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AdamChris asked:
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hi,
the cupboard I use to put my bags in for incubation is around 24c . I was thinking, will the internal temperature of the bags be much higher and result in the temperature being too high? I suppose I could put a probe in and get some tape to cover the puncture?
AdamHi Alfonso and Anthony,
Apologies for being a little slow in helping out here – it’s been a really flat out few weeks here re-building our growing rooms in a new building.
Anthony’s advice about lighting is spot on and in addition I’d just add that we’ve found Oyster mushrooms are not particularly fussy with lighting requirements – we’ve grown them well in diffuse natural light, under normal neon lights and also for as little exposure as just 2 hours a day. Of all the growing conditions, lighting is the least important.
With regards temperaure the best solution would be to measure the existing conditions and then select a strain which is used to growing at this temperautre, rather than needing to heat or cool the space drastically.
Best of luck with it and do let us know how you get on,
Adam
AdamHi Tara,
The bags we use inside our coffee collection buckets are made of cornstarch. Here’s a link to the ones we use here in the UK:
http://www.caddiesandliners.
Hope you can find something similar there in Canada.
Best wishes,
Adam
AdamTara asked:
Hi,
just curious about the biodegradable bags you use to line your buckets with to collect coffee in. Are these bags food grade as well as biodegradable?
Thanks.
Tara
AdamHi Diana,
Great to hear you’ve had 3 flushes from your bags already. Could you email us some photos when you have a moment? It’d be great to see!
The spent substrate is best if broken up and left to compost a little for a few weeks first, as you will find it will reform and grow tiny mushrooms if just used straight away from the grow bags. It will likely be slightly acidic (around pH5), so you may want t omix in some lime to make more neutral, depending on what plants you want to grow. It’d be best to mix it with other compost material, as the small structure of the coffee grounds means it tends to compact very easily if used on it’s own.
Best of luck!
Adam
AdamDiana asked:
Hello Guys,
I´m about to finish my first batch of mushrooms after three flushes. I have read that the used substrate can be used as fertelized so I think I want to use it to start a home garden. Do you Know if I need to do some kind of procedure to the subtrate for this or should I just mix it with the soil I already have? Is there suggested ratio subtrate/soil? any other use for it?
Thank you,..
AdamHi Lisen,
As far as I am aware, cardboard produced within the EU or USA is safe to use, but it is worth further research and knowing the orginal source of the card.
It is best to use card with little or no ink and to avoid laminated card, but most simple cardboard boxes which you could pick up at a shop would normally be fine to use.
Hope this helps,
Adam
AdamLisen asked:
Hi,
For the stem butt method – do you have any recommendations on good sources of card (in Europe), ensuring that it is not treated with chemicals to be flame resistant or similar?
Thanks!
AdamBest of luck and let us know how you get on as I’m sure there are others with the same issue,
Adam
AdamTara asked:
Hi, I will be starting to collect coffee soon, but these are grounds from a drip coffee maker and tend to be very saturated. How do you suggest draining the water but still keeping the coffee sterile?
Thanks.
Tara
AdamHi Diana,
The main measure to begin with is just the yield of mushrooms per amount of substrate.
For example, 2.5kg of mushrooms from 10kg of substrate would be a reaosnable yield as you would hope to grow at least 25% of the weight of the substrate in fresh mushrooms. This is just a rough measure however as it depends on many factors, not least the moisture content of the substrate.
So if you wanted to go a step deeper, then you would meaure biological efficiency, which is the weight of the fresh mushrooms in relation to the dry weight of substrate.
For example, if:
dry weight of substrate = 1kg
fresh mushroom weight from 2 flushes = 900g
Then your biological efficiency (BE) would be 90%. With Oysters it is possible to achieve more than 150% BE if everything is working optimally, but anything from 100% upwards is good.
I guess it’s also worth calculating the amount of coffee grounds you’ve recycled as a success measure too!
Best wishes,
Adam
AdamDiana asked:
Hi guys,
I`ve been working and picking up some delicious oystermushrooms. I was wondering what kind of mesaurments do you take to know that your cultivation is working in a efficient manner?
Thank you
AdamWith the Hydrated Lime, the main thing is that it is high Calcium content, and low Magnesium content.
Ideally Calcium content is around 95% or more. High Magnesium content (anything over 10%) is not advisable as it will stunt mushroom growth.
Hydrated lime made from Calcium Carbonate is the one you want, and any made from Dolomite Lime will tend to have the high Magnesium content.
Hope this helps,
Adam
AdamHi Karla,
Yeah, sure, the two different types of Lime are:
You would use the Calcium Carbonate mixed in with the coffee grounds to act as a buffer and keep the substrate pH higher during growth, and you use the Calcium Hydroxide for pasteurising straw.
Best wishes,
Adam
AdamKarla asked:
Hey guys,
Can you tell what the formulas are for the two different limes we have to use? Just to make sure,
Hydrated Lime (Calcium hydroxide) Is it Ca(OH) ?
and Agricultural Lime (Calcium carbonate) Is it CaCO?
Regards!
