth. The best half pint jars are the short fat wide mouth half pint canning jars.

Cakes can get just as good as yields as bulk. Bulk will always get more. http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/5940197#5940197

Jars should be on tight as possible. The glass won't break at all. You ever heard of canning? Those jar lids are tight as hell. What causes glass shattering in your face is putting the jars from room temperature into boiling water or from boiling water straight into room temperature. I don't know the science behind it but it's true.

A good ratio for spawning with manure based substrates is 1:2 ...you 'can' do 1:4 but it's not advised. For straw you can do 1:10. 1 qt of spawn to 2,4,10 qts of substrate.




i agree with Potheadsmoker, iv been reading up on the PF Tek method for about a month, and in no way did i ever hear boiling a pot of water would work, YOU NEED A PRESSURE COOKER
Wrong. Brown Rice doesn't harbor bacterial endospores that grains do. Boiling at 90 minutes will work fine. For grains you NEED a pressure cooker.
 

Young Macdonald

Well-Known Member
Wrong. Brown Rice doesn't harbor bacterial endospores that grains do. Boiling at 90 minutes will work fine. For grains you NEED a pressure cooker.
Uhh you just got done chewing him out for boiling his jars with brown rice flour in them and now your saying that only grains need to to be cooked at a higher temp and boiling brown rice is fine to boil? Maybe i misunderstood you.. (not trying to argue and shit)
 

Vapemasta!

Member
Yea whoever thinks you need a pressure cooker is wrong. I use a regular fitting lid pot, stack about 12 jars in it and have the water boil for about two hours. Mind you, i am inexperianced, but i"ve harvested about 9 ounces from this, and have about another pound on the way. Brf and a regular pot is cheapest and works fine.
 

Steve French

Well-Known Member
Yeah, no need for a pressure cooker with brown rice flour. Ask any pro mycologist and they will tell you the same thing. Using other growing methods like rye and wild bird seed however you need to use a pressure cooker, as water in a pot doesn't reach a high enough temperature, or maintain that temperature consistently.
 

DarthD3vl

Well-Known Member
Yea whoever thinks you need a pressure cooker is wrong. I use a regular fitting lid pot, stack about 12 jars in it and have the water boil for about two hours. Mind you, i am inexperianced, but i"ve harvested about 9 ounces from this, and have about another pound on the way. Brf and a regular pot is cheapest and works fine.
dragged up an old thread to say that huh lol, 12 cakes gives me an average of only 6 ounces. thats with out contams and about 4-8 flushes per cake.
 

BlazedMonkey

Well-Known Member
Yea whoever thinks you need a pressure cooker is wrong. I use a regular fitting lid pot, stack about 12 jars in it and have the water boil for about two hours. Mind you, i am inexperianced, but i"ve harvested about 9 ounces from this, and have about another pound on the way. Brf and a regular pot is cheapest and works fine.
The thread necromancer strikes again... :P
But yah depending on what materials you are using you dont HAVE to PC, however... It will only help. PC kills more nasty things than just boiling does and in regards to shroom sterility you can never be to careful :)
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
You can probably do without a pressure cooker but your local target sells them for what? 15 bucks?
 

jljar5

Member
Hey I realize this thread hasn't been posted on in like a year, but it came up in my google search so I just wanted to update a few things. I currently have a grow guide, including some pictures (and lots of newbie questions :P) here https://mycotopia.net/forums/fungi-magic-mushrooms/91864-first-timer-looking-input-brf-pf-tek-bulk-2.html

First of all, its 212 degrees F not C ( not a big deal unless you really converted 212f to c)

Also with Wild Bird Seed you DO need a pressure cooker (I'm not sure about other types of sub) and with Brown Rice Flower you do NOT need a pressure cooker. I know from experience, all the pics you see were done by simply boiling for 2 hours (they recommend 90 mins but I wanted to be on the safe side). Also you jars DID crack from having them directly on metal or something too hot. I used layers of hand towels and big pieces of foil (about 4 layers of each) with the water coming up about an inch to the bottom row of jars.

Peace
 
Hey everyone, used to grow a lot of mushrooms a while ago and stopped to grow weed... but now im back and I thought id make a grow journal for anyone new or thinking about growing mushrooms

Im attempting to grow as many as I can as cheap as possible, Ill be using the pk-tek to make the base and then case to get the most from them

I'll go into as much detail as possible to help out anyone who wants to follow along... and please feel free to post or ask questions

Making The Jars

First thing you have to do is make some jars to intially grow the mushrooms in, this is a super important step to get right because it determines how successful you are

One thing which I will stress this entire grow is BEING CLEAN... there is high risk of contaimination which causes people to get very sick, so every step I take I usually clean my hands with rubbing a, and all the surfaces and the jars

What you'll need:

1) 12 - 1/2 Pint Jars

I use 1 pint jars usually because you get more but theres a lot more risk and it takes a lot longer, so for this grow i went and picked up some 1/2 pint jars... you want them to be wide lid so you can take out the substrate easy when its done... this will cost you around 7 bucks



2) Brown Rice

I use any brown rice you can find at the store, I find organic works better... alot of people use brown rice flour but I can't find it around here so I make it myself... also I find the flour is to fine and doesn't work as well... put brown rice into a coffee grinder... below is the before and after product... you'll need a fair size bag, which should put you back 3 bucks



3) Vermiculite

Get vermiculite, dont get really fine stuff



4) Water
5) Tin Foil
6) Big Pot



Putting the Jars Together

First take a nail and pop 2 holes in the lids of the 1/2 pint jars, this is where you will be putting in the mushroom spores later on... then put your jars to the side



Next mix the vermiculite (6 cups) with around 3 cups of water, if you find that there is water pooling at the bottom of the bowl you mix it in then drain that part out because there is to much.... Next add 3 cups of brown rice flour to that wet vermiculite mix

You will get something that looks like this:



Next fill the 1/2 pint jars to about 1/2 inch from the top of the jar... clean this rim of the jar so that its dry and perfectly clean

Then fill this top 1/2 inch part with DRY vermiculite, this will stop the muchrooms from growing to the top of the jars, and keep contaimination out




Finally, cover the top of the jars with win foil so it looks like the jar below... this is to keep water out of them for the next step



Cleaning the Jars

You'll want to make sure the jars are 100% contaimination free before you fuck with them anymore

Put as many jars as you can fit into your big pot... put lids or something at the bottom so the bottom of the jars does not touch the bottom of the pot... fill water in the pot till around half way up the jars



A lot of people swear by pressure cookers but for this style of mushroom growing I tend not to be bothered with it... one thing to note is that when you use a big pot this white shit may be all over the jars, this is just calcium build up and shouldn't be concerned with, this happens a lot with old or not 100% clean pots

Bring the pot to a boil for 90 MIN!!!! this is very important

However you will want to cheak now and then to make sure there is enough water in the pot lol so it doesn't burn

After 90 min turn off the stove and DONT open the pot, leave them overnight to cool... 6 hours min time needed for this... if you have to use the pot again for more jars make sure you put the ones you take out in a very very sterile place while you wait

Tomorrow ill show ya how to knock up the jars with shrooms




first of all, you suck, second of all i hate people who dont finish what they started. people like you is why i hate searching the internet and reading for an hour just to find out that its a big fat lie and a complete hopeless thread that some quiter thought he would make a joke out of i hope this thread gets delieted for this
 

canndo

Well-Known Member
its a process where you break the cakes into pieces and put them in like cake dishes, ill be doing it and since youre a few weeks behind me just watch and ill show ya how in a few weeks :)

that is not the traditional definition of casing. Casing is the proceedure of placing a low nutrient value substrate on top of a fully colonized high nutrient substrate. There are many valid reasons for casing and only a few drawbacks, including extra cost, extra time and an possible increase in the likelihood of contamination.


In my opinion after having worked with cased and uncased substrates in a variety of different mushrooms and environments, casing will increase yield in P. Cubensis.
 
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