So I did a lot of research on growing mushrooms and after about 2 months of studying, I got my spores. It was rocky to say the least.. Here are a few mistakes I made:

I didn't make the holes in the lids big enough to fit the syringe needle through before sterilization. So after I realized this, I got more lids, poked bigger holes, sterilized them and then re-capped the sterilized jars.

Another mistake I made was that I didn't put enough substrate in the jars to begin with. As the jars have dried (during colonization) the substrate has shrunk down and now there is about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of space at the top of the jar between the top layer of verm and the lid.

Within a week I had to throw out 3 jars because of a trichodermia infestation. To date I have 5 jars that have large areas of mycelial growth, 1 jar that has a very small area of growth and 1 jar that has done nothing.

I used the PF TEK method of verm, BRF, and water. I sterilized them in a presure cooker at 15 psi for 90 mins. My cooker only held 5 jars at a time, so I did 2 batches. My syringe was 10cc, so i did 1/4 cc per hole. (4 holes per jar - 1 total cc per jar).

I cannot find a damn forum anywhere to ask questions about growing..Anyone know of one?!

In case someone CAN answer a couple questions for me, here they are:

1. My jars are 2 1/2 weeks into colonization, and they are DRY. Is there anyway to re-moisten them without opening the jars? How?

2. What if after the 4 weeks of colonization, my jars arent completely covered with mycelium, do I leave them longer or just throw them out?

and finally,

3. Is it possible for my jars to dry out during colonization and die?

I covered the holes with cloth medical tape during sterilization and then punctured the holes during innoculation. They are in a box, in a cabinet above my fridge. I checked the temp of the cabinet and it was at 79 degrees which is perfect for colonization and PF TEK said to store in a dark DRY place, so I am confused as to why my cakes are dry, or is this normal?

Thanks

you didnt adde enough water to the subsrte keep an eye on things colinzation is hapeng just slowly in some hopefuly the openstha are dried out you can bring back i owuld go ahead and fruit the ones thatare looking dry as there going to tneed mousture ansd theres alredy myclyen so you may not get a yeld at all but its worth a shot BUT BEFORE YOU TAAKE MY WORD go to www.shroomery.org become a member very similliaar to rollit uP
MOOSE

__________________
when in doubt take another rip

If its not contaminated, just leave it till ALL the stuff in the jar is white... If done right this should be about 23 to 26 days after shooting up.

So you are saying I should open the jars and fruit them now? I was intending on soaking them in water for 24 hours before fruiting so I could re-hydrate the cakes. I used the exact amount of water - BRF - verm that I was told to. The substrate was identical to what PF TEK had. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I put them in a carboard box and not a plastic bag for colonization?

Thanks

Yea it been 18 days and the jars are about 25-35% covered in mycelium..Is that normal? I dont see them being fully colonized within the next 5-8 days given the pace of growth I have observed... Also, some innoculation sites are very white with growth, but in the same jar another site has very little growth..is that normal as well?

well i didtn no you could rehdrayte jars you needto worry about cleanliness there and like i said check theat site out first they can help you there

__________________
when in doubt take another rip

ther is still hope for your jars, sounds like the jars are not getting any air transfer to help with growth.. turn them upside down for a day or two.
its normal for the cakes to get dry. i have had some of my cakes crumble a bit when breaking them up for casing(cakes rehydrate fast) so dont worry about it so much...check out my grow journal i started maybe it will help you some.
http://www.rollitup.org/hallucinator...l-p-cyans.html

__________________
HYOCTANE

http://www.rollitup.org/hallucinator...l-p-cyans.html

you can dumop them out early ifit not all colinized its jsut shrooms wont grow where theres not myclin thatsall and runs bigger risk of infectuionfrom some others fungi

__________________
when in doubt take another rip