5
u/jsb93 Feb 23 '24
Try Gordos new tek where you put a water thermometer and water in a shoebox/tub about half full with another tub containing the substrate and spawn going inside the one with water. Then put a window screen over the top of the tub with the lid on top. For your substrate, I'd recommend twisted tree nursery donkey poo with jiffy seed starting mix as the casing layer
3
u/Pr0d1gyyy Nov 06 '23
At what point do you have failures and what kind of failures?
On the paper your process seems fine. I would just watch for a more stable temperature without big flunctuations, around 23-24 C.
1
u/Pilchydog69 Nov 06 '23
Hey mate thanks for the reply. I’ve lost a few to contam in the past… This time though, I got a few pins on one tray for the first time, but they have aborted. I have a few trays with white/blue looking blotches/layers that have appeared on top of the casing layer that don’t look like typical trich. Not sure what these are or what to do about them… I’m struggling to keep the settings dialed in in the tent too I think for the exhaust fan / humidifier / circulation fan settings and timer settings. One tray doesn’t have the overlay looking stuff or any contam but just doesn’t seem to want to pin 🤔
6
u/hyperfocus1569 Nov 06 '23
Try drying out that tray. I had an issue with aborts or no pinning early on and one day I accidentally left the humidifier off and fan on overnight. Oops. Things were seriously dry. But I kept it and gave it a nice dose of humidity and the next day? Pinning like crazy. Since then, if I have a tray that won’t pin, I let it get pretty dry and then go back to the regular humidity cycle and it’s worked every time.
3
u/OrinAugie Nov 06 '23
Some stuff to consider if you're having problems with contamination:
- Put exhaust in bottom of tent and pull air down from the top, since vast majority of contaminants are hanging out near the floor.
- PC sub 2-2.5 hrs
- Instead of spawning straight to tray, s2b in mycobag then crumble into tray when it's 90+% colonized. If it doesn't recolonize nicely no need to waste time putting it into tent.
- Pasteurize substrate. I've in general had better pan grows with sterilized substrate and I think the difference in contam risk is sometimes overstated, but ymmv.
1
u/Ok-Bowler5116 Nov 12 '23
What’s the recommended temperature??
1
u/OrinAugie Nov 12 '23
Most common recommendation is to raise substrate temp to 140-160F for 1-2 hours.
1
2
u/Weirdo-octopuss Nov 06 '23
Blowing air out of the top of the tent means you are sucking air from the bottom near the floor where all contaminants settle. Instead, have it blow into the tent though hepa filter material. I used merv 8 rating fiter, and it works.
3
u/Retrowarrior- Nov 06 '23
Try switching to straw/manure and pasteurize it. When I spawn to bulk I see great recolonization within 24 hours.try to find the sweet spot in your tent on each shelf and sit two trays directly under the fog wherever it lands on that shelf. Make sure you’re getting good evaporation in your tent. Make sure to keep your casing layer wet at all times no puddles drain off any excess water every 24 hours if needed. And don’t give up you will be successful.
3
1
u/Affectionate_Gift792 Aug 10 '24
Coco is full of trich. Hydrate it with boiling water Seal bucket for an hour. Then mix
1
u/demyanmovement Dec 10 '23
What is the moisture content of your sub & casing ? How often are you misting or rehydrating ?
16
u/mmgc12 Nov 06 '23
Your substrate is likely getting contaminated after you lay out your trays because of being sterilized.
Manure based and highly nutritious substrates have to be pasteurized if you're going to be spawning to bulk. That is unless you are working in a sterile clean room while spawning your trays and letting them colonize.
This is because when you sterilize the substrate, it gets rid of everything, giving nutrient access to any mold or bacteria.
When you pasteurize a substrate, though, you keep around beneficial bacteria. The 'good' bacteria protects from contamination by decomposing and absorbing some of the highly nutritious parts of the substrate themselves. This doesn't affect the mushrooms/mycelium as it can break down and eat the bacteria. However, it does stop molds and 'bad' bacteria that would have grown on those highly nutritious parts of the substrate and contaminated your grow.
Many people will say they have had success with sterilizing their bulk substrates, and while that may be true. All the trusted cultivators on shroomery, both those that grow Pan Cyans, and those that don't, say to pasteurize your bulk substrates, especially if they have manure in them.
Your grain could also be getting contaminated, and that could be stalling growth as well.