# are mushrooms better if harvested before the veil breaks?



## donmagicjuan (Aug 10, 2012)

ive seen them sold round with out opening the cap, but it looks like they get much bigger when full grown, so whens the best time to harvest, before or after the veil?


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## Taviddude (Aug 10, 2012)

Before for potency. After for weight.


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## SSHZ (Aug 10, 2012)

Taviddude said:


> Before for potency. After for weight.




I concur. Here's a bag of veil broken vs. a bag of not broken. I've heard the smaller the shroom, the higher the potency......but I'm not convinced.

View attachment 2289809


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## NERKY (Aug 10, 2012)

it's more potent by weight to pick mushrooms before the veil breaks. this doesn't mean small are necessarily more potent then large, just that unbroken(smaller in a fruits life) are more potent _by weight_ than broken(bigger in a fruits life). psilocybin mushrooms stop producing psilocybin after the veil breaks and go into cell expansion instead of creation. however, imo, the potency differential will never be great enough to worry about (with exception to severely over-mature fruits) and large single fruits make for smoother trips than a bunch of little ones. again, just my experience.


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## glShemp (Aug 11, 2012)

I think the dropping of the veil is the time to harvest because that's the point you know for sure they are not getting any bigger.


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## Taviddude (Aug 11, 2012)

glShemp said:


> I think the dropping of the veil is the time to harvest because that's the point you know for sure they are not getting any bigger.


Yup, right as the veil shows sign of tearing is perfect. If you don't believe smaller mushrooms are better, eat 2 grams of aborts (the tiny ones that just don't grow for whatever reason). Personally I grow for weight, but it's absolutely true that mushrooms picked at the right time are better than mushrooms harvested after their peak. Just made the jump to Ganga, but I've been pounding out mushrooms for many years. Here's 160 6x12x2 substrates. With a setup this size you can expect to pull about 12-15 lbs dry out of two flushes.... Every 4 weeks.


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## glShemp (Aug 11, 2012)

The itty bitty ones that fart out at less than 1/2" are called aborts and they are the most potent. That is true. But I don't think harvesting the fully grown shrooms before they are done growing makes them more potent. Maybe someone knows otherwise.


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## SSHZ (Aug 11, 2012)

Taviddude said:


> Yup, right as the veil shows sign of tearing is perfect. If you don't believe smaller mushrooms are better, eat 2 grams of aborts (the tiny ones that just don't grow for whatever reason). Personally I grow for weight, but it's absolutely true that mushrooms picked at the right time are better than mushrooms harvested after their peak. Just made the jump to Ganga, but I've been pounding out mushrooms for many years. Here's 160 6x12x2 substrates. With a setup this size you can expect to pull about 12-15 lbs dry out of two flushes.... Every 4 weeks.
> View attachment 2290250View attachment 2290251


WOW and another WOW for good measure...........


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## Taviddude (Aug 11, 2012)

glShemp said:


> The itty bitty ones that fart out at less than 1/2" are called aborts and they are the most potent. That is true. But I don't think harvesting the fully grown shrooms before they are done growing makes them more potent. Maybe someone knows otherwise.


Yeah, aborts will rock anyones world. Just saying, I've been doing this shit in a big way for years. I'm pretty savvy with the science behind it all, lol. By the time the veil starts to tear, the mushroom has produced all the active's it going to produce no matter how long you let it go after that. It will get bigger, and put on more weight, sure. The ratio of actives to mushroom tissue will go down. This is VERY well known amongst serious mushroom growers. The mushrooms in the picture on the left are harvested past their peak. Those would be sale mushrooms. The ones on the right with the veils still attached would be private stash, or higher end sale. Couldn't tell ya much about Ganga, just started in the last year but mushrooms I got down to a science, lol.


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## SSHZ (Aug 11, 2012)

I always found growing pot a lot easier than growing shrooms so you should be a wizard in no time Tavid............


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## SSHZ (Aug 11, 2012)

Hey Shemp...... you stole my pic of Shemp. I used that exact one for a few years before I found Curlie giving everyone the finger!


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## Taviddude (Aug 12, 2012)

Thanks Man, but it seems like either one can go south pretty fast.


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## SSHZ (Aug 12, 2012)

With shrooms, yes, I agree. If you grow pot in soil/soiless- it's pretty foregiving and if you pay attention on a daily basis, you can usually nip problems in the bud. Even when things go wrong, if you are growing a foregiving strain- you can get some pretty good results. But it can be expensive, frustrating and tiring. I've been doing this a long time now- I'm an old guy- and if you keep it simple and have some smarts, it can be a nice living...... and an endless supply of good, if not great, smoke.


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## Taviddude (Aug 13, 2012)

I jumped straight into hydro and have had pretty good results, but I've woken up to a pump burned out and 5 plants looking like death, lol. Shit goes bad FAST in hydro. I did a few coco coir pots and you're right, those things were great.


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## canndo (Aug 14, 2012)

Taviddude said:


> Yup, right as the veil shows sign of tearing is perfect. If you don't believe smaller mushrooms are better, eat 2 grams of aborts (the tiny ones that just don't grow for whatever reason). Personally I grow for weight, but it's absolutely true that mushrooms picked at the right time are better than mushrooms harvested after their peak. Just made the jump to Ganga, but I've been pounding out mushrooms for many years. Here's 160 6x12x2 substrates. With a setup this size you can expect to pull about 12-15 lbs dry out of two flushes.... Every 4 weeks.
> View attachment 2290250View attachment 2290251



Very interesting.... but that seems like a lot of work for your yield. No casing? How do you orchestrate your pin set?


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## canndo (Aug 14, 2012)

Taviddude said:


> Yeah, aborts will rock anyones world. Just saying, I've been doing this shit in a big way for years. I'm pretty savvy with the science behind it all, lol. By the time the veil starts to tear, the mushroom has produced all the active's it going to produce no matter how long you let it go after that. It will get bigger, and put on more weight, sure. The ratio of actives to mushroom tissue will go down. This is VERY well known amongst serious mushroom growers. The mushrooms in the picture on the left are harvested past their peak. Those would be sale mushrooms. The ones on the right with the veils still attached would be private stash, or higher end sale. Couldn't tell ya much about Ganga, just started in the last year but mushrooms I got down to a science, lol.



This guy is correct, but I have never found enough of a difference to make "early" harvest make a difference - HOWEVER, unopened mushrooms are far less prone to damage, they tent to hold together and keep from breaking or the caps from snapping off. When working with other sorts of mushrooms one wants as much mass as possible of course, but even then, shaggy manes picked too late are a disaster, oyster picked too late can get leathery, and we all know agaricus C. are worthless when picked after they open (white button mushroom).


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