watertrade

The space between millet is ok, although a little extra air space might help, it should be ok. Also with smaller grains you get a denser block of grain. Or if using as spawn - more inoculation points for 'jump off'. Although I haven’t done it with grains I have baked various substrates in the past which worked pretty well. A few hours at 140C should kill most stuff. With the oven you could get the moisture levels right first (by weighing/ soaking/cooking) then baking the grain in a sealed container (leave a vent) the moisture % shouldn't change too much. You could also try tyndallisation. A process where the thing your trying to sterilize is first cooked/steamed (the live growing contams are killed.) The thing is left overnight to cool while bacterial spores germinate. It’s then cooked again. (To kill the germinated contams) . Left to cool again and then cooked again just for good luck! I haven’t done it but I'm sure some people use it in growing mushrooms? The cheapo budgie seed available from the supermarket is mainly millet. It has other grains too. I think this is some of the cheapest seed you can get. The hulls on the millet help keep individual grains from sticking together. it has shell grit too... for strong bones. ;)

It could be a number of things and happening for a few different reasons. mainly depending on what kind of edible mushroom it is. if its pinning/fruiting I wouldn't worry about it. Also if there are other cakes that are doing fine consider moving them around to check environmental variables? can you get any pics?

Hi Tepa, I wouldn't worry about the rye, using wheat grain (available from woolworths- approx $10 for 10kg) or even budgie seed from Coles (my favorite) its about $7 for 5 Kg. Cheers

I can remember reading a tek that recomended you clean the whole house and work in the bathroom spraying bleach and wiping the walls and ceiling. my bathroom probably needs it, but Mycology is fiddly enough without all the extra stuff.

Hi Torsten, Don't know if this is part of the upgrade but I can't see my 'new' ( last few days) sent messages in 'my controls. thanks again for all you hard work getting everything up and running. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

Hi Reamers, I used to use a fishtank with a perspex front and big red gloves. it was a real pain in the ass. I would try and fit as many jars into the box as possible and at times it would be hard ti fit my hands in. What I have done since I broke the glovebox is just work quick and use lots of alcohol spray. I do mainly agar transfers and transfers into grain jars. so far everything has been ok. If you are using agar use h2o2 in the agar and everything should be ok. If you are using syringes and spores just work quick and flame your itools. & spray alcohol everywhere. good luck

Hi Thunderbird, I'm not sure how usefull syringing a bit of water into the grain would be. the water would just run to the bottom and not get absorbed into the grain. as for dunking 1/2 a cake, I think it should be ok. the BRF will hold together where the mycelium is and fall away where there is nothing. could you get some pics? how long has the stall been? I have had problems in the past with large cakes (jars) that don't allow any air to get to the bottom of the jar. Hope this helps

Good work fezza!

Glen20 is good. a little cheaper but not as nice to use is diluted metho. If you use metho in a spray bottle dilute it to somewhere around 80% alcohol. 95% alcohol isn't as effective a sanitiser as 80% - I'm pretty sure it has to do with absorption into cell walls havn't seen you around here for a while smogs!

thanks guys, I feel better about the letters getting to the right people. I spoke with Aussie post about it today, they said it will get delivered and most likely nothing else will happen - if they happen to check just the postage will have to be paid. They are a pretty good bunch down at the post office

Hi Guys, just wondering something... I've just run a comp and posted the prizes without any stamps on the letters... (so stupid) Has anyone ever done this before? I checked with the Aussie post website and I'm pretty sure they will ask the recipient to pay postage.? anyone done this? Very annoying...

The grains will absorb some more water during the Presure cooking so a little water in the bag is ok - but not too much! . Try and aim for a consistantly moist grain - I often check the 'doneness' of my grain by breaking open some of the bigger grains which should be cooked through (no startchy/ dry inside) I have found though it doesn't really matter that much, as long as they are not dry or have water sitting in the bottom of the bag. Good luck! You shouldn't have to drain the grain post PC.

To follow up Naja Naja's spore print comp I'm putting up another comp with 5 recently made prints. same rules As naja's Comp. express interest & I will draw numbers starting now and ending next Wednesday 20th. prints made in clean area but are probably not sterile in the true sense of the word They are actually doubles and triples (two/three prints folded onto each other. !bonus!

Or rather than buy from a scientific supply see what you can get from this site! - there is some pretty handy stuff. Try and keep things in the family first and you can be sure of the source.

JUst buy stuff from a scientific supply. I have an account with www.livingstone.com.au and have had no problems - when things arrived broken they gave me a credit for next time - no worries. I don't think they mind selling to individuals as long as you pay up front. also I don't think there is a problem with owning scientific glassware it might just make you suspicious to the law folk. anyway, good luck cheers

Hi Guys, the comp is closed and I just picked names from a hat. The winners are Synaesthesia Tepa Psykopath Juggalo Greencavefloat Anachronism Please PM me you addresses I will post before chrissy. the prints are a real mixed lot - a variety of sizes, some with two prints on each, some with three. For those people that missed out, I wouldn't worry too much.... I'm sure there will be more floating around in not too long.

I will be closing the comp first thing tomorrow. so far there is a 1 in 4 chance - thats pretty good!

I'm in please,

oops.. its over already .....

Make sure you attach your Phytosanitary certificate, Import Permit and apply for your Quarantine Entry! Even if you do just get shiitake and common button mushroom AQIS won't make it easy for you!! ;)

Common button mushroom ...agaricus bisporus Nah,,, Cub Mex , for study & identification.

Common button mushroom ...agaricus bisporus Nah,,, Cub Mex , for study & identification.

I was trying to use Liquid as a way to store a culture in a syringe. I would like invest a little more time in liquid. I work with agar 95 % of the time now and would like options. I guess the trick to storing liquid cultures is only having a limited amount of nutrients so the myceium only grows so much. Any ideas?

I've never had much luck with Liquid. I always encounter the same two probs 1: the liquid innoculum grows on the surface of the liquid making it hard to work with. 2: the liquid in the syringe continues to grow and blocks the syringe. if I store it for more than a few days I'm probably doing sometyhing wrong

Hi Jagger.... Are you sure your in the right forum...?