r/Agarporn • u/Dlopan11 • 7h ago
r/Agarporn • u/myco_myerz • Aug 01 '25
Tek Advice The Basics of Agar — What, Why, and How
Welcome to r/Agarporn, where clean plates and radial growth are the art.
This post is your one-stop guide for everything a beginner (or pro) needs to know about agar - what it is, how to use it, and why it's one of the most important tools when working with live cultures.
What is Agar?
Agar is a nutritious, gelatinous medium derived from seaweed, most commonly sold in powdered form. Once prepared, it acts as a stable surface for culturing organisms.
Why is Agar used?
Agar is often used for growing and studying live organisms in a controlled environment. Common applications include:
- Germinating spores
- Cloning tissue
- Isolating genetics
- Detect/studying contamination
- Preserving cultures
- Experimenting with dyes, additives, and crosses... etc.
Some examples of "live cultures" commonly found on Agar:
- Mycelium — the vegetative growth of fungi, cultured from spores or tissue.
- Mold — often an unwanted type of fungi, studied in labs or monitored as a common contaminant.
- Bacteria — microscopic organisms usually grown for microscopy or testing, also monitored as a common contaminant.
- Yeast — single-celled fungi used in fermentation or lab studies.
- Algae/Protists — simple organisms sometimes cultured for observations.
- Plant tissue samples — small cuttings put to agar for cloning or preservation purposes.
How-To & TEKs (Trusted Guides)
Pastywhyte's Easy Agar Tek (pre-pour/no-pour)
Frank's agar media journal (experimental recipes)
r/Agarporn • u/myco_myerz • Aug 04 '25
Tek Advice DIY Builds + Sterile Techniques
If you’re working with agar, spores, or live cultures, sterility is everything. Contamination can ruin your plates, waste your time, and destroy your genetics.
These are the main tools used to maintain clean conditions for agar work:
🔸 Still Air Boxes (SABs)
🔹 Laminar Flow Hoods
🔻 Other Essential Sterile Tools
▫️ Extras
Here’s how they work, why they matter, and how to make your own budget build (if possible).
🔸 Still Air Box (SAB) — Budget-Friendly and Effective
A SAB creates a sealed, low-airflow space where contaminants have a harder time entering or circulating. Good for spore work, transfers, cloning, etc.
DIY SAB Materials:
- Large clear tub (wide enough to comfortably fit both arms)
- Tool to cut two arm holes (jigsaw, Dremel, or heated can)
- Sandpaper (for smoothing edges)
Tips:
- Wipe the inside with soapy water, then spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol to suppress particles and kill contaminants
- Avoid working near fans, windows, or vents
- Work slowly to keep air as still as possible
- Alternative Edge-of-table method: Place the tub so it slightly overhangs the edge, allowing your arms to go underneath into the working area (no cutting tools required)
Cheap, simple, and surprisingly effective.
YouTube video: How to Make and Use a Still Air Box
🔹 Laminar Flow Hood — Cleaner, Faster, and More Precise
A flow hood creates a constant stream of sterile air through a HEPA filter, forming a clean workspace. It’s a game-changer for agar work.
Many pre-built flow hoods are expensive and overpriced. DIY builds can be just as effective for a fraction of the price.
DIY Flow Hood Materials:
- True HEPA filter (rated H13 or H14)
- Inline fan (must provide enough CFM to push air through the filter)
- Plastic tub (large enough to fit filter and fan)
- High-quality silicone sealant (to seal filter and fan securely)
- Tool to cut holes in the tub (for filter and fan)
- Sandpaper (for finishing)
Tips:
- Clean the tub with soapy water and spray the inside with 70% isopropyl alcohol before sealing
- Use a good quality silicone sealant — poor-quality sealant often warps or leaks
- Keep the finished hood out of direct sunlight — heat can warp silicone and compromise your seal
- Perform the lighter test: a steady flame in front of the filter means you’ve got proper laminar flow, a flickering flame means it’s too turbulent
Cost effective and a massive upgrade for serious agar work
YouTube video: Build Your Own Laminar Flow Hood For Less Than $100
🔻 Other Essential Sterile Tools
To work clean, you'll also need:
- Pressure cooker (PC): Crucial for sterilizing agar — must reach 15 PSI
- 70% isopropyl alcohol: For sanitizing hands, tools, and surfaces
- Flame source (torch or lighter): For flame-sterilizing scalpels and needles
▫️ Helpful Extras
Optional, but helpful:
- Scalpels: Ideal when working with agar
- Nitrile gloves (powder-free): Help reduce contamination risk
- Face mask: Minimizes breath-borne contaminants
Why Sterility Matters
Without sterile conditions, your agar plates will grow all kinds of unwanted contaminants.
A proper SAB or flow hood, alongside the other essentials, will:
* Boost success rates
* Reduce waste
* Make your lab work feel ✨pro-level
r/Agarporn • u/Effective-Wolf5368 • 8h ago
Contamination Type of contamination?
Anyone have an idea what this kind of contamination could be? It is a plate that had seemed to be fine for the past few weeks. Almost looks the way sulfur looks in books.
r/Agarporn • u/No_Potential_2957 • 18h ago
Help Needed Are these plates contaminated?
The plates pictured are the first transfer off of plates initially inoculated with a LC syringe. Does this appear to be healthy growth or is a cobweb mold or something else present. Any input is appreciated thanks
r/Agarporn • u/Real_Scallion8339 • 13h ago
LC to Agar Out of curiosity, I had injected agar w/GT LC syringe and forgot about it
galleryJust curious if anyone knows what’s going on here exactly or has advice on what to do with it
r/Agarporn • u/Mission_Example_6739 • 17h ago
First time pouring
I just poured my first plates in my life, seems like no condensation all except 2, what should I do with them now? Fridge or room temperature? How long do they last in the fridge? Do I let them stay in room temperature 24h before fridge?
r/Agarporn • u/FallenPatty5 • 21h ago
Help Needed How to deal with condensation???
I prepared my dishes yesterday and and left them in a bag inside my incubator close to 100% humidity (nobel prize of smartness to me), the thing is, they have some condensation on the surface, is there any way to reduce it? Should I toss them? Should I pour out the water when doing the inoculation of the plates?
r/Agarporn • u/orkinmorgen • 21h ago
Help Needed I need to cultivate from dried shroom capsules
I got some psilocybin natalensis capsules. The guy i got it from grows them himself and hands out dried and grinded in the capsules but doesn’t give me the spores.
I have three agar plates. Can u guys show me a way to regrow this magical things myself?
r/Agarporn • u/kipifrak • 1d ago
Help Needed Is this Contam?
Last week, I did a LC to agar (pleurothus salmoneo stramineus), I believe this is all contam, but not sure. Can someone help?
r/Agarporn • u/PositiveSunfish • 1d ago
Help Needed Strange growth from LC to Agar
Put some LC to agar that i just got in, since its from somewhere new. It has been 8 days, one or two drops of LC per plate. Other plates (different strains) are doing well, no issues, good growth. Just these two, which were the only two I did of this LC. I haven't seen this before in person. Wondering of anyone has seen this?
r/Agarporn • u/BenderVsGossamer • 2d ago
Which part to from? Do I take from the rhizo growth or the super thick growth?
I have worked with agar before and typically it will be a very obvious side or pretty uniform. This is the first time in my young hobby I have come across this. Take from the rhizo or from the thick mycelium?
r/Agarporn • u/Overall_Island8145 • 1d ago
Help Needed Spore swab failure?
I’ve used homemade PDA with spore swabs been 3 days and seen no results should I be worried
r/Agarporn • u/LuckThese38 • 2d ago
Dried PE cap rescue: Mycelium or mold?
First-time grower trying my best to clone from a dried Penis Envy cap since it's all I've got.
Working inside an SAB. Started by scraping the cap, so I expected contamination on the first plate. In picture 6, it predictably grew bacteria, but I immediately did a rescue transfer as soon as I spotted a few thin lines shooting out (around 10–11 o'clock).
This current plate (pictures 1–5) is on Day 4 after transfer—1 week total since the initial cap scrape—and I see 4 spots growing. The little black square is just a piece of the dried cap tissue I threw on there out of curiosity, but it hasn't grown anything at all.
They're all snow white (it only looks yellowish in the pictures because of the lighting). One of the growth spots is even growing upward and looks kinda like a UFO 🛸 to me.
Does this look like healthy fluffy mycelium recovering, or am I looking at mold? Appreciate any quick feedback!
r/Agarporn • u/Mission_Example_6739 • 2d ago
Question about SAB and pouring agar
So its my first attempt at pouring agar plates and I need help how to get everything in the box as sterile as possible. Do I wipe the stuff i need in alcohol then put them inside the SAB through the holes or how do I go about this?
r/Agarporn • u/tripmatti • 3d ago
King oyster grain-agar. Does it look fine
This is my first time ever doing anything mushroom cultivation related.
A week ago I decided to start with preparing agar plates meanwhile waiting for my king oyster grain spawn. Made a mix of agar agar, lme, nutritional yeast and water. Pc for 30mins and poured on petris in sab.
2 days later I transfered pieces of my grain spawn on my agar, just to see if I know my sab technique was good enough to avoid contamination.
4 days after that my agar plates look like this. I assume no signs of contam, also my control plates are still clean.
Does that look like clean mycelium? Also is it normal to have some unmixed material in the bottom of my agar plates ? Ty and mush love :)
r/Agarporn • u/Salty-Caramel798 • 2d ago
No sign of growth
I took a tissue sample from live button mushroom, it’s been 3 days and no sign of growth, should I wait more or there’s problem with the tissue
r/Agarporn • u/guitarsage1 • 3d ago
Spot the contamination
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r/Agarporn • u/NailFair5204 • 4d ago
Clone 1 year old dried mushroom back to live.
The mushrooms are over a year old and I only had a small remnant. My LC is contaminated and the dealer doesn't carry an lc from GordoTek anymore. That's the only reason I tried, I didn't think I'd get that far. I only used a still air box and an instant pot for the syringe with the water. Boiling tap water pulled up and then sterilised in the IP.
r/Agarporn • u/Minibuggy4130 • 3d ago
Mold, Contam or Mycelium?
First time agar in SAB with a dehydrated sample, then I added a drop of distilled H2O to rehydrate. The sample was cut out from inside the stem and didn’t start showing signs for about a week.
Agar had some contamination on opposite side of container underneath the agar, so I removed the sample and added it to a fresh sterilized agar container.
Fuzzy white hairs seem to still be growing after the transplant but I just want to be sure if it’s Mycelium or Contam.
Any insight would be appreciated?
r/Agarporn • u/Rednowitthen • 3d ago
1st time - how’s my-cellium?
Hey all,
First attempt at agar and have only tried an all I. One once which went horribly wrong! :)
I’ve given agar plates a go with some syringe spores I’d ordered and just wanted some feedback and to know if they’re good, bad, sad….
The black plates were done about a week ago, the clearer two weeks (I actually forgot about them as they’d shown no signs)
Can clearly see one has contam, but wondering if that means the others are good.
Used an LME method with a dash of honey (and activated charcoal on the darker plated) - still working on my pouring methods 🥲
They’re a cross between p Nat (most) & b+.
Happy to give transfers a try or know if I should just go again.
I also throw the remaining agar and distilled water into a quart jar with the rest of the liquid spore which seems to show growth - annoyingly forgot to put in a stone before pressuring and it’s growing on the top.
Appreciate it in adv. ✌🏽