Cromwell said:
Ah, ok, I guess I didn't equate mushrooms with mold. But I see now that trying to grow mold in hops would be pretty dumb.
Thanks for the references, if SWMBO doesn't totally freak, I might try this.
I understand you can't fruit in spent grain alone, but do you have to fortify the grain to spawn? What I read suggests using other grains, but not barley, and certainly not spent barley.
Oh boy, think of the money I'm going to save using my spent grains and used coffee grounds this way. SWMBO will be impressed. Now where do I order a laminar flow hood and autoclave? Hahahahahahahahahahah.
Seriously, I want to try this.
I'm glad to hear we need more aspiring mycologist, unfortunately the strains most likely to be spawned with or fruit off of are the most difficult to work with, your right about the use of spent grain by others, most work with either rye, wheat, millet, milo, cracked corn, or wbs (wild bird seed), barley works but is expensive, heres a quick break down:
Type price per pound
Rye 1.08
Wheat 1.20
Millet .83
Milo .92
Wbs $10 per 25lbs
Cracked corn $10 per 50lbs
Spent grain cost of gas and time drying
cracked corn contaminates very quickly (google "endospores" its on everything but higher quantities on corn and whole grains) wbs is inconsistent in size and contents and can be treated with fungicides to prevent mold! Most grass seeds are treated too if you where thinking of using it.
Your best chance at success is to go cheap and easy, don't buy "kits" they yield little and teach you less. The easiest mushroom to cultivate is your common button mushroom (agaricus brunnescens), you do not need to sterilize/pasteurized the substrate and can be grown in a large storage tote, don't bother buying spores, clone a proven genome from a store bought one and harvest spores from the ones you grow.
You will need:
A glove box (instructions on the web)
12 quart mason jars
6 pounds organic food grade rye
23 quart pressure cooker (your autoclave)
Pre poured petri dishes (pre sterilized) or make your own (google pda potato dextrous agar)
cleaning supplies
scalpel
Alcohol lamp (for flame sterilization)
Gloves
Tyvek envelopes (free and used as filters for gas exchange)
One agaricus spp. button/crimini/portobello mushroom
In the glove box under sterile conditions, cut the mushroom in half and remove newly exposed tissue from the closests to the bottom of the stem, drop it in the petri dish and seal with micropore tape, leave in the glove box to incubate, once fully colonized, hydrate the rye by soaking for 24hrs with weak coffee and gypsum (5%by vol) boil until grain expands but before they explode, strain, let excess moisture flash off as stream, grains should have a dry look, load into jars, about 3/4 full, the lids should have two 1/8" holes, place a piece of tyvek cut into a circle over the lid, held down by the band and autoclave them for 90mins @15psi or 250°f , after they cool place in glove box, back under sterile conditions, cut wedges of colonized agar out of the dish and place into jar, keep dish and jar exposed as little as possible. Leave in the glove box to incubate (room temps are fine but go warmer than cooler). Shake spawn @10% & 30% colonization to speed up incubation times, you only have ~2 week window to colonize before endospores take over.
After fully colonized spawn to pasteurized straw or un pasteurized horse manure about 10% by weight set this in a 18 gallon tote and let colonize, after colonization "case" with a 50/50 mix post moss and vermiculite at field capasity 4:1 to substrate, use a clear lid to let in ambient light, use duct tape on the sides as high as the depth of your material to prevent side pinning and wait rizomorphs on the surface turn to hypheal knots, that turn into, primordia, that turn into pins that mature into fruit bodies.
Writing this from my phone. But hope it helps
