soma_seeker Posted July 14, 2007 Hi, This is my friends first decent size grow in the middle of winter and he wants to know what to expect in terms of yld decrease due to the cold. The temp in the grow room would vary from about 15-20 degrees C (on avg.) throughout the day and night. He has looked into various means of heating the grow/room but they have proved infeasible so is going to just let it go and see how things pan out. The cakes have managed to pin in the past couple of days (took 10-12 days, which is actually normal in his experience in summer). So, my real question is - since they HAVE managed to pin should he still expect a significant decrease in yld to what he is used to, or have they made it thru the most difficult stage and should now fruit normally? He is concerned because he is not used to these cold conditions and because 1 cake fruited early and only managed 3, 1-2 inch long mature fruits. Do you think he should expect this of the remaining cakes (another 29 left to fruit!!)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Korky Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) hey soma. IM(limited)E the cold has a significant effect on yield, size of fruits and grow rate. 20C isnt bad as i believe 22C is ideal, 15C on the other hand is prob going to be to cold. i have found with similar temps that fruiting is completely stalled until incubated. and any success being small struggling specimens. so i think your friend could expect a reduced yield than that in summer temps. this may vary slightly depending on the type of shroom grown so i guess the above is not gospil. if a heated FC is not an option for your friend maybe at the least they could wrap them in a blanket or similar to offer some insulation. (leaving lid exposed for some light). 30 cakes! noice one bruva! all the best with the set up. Edited July 14, 2007 by endogenous Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soma_seeker Posted July 14, 2007 30 cakes! noice one bruva! all the best with the set up. haha yeh he can't seem to produce casings without contam from trich mould (bane of his existence!!), so he just does bulk cake grows. cheers for the reply, after reading it my mate checked the grow temp and it was 14 degrees C, so obviously it does get below 15. He does have a small heater, just one of those simple ones that is a heater and a fan - when you turn it to heat a heating mantle in front of the fan fires up. If he were to point this at the FC to try and maintain a temp of 20 degrees C do you think it could significantly dry out the cakes - since the heater merely blows hot air directly at the grow?? Should he set it back a few feet or point it off at an agle to the FC? cheers people Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soma_seeker Posted July 14, 2007 also, my friend doesn't like to leave the heater running when he isn't home. is periodic times of heat better than a more constant yet less optimal temp? gettin a bit complex here. cheers for any thoughts though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerbil Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) you'd probably be better off utilising a water heater to heat the fruiting chamber soma_seeker, or a heatpad, or a reptile heating cord (fashioned into a heatpad?) there were some excellent ideas about heatpads and heating cords over the last 2 years. Someone had the idea of a heating cord covered in gravel which sounded like a decent option, especially in terms of fire hazard. But then again, everything has it's risks, so don't take my word for it, use at own risk. Yes it still is electric and similar worries to a fan heater, but probably far less of a risk of fire (aquarium heater), especially if it's a quality one with a decent thermostat, plus it'd be a lot cheaper to run than a fan heater, i'm pretty sure a 50w aquarium heater can heat up to 50L h20, so maybe try and find a smaller wattage that then 50. also worth considering is a small wattage external air pump feeding a couple of long air stones in the water tub to get some homogeneous heating and no hot and cold spots. Edited July 14, 2007 by gerbil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Auntyjack Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) ..a third chamber (Black plastic tub to keep light out) under the water chamber keeps ya incubation temps constant also....kills three chambers with one heater. A freind has gone down the same lines as using a fish tank heater. This was because he managed to kill the incubating trays of some edibles using a little oil heater in a large walk in robe. At 900-2000W using a low to high (ie no temp scale) thermostat, its impossible to control temp, got up over 35degC pins stopped and the myc went brown seemed to be dead, no nice smell left. ZTook only half a day AJ Edited July 14, 2007 by Auntyjack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted July 14, 2007 The oil heaters a great, but dont put it in the cupboard with your FC if thats where you're growing - just keep it in the same room, and keep the door closed to get the ambient temp up in the room... The other option is Something like this. You want to heat your growing space (eg. the room your FC is in, or the space in the FC ABOVE the substrate), so one of these belts is ideal to wrap around your FC if its the right size. Heating pads generally should be avoided... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gamma.goblin Posted July 14, 2007 Hey Hyphal, what is it that makes it undesirable to heat from underneath? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soma_seeker Posted July 14, 2007 thanks a lot for the replies everyone, much appreciated. my friend just implemented a tub in tub/aquarium heater setup. he set the heater to 30 degrees celcius and the FC is now at a constant 25 degrees. i expect that the temp. of the FC will still drop a couple of degrees overnight which is why i havent changed the temp setting to drop it down to 22 degrees. what do you think, should i decrease the temp slightly or leave it as is cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gamma.goblin Posted July 14, 2007 Is the outer tub insulated? You could go to a fruit shop and get some of their used foam boxes to cut up and stick on the sides. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soma_seeker Posted July 15, 2007 no i haven't insulated the tub, good idea though after checking the temp a couple of times throughout the night i think it is above 20 degrees at all times, so i guess it should be sweet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted July 15, 2007 Hey Hyphal, what is it that makes it undesirable to heat from underneath? You don't get even heating with heat pads and greatly increase the risk of spoiling your substrate when its sitting on a heat pad - it might be a lot better if you had a heat pad beneath your FC if inside your terrarium you had cakes sitting on perlite - and I have never personally tried it - but I have read countless times and heard from many people that they don't work well and promote contamination and rotting. You really want to warm their growing environment, not the substrate itself - eg the air above them in the FC in which your fruitbodies develop, or the air in the room where the FC is. Thats why a home brew heat belt would work well if you wrap it around your FC, but ABOVE the substrate level - to warm the air inside your FC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
