# Growing shrooms, quick, cheap, easy as fuck.



## mycology101 (Jan 5, 2010)

Growing your own shrooms is cheap and easy if you know what you are doing ahead of time. Don&#8217;t be fooled by all of those complicated, expensive grow manuals. Everything thing you will need to know and buy is listed for you right here in this handy guide called the &#8220;PF Tek&#8221; first made public in 1992 by a guy who calls himself Psilocybe Fanaticous. 
I did not invent this tek, or the information listed below. Just passing along this wonderful method in the hopes that people will see how easy and cheap it is to grow your own shrooms!











The PF-tek uses ½ pint (~240ml) canning jars or drinking glasses and a growing substrate made of vermiculite, brown rice flour and water. The substrate is mixed, filled in jars, sterilized and inoculated with mushroom spores. After the substrate is fully colonized the substrate cakes fruit in a humid container. 
*On the subject of cleanliness*

By growing mushrooms indoors on a nutritious substrate you create conditions than not only favor the growth of the mushrooms, but also the growth of a large number of other organisms(molds, bacteria), many of them potentially hazardous to the health. To ensure that only the desired mushroom is grown, it is very important to assure cleanliness in all of the cultivation related procedures. 
Before you work, wash your hands with (antibacterial) soap and warm water. Afterwards, wipe them dry and rub with Lysol or isopropyl alcohol(iso-propanol). Keep the place where you do the inoculation and fruiting dust free and clean and don't bring in dirty clothing or shoes. Personal hygiene is equally important. Dirty hands and even dirty hair are a hotbed for all kinds of unwanted microorganisms which can destroy your cultivation project. 
*Materials*

The materials for this method can be found very easily at most mega stores, but I encourage you to search for locally owned sources for your materials once you get going. 


*Vermiculite*

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*

*Vermiculite is made from a naturally occurring mineral - mica. 
Crushed mica containing water is heated and expands to a volume several times greater than that of the untreated mica. 
Vermiculite is able to hold several times its own weight in water and it gives the substrate an airy structure. 
Vermiculite is available in several grades, the middle and the middle-fine grade are most suitable for cultivation purposes.*

Generally you can get vermiculite in garden and hydroponic stores, in some regions also in pet shops. 
*Brown rice flour (BRF)*

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*

*BRF is available in health food shops either already ground, sometimes though there is only whole brown rice available. In this case you can grind the rice either in the shop or if this option is not available, grind your own using an electric coffee grinder.*

*
BRF is best kept cool and dry for prolonged periods of time, since it can easily become rancid because of the fat content of its husk. 
If you are unable to find BRF you can also use whole rye flour, ground millet or ground millet based birdseed with similar results..*

*Water *

Water used for the substrate preparation should have drinking water quality. Tap water is usually OK, but if you're not sure about it, better use bottled drinking water or mineral water. 
*Spore syringe*

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*

A plastic syringe with needle attached containing 10cc-12cc suspension of mushroom spores in water. 
The color of the suspension varies from completely translucent to slightly violet depending on the quantity of the spores in the solution. 
Spores are microscopic so as long as you see at least a few specs in more or less clear water the syringe should have plenty of spores. 
*Again, of everyone I have used, I like www.spores101.com the best. Just my opinion.*

*The jars should have a content of around ½ pint (~240ml) 
You can use either canning jars (Ball, Kerr...) or drinking glasses, the only requirement is that they are tapered and without shoulders, so you can slide the cake out of it in one piece once it's colonized. Bigger jars take much longer to colonize and are not recommended.*

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*Substrate preparation*

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*

For *one ½ pint jar*(~240 ml) you will need: 
=> 140 ml vermiculite 
=> 40 ml brown rice flour 
=> some vermiculite to fill the jar to the top (app. 20 ml) 
=> water 
For *6 jars*, this amounts to: 
=> 3.5 US cups vermiculite 
=> 1 US cup brown rice flour 
*Note: 
½pt (US pint) = 1cp (US cup) = 236ml(milliliter) = 236cc(cubic centimeter) = 1/4 qt(US quart)*

Put the required amount of vermiculite for all the jars of one batch (for instance 6 jars: 6 x 140 ml = 840 ml ~ 3.5 US cups ) in a bowl. Pour water slowly over the vermiculite while stirring with a spoon. 

Be careful to only put that much water in as it can be absorbed by the vermiculite. Stir it well so all the vermiculite is uniformly soaked with water.

When you tilt the bowl you should see just a little water starting coming from the vermiculite. 
This is when the correct water content is achieved. 
If there is too much water in the bowl, pour the wet vermiculite in a strainer and let the excess water drain for a minute. Then the vermiculite will be at the field capacity, which is perfect.

Now put the required amount of the BRF (for instance 6 x 40 ml = 240 ml = 1 US cup) into the wet vermiculite at once and mix it in with the spoon. The goal is to uniformly coat the wet vermiculite particles with a layer of BRF.

Fill the mixture in jars ½ inch (1cm) under the top. It's very important to fill the substrate in the jars without tapping it down at all. It should stay very airy and loose to provide optimum conditions for the growth of mycelium. 
Be careful not to leave any substrate on the upper edge of the jar. If you weren't careful enough and there are some substrates specks. at the edge take a clean moist cloth and wipe the upper portion of the jar clean. Otherwise contaminants can start at those spots and work their way down into the jar. 





Fill up the jar with dry vermiculite to the top. 
This layer hinders airborne contaminants reaching the underlying substrate in case they manage to come in during the inoculation and incubation.

Take a 5in(12cm) wide stripe of aluminum foil and fold it in the middle. 
Put the foil over the opening of the jar as shown in the pictures. If you're using jars with metal lids, you can poke 4 holes at the very edge of each lid with a small nail and hammer and screw the lid on. The holes should be slightly bigger than the diameter of the syringe needle.

Fold the foil edges up and press them together so you get a nice aluminum foil lid.





Then take a piece of foil measuring 5in x 5in in and put it over the first two layers (respectively the metal lid if you're using lids) leaving the edges of the foil reaching down, since it has to be lifted again during the inoculation. 
So now you have 3 layers of foil over the opening. The top layer is lifted during the inoculation.

*Sterilization*

If you are unable to find or buy a pressure cooker, you can also sterilize the jars using a big pot with a lid. This method is the same except you simply boil the jars in a large stock pot, with a lid on top for an hour and a half. You may see a few jars turn green here and there, but if you just want to get started this works just fine. In this case steam the jars for 1.5 hours in a pot lid on. Use only approximately 1 inch of water at the bottom. 
You might have to add some water to the pot during steaming due to evaporation.





Once you are ready to move on to a pressure cooker, you will also be able to do bulk grows using grain as spawn. But that is another story&#8230;&#8230;
If you heat up the cooker too fast, this can cause the jars to crack. 
As soon as the steam begins to escape the rocker or the vent at the top of the pressure cooker turn the heat back so only a very small, steady steam flow persists from the vent. From this point on, pressure cook for 45 minutes. 
Depending on the pressure cooker model the cooking procedure works a bit different so if you're not familiar with pressure cooking consult the instruction manual or someone who used pressure cookers before. 


After 45 min take the cooker from the flame and let cool for at least 5 hours or even better over night. If you never used a pressure cooker before please read the instructions. 
*Inoculation*

After the cooker is cold to the touch take the jars out and place them on a clean surface, have an alcohol lamp or a lighter and the spore syringe ready. Shake the spore syringe to break up the spore clumps.





To be able to shake it it's necessary that there is a small bubble of air in the syringe. If this is not the case, then you can suck approximately 1cc of sterile air into the syringe by placing the tip of the needle into the flame and slowly pulling the plunger back..
Loosen the foil from all of the jars so it can be lifted easily when you inoculate.

Take the cover from the needle and heat it over the flame until glowing red. Let cool for a few seconds
Take the upper foil layer off and put aside upside down. Pierce the foil at the edge of the jar with the needle app. 1in(2.5cm) deep and inject the spore suspension towards the inner jar surface. You should see a small drop running down the inner surface of the jar towards the bottom. Each jar is inoculated on 4 equally spaced points. You should use 1 - 1.5 ml of the spore suspension per jar so one 10ml syringe is sufficient for 6 -10 jars.






Put the foil on again. Flame sterilize the needle again after inoculating 3 jars to prevent cross contamination just in case a jar wasn't properly sterilized. 





When all of the jars are inoculated fold the foil edges up and press them firmly together so you get a nice aluminum foil lid. Write the inoculation date and the species/strain information on the foil with an all surface felt tip pen. If you touch something other with the needle during the inoculation procedure except the foil surface of the bottom foil layer immediately flame sterilize the tip again.

*Incubation*

The jars should be stored at 21-27°C (70-81°F), the warmer the better, but not exceeding 27°C. If you don't have these temperatures at home you can build an incubator to accommodate the jars. 
*Incubator*

The inoculated jars develop fastest if they are stored at a temperature of 84°F (According to Stamets the best incubation temperature for _P. cubensis_ would be 86°F, but since the jars themselves are a few degrees warmer than the surroundings (mycelium emits heat when growing) 84°F is a good and safe incubator temperature) 





You can build an effective incubator by using two plastic boxes of the same size and an aquarium heater. 
There are several types of aquarium heaters. When you're buying a heater, make sure that it is of the "fully submersible" type. 
Attach the heater to the bottom of the first box and pour in as much 84°F warm. water that the heater is completely submerged. 
Adjust the heaters thermostat so that the heater just shuts itself off at 84°F. 
Put some spacers on the bottom of the box, they carry the second box and prevent it from touching the heater. In the above picture 4 jars are used. You could also use bricks, stones or something similar.
Put the second box in the one containing water. 





After a few hours measure the temperature again and adjust the heater if necessary so the water temperature is 84°F.
When the box is empty, it will float on the water. 
The water level in the lower box should reach app. 2/3 the height of the box, supposing the upper box is in place loaded with jars and resting on the spacers.
Now you can put the inoculated jars into the box.
Cover the jars with a blanket to keep the heat escaping and to keep the jars dark. Note: the water level drops in some weeks by evaporation. Therefore you have to fill some fresh water in from time to time to keep the water level high enough. Never let evaporate so much water that the heater isn't submerged in water anymore!
Providing the jars are kept warm you should see the first sign of germination after 3-5 days as bright white specks. This is mycelium. If anything grows that is not white, for instance green, black or pink, then the jars are contaminated and their content must be discarded and your clean procedures need some improvement. After the jars are emptied and the jar is washed with detergent and hot water it can be used again. 
Check www.shroomtalk.com for more information on possible contaminations in mushroom culture.





Depending on the temperature and the viability of the spore syringe it takes 14-28 days for the mycelium to colonize the whole jar. Once colonized store the jars at normal room temperature, about 21°C (70°F) to initiate pinning. 






Don't expose the jars to direct sunlight. Indirect sunlight (= the natural light that lights up a room because at day time out) or a low wattage lamp (cool white fluorescent lamp is ideal, incandescent lamp is less suitable) for 4-12 hours a day is sufficient. 
Within 5-10 days (with certain mushroom strains it can however take up to 30 days) pinhead-size accumulations of mycelium should form. These so called pins represent the beginning of mushroom growth. In the following days also small mushrooms with brown heads become visible. When this is the case it's time to birth the cake into the fruiting container where the mushrooms can develop to maturity. 
Some strains don't easily develop pins. In this case put the colonized jar wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge over night and then proceed to fruiting next day, even if the cake doesn't show pins yet. This cold shocking usually helps trigger pinning somewhat.





The fruiting of the cakes can be accomplished in any sort of container that can be loosely sealed and has at least one translucent side, preferably on the top. Suitable containers are a plastic bucket, rubbermaid container, terrarium, aquarium... 
Put an 1/2 inch layer of moistened perlite or expanded clay pelets or even a wet paper towel at the bottom of the container and birth the cakes onto this layer by letting them slide from the jar upside down. 





Alternatively one can first apply a casing layer.
Sometimes the cake doesn't slide out of the jar easily by itself. 
You just need to turn the colonized jar upside down in your hand and slam the hand lightly against the palm of the other hand. This will make the cake slide against the lid and it can be birthed with ease.
If you have a bigger fruiting chamber (a bigger plastic container or a terrarium) you can of course put in more than one cake to fruit. 
The distance between the cakes should be at least 2" (5cm) for the mushrooms have room to grow. Put a sheet of translucent plastic over the opening of the fruiting container. 
Take this sheet off once a day and fan the air out with a piece of cardboard. If the bottom layer begins to dry out, spray it with some water to keep it moist since this layer provides moisture for the air to stay very humid. Don´t spray the cakes directly. 
Handle the cakes as little as possible but when you do it always wash your hands thoroughly beforehand. 
Over a course of the next 7-14 days the cakes will begin to pin(if the haven't began to pin in the jars yet) and the small mushrooms will grow big in a matter of 2-5 days and as soon the caps begin to open they can be harvested. 
This simultaneous maturation of all mushrooms is called a flush.







After the mushrooms have grown big there are usually a few small, stunted mushrooms left over, they are called aborts. They can be recognized by their blackish heads and the fact that they stopped growing at some point. Still they are good to use unless they are rotten.
It's crucial that you harvest all mushrooms, also the aborts, after the flush. This is most easily accomplished if you harvest the mushrooms off by gently twisting and tearing them off the cake with clean hands. Optionally you can dunk the cakes after each flush; this can increase the flush size significantly. 
After approximately one week small mushrooms begin to form again and mature during the next days. 
This cycle can repeat itself up to 4 times sometimes even more. After that the cake is exhausted it produces no more mushrooms and can be discarded. They can be also used to start outdoor beds.
Sometimes green mold attacks the cakes even before they are completely exhausted. If this is the case, remove and discard the contaminated cakes immediately to prevent the spreading of the contamination.

I hope that helps anyone who wanted to give this a shot. Please feel free to ask any questions or post pictures of your grows to compare methods!

*Note*After several years of trying different spore vendors I wanted to warn people here that there are LOTS of scam spore sites out there. They will simply steal your money assuming you won&#8217;t turn them in for fear of admitting to buying psychedelic spores. If you aren&#8217;t sure where to get your spore syringes from, I highly recommend www.spores101.com They have fast shipping, and the best customer service of any spore site I have dealt with. I am not trying to spam links here or anything, but I have been ripped off several times for a LOT of money, so I feel it is only fair to let others learn from my experiences &#8220;mistakes&#8221;. Anyways&#8230;. Let&#8217;s grow some shrooms!


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## ANC (Jan 5, 2010)

Yep guys, that is an awesome beginners tek, tried, tested and approved.

I just slip afew rubber bands on the glass to "seal" the foil.
Only thing I would add is an overnight underwater dunk after each harvest.
Also store jars in complete darkness untill you want to proceed to the next stages

Re the aborts... those are the most potent thing on the cakes....


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## chitownsmoking (Jan 5, 2010)

bulk is the way to go!!!!!


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## tebor (Jan 5, 2010)

Saving this as a reference.
Great post!


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## mycology101 (Jan 5, 2010)

tebor said:


> Saving this as a reference.
> Great post!



Thanks!

It isn't anything I can really take credit for, but I more or less just wanted to share it so anyone who hadn't seen or heard of this before might stumble upon it and get to growing some shrooms of their own.

I personally believe that psychedelic mushrooms of the Psilocybe family are a direct evolutionary response by mother nature to try to balance the human race's incessant need to destroy the earth. 

They normally only appear in areas that have been altered by human intervention, and when on them people tent to have a profound connection to the earth. 

The images we seen when on mushrooms and or LSD are also popping up in modern day physics discoveries about the inner workings of the universe. Pretty wild stuff if you ask me.

They aren't a "party drug" by any means. They should be taken with respect, in the company of good, close friends so that the experience can be shared and discussed. "my opinion obviously"

It is truly a secret connection to that in which we are all made of at our very core being. 

If you guys have never seen this, check it out. It is very old, and outdated by today's physics standards and yet it is still an amazing explanation of why we see what we do when we are on these "gifts from the heavens" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB8m85p7GsU


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## mycology101 (Jan 5, 2010)

chitownsmoking said:


> bulk is the way to go!!!!!



My bulk tek is here:

https://www.rollitup.org/hallucinatory-substances/279342-anyone-like-shrooms.html

Enjoy!


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## chitownsmoking (Jan 5, 2010)

yeah i seen it..... i use a similer bulk tec


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## growwwww (Jan 6, 2010)

this si from fungifun hehe i followed this got some shrooms but i got bunnk spores. But for a first timer, 1 pk cake of shrooms was wicked! its like 100percent profit. And ihad 3 cakes that i extracted.

But ye good stuff,

peace


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## mycology101 (Jan 7, 2010)

growwwww said:


> this si from fungifun hehe i followed this got some shrooms but i got bunnk spores. But for a first timer, 1 pk cake of shrooms was wicked! its like 100percent profit. And ihad 3 cakes that i extracted.
> 
> But ye good stuff,
> 
> peace



Ya, like I said this isn't my tek or anything. I just wanted to put it out there in as many places for as many people to see as possible. 

It is so easy, and you don't even "need" a pressure cooker.


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## spokethat (Jan 16, 2010)

this thread made my day. anybody ever read 'be here now' by ram dass?


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## spokethat (Jan 16, 2010)

i have a quick question: i just watched the pf tek videos and it looked as though the 'shroom cap that the lovely looking gentleman used to spore the foil was one that was left in incubation past the suggested harvest time. i am a mycological ignoramous, but is this a correct assumption? in which case, in order to secure a future grow from spores, is it necessary to let at least one cap fully mature? i'm new to all of this, but i find it exquisite and fascinating. thanks for these posts myco101...


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## JN811 (Jan 16, 2010)

This should be stickied! Good job. Will be giving it a shot soon. Sub'd!


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## JN811 (Jan 16, 2010)

What is a good strain to start with? I was thinking Penis Envy.


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## growwwww (Jan 17, 2010)

JN811 said:


> What is a good strain to start with? I was thinking Penis Envy.


Nah ive heard penis envy is kinda special. If its your first strain just go with any normal cubensis man they are all GOOD!!!! all bloody beautiful. i went with cambodian wasnt too bad and then i ordered golden teacher, i kinda preffered cambodian but i think it could of been my technique iot was quicker colinization. ( ive only done it twice aswell )


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## Spasticsmoke (Jan 27, 2010)

Mycology101-
so once you knock up a jar and you get the white growth after you birth the cake can you just break it up and evenly put it across the rubbermaid. It seems your grows are better spread over the fruiting chambers where other i have seen are just people fruiting right from the cakes so its like a clustered ball of mushroom. I would much rather your way how do you go about it?


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## estesj (Jan 27, 2010)

I am going to be using filter patch bags of rye grain instead of jars. Does any one have any experience with these?


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## 420today (Mar 26, 2010)

Sorry to be a dumbas* on this! I am also new to this have not even started! Just starting to get my stuff I need for this! I am lost on 1 thing you say this.

For *one ½ pint jar*(~240 ml) you will need: 
=> 140 ml vermiculite 
=> 40 ml brown rice flour 
=> some vermiculite to fill the jar to the top (app. 20 ml) 
=> water 
For *6 jars*, this amounts to: 
=> 3.5 US cups vermiculite 
=> 1 US cup brown rice flour 



(app. 20 ml) Is this how much water that I use or are you talking about the dry *Vermiculite *that I need to add at the top? I am just lost on how much water to use!


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## ndangerspecimen101 (Mar 26, 2010)

Ah the handy dandy pF TEK.... This is what dreams are made of 

Currently going off the guidelines on this simple to read and maneuver manuel! However, I'm having some trouble with the spores actually showing white mycelium... it has been five days now and nothing.... and I have them stored in a dark incubator set at 82... what gives?


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## DankBudds (Mar 26, 2010)

Saved.....


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## Sgt. Floyd (Mar 26, 2010)

ndangerspecimen101 said:


> Ah the handy dandy pF TEK.... This is what dreams are made of
> 
> Currently going off the guidelines on this simple to read and maneuver manuel! However, I'm having some trouble with the spores actually showing white mycelium... it has been five days now and nothing.... and I have them stored in a dark incubator set at 82... what gives?


It took mine a while, certainly didn't help being room temp, but mine started showing about a week and a half after inoculation.


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## choempi (Mar 28, 2010)

420today said:


> Sorry to be a dumbas* on this! I am also new to this have not even started! Just starting to get my stuff I need for this! I am lost on 1 thing you say this.
> 
> For *one ½ pint jar*(~240 ml) you will need:
> => 140 ml vermiculite
> ...


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## 420today (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks bro!


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## PacoElDestroyer (Sep 30, 2012)

Do I have to buy any specific spores?


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## canndo (Sep 30, 2012)

Pf tek runs contrary to the natural life cycle of the mushroom and should be avoided if at all possible, any other tek is preferable from straight cow dung to popcorn to coir - cased or uncased although fully cased is the wisest course.


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## Bottleandmobile (Oct 1, 2012)

Seems hard


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## Kayden (Aug 6, 2014)

When you "dunk" the cakes after you harvest them what do you dunk them in? Sterile water?


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## [email protected] (Aug 6, 2014)

I just used tap with no problem...Then roll em in verm


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## [email protected] (Aug 6, 2014)

canndo said:


> Pf tek runs contrary to the natural life cycle of the mushroom and should be avoided if at all possible, any other tek is preferable from straight cow dung to popcorn to coir - cased or uncased although fully cased is the wisest course.


I do completely agree Cann .....Plus, I feel it shouldn't be readily available knowledge as if this is as "ADVANCED" as you are then you have a long way to go....JMHO


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## canndo (Aug 7, 2014)

the Tec was devised in order to sell syringes. The inventor is dead, rest his soul. Time to move on, this is a new century.


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## atidd11 (Aug 7, 2014)

Terrance. RIP


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## canndo (Aug 7, 2014)

atidd11 said:


> Terrance. RIP


 
no, Robert McPherson was his name.


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## atidd11 (Aug 7, 2014)

Shit im sorry i remember reading somewhere that terance was the first to put spores in a syringe and distribute them. That could be terribly wrong though


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## canndo (Aug 8, 2014)

atidd11 said:


> Shit im sorry i remember reading somewhere that terance was the first to put spores in a syringe and distribute them. That could be terribly wrong though


 
don't know, maybe he was but the tek was McPherson. Selling about three thousand syringes a month for ten bucks each.


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## bud nugbong (Aug 21, 2014)

This does seem like a very easy way to do things. Ive always wanted to give it a shot, but not sure if I could keep things sterile enough. If I did try this would be the way to go for my first shot, seems to be simple.

Any opinions on ordering "magic truffles" from a company in Amsterdam. I was looking into it this morning and considering it. But don't really trust it.


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## [email protected] (Aug 21, 2014)

Im not sure how thing's work were your at Bud? But, Hawkseye is awesome for inexpensive syringes or prints JMO..They ship internationally as well...PF tek is simple enough for first shot, moisture content is usually the biggest problem.. If your really worried about sterility you can poke a injection hole in top of jar and use high temp rtv sealant to plug it..and a burner of sorts to sterilize needle....wipe with iso(isopropyl alcohol 99%) to cool down ...Cann's got a good tek as well....No airflow and lysol are your friend .IMO keep it out of your bathroom as there is a lot of mold and mildew there.....Cleanboxes or rooms are over rated unless you are going to be isolating.


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## rory420420 (Aug 21, 2014)

found this at petsmart looking for hoses for y rdwc system..thought it might help.


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## [email protected] (Aug 21, 2014)

rory420420 said:


> found this at petsmart looking for hoses for y rdwc system..thought it might help.
> View attachment 3234590


Ive actually seen youtube vids of setups with em......Just no instructions...LOL


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## Dr.Cube (May 15, 2016)

Don't mean to revive a somewhat dead thread but I'm unclear on the dunking the cakes part. One person mentioned do it overnight. 

Do you take the entire cake out of the chamber after the first flush, submerge it in a bucket filled with water, and then roll it in more verm and then place it back in the chamber? Will the cake not fall apart when its in water for that long? 

If someone could provide some clarification it'd be very appreciated. Was gonna do bulk but since its my first time I thought I'd try this out first.


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## Skillzd (May 24, 2016)

Yeah that's troubled me too. I'd like to know


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## Skillzd (May 24, 2016)

I will also have trouble with sterile place. I live Fulltime in aMotorhome so I'm not sure if it will be sterile enough. We live in a horse farm with many Micro if life floating around. I only know because I make my own culture for plants and live soils for growing too. Atleast I tried making it a few times. Not sure if it works. As I haven't noticed a huge difference in plants I used it on. But hey. It didn't kill them. Lol. And I have a Aquariumbig big enough to put about 5 cakes in But I've always used it for clones and seedlings so it needs a good cleaning. Lysol I've heard a lot about using. How about chlorine water??? Can I use that to spray around my environment. It's sterile water. But will chili time or bleach water kill the mushrooms if it goes into their air supply or soemthing


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## Richard Drysift (May 25, 2016)

Dr.Cube said:


> Don't mean to revive a somewhat dead thread but I'm unclear on the dunking the cakes part. One person mentioned do it overnight.
> 
> Do you take the entire cake out of the chamber after the first flush, submerge it in a bucket filled with water, and then roll it in more verm and then place it back in the chamber? Will the cake not fall apart when its in water for that long?
> 
> If someone could provide some clarification it'd be very appreciated. Was gonna do bulk but since its my first time I thought I'd try this out first.


You dunk the cakes first after they are fully colonized. I use my pressure cooker. Just fill up a pot or container that will hold them all with room temperature tap water. Drop in your cakes carefully. Put a plate or something on top of them keep them submerged; they float & will get dry spots otherwise. Put a lid on it & let it soak overnight. Do this after every flush...yes some aborts might fall off & maybe some of the verm but the cakes should remain pretty much solid if they are fully colonized. Full colonization is very important...leave your brf jars intact until they are totally white & then allow another week or 2 for consolidation. It's always better to dunk, roll & fruit later rather than earlier; wait till the last minute 
Either way this tek is way outdated & brf cakes are really more for learning the process. One run with cakes & I would go straight into spawning to bulk which is much better. Just requires more exp and planning.


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## Richard Drysift (May 25, 2016)

Skillzd said:


> I will also have trouble with sterile place. I live Fulltime in aMotorhome so I'm not sure if it will be sterile enough. We live in a horse farm with many Micro if life floating around. I only know because I make my own culture for plants and live soils for growing too. Atleast I tried making it a few times. Not sure if it works. As I haven't noticed a huge difference in plants I used it on. But hey. It didn't kill them. Lol. And I have a Aquariumbig big enough to put about 5 cakes in But I've always used it for clones and seedlings so it needs a good cleaning. Lysol I've heard a lot about using. How about chlorine water??? Can I use that to spray around my environment. It's sterile water. But will chili time or bleach water kill the mushrooms if it goes into their air supply or soemthing


Build a still air box to innoculate in. That's really when sterility is key. Horse poo and straw is actually a great substrate if you know how to process it; way better than brf. Learn how to grow in bulk and spawn to h/poo. Cakes are for noobs to learn; bulk is much better. Water with chlorine is not a concern in shroom growing. Don't use bleach ever for anything. Don't use an aquarium either build a shotgun chamber or a monotub. Check out shroomery.org if you wanna know more


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## DaSprout (May 28, 2016)

And to expand on Drysift. If you feel that you need extra protection from contams. You could make/buy a grow tent. Good 3 mil painters tarp. Make acheap skeleton. Maybe some velcro for the door flap. Hepa filter for air intake. A cheap ass pc fan to pull air in and exhaust...


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## Skillzd (May 29, 2016)

Ok. Well I do have access to a ton of horse poo. Umm I have actually had some mixed with water sitting in a bucket That's how I've always made fertilizer with it but this time I didn't finish. So it's still thick but a little runny. Easy to filter probaly and maybe use. I'll have to research the whol horse poo thing and maybe use it since it's free and easy access. Someone told me once about growing shrooms in a shaded area outside under horse or cow poo Not sure if it was true or what kind they were if it was. I figured that would be sterile enough but they do grow outside too so maybe he knew enough that he could do it and knew which were bad. I don't know. I'd rather keep mine contained in a sterile environment where I only have to use sterile spores and cakes and easy enough to tell a bad bacteria. Outside of think it would be a bit harder to see certain bacterial attacking That's just me tho. I'm a plant grower. But I'd like to try a shroom grow again


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## Skillzd (May 29, 2016)

If you had a basic step guid to growing your first time. Can you send me a link or something to one that you think would be good to start with and then go on from there


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## DaSprout (May 29, 2016)

Skillzd said:


> Ok. Well I do have access to a ton of horse poo. Umm I have actually had some mixed with water sitting in a bucket That's how I've always made fertilizer with it but this time I didn't finish. So it's still thick but a little runny. Easy to filter probaly and maybe use. I'll have to research the whol horse poo thing and maybe use it since it's free and easy access. Someone told me once about growing shrooms in a shaded area outside under horse or cow poo Not sure if it was true or what kind they were if it was. I figured that would be sterile enough but they do grow outside too so maybe he knew enough that he could do it and knew which were bad. I don't know. I'd rather keep mine contained in a sterile environment where I only have to use sterile spores and cakes and easy enough to tell a bad bacteria. Outside of think it would be a bit harder to see certain bacterial attacking That's just me tho. I'm a plant grower. But I'd like to try a shroom grow again


You should.dry out the horse poo first to better asses moisture levels. Usually guys lay it ou flat in the sun for a few days. Here's a thread example:

http://rollitup.org/t/bulk-mono-tek-pictorial.395504/#post-5091404


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## Skillzd (May 30, 2016)

Ok. Thanks for that. Do you know of any good beginner instructions that are sorta of fool proof. Lol. Of kind of like a good growing mushrooms for dummies. Lmao


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## Skillzd (May 30, 2016)

Oh I see there's lot more to that thread than just he horse poo too


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## DaSprout (May 30, 2016)

You can even google "shrooms bulk" w/hpoo.


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## Skillzd (May 30, 2016)

Well yeah I know. It's different googling something that someone posted they have done with success and it's great. Than someone I'm actually messaging saying hey your a beginner. Here's a good one. Checki this out. Thanks for all the help tho. Be checked a few out. But right now I'm trying to see if anyone has a few spores they could send me for "Research". Lol. I just want to get started ASAP and would help get us out of this rut. But I don't have a way to order online right now. Or have $20 to order right now. But I seen somewhere you can buy one syringe and make it last for a long time too. So I figured I'd ask around and maybe someone could send me a tube or syringe with a few Drops in To try it out. We're see Also some people seem to be having trouble finding horse poo. I cleave easy access to great horse poo for mushrooms. No wood chips and no urine. I have fresh and leached and even some with the good white/grey mold left still I believe. I could trade someone for a few spores I know it's not likely but I'm a good dude and would just like to try it and see if I can maybe help my family get back on our feet better


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## canndo (Jun 9, 2016)

There is a sticky thread, the very first one on the page that should tell you all you need to know.


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## Richard Drysift (Jun 9, 2016)

Shroomery.org is a good place to start your myco adventures....


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## Skillzd (Jun 11, 2016)

Ok. Thanks. Right now I'm trying to get a spore. Money is to tight and I don't have a card. I have a few old Euros laying around and this one place will ship you one free spore per month for 2 euros for shipping. If I lose them no biggy. Can't use euros where I'm at in US so no big loss. I wish more people would be willing to send and trade A spore shouldn't be any big deal to ship out to someone. I will send some back out after I get started. I don't mind. But not everyone seems that way. Thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get a spore soon somehow


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## canndo (Jun 14, 2016)

You need more than one. Mushrooms are sewed.


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## Skillzd (Jun 14, 2016)

I need more than one what? And what do you mean sewed. All the articles and instructions that j have researched and studied I haven't seen that term anywhere. Was it a typo or what do you mean by it if not? And why would I need more than one spore print One spore syringe can last a lifetime. Yeah I did type "a spore". But I meant a spore print/syringe. 

Btw. I just ordered and it should arrive in a week or so. I ordered from Freespore.com because I studied the prices and how many spores are in the syringe. By the prices of shipping and everything the price PER spore They can out one of the better ones. But this isn't a math. It's just going by other reviews and info I've found. I could not find enough SOLID evidence to properly do that. I really wanted to order from another one that's $10 for one syringe and $5 Es after that. And you can get it 4x concentrated. But they have many ripoff reviews and people warning you not to use them. But then I've seen some really good reviews too. But I could take the chance. Freespore.com was also the ONLY site that the site is set up as a medical or scientific research lab Not a growing shrooms website. I know they all say that. But appearance is a big part of any business. Especially a borderline illegal one. Spores are legal but you can't get a spore print without the illegal mushroom. I'm going to start making and sending spores to people on forums and stuff too soon. I love helping people too so when someone in need asks. I give them a task to do in order to get a free spore. Eventually I will start that up tho. Not quite yet


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## Richard Drysift (Jun 14, 2016)

There are sites that will send you a spore print for free but the site name escapes me now. There's another that will only send you a print if you trade one. I source all my spore from lilshopofspores.com. Cheap prices free shipping and they give a freebie when you buy 2 syringes. They got a promo about every month; you can get a mystery grab sryinge for like $6 I think. Most cubensis are around $10 per syringe and they are legal to ship in the US. Get on their email list to get the promo prices


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## Skillzd (Jun 16, 2016)

I got spores coming from FREESPORES.com. I ordered Monday and they will be here in SF on Friday the tracking says. They send a free random spore with your order when you Type FREESPORES in the comments or instructions box. And I asked for an extra empty syringe with liquid in it. We're see what all they send. I'll post it online as a review here and Shroomery too once I get it tomorrow. I mentioned three species of like to try. Cus it is a random freebie so we're see if they send one I asked for or bot


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## Skillzd (Jun 17, 2016)

Hey Quick wuestion since this is started and a few have been on. I don't have a pressure cooker. I know it's preferred. But I've gotten away without using one before. Well actually it wasn't me but I was there helping and we didn't use a pressure cooker. Anyways Here's what I did so far and not done. Spores will be here today it says so I prepped everything last night. I used wild bird seed and boiled it in microwave ALOT. Then Soaked for few hours then rinsed and boiled in Microwave AGAIN and added gypsum. Microwaved again a little and drained it and added boiling water. then soaked for 24hrs to let any endoscopes hopefully hatch or whatever. Then I Boiled it in microwave with some H202 water. Rjnsed good and then put fresh regular water on it and put it in pressure cooker that's broken. But it works as a steamer still really good so I put it all inside and just a little extra water over the top and I had left for an hour and asked my partner to watch it a bit. I got back and it was steaming really nicely and I had looked in and the WBS had cracked open and the inside came out like wet flour. This seemed like a good thing to me as its looking as it will keep its moisture level better Instead of being too wet in bottom of bird seed Anyways. My worries are that it is TOO WET It reminds me of the wet stuff inside kidney beans. Dry but wet. After letting them sit 24hour and soak. Then boiling it into a this and I put it into the containers I had gotten. I put foil over them. Screwed the plastic lid over it and then took a small nail and heated it (wbs was still hot too). I poked 4 holes in a stuffed with cotton and sprayed the tops with Lysol good. I read this lets the steam go out but when it cools down and sucks air in it will be clean sterile air I may have a pic but if can't find one I'll post it later

Oh yeah. That reminds me. I had leftover in bottom that was a bit wet. So I mixed some BRF i ground up myself and turned two very small tupperwares to cakes. They are very small though so I figured maybe they will spawn faster and I can have a personal batch sooner than the rest. We're see. But this turned out good I think. Kind dryer than a thick oatmeal by still plenty moist. 

Second question is of same subject but in my BRF jars I made it was the same. Like a dry/wet clumpy OATMEAL. I didn't have enough Verm and forgot to not put quite as much water in And the brown rice flour was homeade. I ground it up and it wasn't fully powder. It was a bit sandy or gritty but nice still Just used an old fashion way with drinking glasses for that. I have them also sitting in a sterile Tupperware box I set them inside and sprayed the inside with Lysol. They have been sitting there since yesterday morning so tonight I will take them out and out the jars in a boil/steam them and see how wet it looks then. If it still is then I may take foil off and microwave only to dry it out a bit. Or I may just toss them But I really wanted to try cakes too

Today the spores SHOULD be here and I want to inoculate what ever I can. I just want a few for personal quick and the. I'll be patient for the rest These little ones are like 3.5inches long by 2.5tall by 2.5 wide Small but I was hoping the mycelium would grow faster hopefully. Or atleast be done sooner and pinning sooner than the bigger one.


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## Charley Brown (Sep 11, 2016)

Hey guys
So I did not make my own incubator. I live in south Florida where the humidity is very high and the temperature in my house is in the low 80s pretty much all day. Do you think I'll be ok not making the incubator?
Love the site btw


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## Skillzd (Sep 11, 2016)

Others may be able to answer better as I'm a newbie kind of still. But I'm in south Florida as well and I've gotten away without an incubator. But honestly I think things will just go smoother with one. An incubator would keep more of a controlled environment so you won't have fluctuations which can happen a lot in Florida since it rains and cools down and then sun comes out and humidity levels shoot up and temps shoot back up again too. So if you think about it. You may live in an area that's OK for it and don't absolutely NEED an incubator. But if you use one you will have more control of your grow and steady consistent results. None of mine are consistent. Because of the slight changes in environment you will have in Florida here. 

So a short answer is. You don't absolutely have to have one. But things will go much smoother and consistent if you use one. They are easy to make too by the way. Heck I even found a small container at the Dollar tree It has a red bottom that has spots like you'd set the Petri dishes. And then a clear Dome lid over top of it. Set that in a tub of water with a Fish tank heater set at the temp you need and Bam! You have a Mini Incubator for $15. $1 for the container and $10 or so for heater


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## mo841 (Sep 11, 2016)

Dont need an incubator no matter where you live. Throw em on a shelf and walk away.


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## Skillzd (Sep 12, 2016)

Yeah that seems to be the way most do it. Including myself. 
I have used a heating pad on chilly nights tho and it had helped growth a lot 
Question tho cus I'm curious now 
So I was thinking more about it and I know not everywhere is the same but here it can be 90 and humid and then start raining and go down to the 60-70s. Then when it stops it will go back up to 90 and even more humid. And that's daily sometimes a few times a day So in those cases where it causes your "area" to go from 78-80 down to 60 and back up to 80. Wouldn't that slow growth down a bit and a incubator be more consistent on your grows ?


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## Charley Brown (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks for the reply guys. I have gotten much mycelium growth and am moving forward without the incubator. Although I think i will try to make one on the next batch 

Now I'm wondering about my jar choice. The mouth of the jar is slightly smaller than the rest of it. I'm worried the cake isn't going to slide out very good when I go to birth it. Have you guys ever made this mistake?
Love the site. This whole thing is so exciting  can't wait to have my first batch in a few weeks!


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## Charley Brown (Sep 12, 2016)

Yeah I think it would slow it if the temp went that low. They might still make it in the end just not as fast from what I've gathered. Im new though so definitely not an expert


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## Skillzd (Sep 13, 2016)

Ours ive noticed my place will drop to like 65 at night when the AC is on full and if it starts raining it will get chilly quick. But as soon as I turn the Ac off or down it warms up quick and won't sleep some just leave it and we love snuggling up under the covers so we like it cooler when we sleep 
but I was worried about it effecting growth and it was slower cus after about a week of noticing slow growth and staying around 50-60% colonized I put the heating pad in there at night and it finished from 60% to about 95% in 3-4 days with the heating pad at 74 degrees during the night and during the day it's about the same in there so it worked better after I kept the temps steady That's where I mentioned about consistency cus on jar was doing ok but the others were slow. Once I got a steady temp at 72-76 the others began growing fast. And steadily


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## Charley Brown (Sep 13, 2016)

Yeah steady temp is the way to go 
I don't have central air at my place and just leave the windows open with fans this time of year. For the most part it stays between 75 and 85 except for my room where I have a window banger going. Seems to be just right for the little mushies


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## Charley Brown (Sep 13, 2016)

What should I do about my jar mouths being too small?


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## Skillzd (Sep 14, 2016)

Well if the cake doesn't shrink enough to get it out then you will have to carefully brake the jar but don't smash cus the glass particles will embed the cake so take extra precautions if you brake. Rinse them good and cut the bottom buts of stems off so no one eats glass.

I broke one of mine not long ago. Put it in a bag and tapped it with a hammer to just crack it and it worked.


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## Skillzd (Sep 14, 2016)

Or fruit Invitro but doesn't sound like you want to do that. Nor would I. Nothing wrong with it b I just would rather get them out and use as cakes 

You can ask others if cutting the cake in half is alright and fruit the half cakes. I don't know that much about it yet. Just from what I've read and researched and tried on my own a little.


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## Denise528 (Oct 21, 2016)

These have got to be the best, clearest set of instructions that I have found on the internet. I just want to say thanks for taking the time and making the effort to put them on the web. Thanks to you I have managed to grow them.

Denise


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## DaSprout (Oct 26, 2016)

You are welcome.


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## incognegro 90 (Nov 15, 2017)

I'm lost on the whole is light good is light bad thing is minimal necessary for fruiting?


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