KlUe

Good news Sob, keep us posted :D

Mate just out of interest, in that first pic.. looks like some sort of contam? The quality isn't the best but those dark areas look like a mould of some sort which could be the reason as to why the mycellium has stopped growing... If thats what it is, chuck it out..

Hi guys, I've got a B.Caapi plant I bought about 3 months ago which has only grown about 10cm since then... I've read people saying in between 4cm and 20cm per day and mine hasn't even done that in 3 months! The plant is currently in a 15L pot with regular potting mix. I've got it in a mini greenhouse so it is in humid conditions and I water it every other day. 1/2 day direct sunlight. Lightly fertilised only once. Any suggestions? Cheers, KlUe

I'm with you Kenny

You're right that temp drops can help in fruiting, althoughmy situation with the dome is a little different, as its required to have light on there to give it a bit of heat for the required water evaporation. The shrooms don't seem to mind either

I've never grown them in large amounts of light - just a few hours a day of a small fluoro bulb on top of my humidity dome. This makes the temps raise a bit (which is a good thing - about 25 degrees) - and is also good in the humidity dome as it evaporates more water to give a better humid environment. But large amounts of light can do damage especially if heat is involved (which there usually is..) as they drain the substrate & shrooms of their vital moisture... KlUe

Cheers guys Peace KlUe

I'll have Aussie flags waving from my Commodore's windows, like last year :D Good to show some good ole Aussie patriotism

Thanks endo Good question, I probably should've explained better. The aim is to get the foil on (most importantly the first layer to start with) as airtight as possible. Sometimes if the heat is too high during sterilization, the bubbles and steam (try to get as little bubbles as possible, the steam is hot enough!) can make the foil looser and a small amount moisture can slowly seep inside. This shouldn't be too much of a problem if only a tiny bit gets in - but make sure you try and stop it from continuing. Heat makes the foil more brittle (sounds weird, but it does), so it can actually be moulded better around the tops of the glass during the sterilization, but just try to spend as little time looking in there though and let the steam do its job The reason moisture has negative effect for the cake is A) You want the dry layer of vermiculite as free from moisture as possible and Excess moisture in any part of the cake can cause contam and too much water is not good for growing conditions. Hope this helps a little KlUe edit: spelling... i'm still asleep

Thanks mate, fingers crossed

Next steps.. Overnight the glasses have cooled enough to inoculate. - Take saucepan with lid on into a clean, sterilized area (i'm using bathroom) - Spray isopropyl everywhere around your area. - Have spore syringe ready and a jet lighter with some isopropyl spray also. - Heat the needle with the lighter to sterilize. - Take the second layer of foil off the top of each jar, carefully making sure layer one is still intact and seemingly airtight. - Innoculate each glass with 4 shots of spores - around the glass evenly. Do this BELOW the fresh vermiculite on top. - Quickly as you finish each one, put the foil back on so no contam can get in the new holes. Do it tightly as you can without the foil breaking. - Put them in a safe place for incubation - room temp is fine. Less humidity the better for this stage. KlUe Edit: In the last pic you will notice the glasses are in the humidity dome. There is no water in here and the vents are open - As i said humidity is detrimental to the cakes at this stage - can cause contam!!

Lol Torst, now we all know what you sit up late at night and research

testing

ROFL And Jessica Alba it is mate!

Fezza just out of interest, how often did you spray the container? Those last pics looked pretty dry to me.

Next steps... - Cleaned kitchen, sprayed all surfaces with a cleaning spray. - Used mister with isopropyl inside which was sprayed over the working area after cleaned.. These steps aren't AS necessary because the glasses and medium are going to be sterilized, but it always helps to be extra careful. - Cut 8 pieces of double folded foil up - enough to fit over the top of each cup and down the sides. - In CLEAN mixing bowl, mix 1/4 cup of brown rice powder, 1/2 cup of vermiculite, and roughly over 1/4 cup boiled -> cooled water PER glass. So times those figures by 4. - It will vary as to how much water is required, due to the sizes of the vermiculite chunks. Mine is a medium size which I have found works well. - When the rice flour has stuck to the vermiculite evenly, and the mixture is slightly moist, you should be ready to fill the glasses. - Fill them around 3/4 up to the top with the mixture. I top them up a few times each, to evenly size the amount in each glass. - Rub tissue wet with isopropyl around the tops of the glasses to make sure there is nothing going to contaminate them during incubation stage. Allow alcohol to evaporate. - Fill the glasses up almost the rest of the way with dry vermiculite to avoid any contam getting in from the tops. Make sure there is at least 2-3cm of vermiculite on top. Now it is ready to put foil (lids) over the tops. - Take a piece of foil and tightly put it over the top of each glass. Try to make the foil even, you can fold it up if necessary. - Now put layer two over the top, so you can define which is layer one and which is layer two - this layer should be longer. This is so you can easily take off layer two when glasses are ready to innoculate! - Have saucepan ready with a few cm of water in the bottom, put on LOW heat. - Steam (Not boil.. You can crack the glass) glasses for at least 1.5hrs with the lid on, checking every now and then. On one of mine, I noticed I didn't put enough foil over one of the glasses (not airtight enough), so it sunk in a slight bit - This should be ok to fix afterwards, unless it gets steam/water inside. - After 1.5+ hrs is up, turn heat off and let the inside cool down overnight. I've tried to upload pics in order of the steps. KlUe

How are they coming along, Ace?

Yes, Ace, you do

Depending on how far out west he is, I might place a bid... Let you know..

I guess you can't test your chances on eBay, eh....

WORLD DOMINATION IS MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok enough of that, I don't wanna start a political venting thread, but I totally disagree with Johnny H and George W and always will. I'm thinking of our future generations and its looking totally f*cking bleak, it depresses me. Go the Greens.

Lol, well I guess if everyone else is revealing their true identities, i'll post a pic of me - Just spent a night out with me mates!

ROFL

I've cut a couple of windows up the top on mine (just a clear plastic covered one) so I can have a bit of air getting in there during the day and so that heat can escape when it gets pretty hot. Plants seem to like it in there, especially my Salvia Splendens which is growing well. The P.Carthagensis also loves it in there.

Well, I have respect for the guy