ENtiTY Posted April 4, 2007 Nope, no problem eating fresh, just do a search to get correct dosage. Dunking involves submersing the container in water over night after the completion of a flush to rehydrate the casing to replace the moisture lost to fruiting so the myc can fruit again. You can also shoot water in with a syringe or just heavily mist. Hypha discussed this in previous posts. There is a bit of a debate as to the best way to rehydrate the casing. They all work its just which is more effective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 4, 2007 My friend never tried fresh, but apparently its fine - just remember to measure doses. Dunking, in short is taking the cakes/casings and holding underwater for about 12-24 hrs. This basically rehydrates and encourages new growth in the mycellium. A must do for decent flushes Try a search either here or at shroomery or similar for good teks. Just make sure the water is clean and you will have a few happy little mushrooms soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 4, 2007 LOL Sphinx you have a battery of eager sensei's hey grasshopper. hehehe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 4, 2007 Seems that way doesn't it Hey i'm all ears, you'll never learn if you don't ask Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 4, 2007 lol - Looks like we are posting the same crap at the same time - great minds think alike lol What other questions doth thou have Sphinx? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 4, 2007 Hmm.. i think i'm good for the moment Guess we can just wait and see, and hope for the best! I'll try to get pictures taken daily, if a trip is had over the weekend i guess best the little guys should come along! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 4, 2007 Not a problem, all the best with it - and keep up the pics! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenny Blister Posted April 5, 2007 How would you dunk a casing tray without substrate floating off all over the place? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 5, 2007 My mate hasnt ever dunked a casing, but I think you'll find that the casing material will be fairly well held together - due to the myc. Hold it underwater with a plate or a brick, or whatever is handy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 5, 2007 How would you dunk a casing tray without substrate floating off all over the place? Same as for a cake. Place case in container put some thing heavy enough to hold it under then pour in the water around the sides, not directly on the case, until it is submerged. I think draining the excess water after would be more of a challenge, but not to difficult. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 8, 2007 Well, the results of the first flush are back, 48 toys total Not too bad for a first time effort, along the way many areas could certainly be improved, but in the end contams didn't cause any problems and happy times are ahead Firstly, my foaf must say a big THANKYOU to everyone who contributed to such a tasty cause For drying, they are on that tray on string inside (out of direct sunlight) .. ok? The casing was heavily misted then another cm or so of casing on top, misted heavily again... ok? Umm... I'm wondering why didn't the whole casing develop pins? There were lots of blank patches along the way, photos were taken at 12 hour intervals so you can see the development, when i'm not so lazy i will put those pics up. Was it basically just too dry? !!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
user1 Posted April 8, 2007 beautiful fruits sphinx, congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amulte Posted April 8, 2007 lookin sphinx, id think the those parts that did not fruit were just not totaly colonised, but could also be due to a few other reasons too. BUT as i always say, in mycology i can only make observations baised on biology. im no expert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 8, 2007 Very impressive for a first effort, you couldn't of hope for better Many factors could contribute to the lack of pinning across the whole case, maybe moisture, maybe the myc didn't grow through far enough in those sections to pin. Keep in nice and moist for the second flush and you will prolly get more. 48 on the first flush isn't anything to complain about though, there is a few parties there As for drying go get some Calcium Chloride and put some in a container and then that inside another larger air tight sealable container along with the shrooms and seal . Will be dry in a couple of days. Calcium Chloride can be bought a hardware stores as Dampsorb. Its in a dark blue and yellow container, get the unperfumed one. Whats the variety your FOAF is growing? GT? Well done again . Welcome to the growers guild LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 10, 2007 Thanks guys Well my foaf got back to me with some minorly disappointing results.. they were extremely low potency! He ate at least 30 (10, ten minutes later another 5, he just ate before the first ten so it didn't seem to kick in for about two hours!, then maybe three hours after when he ate 5 he ate another 10, then another 5) and really the effects were minor compared to past experiences. Once, mushies that looked the same and were roughly the same size, about 10 FUCKD HIM UP seriously, hmm... bummer! what do you think it could be? Just the strain? or growing techniques or ,, ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 10, 2007 Whats the variety your FOAF is growing? GT? Not sure harry, was wondering this myself, perhaps ace may know ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted April 10, 2007 No one could ever guess a strain name from the pics sphinx, looks like its just going to be one of those life mysteries.... Your casing layer still looks a little dry but really thats a good result - especially if you grew them from a spore print and not a clone or an isolate. Your potency could be due to a few reasons - the first and foremost though is probably the substrate - lack of nutrients is a major player, and brf just doesnt have a heap of them. Try spawning to a nutrient enriched substrate next time. Another things is how they were dried, you should be drying them directly under a desk fan, with the air blowing across the fruits. Nice pics man! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 10, 2007 Mexi or cambo then As for potency, did they bruise blue noticably or was it only faintly? I'm not sure about the BRF producing low potency fruits as I know from experience that the humble BRF cake can make some very tasty treats. I'm only guessing here but think it is either because of the low moisture in the casing or as Hypha said from the drying. Keep the moisture up for the next flush and dry the flush in 2 seperate lots. 1 lot dry like Hypha said and the other lot use a desicator to draw the moisture out of them as I described a few posts up aways. This issue came up not that long ago in another thread. We need to find the cause and a solution to fix this problem! Why its an outrage mushies loosing their magic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted April 10, 2007 As for potency, did they bruise blue noticably or was it only faintly? I'm not sure about the BRF producing low potency fruits as I know from experience that the humble BRF cake can make some very tasty treats. I'm only guessing here but think it is either because of the low moisture in the casing or as Hypha said from the drying. It more often than not performs well, but there is definitely a lack of nutrients in a brf/verm style pf jar. Theres a LOT more goodness in a horse poo/straw mix, and will never fail you potency-wise. Keep the moisture up for the next flush and dry the flush in 2 seperate lots. 1 lot dry like Hypha said and the other lot use a desicator to draw the moisture out of them as I described a few posts up aways. If you do use a dessicant chamber to dry your friends, always fan dry them first for a day or two before putting them in the dessicant chamber to finish off the job. Dessicant is available in bulk, for cheap, at the pet section of any major supermarket - look for 'silica' based kitty litter. Alternatively, spend a couple of bucks and get one of these - Dehydrator. The 'Snack Maker' middle of the range version has three temp settings and the lowest temp is ideal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 10, 2007 Mexi I'd guess - cambos have a larger fruit, but less of them, mexis have lots of thinner, slightly taller fruit. I think your foafs would be the mexis Seems a bit odd about the potency - from what I hear they are fairly decent (but no comarisons), perticularly when dried. Perhaps your foaf should try dehydrating them, then scoffing them on an empty stomach - 2gms (dried) has been enough, but 3gms should be plenty from what I've read Lets hope your foaf gets some sort of voyage from them! All that hard work with no reward? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coschi Posted April 10, 2007 Just seeing them grow is a huge reward In fact they didn't really get a chance to dry (well for one day, suspended on a string mesh made on a baking tray as you could see from the pic.. i'm assuming drying doesn't increase potency ? For the second flush the casing is being kept significantly more moist than before.. There are some other prints my foaf could try, but it would be interesting to try the same shroom (a few were printed) on a different substrate.. Is there anything to consider when changing substrate? I'll check out the archives around but any advice would be appreciated also i always wonder why when PF style (brf/verm) is sooo easy why would you go for anything else? I guess there must be a reason Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 11, 2007 i always wonder why when PF style (brf/verm) is sooo easy why would you go for anything else? I guess there must be a reason PF Cakes tend to be great for a few mushies, but I have read that casings increase flushes dramatically. If you were to add, say, horse/moo poo to the mix, they will increase again in both size and numbers. Have a read thru the old Nook Archives and see if there is anything that might boost your mates success rate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 11, 2007 i'm assuming drying doesn't increase potency No, but there is much less material to consume, and it makes things easier to measure and whatnot Just seeing them grow is a huge reward I could imagine that would be the case - having something transform from a spore print to a mature fruit - nature sure is grand! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 11, 2007 If you want to try a different substrate might i suggest pop corn ala GCF's method. Very fast to colonise and more reliable than grain. Case it with what ever you wish. Its my prefered substrate now that I've tried it. Give it a go! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted April 11, 2007 Im still curious as to why everyone fruits directly from their grain - isnt the main idea behind colonising a jar of grain so that you can spawn it to a more nutritious bulk substrate? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites