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groovygardener42069 wrote

Nice! I have some syringes for sclerotia-producing spp in my sock drawer, but I've been too broke to purchase substrate, sterilization materials, etc. I recently started a new job, so it's about time to get this train rolling :)

Do you have a link to a beginner's guide I can use and put in the sticky?

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[deleted] wrote

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groovygardener42069 wrote

Thanks! I just added that to my bookmarks :)

In your opinion, how important is a pressure cooker -really-? Would I be able to make do with a regular pot of boiling water? I know the difference between 95% and 100% sterility is fairly significant, but people were cultivating these before pressure cookers were invented, yeah?

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[deleted] wrote (edited )

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groovygardener42069 wrote

Lmao the people on the other site were acting like I'm gonna get botulism when I asked about this. Thank you!

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throwaway OP wrote

I've had a good deal of success with a boiling pot, but have since moved to a pressure cooker, mainly because it's not such a hassle, and secondarily because getting a whole session of jars contaminated every now and then really sucks.

I'd say you'll be fine with just a pot, really, if you don't mind a bit of extra work.

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groovygardener42069 wrote

I'll try that next weekend, then! I generally dose low and infrequently, and I'm doing this to pull myself -out- of black markets, so a little extra cost/labor isn't a killer for me

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throwaway OP wrote (edited )

That's cool! I've never played with sclerotia, but I imagine the concept is similar. I harvested my first couple flushes from a simple coco coir substrate, spawned from jars full of brown rice. I sterilized the jars simply by covering the lids with tinfoil, placing them in a pot filled halfway with water, and letting them steam-sterilize for a few hours.

All in all, I paid for nothing but the rice, coco coir and spore syringe.

As a broke bonus, you can take spore prints from the best shroom of the bunch, and make a new syringe from that, or cut out a piece of the stem and use that to inoculate your next jar - although I'm not sure how that would work with sclerotia.

As for a beginners guide, just look around on shroomery - there's a shitton of well-written teks. My favorite author is bodhisatta, who goes simply by Bod.

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moonlune wrote

How did you get your syringes? Postal service?

I remember seeing a reddit sub where they used uncle ben's rice as starter: it's full of the right nutrients and already sterilized.

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groovygardener42069 wrote

Yes, spores are legal in most US states, to my understanding. I was able to pay with a debit card and my order didn't come in any special stealth shipping. I ordered the syringes several months ago and I haven't had any visits from Officer Friendly in the meantime.

I have heard of the uncle ben's method, but you do want the vessel they're growing in to be properly sterilized as well, yes?

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moonlune wrote

In eu it's more or less the case too. I'll probably buy some soon, I'm as intrigued by the harvest add by the adventure of growing mushrooms.

I think you're meant to keep the rice in the packet for the first few critical days and only take it out once the mushrooms have started growing.

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throwaway OP wrote

I'm as intrigued by the harvest as by the adventure of growing mushrooms

A friend of mine is just like that; he makes an impressive tub, but hasn't tripped himself in years. He sells them for cheap, and spends the money on resources for the local homeless people: food, warm clothes and such.

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throwaway OP wrote

I've played around with Uncle Ben's multiple times - stay away from those. Learn it properly from the get-go.

My experience with Uncle Ben's has been real slow grow times, enormous chance of contamination, mutated or very small mushrooms, and a serious decrease in potency. Uncle Ben's contains a bunch of chemicals, as well as a good deal of salt, which really messes with the process. As if that wasn't enough, they're not nearly as rich in healthy nutrients as a bag of organic brown rice.

It's a bit of extra work, but it's better to do it whole-heartedly and right, than half-heartedly and half right.

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Ennui wrote

I’d be interested in tips for hiding them. How difficult is the setup to keep away from prying eyes?

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groovygardener42069 wrote

Depends on if you're growing mushrooms or sclerotia (truffles). With mushrooms you need a fruiting chamber, think like one of those medium size plastic tupperware totes people put shit they don't want to think about in and shove under their bed. With truffles you can just use a mason jar. Bedroom closet vs. sock drawer

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throwaway OP wrote

Surprisingly easy. A shoebox-sized tub can be hidden away in a closet, under a couch or something similar, as long as you make sure to manage humidity properly (no setup needed, just fan and mist when needed).

A heating mat could be necessary if you live somewhere cold, but I'm sure you could incorporate it in a stealthy manner.

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kin wrote

Do you have a favorite tek?

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throwaway OP wrote

My jars aren't really based on a tek anymore, I just wing it and improve a little every time. I really like bod's unmodified tub, it's given me beautiful canopies and is overall very easy to get going with. I used to use all sorts of substrate add-ons, such as horse crap, vermiculite, perlite and all that, but lately I've only been using coir, no casing layer, no bullshit. Simplicity seems to be the way to go.

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