migraineur

Maybe the reason why they're so popular is because they're giffen goods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffen_good

Shiitake are my favourite flavour wise and oyster mushrooms come in second. I'd love to try lions mane. Wood ear don't have any flavour but I love the texture and they'll absorb the flavour of what you cook them in or with.

Get your pressure cooker from Amazon. Even after paying for international shipping you still save a lot of money. They're way too expensive here. Presto pressure cookers are cheaper but All American are the best and they'll outlive you. The All American 921 is great. If you get a Presto then the 23 quart model is what you'd want. If you have the money then you can think about buying the bigger models but it's not necessary, especially if you're just doing it as a hobby. If you want to play around with tissue culture using edible mushrooms then checking your local Bunnings for mushroom grow kits can be worthwhile. I've seen them sell various edible mushrooms kits in the past for a decent price and with one of the kits you can grow a ton of edible mushrooms and take a multitude of tissue samples to put on agar.

Google how to make a spore syringe.

Your cactus patch looks awesome. I hope you didn't introduce any new bugs to your garden that will attack your other plants though.

Yeah, I bought 3 bags of potting mix from Bunnings and they had white mould in them. I spread the potting mix out and left it in the sun for a few days.

Coarse sharp sand is what you want. It's a lot cheaper if you buy trailer loads of potting soil and sand in bulk. You can make up your own potting mixes this way. Adding bricks of coir can help too. If you want manure then people who own horses tend to be more than happy for you to take as much as you want because they've having to shovel shit constantly otherwise.

So, I had a whiff of the methylated spirits and it's not too bad. I think I too might make the change since it's so cheap compared to isopropyl alcohol. Thanks for the hot tip!

Hi, guys. In the past I was using isocol rubbing alcohol which can be bought from the supermarket. However, it's a bit on the expensive side. I bought some isopropyl alcohol in bulk so I can make my own rubbing alcohol a lot cheaper. However, I'm trying to find a container that will dispense it nicely for use in mycology. I thought about using a trigger mister but the handles have lots of grooves and curves where contaminates could accumulate. Furthermore, a small stream like the one the bottle of isocol provides when pressed is probably preferable. What are you guys doing in this regard? Should I purchase a lab wash bottle?

Using only 30% is waaaay too low. It should be at least 60% alcohol by volume to be an effective sanitiser. I'd go with 70%. Yeah, I noticed methylated spirits is a lot cheaper. You can get isopropyl alcohol in bulk from Altronics but methylated spirits is still somewhat cheaper. I'm not sure if I could handle the smell of methylated spirits stinking up the place though. I might have to go to the shed and see if I have any methylated spirits so I can give it a sniff (insert ghetto huffing joke here) and decide whether I can handle being around it for long periods.

Forceps, jars, petri dishes. I went to Bunnings and I was having a quick look around. I might buy a piece of glass because it'd be easy to clean and I could put something under the glass to give it some extra height.

Hi, guys. I have a flowhood now but I am trying to find a rack or something similar that I can use to prop up equipment with so that it sits in the laminar flow better. It would have to be easy to clean/wipe down too. Do any of you have something like this or know of something that would be suitable?

I'll try a wash bottle and a trigger mister and see how both go. I'm told that some people use methylated spirits instead of isopropyl alcohol but I imagine that it'd stink up the place pretty badly.

"synthetic drugs were more dangerous than illicit drugs" WTF?!?!?!

Hi I know some of you here have experience in tissue culture and I am also interested in giving it a try. Since I have done mycology work before then I have a bunch of equipment and experience that can be used and I am familiar with sterile technique. I know I will need to buy a bunch of tissue culture equipment though. Could you guys please tell me the best places to buy tissue culture gear from? Also, should I start out with buying a kit or should I buy things individually myself? I know people can often pay a "lazy man's tax" when buying kits. Any other help with getting started would be much appreciated. I got my hands on some books and I have been watching videos etc online.

Thanks. I have a flowhood now. Working in a small glove box sucks!

Check out earphonesolutions. In ear buds are great because they block out sounds from things you don't want to hear, such as teenage girls on the train. You can also keep the sound lower when using in ear buds which will help save your hearing and you won't bother other people because they won't be able to hear what you're listening to.

Thanks heaps

Yeah, I've got that and a couple of others. Thanks for your input though. I'm trying to figure out the best way to start without getting ripped off or stooged in some way. I'd like to know about the best sites Aussies can use for getting the hormones, agar, containers etc. Some of the stores I used when buying equipment for mycology might also come in handy too. I was able to buy some things locally but other things I had to buy from North America. My flowhood should be here this coming week which will make life a million times easier. Trying to pour agar and doing tissue culture in a small glove box is such a pain in the arse.

You risk exposing the bag to contamination although if you opened it within the air of a flowhood then it'd be minimal. I'd rather use a clean inoculating loop for each dish. You should buy a metal inoculating loop and an alcohol burner. With that setup you'll be able to flame sterilise the loop as many times as you want to. Using an alcohol lamp is also quite convenient when using a scalpel to take tissue samples or cut agar wedges etc. Please excuse my mistakes. Just got home after drinking many pints.

Well, if you don't use proper sterile technique when handling the print the first time then you'll be dealing with a dirty print forever after. It's nice when you become self sufficient because then you can take full responsibility for every part of the cultivation process which means you don't have to worry about someone else using unsterile technique when handing you prints or cultures etc. Another way to get multiple prints or tissue samples cheaply is to buy a pre-made mushroom grow box. I found some at Bunnings the other year and they were cheap. I just did a quick search online and Bunnings has kits for $20. Using these I was able to make numerous spore prints of my own as well as tissue samples for agar work. If you haven't checked the Let's Grow Mushroom videos out already then you can buy the DVD or digital copy cheaply here: http://www.mushroomvideos.com/ They're really good for beginners and there's some more advanced stuff in the videos too.

Well, if you're going to the trouble of making syringes then making them all at once saves you the hassle of having to do it again later. You can scrape some spores off and save the print again for later if you want to. However, you can also store your spore syringes in the fridge for later use too. They'll last a very long time if stored properly.

Let's keep it in South Perth.

Keep in mind that if you buy from the USA then the fitting/valve might be the QCC1 (aka type1) fitting where as the Aussie fittings are POL. The Americans used to use POL and you might find stuff that still is. You can always get a QCC1 to POL adaptor if there are any issues.

Zen, check out crab cookers such as this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CRAB-COOKER-JET-PRO-BURNER-ALUMINIUM-STOCKPOT-DEEP-BASKET-CAMPING-STOCK-POT-CAMP-/121196570003?pt=AU_Outdoor_Living_BBQs_Cookware&hash=item1c37e0e593&_uhb=1 You can get really good prices on Bayou Classic High Pressure Banjo Cookers on Amazon too. Check out the KAB4, KAB6 and the Bayou Classic Double Jet models. Amazon has the specs on the Bayou models so you can see how many quarts of liquid the cooker will hold. They're quite sturdy. It might be worth buying a Bayou burner from Amazon and then getting the massive stock pot and "boil basket" from Ebay Australia since sending pots with large volumes in the post will cost a lot in shipping. EDIT - This Ebay seller has cheap cast iron single burners that come with the hose and regulator. You could buy one of those and then sit a big pasteurising pot on top. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SINGLE-CAST-IRON-COUNTRY-BURNERS-LPG-GAS-COOKERS-STOVE-/131082001207?pt=AU_Outdoor_Living_BBQs_Cookware&hash=item1e85189b37&_uhb=1 I hope this helps you.