Mushroom Growing by Mush Mush by Mush Mush © Mush Mush original source: http://www.mushmush.nl/?page=begin%5Cmethods%5Cmaking_grain_spawn&old Table of Contents: Cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis on cased sterilised grain Making grain spawn What is grain spawn? Containers Glass jars Microboxes Filter patch bags Closing the containers Closing glass jars Closing microboxes Closing filter patch bags Substrate recipes Sterilisation Inoculation possibilities Spores in a watery suspension Mycelium on agar Mycelium on sterilised on grain spawn Mycelium in a watery suspension Inoculations in practice Inoculation of jars and microboxes Inoculation of bags Incubation Contamination Refrigeration Cultivation on cased sterilised grain Overview of the procedure Testing the colonised grain Casing Casing mixture recipe Alternative mixtures and considerations Heat treatment of the casing mixture Pasteurisation in a microwave oven (semi-)Sterilisation in a pressure cooker Casing the colonised substrate Casing jars Cased trays Fruiting the cased substrate Cased trays that fail to fruit Casing completely colonises but fails to form mushrooms Mycelium doesn't colonise the casing surface at all Strange growth is showing up on the casing surface soma rights re-served 1 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis on sterilized rye grain Preparation of rye grain spawn Sterilization Inoculation Colonization Casing of rye Recipe and Preparation of the casing soil Fruiting Cultivation on riceflour cakes (short version) Cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis on riceflour cakes Introduction Overview Substrate containers Preparation of the lid Substrate preparation Filling the jars Sterilisation of cakes Inoculation of cakes Incubation of cakes Fructification Cultivation of Panaeolus cyanescens and Panaeolus tropicalis on sterilised substrate Straw substrate preparation Substrate Colonisation Casing the substrate Panaeolus fruiting Cultivation notes Cultivation of fruitbodies and sclerotia on sterilised grass seed Preparation of the substrate Sterilisation of seeds Inoculation of seeds Colonisation of seeds Casing (for the cultivation of mushrooms) Recipe and Preparation of the casing soil for seeds Fruiting of seeds Sclerotia Making spawn for the woodloving outdoor species Growing the woodlovers outdoors Overview of procedure Preparation of grain spawn Growing mycelium on sterilised wood chips Preparation of the wood chip substrate Inoculating the wood chip substrate Making the outdoor bed Maintenance Mushrooms! Making a sporesyringe soma rights re-served 2 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Steam sterilisation Typical sterilisation cycle Sterilising sealed bags Sterilising jars Sterilising liquids Sterilising other stuff MushMush Notes Preparing Agar Pouring Petri dishes Incubation of agar cultures Storing cultures Making a clean sporeprint Substrates for Psilocybe cubensis Substrates for Panaeolus cyanescens and Panaeolus tropicalis Sterilization time Casing soil Sclerotia cultivation Initiation strategy Working with agar What is agar? Why is agar important? Preparing nutrient medium Pouring dishes Preparing agar slants Starting a culture from spores Starting a culture from a fruitbody Taping dishes and tubes Storing slant cultures Incubating cultures soma rights re-served 3 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis on cased sterilised grain Making grain spawn What is grain spawn? Grain spawn is rye, (or other cereal grain) fully colonised by mushroom mycelium. It serves two purposes: 1) As a carrier of mycelium into spawn larger amounts of substrate 2) As a substrate by itself. Not all species will fruit directly from grain spawn. Psilocybe cubensis is one of the species that can do this, Panaeolus species generally will not fruit directly on (cased) grain. The latter species requires a dung-based to fruit on, although the mycelium will grow fine on rye. The mycelium of most saprophytic mushroom species can be grown on rye. Some rye grain. Containers Glass jars Real canning jars are best because they can withstand numerous sterilisation cycles without problems. A cheaper alternative is to find the cheapest brand of applesauce or vegetables in a local supermarket and to discard the contents (not in the store!). When these jars are cleaned and have their labels removed they can be used. However, since these jars are not intended to be sterilised often they are much more fragile, especially after 2-3 sterilisation cycles. Metal lids, or lids made from polypropylene (PP) can be pressure cooked. This symbol is depicted on most polypropylene items. soma rights re-served 4 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Microboxes These polypropylene containers provide an excellent alternative to glass jars. They come with a filter fitted in the lid and the lid seals hermetically to the bottom. They can be pressure cook and be re-used over and over again. Because they are made from polypropylene there's no risk of injury from glass shards as there is with glass jars. Filter patch bags These bags are specially made for the production of grain spawn. Made of polypropylene they have a filter patch sealed to one side of the bag. Traditionally these bags are sterilised open and sealed afterwards but we have some tips on how to sterilise them sealed, look here. The bags need to be sealed with a good impulse sealer. Cheap household sealers will not work because the width of the seal is too small. A 1000ml microbox and 720ml jar Filter patch bag and medium components Closing the containers Closing glass jars For glass jars there are some options on how to close them. We prefer to use Tyvek or filter disks beneath the lids. Although it is possible to incubate the jars without some kind of filter, just with the lids loose, this is risky. Especially in somewhat drafty and/or dirty environments jars without a filter easily contaminate with airborne spores. A hole should be drilled in the lids. In case of metal lids holes can be punched with a nail and hammer. The size and/or amount of the hole(s) depends on the type of filter that is used. If too much dehydration during incubation takes place more sheets of filter material should be used next time. Some experimentation may be necessary to find the optimum hole size and filter material. Lid with a hole. soma rights re-served 5 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj The jars are filled with rye and water then the filter material is screwed tight under the lid. The lid can be screwed tight during sterilisation since the filter will allow steam to escape. Rye and water Rye and water combined in a jar Filter disk Tyvek filter Lids on jars without a filter should never be screwed tight since the jars might explode/implode during sterilisation. Jars are capped with a double layer of aluminum foil to keep the filter clean and dry for inoculation. Jar with Tyvek filter Tyvek jar with the lid on soma rights re-served 6 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Jar with filter disk Jar capped with aluminum foil Closing microboxes These polypropylene containers come with a tight fitting lid. The lid contains a filter but this filter does not allow rapid venting of steam. Therefore microboxes should never be sterilised with the lid closed. Closed lids will result in deformation or other damage to the jars. The container is filled with rye and grain then the lid is put on loosely or closed for 3/4. One 1/4 of the lid should always remain open. The boxes are capped with a double layer of aluminum foil. As soon as the boxes come out off the cooker their lids should immediately be closed. One edge should be left open Microbox ready for sterilisation soma rights re-served 7 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Closing filter patch bags With some care bags can be sealed before they are sterilised. For more instructions look here. Sterilising open bags is possible but bags should be sealed the moment they come out of cooker or they should be left to cool down in a running flow cabinet. Water and rye are combined The bag is sealed with an impulse sealer A good double seal Bag ready for sterilisation Substrate recipes In general the more substrate is sterilised in a container the dryer it should be. Rye grain and water can be combined and subsequently sterilised. There's no need for pre-cooking the grain as is the case with birdseed. During the sterilisation cycle the rye grain will absorb the water but this will go a little uneven. The bottom kernels will be wetter than the top kernels so the jars need to be shaken while still hot to evenly distribute moisture throughout the substrate. 500 ml jar/microbox 125 g rye 160 ml water 1000 ml jar/microbox 250 g rye 280 ml water filter patch bag (4 liters effective) 1600 g rye 1350 ml water soma rights re-served 8 since 22.02.2015 at http://www.en.psilosophy.info/ mushroom growing by mush mush www.en.psilosophy.info/qnsuekhtbkirbgcacaazbejj Sterilisation Jars and microboxes up to 1000 ml are sterilised for one hour at 121° Celsius. Bags require much longer; up to three full hours. More details about steam sterilisation in general and how to sterilise sealed bags can be found here. The first layer of bags The second layer of bags Flaps are folded down The rack on top is very important As soon as the microboxes come out of the cooker the lids should be closed completely, simply by pressing them downwards.