TEK - The original PF TEK

In order to grow mushrooms, a suitable substrate must be inoculated and colonized by the fungus. This step requires sterility because the substrate contains no preservatives and can be overrun by any mold or bacteria that is present. This first step takes place in canning jars prepared in your home's kitchen. It uses brown rice flour and vermiculite which are both readily available. A substrate is prepared, placed in the canning jars and sterilized with heat. After the jars cool, they are inoculated with a spore syringe. This phase of the cycle can be completed for less than $25 and will produce enough substrate to yield many ounces of dried mushrooms.
After the substrate is inoculated, you wait until it is colonized completely by the fungus. Once the substrate is colonized completely by the fungus, sterility is less of a concern because the fungus is pretty much able to fight off invaders and the rice cake substrate can be removed from the jar. This typically takes between two and three weeks to complete. At this point, the substrate is placed in a terrarium where high humidity is available to the fungus. While waiting for the substrate to colonize completely, no effort is required.

The terrarium is kept at around 90% humidity and the carbon dioxide that is produced by the fungus is constantly eliminated. Within a week of being placed in the terrarium, the rice cakes will start growing mushrooms. Within several weeks of being placed in the terrarium, the cultivator will have numerous mature mushrooms ready for consumption. The cakes continue to produce mushrooms until either the nutrients in the rice cake are used up or the moisture in the rice cake is depleted. Depending on how the cultivator chooses to implement the terrarium, more or less attention is required at this phase in the cycle. With the fully automated terrarium setup described later in this document, attention is only required every few days. Mostly, this involves picking mature mushrooms and adding water to the humidifier used in the setup.

It is very likely that the mushrooms will be produced faster than they can be consumed by the home cultivator once the cropping phase of the cycle starts. It is fairly easy to dry the mushrooms and preserve them for many months. In fact, some people prefer the dried mushrooms to their fresh counterpart. Being the master of understatement, let me state that they do not taste as good as mushrooms available in the grocery store.

Occasionally, a sterile spore print from a mature mushroom needs to be generated if the cycle is to continue. This is used to produce a spore syringe to inoculate new culture jars. It is a little bit of effort and requires very careful, sterile procedures to be successful generating a spore print. Of course, this can be circumvented by simply ordering a new spore syringe. A 10 cc. spore syringe should be sufficient to inoculate a dozen jars of substrate. It is the cultivator's choice which path to follow for successive generations.

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Preparation of the Substrate

Mushrooms are grown on a substrate of nutrients. Just as a common house plant is grown in a pot of soil, mushrooms can be grown on a cake of substrate material. The big difference is that the substrate must be free of competing bacteria and molds in order for the process to be successful. Any contamination of the substrate will result in failure of the process.
Materials needed:

1/2 pint canning jars
Vermiculite (from any garden department. K-Mart, Target, etc.)
Brown Rice flour (from a health food store --- No Preservatives!)
Large pot with lid
Measuring cups
Mixing bowl
Hammer and small nail
Spore Syringe
The canning jars need to be tapered. This means that the opening of the jar is wider than the body of the jar. This is important because the fully colonized rice cake needs to be removed intact from the jar. You simply want the cake to slide out when the time is right. If you use a jar that is not in the following list, check to make sure the box says it is a tapered jar. The following jars are acceptable:

Ball 1/2 pint jelly jars.
Kerr wide mouth 1/2 pint canning jars.
Ball regular mouth 1/2 pint canning jars.


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Step 1:
Prepare the tops of the culture jars so that they can be in place, on the jars when inoculating the jars with the spore syringe. Part of the reason this system works so well in the non-sterile kitchen environment is the fact that the sterilized substrate is never exposed to air born contaminates. Get a small nail and use the hammer to poke 4 holes in the lid of each canning jar.


Step 2:
Decide in how many jars you are going to initiate cultures. The average terrarium that is built will hold 6 rice cakes but you may have some jars destroyed by contamination and some jars colonize quicker than others. It is unlikely that every jar you prepare will be ready to be placed in the terrarium at the same time. The rice flour and vermiculite are cheap enough that it makes sense to do a dozen jars.
For each 1/2 pint jar mix 2/3 cup vermiculite and 1/4 cup brown rice flour in a mixing bowl. When these ingredients are well mixed, add 1/4 cup of water for each 1/2 pint jar you plan to prepare. If you are using 1 pint jars you need to double the recipe. Mix all of this stuff up well. This mixture is the substrate material that the fungus will consume and use for growth.

Step 3:
The next step is to fill each jar with substrate material. This document used to suggest gently packing the substrate into the culture jars. It has been found that keeping the substrate as loose and full of air as possible is the best way to fill the jars. The jars will colonize faster this way. Incidentally, the faster the jar colonizes, the lower the risk that some competitor contamination will get a foot hold and take over the substrate. Fill each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top with substrate material. If you run out of substrate material, either mix up enough for one more 1/2 pint jar or cannibalize a jar to fill up the rest of the jars. This is important because you need to make sure the substrate is high enough in the jars for the spore syringe to inject spores into it.


Step 4:
The top 1/2 inch of the glass on each culture jar needs to be cleaned. No substrate material can be left on the glass above the compressed cake. First wipe it with your finger to get the bulk of the material off of it and then do a thorough job with a moistened paper towel. The glass needs to be spotless. The reason this is necessary is that bacteria and mold can use any material left there as a wick to infect the main substrate body.
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Step 5:
Next, fill the top 1/2 inch of the each culture jar with vermiculite. This layer is pure, simple, dry vermiculite. Nothing else. Fill the jar level with the glass edge. This layer is a break through pioneered by Psylocybe Fanaticus. What this layer does is insulate the sterilized substrate from any air borne contamination. This layer gets sterilized with the substrate later and air borne molds and bacteria can not (usually) get through it to contaminate the substrate. At the same time, it allows some gas exchange to occur. The fungus needs oxygen and gasses can filter through the vermiculite.


Step 6:
Now, place the jar lids in place. Normally, the jar lids have a rubber seal that is placed in contact with the glass of the jar. Traditionally the rubber seal is not placed in contact with the glass. It was placed on the upper side of the lid. The reason was that people thought it would make too tight of a seal. This does not seem to be an issue. If you wish to follow tradition, place the rubber on the upper side of the lid. Screw the lid down tight. Note that you need to have the four holes poked in the lid in Step 1. Otherwise you can have real problems when you heat these jars up!


Step 7:
Next, place a piece of tin foil over the top of each jar and crumple it around the sides of the jar. This is to keep water drops from going in the four holes in the lid while the jar is being sterilized. If you poked your holes in the lid such that the sharp edges are pointing up, be careful not to rip or puncture the tin foil. If you need to, you can add a second or even a third piece of tin foil to make sure water will not drip into the holes in the lid.

Step 8:
Now the culture jars need to be sterilized. Place the jars in a large kitchen pot/pan and add water so that water comes half way up the side of the jars. Bring the water to a slow boil and place the lid on the pot. From the time the water starts to boil, the jars need 1 hour to be sterilized. Water should not be bubbling and splashing all over the place. The jars should not be floating around in the water. The substrate in the culture jars has the right amount of water in it already. You do not want water leaking into the jars and changing the ratio. The jars should not sit flat on the bottom of the pan. Too much heat can transfer directly to the jars and cause a loss of moisture. You can place a wash cloth inside the pan and set the jars directly on the wash cloth to help prevent too much heat from transferring to the jars.

Step 9:
Let the jars cool slowly. Leave them covered in the pot/pan that was used to sterilize them. Let them cool completely. The jars need to be at or close to room temperature in order to inoculate. The spores will be killed if the jars are not cool enough when they are inoculated. It will take several hours to cool sufficiently. You may hear sounds as the jars cool. This is normal.


Step 10:
Now comes the good part. Inoculation of the culture jars. Assuming you have a viable, sterile spore syringe, you are now in a position to inoculate the cultures and start the first phase of the growing cycle. The needle of the spore syringe must be sterile. If your fingers or anything other than the lid or contents of the culture jars comes in contact with it, assume it is no longer sterile. If there is any doubt about its condition, use a cigarette lighter to heat the entire needle. Heat it until it glows red. Let it cool for a few minutes and squirt some of the solution out of the syringe.
Shake the syringe. Make sure the spores are mixed well within the syringe. This can be accomplished more easily if you pull the plunger back on the syringe to get a little air into the syringe.

Remove the tin foil from each culture jar as you prepare to inoculate it. Insert the needle of the syringe as far as it will go into a hole in the lid of the culture jar and get the needle to press against the glass. Examine the next figure for a simple diagram of how things should look. Inject 1/4 cc of solution at a site under each hole in the lid. A total of 1 cc of solution for each jar.

A 10 cc spore syringe is sufficient to inoculate a dozen jars if you inject slightly less than 1 cc in each jar.


Step 11:
This is the easy part. Put the culture jars in a dark place and wait. The fungus will first appear as little splotches of white fuzzy stuff at the inoculation sites.

As the time goes by, the fungus will spread throughout the jar. Eventually, the entire surface of the glass will be covered with fungus. Typically, the bottom of the jar is the last area to be colonized. Be on the look out for any contamination.

Any odd colors that might appear are contamination and the jar must be thrown out. Do not take any chances. If you think the jar might be contaminated, throw it out!. Some molds and bacteria produce toxins that can kill you. Just because a mushroom is growing on the opposite side of the cake from the contamination does not mean you are safe. The mycelium network carries nutrients and moisture to the mushrooms from far away and can easily pick up the toxins and bring them to the mushroom. The fact that you are using this guide means you are not an experienced mycologist. You do not know which molds and bacteria are deadly. Do not take a chance.

The one exception to the previous statements is the mycelium will some times change from a bright white to a very pale yellow if it has water droplets touching it on the side of the glass. It is very unusual for any area that is colonized by the mushroom fungus to become infected while in the jar. The uncolonized areas of the substrate are usually significantly more prone to infection.

The above pictures show a typical germination and colonization cycle. If your spores are old, or the temperature is not optimum, or you did not mix the substrate very accurately you can easily add a week to the above time frames.

The cake must stay in the jar until the entire surface area is covered with mycelium. As the substrate gets more colonized, the growth slows down. This is a result of CO2 building up and less oxygen being available for the fungus to consume.


The cakes can not be taken out of the jars while there is still uncolonized substrate.

Step 12:
Once a rice cake is fully colonized, it can be taken out of the culture jar. At this point, there are no areas on the substrate that can easily be infected by competitor molds and bacteria. Once the mycelium is established, it can usually prevent other organisms from gaining a foot hold and destroying the rice cake.
Unscrew and remove the lid from the canning jars. Scrape all the loose vermiculite on the top of the substrate into the garbage. Take care not to gouge into the substrate material as this can leave areas open to infection. You do not need to get all the vermiculite off of the cake. In fact, the only reason to remove any of it is to keep the terrarium neat and orderly. Turn the jar up side down and slam it onto a table top. The rice cake should slide out of the jar. The rice cakes will typically shrink a little during the colonization phase of the process and will come out of the jars easily with a little tapping on a table top.

Step 13:
The rice cakes need to be placed into the terrarium. It is assumed that you have a fully functional and checked out terrarium setup at this point. This document contains all the information you need to prepare a terrarium. Preparation of the terrarium.
You can handle the cakes but remember that the less you handle them and the more gently you handle them, the better off they will be. Also, you should wash your hands thoroughly and be sure to rinse with water just as thoroughly to remove any soap before touching the cakes.

If you have disposable sterile gloves available, it isn't a bad idea to use them. You can get away without using them, but they are a good idea. Contamination is the mycophile's worst enemy.

 

Jars and glasses to be used with this technique are 1/2 pint capacity (8 ounces) - (250 milliliters). They must have tapered sides and no shoulders, otherwise the fungus cakes won't easily come out of the jars. Appropriate jars; (source - super markets and hardware stores)1. KERR wide mouth half pint canning jar - preferable

2. BALL wide mouth half pint (similar to the KERR wide mouth half pint) - preferable

3. BALL regular mouth half pint canning jar

4. BALL half pint jelly jar

5. 1/2 pint (250 ml) capacity drinking glasses (tapered sides)NOTE: Even though the regular mouth BALL half pint and the regular mouth KERR half pint look similar, the KERR is not tapered. 1/8 cup of brown rice powder (Health food stores and co-ops)

1/2 - 2/3 cup of horticultural vermiculite (medium grade) (garden centers and hardware)

40-45 cc's (milliliters) of water or (a little less than 1/4 cup) (1&1/2 ounces) (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)Maximum fruiting formula:

1/4 cup of brown rice powder

1/2 cup of vermiculite

60 cc's waterNot all vermiculite is the same. The coarseness varies quite considerably among different brands. The coarser type will hold less water than the finer type which will alter the water holding capacity. If the formulation (water content) results in a really wet or sloppy substrate, use less water. Keep notes on formulas for replicating the substrate formula that fruits the best. The above formulas utilize the finer type of vermiculite. If the above maximum fruiting formula is used with the finer type of vermiculite, the jar lid should be loose during incubation (see - "The canning jar lid - loose or tight"). The finer type of vermiculite is recommended over the coarser type because it holds more water. To ascertain the size of the vermiculite particles, observe them under a photo magnifier next to a millimeter ruler. The finer type of vermiculite has particles averaging around 1 millimeter across (some larger and some smaller). The coarser type has particles averaging around 4 or 5 millimeters across and up to 8 millimeters. Stores usually carry one type. Plus, there will be regional differences in the different brands of vermiculite. Shop around and try to get both types to compare. To make homemade brown rice powder, place some regular brown rice in a small canister type coffee bean grinder and grind it to fine powder. Freshly ground brown rice is recommended over prepackaged type. The freshness sometimes makes a big difference. If the measuring cup specs aren't true, the formulas will be off, setting up certain failure or diminished growth. Check the cup measurers this way: 1 cup is 237 milliliters which is 1/2 pint or 8 liquid ounces (English measurement). There are 2 cups in a pint, 2 pints in a quart and 4 cups in a quart.

Prepare the canning lid by placing it with the rubber sealing edge upwards on a supporting surface and with a sharpened 3 penny nail (held with vise grip pliers), punch 4 holes inside the periphery of the rubber sealing edge. When using two piece canning jar lids, the inner lid (with the rubber edges up) rests on the top of the jar and when the lid band is screwed off, the lid remains resting on the jar top. To make the lid and band act as one lid, place pieces of masking tape on the lid attaching the band to the lid. Then, the lid can be adjusted for air ventilation and looseness like an ordinary one piece jar lid.

 

PF SUBSTRATE JAR PREPARATION

Steam sterilizing PF substrate jars with regular cookware is possible because there is no grain to cook up and the substrate is airy. Other regular jars (other than canning type) or small drinking glasses (with tin foil covering) can be substituted for these canning jars. To insure similar results, make sure the jars or glasses are tapered sided with no shoulder of any kind, and that they have a 1/2 pint (8 ounce - 250 ml) capacity. It is important to note, that jars somewhat larger than 1/2 pint are unreliable for the PF TEK and fail easily. The low form KERR 1/2 pint canning jar is the most versatile (fits into tight spaces et). A 3 piece vegetable steamer (pot, basket insert & lid) is used for the steam sterilizing stage. Also, the stainless steel vegetable steamers that fold out and stand on the bottom of the pot are good. Anything is good as long as it keeps the jar bottoms off the pot bottom where the high temperature will crack the glass. Step 1. Place 1/2 cup of vermiculite into a mixing bowl. Place the brown rice powder on top of the vermiculite. Slowly add the water directly onto the brown rice powder, wetting it first. Thoroughly mix the ingredients. The mixture should feel damp and cohesive. More water (or less) can be used if experimenting to improve the fruiting. Mix Each jars substrate individually for loading to insure accurate formula rendering. A note on water: A recent update is worth mentioning. Water quality is indeed important. I have found out that "natural" water is the water to use. It makes for better cultivation of this mushroom on this simple substrate. Distilled water is good for making spore solutions and syringes and storing spore solution. But for growing, they seem to like the "natural" water such as: swamp, lake, stream, pond,river, ground or any water that is rich in organics. I have heard that "mineral" type drinking water is good and makes a difference. I suppose that water seeping from an organic compost pile would be about the best. Step 2. Fill the jar very loosely. Leave a 1/2 to 3/4 inch space at the top. Level the substrate. With a tissue or a fingertip, wipe the insides of the jar down to the substrate. Fill the top of the jar with plain dry vermiculite and level it off at the top. This upper layer will protect the wet substrate from air borne contaminants. It acts as a contaminant barrier. This is a Psylocybe Fanaticus original discovery. What this dry vermiculite layer does is protect the wet substrate from airborne contaminants and also absorbs and regulates moisture transpiration and condensation. The top layer of dry vermiculite must be between 1/2" to 2/3" deep to provide protection from contaminants entering from above.



Tamping down tek

Getting the substrate level correct is very important. A slight tamping down is required. To get an accurate leveling of the substrate, loosely load the 1/2 pint jar and level the top of the mixture with the top of the jar. Screw a cap on the top to hold the mixture in. With one hand, hold the jar and lightly slam the bottom of the jar on the other palm a couple of times to lower the mixture level to around 1/2"-2/3" from the top rim. Further level and adjust the substrate with a fork down to the proper height. Clean the inside of the jar down to the substrate level with your fiinger tip or a paper towel and fill the jar back to the top with dry vermiculite. Step 3. Place the lid on the jar with the rubberized edge up (jagged edges of the needle holes down). Screw the lid band on. Place pieces of "professional" grade masking tape (holds on during steaming) over the needle holes. This is to protect the needle holes from contaminant entry. Step 4. Heat the pot of water to a boil. Put the jars into the pot with the lid bands loose so that the steam can penetrate the jars quickly. The jars can sit in water but make sure boiling water can't slosh into the jars. Turn the heat down and GENTLY steam the jars at the lowest possible boil for an hour in a TIGHTLY covered pot (gas stoves are the easiest to control). A good tight fitting pot lid is essential for successful steaming. When steaming or pressure canning is performed, the jars must be protected from water dripping down from the underside of the pot lid caused by heavy condensation and drip off during boiling. This water can get into the jars by entering under the jar lids that aren’t tight and soaking the substrate - throwing off the formula and setting up failure. To prevent this, wrap some tin foil around the cap to ward off the water. The tin foil can be removed after steaming (with the tape guarding the needle holes - or the tin foil can be left on until it is inoculation time.) Be careful to not overheat the jars, this dries the substrate. Drying is evidenced by o.k. spore germination and halted growth. The fungus will spread but stop at a certain point depending on how dry the substrate has become. Generally, any halted growth (with no contamination) is a sign of dried substrate. This is an important concept that will enable diagnosis and correction of problems experienced with drying. The remedy is to increase the water content of the substrate formula in use. After the jars have cooled, tighten the lids and store them in a cool draft free place until ready to inoculate them.

 

RESSURE CANNER USE

PF jars and water bottles can be quickly sterilized with a pressure canner. For proper and safe use of the pressure canner, always refer to the manual that comes with it. If the canner is used and has no manual , try to get one from the manufacturer before using it. Pressure canners can be dangerous if used incorrectly. Sterilization times 1. 1/2 pint PF substrate jars - 12 p.s.i. for 20 minutes

2. Water bottles - 12 p.s.i. for 55 minutes

3. Syringes and needles - 12 p.s.i. for 10 minutes



 Any jar to be inoculated must be cool to the touch before proceeding. Make sure the lid is tight. Shake the syringe well and remove the tape from the syringe needle guard. This shaking of the syringe is important as to redistribute the spores in the water. Take off the tape covering the needle holes. Remove the needle guard and insert the needle through the lid hole. Tilt the syringe body back towards the center of the lid with the needle tip touching the glass. This distributes the spore water down the side of the jar, giving a good inoculation down the side of the substrate cake. Inoculate a few drops down each needle hole. As the syringe plunger is pressed, observe the needle tip against the inside of the glass. As soon as water appears around the needle tip, release the syringe plunger pressure. In between each hole inoculation, shake the syringe a little to keep the spores distributed. Use 1 cc per jar. This will allow the syringe to inoculate 10 jars. More spore solution per jar can be used (speeds colonization), but fewer jars can be inoculated . If the syringe needle plugs up as it is inserted into the substrate, draw the needle back a little and it will unplug.

ALCOHOL FLAMING TECHNIQUE

If the syringe needle is touched, flame the needle to sterilize it. An alcohol flame is a clean flame whereas a butain cigarette lighter leaves behind an undesirable soot residue. To produce a short burning alcohol flame, place a tequila shotglass upside down. Using an eyedropper, put a few drops of denatured alcohol fuel (hardware store) on the hollow bottom of the glass and touch it with a match or lighter. The blue flame will cleanly and safely sterilize small stainless steel tools. Heat the needle in the flame for a few seconds to resterilize it. There might be a few "pops" of boiling water spurt out of the needle, but the spores within the syringe are safe. If there is some left over spore solution, replace the needle guard and store the syringe for later use. Resterilize the needle immediately before re-use. Store the syringe in a dark, cool place.

 

INNOCULATION OF PF JARS WITHOUT THE LIDS

This technique can also be used if canning jars are not available (1/2 pint wide mouth canning jars are perfect and should be used at all cost). If regular drinking glasses are to be used - use regular tapered sided drinking glasses (8 ounce - 250ml) Jars can be inoculated without using a lid with holes punched. Before trying this technique, inoculate with the punched lid first. That will show how it works without any problems (almost fail proof). The only precaution to observe is to disturb the dry top vermiculite layer as little as possible, especially when removing the needle after the inoculation. The underlying substrate must not be exposed to the air. Carefully move any disturbed vermiculite back into place. If using a drinking glass or alternate container, cover the mouth with tin foil. Replace the tin foil cover after inoculation.

INCUBATION OF INOCULATED JARS

 After inoculation of the jars, tighten the lid bands and retape the needle holes. Place the jars in a safe place out of direct sunlight. Indirect light is all that is required. If the temperature is kept around 70 degrees, germination will begin within 3 to 5 days. Germinating spores appear as small white fuzzy spots, quickly growing and spreading with cottony white growth and strandy "rhizomorphs". Any room temperature is O.K. If it gets cold indoors, over head light shinning down on the tops of the jars is a perfect heating technique for this culturing stage. A clamping type light with a reflector works well for this. If this is done, keep the temperature around 70 degrees (don't overheat the jars - monitor the temperature with a thermometer). A warm overall house temperature is fine. But in the overall view, cool temperatures are never a problem. The rule is to not overheat.

THE CANNING JAR LID (loose or tight)

There are two choices with the lids during incubation - tight or loose. With a very high moisture content (good for fruiting), a tight lid can cause water to collect in the bottom of the jar. This is to be avoided. If it happens, the lid should be kept on loose during incubation. Tape the canning jar lid to the band to make the lid act as a one piece lid for raising and lowering. If the substrate is on the dry side, a tight lid will preserve the moisture content. It is all a matter of the balance between the water needs of the mycelium, the size of the jar, the available air space in the jar and the type of vermiculite used. Only by simple experimenting and comparison can the right balance be found for a given set of conditions. Take notes and go with what fruits the best. After the substrate turns white with the mycelium (2 or 3 weeks after inoculation), the jars are left to sit in indirect light. The mycelium will continue to infiltrate the substrate until it gets enough food to trigger the fruiting cycle. In less than a week to a few weeks after surface colonization of the cake, tiny white "pin" like structures begin to appear. This is called pinning. This is the beginning of the fruiting cycle. Soon after that, within the week, small round fungus growths appear that soon begin to turn yellow. Lastly, "primordia" start to grow. These are tiny worm like structures with tiny reddish heads. These are the first mushrooms.



THE BIRTHDAY CAKE

  The primordia have appeared and it is now time to birth the cake. Wait until you see this, and the fruiting will be maximized. The fruiting is fairly relative to the primordia that appear. The best time to remove the fungus cake from the jar is when the primordia (tiny worm like structures with reddish heads) appear on the cake while still in the jar. Be careful not to damage them in handling. The rule is to handle with care. Remove the lid. With a clean fork, scrape away the majority of the dry top vermiculite layer. There will probably be seen some wispy mycelium here and there in the top layer. Place an old jar lid over the jar mouth and turn the jar upside down. Lightly slam the jar down on a table cushioned with a magazine. The fungus cake will slide out onto the old jar cap (BIRTHDAY). The jar cap functions as a base for the cake. When handling the fungus cake, be careful as not to squeeze and bruise it. Bruising results in a bluish mark. This fungus is resilient and can tolerate a certain amount of handling, but handle it as least as possible. The aroma is distinctly mushroomy, very pleasant. As soon as the fungus cake comes out of the jar, daub the cake with a piece of loose tissue paper to soak up any water droplets that may have deposited on the cake as it comes out of the jar. Immediately after the birthday, place the cakes into the dual chambered terrarium for the fruiting cycle. This is the cake a few days after the birthday. This is a healthy fruiting start. Some of these primordia will abhort, but most will go on to full developement. Some of the first mushrooms to form are "abhorts" (convoluted caps, gnarly stems and stunted growth), and ironically they are primo in magic alkaloids. They are even more powerful in magic than the stately beauties that will soon dominate the cake. The tiny "baby mushroom" abhorts are likewise good. After witnessing the growth of the fungus, recognition of these abhorts is easy. As long as the abhorts are healthy and pure, they are primo. Also, another form of mutants will manifest, blobs of fungus with little or no cap, also good for harvesting. And along with these mutants, appear the perfect specimens, the sporocarps. It has been reported that Psilocybe Cubensis is a "weak" mushroom. PF and others have seen this to be not necessarily so. It all depends on how it is grown, on what medium and how it is harvested and preserved. The secret to potent mushrooms is in their age when picked. It has been scientifically proven that the small immature specimens are significantly more potent than the larger mature specimens. Over half of the small primordia that first form will abhort (cease growing, convolute and deform). Pick these before their heads turn black. A pointed knife blade works well for removing these high potency primodia. These are among the most potent. The abortive mushrooms are also high potency. Harvest them when they are young and before their heads turn black. When the fruitbodies are normal, harvest them before the veil under the cap breaks. The mushrooms will be smaller and their heads will be roundish. It is important to note that the mushroom cakes pictured in this book are all mostly well matured. While these mature specimens are beautiful and perfect, they are not as potent as the diminutive specimens. The mature specimens are good for spore collecting and showcasing but are weak in psychedelic potency. Grow them on brown rice, harvest them when they are young and cool dry them with desiccant. When this is done, they are an entheogen of the highest order.

NOTES

1. Spore inoculation to spore germination - within a week, at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Spore germination to complete colonization of the cake - about 2 to 3 weeks.

3. Colonization to fruiting cycle start - within 2 weeks.

4. The fruiting cycle lasts about 2 weeks. After the initial flush, the mycelium cake begins to turn blue and no more mushrooms form. If the cake is thoroughly cleaned of abhorts and stray fungus blobs after the initial fruiting and given the PF double ended cake casing tek, fruiting can be doubled or even tripled. All in all, the process takes from 4 - 6 weeks from spore inoculation to fruiting. CONTAMINANT SOURCE IDENTIFICATION

Contaminant invaders appear in various colors from pastels to black. If they appear, the culture is doomed. Bacteria contamination is detectable through the top dry vermiculite layer as a sour foul odor within two days after inoculation (and no spore germination). If the jar is bacteria contaminated, be careful in cleaning it. Keep a safe distance from the contaminated substrate. Don't inhale the bacteria and wash after touching it. Bacteria can be dangerous. Control jar technique

After the jars are steam sterilized, let them cool, tighten the lids and let them sit uninoculated for several days. Watch for any colored growths or changes in the appearance of the substrate. The tell tale rancid odor of bacteria can be easily detected by loosening the jar lid and checking for the odor. If there is contamination at this stage, the sterilization technique needs to be checked. Most likely it will be a to short sterilization time. If there is a problem at this stage, lengthen the sterilization time. If the jars remain clean and unchanged, they are ready for spore syringe inoculation. If contamination occurs after inoculation, the syringe was contaminated or the dry vermiculite layer was breached during inoculation. NON-GERMINATION OF SPORES

1. The spore solution was not inoculated deep enough down into the jar. Instead of running down the side of the jar and inoculating the substrate cake, the solution was absorbed by the non-nutritive top vermiculite layer. To avoid this from happening, make sure that the spore solution flows down along the sides of the substrate cake by inserting the syringe needle so that the tip is below the non-nutritive upper vermiculite layer. 2. The substrate jars were not allowed to cool down after sterilization, killing the spores. Inoculate only when the jar feels cool to the touch. 3. There is evidence now that syringe boxes can be exposed to killing heat during transit (a very rare occurrence). The possibilities are such as over heated airplane cargo holds during intense heat waves or a superheated mail truck parked all day in the sun. Another possibility is that on arriving at the mail box, the syringe package was allowed to sit inside a broiling sun heated mail box, killing the spores. 4. Spore syringes can survive freezing, but extreme low temperatures are probably destructive to the spores.

 

if the jars are kept in a drawer with cloth around them in a cool house will the mycilium still develop. if it cool it just takes longer right it wont destroy the cultures or anything will it?

 

no it won't kill the mycellium but it will take alot longer to get the jar colonized. I have 3 half colonized jars infront of the radiator works like a charm grows quite quick.

 

Keep them in the jar box, and set on top of your fridge. Its usually warm on top.

 

There is mention in the PF Tek of the maximum fruiting formula and I
was wondering what people have found this to be based on experience.



Thanks!

 

Any kind of "maximum fruiting formula" will depend heavily on the type of mushroom being cultivated. Once that has been determined, then it will be a lot of trial and error. No one single formula will consistently give the largest yields or highest "good stuff" concentrations.

 

If you want to get a little extra bang for your buck on this F tek then I suggest:

Grind your own Brown Rice Flour.
If you have a coffee grinder or some sort of food processor then use it to grind up some long grain brown rice and use that instead of pre-ground brown rice flour. A lot of the nutrients are lost from the manufacturer to your home with brown rice flour. If you can set your coffee grinder to "coarse" and grind half of your brown rice at that setting and the other half at "fine". This will encourage more even flushes as the smaller grains will be eaten up first and used for the first flushes and the coarse grains will be slowly absorbed and used for the last flush.. expect at least one monster mushroom on the last flush of each cake.

Supplement your mixture
If you add 1/2 teaspoon of ground bee pollen and 1/2 teaspoon of dry activated yeast per half pint jar of mix, you will be surprised at the difference in yields.

Water
If you can attain some lake or river water and use that instead of store bought or tap water then that will also help as it has tons of healthy little goodies in there.

and last but not least:

DUNK YOUR CAKES
Here is an awesome video that explains the whole process:
http://www.youtube.com/v/MRG0Tz0AsLU

 

Very important!!!!
if you find humidity moisture on a ceiling/wall in the room where you grow your shrooms you HAVE to throw ALL your shrooms and disinfect all your equipment!!!!

 

someone asked why... well here are the informations.

humidity moisture you find in bathrooms and in houses in general can (but most likely will) contaminate your growing shrooms.. I am sorry but he didn't taught he had to explain why... the worst thing for a shroom grower is moisture. contaminated mushrooms are deadly and noone should ever sell infected mushrooms because... well.. its really dangerous. You also have to disinfect your equipment like your fruiting chamber, jars you had near, and other equipment you use to grow/inoculate mushrooms because they can have little particules of moisture (you cant even see them with your eyes) that will ruin your futur inoculations/batch.

i think that settles it if you need more informations on this ask me

Smirnoff added 1 Minutes and 22 Seconds later...

also for good video tutorials type "Let's grow mushrooms" on youtube its an easy PF-TEK with good explanations its in 4 parts and it lasts about 30mins in total

 

I've noticed that most tek's use a terrarium. Is light neccesary?

 

Regular daylight is enough, You does not need to go out and get any special lights.

 

I want to start cultivating his own mushrooms and wants to know what solution is supposed to be put into the syringe before innoculation plz reply.

 

Water + spores, nothing more or less.
You can buy spore syringes ready made or they can make their own using spore prints and water.
Some tap water has high levels of chlorine which can kill mushroom spores, a simple solution is to boil the water first in a kettle, let it cool and then use this.

 

After considering this tek swim's koala asked swim to see if someone might know the approximate underestimate yield of a single healthy and successful cake.

 

Exactly as PH said. Its impossible to tell someone what the likely yield will be.
Even at optimal conditions the cakes might simply not give out much, or even anything.
So estimate anywhere between 0 and 50 fresh grams per cake (a likely average being somewhere in the middle), dont try and make any plans for having a set amount at the end of growing.

 

On SWIM's last grow he got around 30g fresh per cake per flush. Total of 5 flushes with the later flushes being a bit smaller.

 

Swim understands that it is impossible to give an exact answer on the yields that's why swim asked for approximate underestimate from one healthy cake; meaning that if the cake produces fruit and does not get infected, what is the smallest amount it will yield?

Also I think people looking at this thread should be advised that the above is simply a copy paste from the Psilocybe Fanaticus homepage(unfortunately there are a lot of fake Psilobe Fanaticus "originals"). Since the paste did not included everything, swim spent some time trying to decipher some of the slight disconnects in the information provided. BA and OneDiaDem should post source if possible.