Anybody growing mushrooms willing to talk???

I opted for 4 x 1" holes in my 12qt dubtubs. In spring when I was fruiting, RH was probably 25-30% outdoors, maybe 35% in the closet I fruited in. I had to mist once a day, but otherwise didn't seem to have any issues from the low humidity, even with not having the two tubs sealed together in any real way. I never actually fanned.

It’s all about dialing in the coir hydration and the air holes.

most of the year my RH is 5-10%, once I got things set up I no longer had to mist or do anything besides wait for shrooms.

I was having to mist once or twice a day for a long time, and then realized if I made my coir slightly wetter the tub kept perfect conditions on its own.

rkymtnman said:

just figured it out : so the liner isn't to keep light out to prevent side pinning. the liner clings to the substrate which prevents the side pinning.

some of the pre-made monotub kits have a plastic tub with black colored bottom and sides. guess that's not needed at all. just hype.

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It's not hype. Light is a significant trigger.

canndo said:

It's not hype. Light is a significant trigger.

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not from most of the sources i've found.

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.

I used clear or no liners forever and rarely had side pins. IME they’re 90% caused by sub par surfaces. Occasionally I’ll get a culture that just pins the entire sub, top bottom and sides no matter what i do. Seems to be more common with wild cube genetics.

calvin.m16 said:

You might learn that amount of breather holes in a shoebox is too much unless you have a sealed lid. But if your humidifying the room it shouldn't be an issue. If you keep the moisture just right in the tub from the jump then misting/fanning and high airflow won't be a requirement, I learned this early on and now can get 2-3 flushes without misting at all or opening my bins.

I started out in 10x20 propagation trays though and learned really quick having the top ports open was too much airflow considering the seal on the lids to the trays was not perfect.

Unrelated: Mushroom growing on a mushroom
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That's awesome!! Never seen this before.

rkymtnman said:

not from most of the sources i've found.

Proof!! Light does not trigger side pinning. - Mushroom Cultivation - Shroomery Message Board

Spray painted my sub level black to experiment with the myth that light creates side pinning. Here is proof that is nonsense.

www.shroomery.org

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.

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Right, evaporation has gotta be the main trigger, I've grown these in complete darkness But I do believe At least for me that the light is giving me a more dense mushroom/pinset/canopy.

7L!fTeD24 said:

Right, evaporation has gotta be the main trigger, I've grown these in complete darkness But I do believe At least for me that the light is giving me a more dense mushroom/pinset/canopy.

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You only need ambient light, mushrooms get their color from melanin similar to our skin, light stimulates growth most certainly because I have grown spawn that was in the dark and it always took longer than spawn I left out in the room with just normal ambient window light, no direct light through the window.

I've also fruited in 12/12 and 24/7 lighting and neither performed differently. The moisture on the layer of your substrate if prepared properly is what will stimulate the mycelium to fruit. If you have a substrate too wet/dry especially on the top layer then you will get an uneven canopy. Same with if you have too much FAE Fresh Air Exchange (airflow). Even moisture = even canopy. Fresh air and transpiration is what stimulates the fruiting process the most.

calvin.m16 said:

You only need ambient light, mushrooms get their color from melanin similar to our skin, light stimulates growth most certainly because I have grown spawn that was in the dark and it always took longer than spawn I left out in the room with just normal ambient window light, no direct light through the window.

I've also fruited in 12/12 and 24/7 lighting and neither performed differently. The moisture on the layer of your substrate if prepared properly is what will stimulate the mycelium to fruit. If you have a substrate too wet/dry especially on the top layer then you will get an uneven canopy. Same with if you have too much FAE Fresh Air Exchange (airflow). Even moisture = even canopy. Fresh air and transpiration is what stimulates the fruiting process the most.

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a bunch of sites said that the K value was somewhat important if you do decide to use a light. 5000k to 6500k was the range. does a more red light do something that the more blue light does not? ever heard of this?

Are psilocybes actually a decent source of vitamins and minerals? Would it be worth trying to boost the levels in cubes?

Drop That Sound said:

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/ultraviolet-flashes-can-create-vitamin-d-enriched-mushrooms/

Are psilocybes actually a decent source of vitamins and minerals? Would it be worth trying to boost the levels in cubes?

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I've also heard that Using the UVA light loads them with vitamin D, I wonder how much though. I just eat vitamins and medicinal mushroom supplements

I suppose if you let some direct sunlight hit the fruits (right before harvest), without the lid on for a couple minutes.. that should be enough to boost the vitamin D levels by 100% almost instantly, according to those studies anyway, right? They pulsed them for a very short time, and was all it took so yeah..

I don't think any UV will make it through the clear plastic totes that is worthwhile from the outside. You would probably have to install the lights under the lid somehow, so you get direct contact.

If mushrooms synthesize vitamin D just like humans, I wonder if they can be deficient too then? The real question is; do psilocybes that aren't deficient in vitamin D produce different psychoactive compounds that otherwise wouldn't be in the dried product, besides the extra vitamins? Would it alter the affects?

Been averaging around 40g per quart of spawn for the first flush with this PB clone

A.k.a said:

I was having to mist once or twice a day for a long time, and then realized if I made my coir slightly wetter the tub kept perfect conditions on its own.

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Even just a year ago, it's kinda hard to remember my exact process, especially since I was kinda wingin' it. I'm thinking it didn't get to the point where I felt I really needed to mist daily to replenish moisture loss until after pin-set. Pretty sure I was operating under the assumption that if I used a fine mister daily after the sub was fully colonized, the individual specks of moisture would encourage more pins as they evaporated.

Isn't going wetter than field capacity asking for trouble? Something you'd recommend for anyone, or just us desert-dwellers that have low RH?

I need to stop reading this thread. Despite having several ounces in the freezer that I have no apparent intention of ever eating, I'm kinda itching to grow more.

I feel you man I started out intending to grow 2-3oz to stash in my freezer but then never stopped. I’ve given away and thrown out more than I ever thought I’d see in a lifetime.

I definitely recommend experimenting with the coir hydration. What I didn’t realize at first is that there’s a wide range of field cap that will work fine, but a small sweet spot that will maintain its own surface conditions without being so wet it affects the mushrooms. If I had messed around sooner I would’ve saved so much time I spent checking and misting tubs.

rkymtnman said:

not from most of the sources i've found.

Proof!! Light does not trigger side pinning. - Mushroom Cultivation - Shroomery Message Board

Spray painted my sub level black to experiment with the myth that light creates side pinning. Here is proof that is nonsense.

www.shroomery.org

also:
All this being said, light is only a secondary trigger for mushroom growth. It does affect things, but monitoring moisture and keeping a liner in place are far more effective.

Click to expand...

I have placed boxes half in light and half in as much darkness as possible. The dark side had few primordia, the light, lots.

Now what EXACTLY is "microclimate" and how does one control it?

A problem with light is that there must be light in order to observe the bed and of course the moment you have done so your bed has been exposed to light.

I have never found enhanced humidity or misting to induce fruit.

And of course I have found the best liners to be 4 mil black plastic sheet which blocks light.

Natalensis
My favorite ones to eat.

7L!fTeD24 said:

Natalensis
My favorite ones to eat.
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I have to congratulate you on your increadable knack growing cubes dude.

We have watched you from the start.

Don't stop experimenting now that you are beginning to gain fungus wisdom.

Maybe getting time for pan cyan?

Aeroknow said:

@rkymtnman
And just so you know that’s 5-“myco” quarts.
add the 5ish myco quarts to some CVG.

1-650g brick of coir
2 quarts of vermiculite
1/4-1 cup of gypsum
Can totally leave out the gypsum

add those ingredients to the “Bucket” tech

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like to add some azomite and lime also.