| Bulk Substrate Growing |
| This section is for the mycrophile that has some experience and desires to cultivate a large crop of mushrooms. This section is intended for someone that has already grown several crops using the PF Tek procedure detailed earlier in this document. This section assumes a certain amount of experience and expertise. Please do not attempt this technique without first gaining the experience; you will most likely fail if you do so. The procedure detailed earlier in this document is the best one known for making it possible for a first time cultivator to succeed. But it is very inefficient and the culture jars take a significant amount of time to manufacture and colonize. If you desire to grow a large quantity of mushrooms, you will find it is not practical for your needs. The following procedure is an adaptation of the traditional mushroom cultivation techniques. It assumes you have some experience and don't need to be warned about this and that. The following description of the bulk growing procedure should be sufficient for an educated person to follow. There are many fine books on the subject and rather than compete with them, I suggest you get one if you start having difficulties. However, if you are careful, these directions should get you a truck load of shrooms. There has been such a demand for instructions to accomplish growing on a bulk substrate, the author has decided to help. But the following process has not been 'idiot proofed' yet. You will need to use common sense and adapt as issues arise. Please note that this process depends on sterile procedures being in place. If you fail, it will most likely be because you introduced contaminates. Materials needed: 1 quart canning jars Whole Grain Rye (Organically Grown) Fresh Psilocybe Cubensis Mushrooom or 100% colonized culture jar Pressure Cooker Food Processor 1 Quart canning jars Coarse Ground Vermiculite Large Cake or Roasting Pans Mixing bowl Step 1 The first step in the process is to generate several spawn jars. Place 2/3 cup of Rye in each canning jar. Add 3/4 cup of water to each jar. Loosely screw on the caps and sterilize the jars in the pressure cooker. 45 minutes at 15 PSI is usually good. Note that a pressure cooker is necessary for several reasons. First, bulk grain is more difficult to sterilize. Secondly, in order to get the grain to absorb as much water as possible, pressure is required. As the Rye cooks, it will expand and all of the water should soak into the rye. Let the jars cool to room temperature. The rye should be loose and break apart if you rotate the jars. That is the main reason rye is used instead of some other grain. This will be important later. Step 2 At this point you need mycelium to inoculate the grain. You will need a clean food processor and set of blades for it. If you can sterilize it in the pressure cooker, this is best. If not, throw it in the dish washer with lots of soap. Don't open the pressure cooker or dish washer until you are ready to use it. If you are using a mushroom, perform the following steps. Sterilize 1/4 cup of water. Let it cool. Put the water and the mushroom into the food processor and turn the mixture into a slurry. Don't mix the slurry more than you need to. You are creating small fragments of mycelium by chopping up the mushroom. The more you chop it up, the more damage you do to the small pieces of mycelium. Open each spawn jar and place 4 or 5 cc's of the prepared slurry in the jar. Close the lid and rotate the jar so the Rye kernels tumble and mix inside the jar. The idea is to get as many kernels as possible to have mycelium fragments on them. Loosen the lid and place the jars in a warm, dark location. There are several reasons why tissue from a mushroom is preferred to spores for the inoculation of the spawn jars. Mycelium does not need to germinate. It starts growing immediately. Normally only 1/3 of the diakratic tissue in a multi-spore inoculation is capable of fruiting. By defination, this tissue came from a fruit body and is capable of fruiting. Since every mushroom grown on the bulk substrate is of identical genetic origin, they will be very close in potency. If you are using a 100% colonized culture jar, perform the following steps. First, the culture jar should have been 100% colonized for at least a week. This lets the mycelium grow into the cake and results in more of it being available for the inoculation. Birth the cake, and place it in the food processor. Turn it into little pieces smaller than a pea. Dump the sterilized rye into the food processor and turn it on just long enough to mix things up well. Place the contents of the food processor back into the jar and cover it loosely. The cleaner your environment the more likely you will get through this stage without introducing contaminates. This is the most likely place to induce failure. Steps 3-11 |
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