Growing Some Mushrooms in the Box

[bigorange2]

From what I can tell it looks like your fruiting chamber doesn't have holes in it to release CO², which can cause slowed growth and smaller yield.. Get some ventilation going on in that bad boy or fan it a couple times a day... The holes are less likely to introduce contams, especially if you plug the holes with something like Tyvek so that it can still breath but not let in contams.

I'll be watching this thread givin you tips I think you might need as you go along. If you want tips that is...

[eric111e]

Originally Posted by bigorange2

From what I can tell it looks like your fruiting chamber doesn't have holes in it to release CO², which can cause slowed growth and smaller yield.. Get some ventilation going on in that bad boy or fan it a couple times a day... The holes are less likely to introduce contams, especially if you plug the holes with something like Tyvek so that it can still breath but not let in contams.

I'll be watching this thread givin you tips I think you might need as you go along. If you want tips that is...

Hes using a shotgun chamber, and there seems to be plenty of FAE.
Contams shouldnt really be a problem after a cake has fully colonized, unless you have already gone through your first flush.
But yes fresh air is probably the most important factor when growing mushrooms.
What is your humidity at? It seems to be near 100% which is perfect for cakes

[bigorange2]

Originally Posted by eric111e

Hes using a shotgun chamber, and there seems to be plenty of FAE.
Contams shouldnt really be a problem after a cake has fully colonized, unless you have already gone through your first flush.
But yes fresh air is probably the most important factor when growing mushrooms.
What is your humidity at? It seems to be near 100% which is perfect for cakes

I guess I should have read more of the post lol.. Sometimes I don't have time to go through and read everyones posts

[tripleoptic]

Originally Posted by bigorange2

From what I can tell it looks like your fruiting chamber doesn't have holes in it to release CO², which can cause slowed growth and smaller yield.. Get some ventilation going on in that bad boy or fan it a couple times a day... The holes are less likely to introduce contams, especially if you plug the holes with something like Tyvek so that it can still breath but not let in contams.

I'll be watching this thread givin you tips I think you might need as you go along. If you want tips that is...

Hey man, I can definitely use tips from someone who is more advanced in the field of mycology. I guess it's hard to see in the picture but I actually do have a ton of holes drilled in there. I used a really small drill bit, so that may be why they're hard to see.

Originally Posted by eric111e

Hes using a shotgun chamber, and there seems to be plenty of FAE.
Contams shouldnt really be a problem after a cake has fully colonized, unless you have already gone through your first flush.
But yes fresh air is probably the most important factor when growing mushrooms.
What is your humidity at? It seems to be near 100% which is perfect for cakes

I'm pretty sure my humidity is really high since the chamber is fairly misted up, I need to get a humidity meter to be sure of it. I just got home from work so I don't feel like fighting through traffic just yet but I'm going to probably pick one up tonight.

Thanks for your input guys I appreciate all the help.

[tripleoptic]

Well I decided to check on my little mushroom project and whaddaya know. They've started to grow some little shrooms.

Only one cake has really got a lot of mushroom action on it so far but I've noticed the mycelium getting really bumpy on all the other cakes which is the precursor for fruiting based on what I've read.

So anyway here's some pictures of the little guys. And oh yeah, for the record the "strain" of cubensis I've been working with is the PES Hawaiian variety.

[bigorange2]

Originally Posted by tripleoptic

Only one cake has really got a lot of mushroom action on it so far but I've noticed the mycelium getting really bumpy on all the other cakes which is the precursor for fruiting based on what I've read.

Indeed this is more than likely primordia, these bumps evolve in to pins, which evolve in to mushrooms, or aborts... Make sure if you're misting not to mist directly on the cakes as this causes a higher abort rate I've noticed... Aborts still have magic, but we want them to grow to be their full potential.. Aborts are mushrooms that started out looking promising as pins, but then just grow all deformed and small, so this is to be avoided any chance you get.

[tripleoptic]

Originally Posted by bigorange2

Indeed this is more than likely primordia, these bumps evolve in to pins, which evolve in to mushrooms, or aborts... Make sure if you're misting not to mist directly on the cakes as this causes a higher abort rate I've noticed... Aborts still have magic, but we want them to grow to be their full potential.. Aborts are mushrooms that started out looking promising as pins, but then just grow all deformed and small, so this is to be avoided any chance you get.

Hey thanks for all your help again. I think this whole process would have been a lot more difficult without it.

I haven't had to mist yet because my RH has been ridiculously high (approximately 95%). But when/if I do I'm guessing it would be better for me to mist the sides of the fruiting chamber, correct? I'd like to avoid aborts as much as possible even though I imagine a few are inevitable.

[bigorange2]

Originally Posted by tripleoptic

Hey thanks for all your help again. I think this whole process would have been a lot more difficult without it.

I haven't had to mist yet because my RH has been ridiculously high (approximately 95%). But when/if I do I'm guessing it would be better for me to mist the sides of the fruiting chamber, correct? I'd like to avoid aborts as much as possible even though I imagine a few are inevitable.

Yup, that's how I did it.. It looks like your perlite humidification is doing just fine so there's no real need to mist.. The only time you MIGHT have to mist is closer to the end of the grow, or if you wanted to get multiple flushes from those cakes which I highly recommended... If you flushed all those cakes once or twice more you could easily have an extra quarter-oz that you would have probably just tossed...

[tripleoptic]

Hey GC,

I'm not sure if I would call this Shroom Porn just yet but it's close. I have one mushroom that I think I'm going to pick today and start drying. I would have loved a huge shroom for my first one, but I'll take medium sized. The rest are no where near ready and are going to need at least 2-5 days.

Other good news there is at least one pin on every cake so now it's just a matter of waiting until my FC is full of mushrooms. Good times.

[eric111e]

Lookin good

[Justweed]

Woo!! Good to see you're getting some results!!

You can give that one probably a few more hours if you want, the veil looks like it just tore.
Keep in mind, your first flush won't be your best. Especially your first flush ever. Lookin' good so far though!!

[450herbalism]

Your shit looks tight. Looks like it's the grow is really starting to come together. Can't wait until I have my supplies together and can start on my grow.

[bigorange2]

I can see at least a few pins that look like they're headed down the road of being aborts, so don't expect all of those to get big... Since your kind of new, I would say on average you'll get about one decent sized shroom maybe 2 from each cake, one smaller but still ok size, again maybe 2 or 3 of those, and then a bunch of pins which you can eat too... This is just a rough idea of what you might expect.. In general, there's aborts, and you're gonna be disappointed. Lookin good so far though

Hows the RH doin? Also still be on the lookout for mold, I've even had cakes grow shrooms, then start showing mold like the next day because some contaminants start out white exactly like mycelium, so BE CAREFUL

[tripleoptic]

Originally Posted by bigorange2

I can see at least a few pins that look like they're headed down the road of being aborts, so don't expect all of those to get big... Since your kind of new, I would say on average you'll get about one decent sized shroom maybe 2 from each cake, one smaller but still ok size, again maybe 2 or 3 of those, and then a bunch of pins which you can eat too... This is just a rough idea of what you might expect.. In general, there's aborts, and you're gonna be disappointed. Lookin good so far though

Hows the RH doin? Also still be on the lookout for mold, I've even had cakes grow shrooms, then start showing mold like the next day because some contaminants start out white exactly like mycelium, so BE CAREFUL

Thanks for stopping by everyone!


There's a few that I have pegged for aborts as well. This is all a learning process so I'll pretty much be happy with any sort of results. As long as I can get a few spore prints and trip a couple of times I'll consider this round a success.

The RH is still pretty high, I've been giving some air to keep it a bit lower than 95%. I know for fruiting it's best to get it lower and it's been hovering in that 90-95% range.

As of right now there doesn't seem to be any mold. Every spot that has gotten white and fluffy is starting to grow pins so it looks like all mycelium so far. A temporary situation no doubt, contaminants are bound to show up sooner or later.

A question on picking them. Should I go ahead and pick them when the individuals are ready or wait until a number of them are ready to go and pick the cake clean, then re-dunk it?

[bigorange2]

Originally Posted by tripleoptic

Thanks for stopping by everyone!


There's a few that I have pegged for aborts as well. This is all a learning process so I'll pretty much be happy with any sort of results. As long as I can get a few spore prints and trip a couple of times I'll consider this round a success.

The RH is still pretty high, I've been giving some air to keep it a bit lower than 95%. I know for fruiting it's best to get it lower and it's been hovering in that 90-95% range.

As of right now there doesn't seem to be any mold. Every spot that has gotten white and fluffy is starting to grow pins so it looks like all mycelium so far. A temporary situation no doubt, contaminants are bound to show up sooner or later.

A question on picking them. Should I go ahead and pick them when the individuals are ready or wait until a number of them are ready to go and pick the cake clean, then re-dunk it?

If you want spore prints, you have to harvest them with the veils still intact to be sure they're sterile. It's all a matter of opinion, I wait until the majority of them have grown to their full size, so some with veils closed, some with totally open caps and fully mature.. If you're going to dunk it, I recommend you either do a double-end casing or just roll it in vermiculite.

You can pick them whenever you want however, I would just pick the ones that won't disturb any primordia or pins