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Mycology 101
Hey Gang! As I posted last week, I am trying to produce my own little crop of shrooms and boy o boy... after countless days and nights of babying each jar of spores, nature took over and molded the shit outta them! We managed to have 2 survivors and are keeping a close eye on them. I quickly did up a small batch of 2 jars with the same verm and organic brown rice substrate and this time added more water to the mix. We are on day 8 of batch 3 and so far, not much is happening. ![20171229_144545[1].jpg](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmViWwDe5F6NFTCuF7KmdWtk6YkoyoQ6pSX7yiDZ7MWyKE/20171229_144545%5B1%5D.jpg)
The jars feel heavier than batch 2 and seem to be colonizing quicker. The newest batch was also put in the pressure cooker for an extra half hour...so 1.5hours total. I have been recording each change so we can maybe pinpoint where the problem lies. From the looks of batch 2 (started on Dec 10th), the jars seem a deeper golden color so we may have colonization but deeper into the jar and not on the edges of the glass. This is a photo of good colonizing of spores.
courtesy of Vancouver Seed Bank
We aren't even close yet! Also, something to note, I moved the jars into the living room so they can have a nicer ambient light. I think the other room was far too dark. That's it for now. Gonna keep updating as things progress. I realize how much patience mushrooms need. Understanding what is happening at all phases is really important for us to get this right! If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know what you think. This is a learning process, for sure.
If you are interested in learning more about growing your own shrooms, I highly suggest checking out this site beforehand. This gives you so much knowledge of fungi and all of the characteristics.
http://www.fungi.com
Paul Stamets is a master in his field. Probably the most knowledgeable "fun"gi out there!
Thanks gang and have a spectacular weekend!
The main thing is to sterilise, sterilise, sterilise. With fungi, it's an arms race to see which can colonise first so you need to give your chosen spores a headstart by removing the competition
awesome advice everyone. I moved the jars to our sunny side of the house and they are finally colonizing. The 3rd batch is kicking ass and I believe the amount of water had something to do with the first batch not growing quickly...a little dry but they are still growing. Thanks everyone!
It shows light is also a factor affecting their growth.
We think this is the problem. We have seen more growth since moving them. Thanks for the input. Do you think the winter months cause slower growth?
How many hours of (non-direct) sunlight do the jars get in the living room vs prior room they were in?
Any temperature control or just sitting on a table in normal room temperature and hoping for the best?
P.S keep us posted mate, will follow :)
Just an update. I guess we were not diligent with sterilizing our needle...must do this each time it is put into a jar...clean, clean, clean. We will try again...success will happen.