just ordered a mushroom grow kit.

I just got the kit in the mail. Everything came as advertised and in good repair. I spent the day cleaning my grow room and sterilizing the large burlap sack of straw, that will be used as the substrate for the spore mixture. The instructions are very detailed and the spores are a very healthy white with no signs of bruising or contamination. Once the straw cools down, Ill be mixing it in the bag provided with the spore and settling in the grow room in the dark at 26-28 deg C. According to the instructions, I will be ready for casing in about 12-14 days.

Aside from the terrible smell of boiled straw in my house, everything is going well.

Voodu said:

I just got the kit in the mail. Everything came as advertised and in good repair. I spent the day cleaning my grow room and sterilizing the large burlap sack of straw, that will be used as the substrate for the spore mixture. The instructions are very detailed and the spores are a very healthy white with no signs of bruising or contamination. Once the straw cools down, Ill be mixing it in the bag provided with the spore and settling in the grow room in the dark at 26-28 deg C. According to the instructions, I will be ready for casing in about 12-14 days.

Aside from the terrible smell of boiled straw in my house, everything is going well.

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Your terminology is wrong, those arent spores.

canndo said:

Your terminology is wrong, those arent spores.

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I'm using the same terminology that the kit gave me. I am doing this for the first time, and I expect to make mistakes. I am posting this, not to sound like an expert and get all warm and fuzzy from validation, but to help other people who buy kits or do this for the first time too.

What is the correct terminology? It appears to be a spore colony. Would spawn be the correct term? I would prefer to learn the right way to do things and I would prefer to know the correct terminology, so I can shake my noob status one day.

I am using my downstairs half bathroom as my grow room. I sanitized it from top to bottom with scrub brush, paper towel, Lysol and then applied a light mist of 99% iso mixed 10:1 with distilled water to all walls ceiling, plumbing and floor. Anything I touch is with vinyl gloves that are first sprayed with the alcohol spray.

I used a canning pot (21 quart) to pasteurize the burlap sack of straw. Instructions were simple enough, boil water, remove from heat, and soak the burlap sack for 1 hour covered. Then return to heat and simmer covered for 95 minutes. I brought the covered pot to the grow room and placed the burlap sack into my sanitized sink, and covered it with a layer of tin foil. The let it cool overnight and in the morning I dumped the contents of the sack into a plastic bag provided with the kit. I did not touch any of the straw, and my hands were gloved and sanitized. I then took the mushroom spawn in the plastic bag it came in, and gently crumbled it into the straw mixture from outside the plastic bag. Holding the large bag of wet straw and crumbled up spawn in one hand, I gently agitated the mixture from outside the bag with my other hand until it was mixed well. I then placed the bag into the provided grow box and gently formed the contents of the bag to fit the contours of the box, only touching from outside the bag. I lightly rolled the outside of the plastic bag to cover the top. I am now keeping the room in the dark for the next 12-14 days and I am using a portable electric heater to keep the room between 26 and 28 deg C. I have a thermometer in the room, and I check the temps on the regular in case I need to adjust the heater. I took the light bulb out of the room, just to make sure I don't turn it on by reflex when I check the temp gauge for the room.

I'm sure some pictures would be helpful, but that might put me at risk with Johnnie lawman and this is all bullshit and part of a made up fantasy anyway.

Ill keep things up to date as they progress.

Voodu said:

I'm using the same terminology that the kit gave me. I am doing this for the first time, and I expect to make mistakes. I am posting this, not to sound like an expert and get all warm and fuzzy from validation, but to help other people who buy kits or do this for the first time too.

What is the correct terminology? It appears to be a spore colony. Would spawn be the correct term? I would prefer to learn the right way to do things and I would prefer to know the correct terminology, so I can shake my noob status one day.

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Yes, spores are the genetic cores so to speak. Many mushrooms are sexual in that they need two different sources of disparate sources of genetics. There are situations where a number of these...packets of genetics are not all compatible with each other.

One of the advantages of this sexuality is perpetual scrambling of genetics where new biological challenges can be repetitively addressed. This means evolution can proceed rapidly.

When two compatible Spores each germinate they grow their own mycelial networks.

Individually, each spore will not form fruit. But at the contact of the two the mycelium will form an exchange of genetics with what are known as clamp connections. At that point, the organism can reproduce with more, genetically different spores through fruiting structures that in many cases produce platforms that raise the fruiting assemblies out of the substrate and expose them to wind or insects or animals.

In this case, spores contain no active ingredient. The mass from which these structures emerge certainly do. Hence, spores are usually legal. The mass of filaments, clamped or not, do produce those chemicals.

The strategy is to germinate at least two comparable Spores, then allow the mass to increases through progressively more availability of nutrient.

First, a petri dish, then grain (three dimensional) and then, using each grain as innoculation point, spawn to even more material. Some take this and spawn again to even more material.

You have mycelial mass or "spawn".

Further, it is fairly well known that light encourages initial mycelial growth. You neednt be concerned with light early on. When the mycelium matures or reaches the bounds of nutrition it becomes light sensitive. Contrary to many assertions on the internet, light is a primary fruiting trigger. You should consider eliminating light only when your mycelium is close to colonizing the entirety of your substrate and casing.

canndo said:

Further, it is fairly well known that light encourages initial mycelial growth. You neednt be concerned with light early on. When the mycelium matures or reaches the bounds of nutrition it becomes light sensitive. Contrary to many assertions on the internet, light is a primary fruiting trigger. You should consider eliminating light only when your mycelium is close to colonizing the entirety of your substrate and casing.

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Thank you very much for this information and the previous information about the reproduction of the fungus. It's all very fascinating and I think that growing mycelium could be a fun new hobby. Even growing Oyster mushrooms or Lionsmane mushrooms sounds really fun.

Have you ever messed around with rye grain fungus and LSD? You sound like you know your bio chem.

Voodu said:

Have you ever messed around with rye grain fungus and LSD? You sound like you know your bio chem.

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I have.



It is a very risky process involving intent and carefully mapped out arguments.

The ergot fungus can be very toxic if not handled properly; One could really hurt Themselves.
Psychologically and physically.

Voodu said:

Thank you very much for this information and the previous information about the reproduction of the fungus. It's all very fascinating and I think that growing mycelium could be a fun new hobby. Even growing Oyster mushrooms or Lionsmane mushrooms sounds really fun.

Have you ever messed around with rye grain fungus and LSD? You sound like you know your bio chem.

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I HAVE not for the very reason heartless mentions.

canndo said:

I HAVE not for the very reason heartless mentions.

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Hang on what's this ergot stuff? Did I mess up buying rye grain bags?

TheGrassIsGreenerInAus said:

Hang on what's this ergot stuff? Did I mess up buying rye grain bags?

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No.

HeatlessBBQ said:

I have.



It is a very risky process involving intent and carefully mapped out arguments.

The ergot fungus can be very toxic if not handled properly; One could really hurt Themselves.
Psychologically and physically.

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I appreciate your words of caution. I have no intention to try to grow ergot fungus, and synthesize LSD from it. Psilocybin is as far as I have gone into psychedelics and I am comfortable within that experience. I would not trust my own expertise to this process. To be honest, until recently I had no idea that LSD was in fact created from fungus from rye grain.

So far the kit is functioning well. I check my temperatures at least 3 times a day and they are staying within the 26-28 deg range. Based on Canndo's advice, I am not overly concerned about lighting at this stage. I do keep them in the dark, but when I enter the room to check temperatures I use a flash light to adjust the heater and read the gauge.
At one point I had an issue with the power going out. The temperatures started to drop in the grow room to around 24 deg C. According to the directions, 18 deg C is the critical temperature to avoid dropping below. I was proactive because i was worried about the amount of time before the power came back, I was positive that overnight without the heater the temps would go below 18 deg C. I started up my woodstove and heated up my basement to 28 deg. I sanitized a large plastic tote I have and placed the grow box inside the tote, placed the lid on and kept it in the warmed basement until the power came back. With a temp gauge placed in the tote, it never got below 26 deg C. Thankfully that evening electricity was restored and everything went back into the growroom. I handled the grow box as little as possible and did not expose it to any air outside of the sanitized tote or grow room.
It's been about 6 days since I put the spawn into the straw and kept it warm. I can see multiple white mass' growing in spots all over the box of straw. The mycelium appears to be growing and spreading through the straw like it's supposed to.

You worry too much. So long as the my helium doesn't freeze you ate fine. All ot will do is stop growing till it gets warmer.

canndo said:

You worry too much. So long as the my helium doesn't freeze you ate fine. All ot will do is stop growing till it gets warmer.

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You are correct. It's in my nature to be neurotic.

Only 4 more days until I begin the "casing" instructions. The straw already appears to be about 75% full of mycelium. According to the directions I can put off casing for another week, to make sure the straw is fully saturated with the white spawn. I don't think I will need to do that based upon what I am seeing so far.

Hmmmm...I'm really, really interested in trying my hand at growing my own mushrooms, thank you very much for creating this post Voodu, and thank all of you RIU members for your posts! Very informative! I guess now I just need to try and get the materials together for a DIY setup...after recent additions to my grow tent for my plants, I can't spare a lot of $ on a spore kit.

i wann see some pics yo

It's been 12 days of letting the spawn take over the straw. It's looking like a big white brick. I sterilized the bag of dirt supplied with the kit by adding 1 liter of distilled water and baking it at 325 deg F for 2 hours. I let it all cool down to room temperature and spread the soil over the straw loosely but evenly with my gloved and sterilized hand to a depth of 1 inch. I sanitized the plastic lid and sprayed it with with a heavy mist of distilled water. As per the instructions, I am going to turn out the lights and leave it completely alone for the next 5 days, while still maintaining a 26-28 deg temp

I've never used a kit, but that looks perfect. Nicely done. Congrats.
Your substrate is very evenly colonized, healthy, and rhizomorphic.
Btw, Ps.Cubensis on straw does not require a casing to fruit.
It is very possible some primordia formation has been initiated.
So don't be surprised to see a few pins popping up from deep within the casing before the first full flush.

I'm new here, been offline a while. But, I am a long time member and former Mod on one of the large Myco forums. Happy to throw my two cents in or answer question anytime. I look forward to updates.
This is one of my wood loving Ps. Cyanescens grows (indoor)
.

JPCyan said:

I've never used a kit, but that looks perfect. Nicely done. Congrats.
Your substrate is very evenly colonized, healthy, and rhizomorphic.
Btw, Ps.Cubensis on straw does not require a casing to fruit.
It is very possible some primordia formation has been initiated.
So don't be surprised to see a few pins popping up from deep within the casing before the first full flush.

I'm new here, been offline a while. But, I am a long time member and former Mod on one of the large Myco forums. Happy to throw my two cents in or answer question anytime. I look forward to updates.
This is one of my wood loving Ps. Cyanescens grows (indoor)
View attachment 4351820.

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Wow, that is gorgeous! I don't know if I've ever seen indoor cyans and gotten to tell the grower, cheers sir!

I have never gotten to eat cyans, its on my list I hope to get to enjoy some day. I recently was gifted some albino penis envy and have just began to enjoy those. I ate like 1.5 earlier today, and its been a wonderful afternoon. Really exactly what I hoped for.