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BlueSpike

I don't see much to worry about all the materials in you kit have been "autoclaved" thats a level of santitation that I can't even get to.
The method I am posting I call the boiling pot method. I will add more very soon>

Pan

Really good run through of your technique cheers for posting it

one question though, i was told that there are many contaminants that boiling temperatures wont kill....so a pressure cooker was *essential*

I take it you havent found that to be the case, what sort of success rate do you get with the methods you use?

I know you weren't asking me but i have some experience in this aswell using almost the exact technique.

I found that a pressure cooker wasn't quite essential. It absolutly can't hurt but you can have success without one. Obviously if you aren't using one then it becomes even more important to keep EVERYTHING as sterile as possible.

I believe i did a total of six batches without a pressure cooker. The first 4 were in one location and around the same time frame.....all worked out fantastically, only two or three contaminated jars. The final two batches were helping someone else do it years after my first trys....both of these batches were complete failures contamination was rampant. Wheter or not a pressure cooker would have helped is unclear, i think the spore syringes may have been contaiminated (they came from a questionable source).

Cheers for the info mazdog, sounds like as long as your ultra careful with all the other sterility steps then using the pan & hot water can work well. I miss my shrooms...thank god for mescaline cactus & morning glory seeds

Kaiser Saucy

Follow the instructions in the guide and you grow any strain of mushroom. It all works the same spore prints are legal in the US and UK.
You can use the steps here to grow your favorate store shrooms too.
I have grown oyster shrooms by spore printing fresh ones from the store.
I will soon post more on multi strains in the same chamber and spore printing.
Enjoy

Pan

cheers for the info...i'll keep an eye on this thread

Hi Yall!!
By this time your mushrooms you should start to clumping and the beginings of mushrooms forming. My yield this time 5 of 6 butter fingers here dropped one in the pot and got water in it. Not one jar lost from contamination

Spore printing
Materials needed
Sterile gloves
a postal envlope
Sharp knife
One fresh picked mushroom with veil broken
a glass

Put on the gloves get out your fresh envlope most people don't know that the inside of an envlope is sterile. Now get the mushroom using a flame sterilize the knife cut the stem at the base of the cap. Put the cap inside the envlope then put the glass over the whole thing. This keeps out airborne contamination the time is about 2 hours to get a good print.
Remove the glass fold the envlope and put in a plastic bag.
You now have a spore print. I advise using color paper for edibules.
Sorry for the spelling I didn't use word.

Pan
Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question except for the one you didn't ask.

the hour long boil and sterile --very clean terrarium with cover are essential

On the second harvest now

With the first crop of shrooms its now time to dry them.

Materials needed:

1/4 inch wire mesh
old wash cloth or rag
carton of Damp-Rid or Damp-be-Gone (Anhydrous calcium chloride)
Medium or Large size Tupperware bowl with sealing lid
Several pounds of calcium chloride can be purchased for a couple of dollars at any large building supply outlet. It will usually be found in the paint department because it is used to dry the air in musty closets before painting and things like that. If possible, get the bulk refill containers. It will be cheaper than the calcium chloride that comes with the units to hold it and the moisture pulled from the air. You won't be using the unit, so don't buy it unless you have to.

The drying chamber needs to have a space at the bottom for water to collect. This allows the calcium chloride to function well for extended periods of time. As it pulls moisture from the air, it drips to the bottom of the chamber. The calcium chloride is held above the water by a circular section of the 1/4 inch wire mesh with a wash cloth spread out on it. The wash cloth keeps the calcium chloride from falling through the wire mesh but any water that forms can drip through it to the bottom of the chamber.

The calcium chloride should be spread out evenly. If you use too large of a Tupperware bowl, you may have to add some structural strength to the screen in order for it to support the calcium chloride. You can simply lay a stick or ruler underneath the mesh and use tie wraps to secure the mesh to it.
Cut another circular section of mesh so that it fits above the calcium chloride and leaves a nice air gap. The mushrooms will be placed on this mesh in order to dry them. Make sure the calcium chloride is not touching the bottom of this screen. There should be an air gap between the top of the desiccant and the bottom of the screen. You do not want your mushrooms to touch the calcium chloride while they are drying because some of it will dissolve into the mushroom if this happens.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That is the entire preparation for preserving your mushrooms with minimal loss of potency. In order to dry your mushrooms, simply harvest them and place them on the wire screen. Close the Tupperware container so it is air tight. The mushrooms will shrink and shrivel over the next couple of days. After about three days, they will be fairly hard and contain very little moisture. If you are not pushed for space inside the drying chamber, you may was well leave them there for five or six days to thoroughly dry them.
After the mushrooms have been in the drying chamber for three days, they can be moved to a zip-lock bag for long term storage. Remember that the dryer the mushrooms are, the longer they will keep.


Pan4

You wiil never guess what we are six for six. The last cake is taking off.
I will start a thread for table shrooms soon. Yum Yum I will start with Portabello's and oysters and try for morells.


Pan4