Growing Shrooms

WHIPEDMEAT said:

nono, the suffering part with inoculation and spawn procedure can not be avoided,

i just asked, if there was only one step further with the cakes you have in hands right now, to make it crumble or sliced in equal pieces,
than you put a thin layer of vermiculte coco mixture (i can t tell exact ratio, because it must be adjusted how much time do you have daily to make a look on them,)

than you put the crunches of cake into a big plastic box like the one used for colonization and cover it evenly with the cocovermi in another 1-1.5 cm ,
than cover it and put it back to the colonization chamber for a week or two,
and you can put it into the fridge for a few days cold shock, or keep them in that state for a period, than start fruiting when you wish,



i used microwave to sterilize the wet mixture of casing, vermiculite plus coco coir, than added gypsum when it was cool enough to mix

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Ah, thanks. Yeah, I misunderstood and thought you were saying to use a substrate other than Verm & BRF that the linked guide uses, instead of providing tips to help with yield (thank-you).

I don’t want to get too adventurous at the moment. I will follow the instructions and wait (as hard as it is) for full colonization before birthing, dunking and rolling before fruiting. Not too worried about or focused on yield for this round. If I can pull an ounce from this run then the kit will not only have paid for itself on the first run, but will also cover the spore syringes.

But I do want to inoculate some spawn this weekend to try a mono-tub grow. Considering how little solution is needed I have enough to branch out a little.

G.O. Joe said:

Azurescens and cyanescens are maybe twice as potent, and do well outdoors in some places. Cyanescens grows on wood indoors if the environment can be provided, and mycelium can be kept alive in a fridge for a long time without contamination worries - but it tastes worse.

Years ago I camped at and explored the parks mentioned in the article looking for a spore print, and what was said is true about habitat and what it takes to find them. A whole fresh baby gives a buzz good for being in public without paranoia, driving, but maybe not while looking for more mushrooms. Everyone gave me that look that someone who is square and knows what you're up to would give.

Literally every local knows why people are walking there, and arrests started soon after publication of the discovery. Sketchy dude hiking alone has different optics with a dog on a leash. The article says maybe dogs seek to trip balls - a shroom detecting dog would be a great help finding these in the wild.

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From what little I have read so far, azurescens do well outdoors in zones 6, 7, & 8. I am in 6. My plan is to prep a wood chip bed before fall. (Still not sure exactly what else will go into it.) Inoculate the spawn in January and transfer to sterilized wood chips to colonize before moving to the outdoor bed in early spring. From there, as I understand it, it’s a long game until fruiting in late fall. If successful, it will be well over a year until I harvest any azzies. I will inoculate some spawn to try growing indoors as well, so maybe not such a long haul if I can pull it off indoors... read about a grower having success in a glass-doored fridge. I wasn’t aware of cyanescens, now I am curious to read up.

I watched a YouTube video where a guy was filming azzies in a state park for identification purposes and he repeatedly said not to pick them. Apparently park rangers go so far as to hideout, watching for mushroom hunters. He cautioned not to ever do it unless on private property.

I found that very interesting about dogs (possibly) seeking to trip balls, lol. Enlisting help that way would be helpful to being inconspicuous while on the hunt. But best be an obedient dog or the dog might be the only one that gets to trip - a couple scores in, he may lose interest real fast.

So why were shrooms growing wild under cow patties down in FL, until they changed the cow's food?

flylowgethigh said:

So why were shrooms growing wild under cow patties down in FL, until they changed the cow's food?

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Grass fed cows eliminate such an issue. Still find them across the street but never see a feed truck pull in (so I’ve heard)

Shmavis said:

read about a grower having success in a glass-doored fridge. I wasn’t aware of cyanescens, now I am curious to read up.

I watched a YouTube video where a guy was filming azzies in a state park for identification purposes and he repeatedly said not to pick them. Apparently park rangers go so far as to hideout, watching for mushroom hunters. He cautioned not to ever do it unless on private property.

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Oh I've got stories about OR. It's like if you're too aggressive and authoritarian for the police academy, you're sent to the state parks.

Cyanescens are small but weedy and can colonize a big area outdoors with lots of inconspicuous clusters. They burned me out of interest in mushrooms (and DMT) though, else I'd have some on wood chips and cardboard in a chest freezer set at 50-60 F.

I also suggest getting a food dehydrator, nothing crazy, I paid about 65 bucks for mine on amazon. Harvest when the veil starts to rip and right on the tray, nice even dry in no time.
It’s a great hobby, I started with PF Tek as well and had tons of success, with a few infected cakes here and there. As others have mentioned if you want to do it with any type of regularity invest in a pressure cooker. It’s a natural progression to want to do mono tub and move to messing with agar as you get more comfortable. I remember starting out and thinking, agar, nah that’s a little heavy duty. Then before you know it, it’s like seeds and growing or beer brewing.. your collecting spore prints and cloning shit...and then you’ve got a mycology lab in your basement.

G.O. Joe said:

Oh I've got stories about OR. It's like if you're too aggressive and authoritarian for the police academy, you're sent to the state parks.

Cyanescens are small but weedy and can colonize a big area outdoors with lots of inconspicuous clusters. They burned me out of interest in mushrooms (and DMT) though, else I'd have some on wood chips and cardboard in a chest freezer set at 50-60 F.

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The video started out using vocabulary that I am ignorant of. But soon after he started using real world examples to define. So was enjoying the educational side of it but it was the mention of the rangers that stuck with me - what a sad life to hide and watch for mushroom pickers with the intent of busting them. Fits the types you mention.

Haven’t had a chance to read much but saw that Cyanescens is also carried by the vendor I got the Azurescens syringe from and it says they’re sisters and both are cold weather wood chip loving species. That said, if you were attempting to grow azzies indoors would you then use the same method you mention for Cyanescens?

FJ2000 said:

I also suggest getting a food dehydrator, nothing crazy, I paid about 65 bucks for mine on amazon. Harvest when the veil starts to rip and right on the tray, nice even dry in no time.
It’s a great hobby, I started with PF Tek as well and had tons of success, with a few infected cakes here and there. As others have mentioned if you want to do it with any type of regularity invest in a pressure cooker. It’s a natural progression to want to do mono tub and move to messing with agar as you get more comfortable. I remember starting out and thinking, agar, nah that’s a little heavy duty. Then before you know it, it’s like seeds and growing or beer brewing.. your collecting spore prints and cloning shit...and then you’ve got a mycology lab in your basement.

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After watching some videos on agar, cloning, and making spore prints it really doesn’t seem overly complicated. Watched a couple on DIY laminar flow hoods as well. I can already see that lab coming together.

Hopefully OP is fine with me sharing in his thread...

I had inoculated six jars with Golden Teacher and six with Penis Envy. I marked them to keep them separate but like a true stoner did not take note of which was which. One set, I imagine GT, did colonize much faster and all six jars looked very healthy. The other set took much longer to start but once they did they took off, but much different looking. So in waiting for the slow six to catch up I am confident the other six fully colonized as it was more than a week later. The slower six probably should have gone a bit longer, but I think they were far enough along. No foul smells from any when I birthed them and only one jar of the slower set concerned me with a tan/yellowish spot but after reading and looking at pictures I am somewhat confident it was “pissing” as they say. Anyway, hopefully all are healthy and fruit nicely. I soaked them in water for about sixteen hours and yesterday set up the fruiting chamber and after rolling them in vermiculite placed them in there and turned on the light. It’s been a helluva wait - hope all is smooth up through harvest.



Happy Sunday!

Shmavis said:

The video started out using vocabulary that I am ignorant of. But soon after he started using real world examples to define. So was enjoying the educational side of it but it was the mention of the rangers that stuck with me - what a sad life to hide and watch for mushroom pickers with the intent of busting them. Fits the types you mention.

Haven’t had a chance to read much but saw that Cyanescens is also carried by the vendor I got the Azurescens syringe from and it says they’re sisters and both are cold weather wood chip loving species. That said, if you were attempting to grow azzies indoors would you then use the same method you mention for Cyanescens?

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That area of OR did have something going for it, and a likely location for the camp site in the article is in the south, hopefully still primitive and lonely at night at that time of year. There was a nice less private spot on the other side too.

If azurescens can be grown with cyanescens directions - I have no idea and agar-inoculated grain was as far as things went well for me - it may prefer a higher temperature. Perhaps a cool basement in the winter? A 12V Peltier assembly or two from a cooler, cut into a dead refrigerator and maxed out, might provide enough cooling and a dual range for all needs, even with a little outside air. Controlling the refrigerator itself to run at a higher temperature may soon burn something out from the high pressure or cycling.

All I know is that my attempts 20-25 years ago to colonize the local outdoors with cyanescens, cubensis, and azurescens failed. Wild, I saw it in mowed grass instead of beach grass in the Astoria area, while cyanescens was seen year after year in the colder, wetter Tacoma area in natural leaf and twig litter of small-medium deciduous trees, instead of chipped wood.

This is a brilliant thread, I will stick around for a while. Me and my brothers grew shrooms too. It's a beautiful hobby and I miss it. Got everything here to start a grow and just dont have time for it.

Please send more pictures for us to enjoy.





FSRE for life

Could someone point the way to a solid spore source? First timer here.

Scrappy-doo said:

Could someone point the way to a solid spore source? First timer here.

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Spore Works, they have syringes and spore prints, I just received a B+ spore print in Australia.

Scrappy-doo said:

Could someone point the way to a solid spore source? First timer here.

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Fsre.nl...the free spore ring eart gives you the chance to buy a print for 1 dollar only. But...they want you to send some back when youre finished with your grow to keep the system running. Bit of a hit and miss if someone didnt work clean, but i only had one shit print from over 20 all up.

Fruiting, day 8:

Guess I am learning the hard way how fast the veil tears. Yesterday the big one was still domed. I planned to pick it today but when I went to do so found it already flattened out. And other smaller ones with veils already torn. Biggest surprise is that the jars that colonized fastest and looked best were actually PE. Picked the big one and the cluster in the last pic.

G.O. Joe said:

That area of OR did have something going for it, and a likely location for the camp site in the article is in the south, hopefully still primitive and lonely at night at that time of year. There was a nice less private spot on the other side too.

If azurescens can be grown with cyanescens directions - I have no idea and agar-inoculated grain was as far as things went well for me - it may prefer a higher temperature. Perhaps a cool basement in the winter? A 12V Peltier assembly or two from a cooler, cut into a dead refrigerator and maxed out, might provide enough cooling and a dual range for all needs, even with a little outside air. Controlling the refrigerator itself to run at a higher temperature may soon burn something out from the high pressure or cycling.

All I know is that my attempts 20-25 years ago to colonize the local outdoors with cyanescens, cubensis, and azurescens failed. Wild, I saw it in mowed grass instead of beach grass in the Astoria area, while cyanescens was seen year after year in the colder, wetter Tacoma area in natural leaf and twig litter of small-medium deciduous trees, instead of chipped wood.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences/suggestions. I will have to read some more but maybe I could use a mini fridge. Have a 5000 BTU window AC unit I have never put to use, hmmm. Some type of enclosure with it, maybe. Will have to give it some thought during the coming cold and slow more-time-on-my-hands winter months.



Happy Sunday!

Shmavis said:

Guess I am learning the hard way how fast the veil tears. Yesterday the big one was still domed. I planned to pick it today but when I went to do so found it already flattened out.

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I work so it was impossible for me to harvest them perfectly. If they have dropped spores you'll see a purple "stain" on your substrate under your mushroom. Best not to let that happen but a detached veil isn't a bad thing.

I had a few get to that point, I've had no complaints from anyone who has eaten them.

Hold Your Fire said:

I work so it was impossible for me to harvest them perfectly. If they have dropped spores you'll see a purple "stain" on your substrate under your mushroom. Best not to let that happen but a detached veil isn't a bad thing.

I had a few get to that point, I've had no complaints from anyone who has eaten them.

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Cool. Thanks for that info. Have to say I tripped out a little when I saw the big one this morning. It was still golden yesterday and the black coloring had me thinking something went wrong. But after reading some more, I think it’s OK, right?

They are fine for consumption yes. I'm not a pro by any means and I don't know what causes the darker portions or if it is an indicator of anything.
Again, I've never had any complaints from those who have eaten them.
Those colors on top can form some cool patterns actually.

Nice pictures, shmavis. I love watching shrooms. They grow so quick. Dont worrie about the spores on the shrooms. Me and my brothers even grew them out like that on purpose just to get more yield. Defintly doesnt screw up the quality.

I have grown bulk substrate indoors. Cubes. Allot. Recently i have find out that cyanessins grow on my property naturally. Im thinking about encouraging natural growth... How do i do bulk outdoor cyanessins

I will second bump the bulk outdoors! I made a bed of some "dinner"shrooms outdoors on a school but was never able to go back and see if it worked. That was basically compost, and sporeprints in some honeywater for a few days or so then spread over the compost...

I have liberty caps growing on the property and many places on the hillside here. But I would really enjoi if I was able to controll were they would grow to certain degree.

flylowgethigh said:

So why were shrooms growing wild under cow patties down in FL, until they changed the cow's food?

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As said, grass fed eliminates the issue, cereal fed cow and bulls get a lot of salts. Shrooms and other micro life are very sensitive to salts.

Me and some friends also knew of a VERY good libertry cap spot. One year a farmer worked there to make firewood and put the wood on the side of patch. After his work there, only small small yields there. Like One or two shroom after lurker everywhere for one hour compared to 60 in half an hour in 1x1 M, liberty caps can be very small and hiding in the grass making them sometimes hard to find, patience is good..

Fragile creatures