Tips for NOOBS

[Bigred]

just wanted to start a topic for pointers for people who are new to this hobby stuff like small Chinese containers are great for agar

and stuff to help people along the way

[Bigred]

here is a tip you can use vegimite in agar

[Cue]

A pressure cooker is a must IMO.

[OPP]

Baby bottles are PCable and good for agar work. Invert the soft nipple and you have a resealable injection port. The nipple can be filled with a heat resistant silicone for further protection but gets hard over time.

Reuse glass pasta sauce jars for grains.

Keep it simple. Forget incubators and fancy setups.

Find out what works for you and stick to it!!

Buy the best PC you can afford. you wont regret it. Also applies to everything else you buy.

Learn to be patient.

Edited August 5, 2012 by OPP

[myco]

A pressure cooker is a must IMO.

 

Sorry but this is completely wrong so for the noobs a pressure cooker is not at all a must have item

Don't let the fact you don't have one discourage you or make you go running out to buy one

That's not to say a pressure cooker is not a good item to have

They are definately very helpful

But all things a pressure cooker does can be replaced with steaming believe it or not

Yes even agar and grain agar can be steam Sterilized in the same way as a simple brf cake

Grain sterilization can also be achieved with steaming multiple times over consecutive days to achieve sterilization

However for the noobs I simply recommend BRF cakes you can't go wrong easily steamed for 90 mins for sterilization

And incredibly easy to do over all

Hope this helps guys the key is research research research

You'll always find a way

[Cue]

I agree with fractional sterilization, but that takes three days.

When I first started I tried the one steaming for 90mins. Everyday I would lose a jar or two until I didn't have any left.

Can it work? Yes, but your rate of success is greatly reduced.

[myco]

You have to remember there's a lot of factors that come into getting contaminated jars

and to be honest most fractionalized sterilization should be done over several days not three wich would likely account for your low success rate

[myco]

It may not be the best way to do things but basically my point is a pressure cooker is not a necessity

Especially for noobs

[Bigred]

i get these 250ml plastic jars from kmart $2 for 3 they are great as a substitute for glass jars

[Bigred]

plus kmart has a 6 liter pressure cooker for $70 i think its a great buy for a beginner to start with

[Foo]

I bought a 7L PCooker from Kmart last week for $44.

I agree with Myco though, saying that a PC is a MUST is not helpfull in a noob thread.

What i would like to see is some noob tips for inoculation. Esp for those of us that dont have fancy setups

[Cue]

well at the end of my post I did put 'IMO'.

OK I have a simple tip for inoculating Pf jars. When you inoculate them get in the habit of counting the holes while noccing. 1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4. Thsi will keep you from either missing a hole or double inoculating that hole.

Another tip is to grind your own flour with a coffee grinder. Not only is the whole brown rice is cheaper but many people including my self feel that the pre-ground flour is too fine.

Next thing that I recommend is mixing the water with the verm and let that sit for just a few minutes before mixing in the BRF. For some reason it always seems to work better.

Another recommendation I have is to not pack down the mix. Leave it loose then dome the dry verm barrier. When you screw the lid down not only will it then pack down the mix enough it also further ensure that the dry verm barrier is fairly tight too. You don't want that barrier rattling around to much and allowing congtaminates to work there way down into your medium.

[qwertyuiop]

ALDI stores have some cheap electronic pressure cookers atm too. Around $50 if I'm not mistaken.

I've found some great jars to use for grain ... Salsa jars :D They stack and store very well in the pressure cooker and incubator I just perma leave foil on the top of them with no problems but I'm sure tyveking the holes and discarding the foil after a PC would be just as good if not better.

Another thing I've just recently found after getting into a bit of a yogurt habit, is that both the lid and the container part are PP 5 plastic. I've tested its durability in the microwave, but not the PC. Still pondering at what these could be most useful for...Any ideas?

[Cue]

I have used salsa jars too. But I are the yogart containers clear? I would want something clear to check on the colonization and for contams. I have heard of people using baby food jars.

[LikeAshesWeFade]

I once read somewhere on here that a guy was using the instant rice packets from woolies. The rice is already at perfect moisture and u just need to add your filter patches and inoculate. Only prob is you cant see much when it comes to checking for colonisation so maybe it'd work best for fast colonisers ie. oysters.

I find a mix of sawdust and mushroom mulch works well for oysters. 40/60. Kinda keen to see how the nutrient side of things goes with the spent mushroom mulch.. Obviously it's spent but I've heard theres still alot of nutrients in there. Seems to colonise fast anyhow!

Edited August 5, 2012 by LikeAshesWeFade

[Distracted]

I agree with fractional sterilization, but that takes three days.

When I first started I tried the one steaming for 90mins. Everyday I would lose a jar or two until I didn't have any left.

Can it work? Yes, but your rate of success is greatly reduced.

 

I think steam sterlization for BRF is fine, i usually had about a 75% success rate which I thought was quite reasonable.

I know of someone's first mini bulk where they spawned 5 steam sterilized brf cakes to coco and got a 60g dry weight out of it all... not too shabby for a no pressure cooker grow

[OPP]

When you screw the lid down not only will it then pack down the mix enough it also further ensure that the dry verm barrier is fairly tight too.

 

Don't use jars with lids for BRF cakes. You need an open container like a glass cup with the rim equal or bigger than the base. If the rim is not the same size or larger than the base you will not be able to slide the cake out in one piece. Unless you plan on spawning to bulk but wait until you have conquered cakes to move to spawning.

A glass jar with foil over the top whilst PCing is fine. You can remove the foil after PCing and the dry verm will stop contaminants entering the jar or leave it on for more protection.

Edited August 5, 2012 by OPP

[OPP]

What i would like to see is some noob tips for inoculation. Esp for those of us that dont have fancy setups

 

Buy a $10 clear tub from a hardware store and make a glovebox.

Oust is your friend. Spray the room and the glovebox in a room with the door closed.

Something like this will cut down contaminants considerably if done correctly.

Gloves aren't essential if you clean your hands and arms really well beforehand.

Edited August 5, 2012 by OPP

[waterboy 2.0]

If you are going to attempt to PC something and you are not sure if it will make through the cycle, put it inside a myco bag first.

[Cue]

Don't use jars with lids for BRF cakes. You need an open container like a glass cup with the rim equal or bigger than the base. If the rim is not the same size or larger than the base you will not be able to slide the cake out in one piece. Unless you plan on spawning to bulk but wait until you have conquered cakes to move to spawning.

A glass jar with foil over the top whilst PCing is fine. You can remove the foil after PCing and the dry verm will stop contaminants entering the jar or leave it on for more protection.

 

They will still slide out of wide mouth mason jars.

I leave the foil off for FAE and the verm barrier is enough.

And BRF cakes make excellent spawn for bulks. But the results are even better when break up the cake with a cheese grater. You bet so many more noc points. I have 20 brf jars going now with B+ strain

[Cue]

I spray my room down then go take a shower after the shower I go straight to my room. Yeah I do myco work in the nude (not a pretty sight).

[Distracted]

Don't use jars with lids for BRF cakes.

 

you mean jars with lips right? like shouldered jars?

Cause I use half pint shoulderless jars with no issue at all, as do most people.

[OPP]

you mean jars with lips right? like shouldered jars?

Cause I use half pint shoulderless jars with no issue at all, as do most people.

 

Yep. Jars with lips.

I have never seen a jar with a lid that doesn't have a shoulder/narrowing for the lid.

[shadehouse]

im a noob and this is what i do, critique is welcome!

first i clean the bench and my hands, then i get a chinese takeaway container and fill it two thirds with water. i work at coles so i bring home the cardboard that the apples are displayed on (its kinda like egg carton cardboard). i tear the cardboard into little chunks and submerge the shreds. i then put the lid on the box and nuke it for 6 minutes.

after that i CAREFULLY drain the hot water while keeping the cardboard in the box and leave it to sit for a few minutes with the lid rested n top with a small opening for steam to leave

once its cool i take the bum end/spawn/skinned stipe of the mushroom and plop it in, close the lid, label the date and species, give it a good shake and leave it under my desk.

so far its been really really good for king oysters and white oysters, theyve even started pinning on the cardboard alone, and what i think is Hypsizygus tessellatus is colonising well too. ive had poor luck with shitake though

i recently took the pininng king oyster out of it box because the mushrooms were getting too big for such a small box and i microwaved some more cardboard, some newspaper, a handful of coffee beans and a handful of whole rye (or was it barley i forgot) grains in a bigger plastic container, drained off the water, let it cool, put the colonised cardboard in and shook the whole thing up

so far ive learnt from failures that oysters LOVE coffee but HATE tea (or at least contams love tea more) and they also HATE getting too wet and even an egg yolk is enough to drown them. they seem fine with dry dog food though!

[myco]

Yep. Jars with lips.

I have never seen a jar with a lid that doesn't have a shoulder/narrowing for the lid.

 

That's why you get proper canning jars / mason jars

they don't have the lip at the top of the jar

It's fine to use random jars or even glasses as people have said with nuthing but alfoil as a lid

I've had no problem with this in the past

But it's a good idea to just get some mason jars they aren't that expensive