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Cornelia Kyrer2 weeks later and the bags in the garage are fruiting. The mushrooms look weird though. The stems are long and the caps are pointing in all different directions!
Former mushrooms grown in the greenhouse looked the same but I assumed there was not enough air exchange and that the light from the pond fogger (I could not find one without) caused them to grow in the wrong directions.
There is no doubt that there is enough air exchange in the room, also there is natural daylight.
What could cause these malformations? Is the mycelium/strain not ok?
https://imgur.com/a/FPwTK Here’s the picture!
Cornelia KyrerHi all,
A lot of time has passed since the last post…. I was relieved you said the mycelium looks healthy, so the next day I took a really long and close look at my bags and found some signs of pinning. There were already slits in the bags (made on top of bright white parts of the mycelium). None of the pins were anywhere near the incisions so I concluded that the conditions in the fruiting chamber were too dry. I switched the pond fogger on permanently (it had been on 50% of the time before that). Some pins started developing mushrooms then but the stems were too long. So I made the holes in the greenhouse bigger for more air exchange. Then some of the mushrooms dried out, also because the water level got a bit too low just around the holidays. I had a little crop on the 24th of december (150g) but the other clusters did not recover.
A few days later when I made slits in the bags of the 2nd batch I discovered green mould on my first batch. Just a tiny spot under the plastic in one bag but a big patch on the top of the other bag. I removed them both immediately and put them in our garage (where they were waiting for disposal), but the less infected bag seems to have recovered and is pinning all over. The mould has not grown. So I will keep that bag in the garage and see what happens next.
My second batch (incubated about 2w later than the first one) went into the fruiting space around Christmas as well. After a couple of days I cut slits. They are pinning now but again, all pins are under the plastic. The pond fogger is on 24/7 now, so I hope there will be enough humidity. Do you have any tips what I could do better? The tub with the pond fogger is on the lowest shelf of the greenhouse now, humidity on the shelf above seems quite high but not enough on the second shelf. The bags feel very slightly moist to the touch though.
Another problem I have been trying to address is that most pins have appeared (with each bag so far) on top of the mycelium block, near the filter strips. I suppose humidity is high there. But I cannot make incisions there for the mushrooms to grow unless I open the whole bag. So I just watch those pins grow and degenerate. My third batch (started incubation on the 1st of December with the remains of grain spawn from my first 2 batches) I incubated lying flat. Not only have they been the fastest to grow through the substrate (by far), the mycelium also looks healthier. I hope they will start pinning on top (I put them in the fruiting chamber today) so I can cut slits right above the pins then.
The strain is called H1 by the way.
Any input is highly appreciated, I was a bit down when the first bags started to grow mould but my spirit is up again now the other bags are looking good 🙂
Cornelia KyrerLinks don’t seem to be working so I’ll mail the pictures as well.
Cornelia KyrerI have some things to add to this list already:
– kitchen paper to wipe sufaces
– towel for your hands
– hygrometer
Cornelia KyrerI am by now one week into incubation! Mixing and inoculation worked fine and I still have more than half of my grain spawn left. I might start another batch this week still. The bags are looking great so far, the mycelium is growing at an amazing rate and there is no sign of contamination.
In the meanwhile I shared my supply list on the forum:Â https://growmushroomsoncoffee.com/topic/detailed-supply-list/ hoping others might find it useful.
Cornelia KyrerThanks Eric!
Can I use those filter bags in the same way as the ones you use in the video? Fill them half way and store them standing up for incubation?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get the best start I can for my oysters!
Cornelia KyrerMy spawn and filter bags have arrived!!
Does the spawn look healthy to you? I expected it to be brighter white.
The filter bags are a different type from the ones used in the video, do the same rules apply (filling them halfway, storing them standing up)?
Thanks a lot for your detailed answers Adam! I am excited to get started.
I will keep you posted!
Cornelia KyrerGetting closer to actually ordering my materials and starting to grow…. so I’ve been doing more reading and was wondering:
– How do you keep a stable temperature during incubation with a heat mat? From what I read in other forums that does not seem to be easy (or did you just happen to be lucky and find the exactly right format for you box)?
– Is there a method to determine the heating mat format for the incubation space volume? Our house is quite cool (approximately 18°C) so I think some kind of heating is necessary.
– Is it useful to add more straw if you have easy access to it (in terms of yield and substrate structure)?
Thanks again!