Mushy Mayhem

[Goonie Goat]

Just a little diary on the side, hopefully all goes well, figured I'd give it a crack again after having a break. still got bags that I could fruit that have been sitting for quite a while (around 5 months I think) but just used them as c02 boosters for my plants

 

[Goonie Goat]

Chucked all my colonized agar out and cleaned the jars (had been sitting in the fridge for almost a year but still looked okay besides some condensation). Had some left over agar (in a beer bottle lol) from last time also
I don't drink Carlton by the way


Put the bottle of agar in a water bath on the stove, took a while to liquify but finally got there


Had just enough agar to do all the jars , then into the pressure cooker for 15 mins at 12 psi to sterilize

Worked on the substrate after. Coco / Manure / Seaweed Compost and some oats and gypsum. Perfect amount of moisture, ready to bag up and pressure cook for a few hours.

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Interesting substrate mix. Why the seaweed compost?

 

[Goonie Goat]

Interesting substrate mix. Why the seaweed compost?

Just had it laying around but only added a little amount, its basically regular compost mixed with seaweed so most of its basically wood which I chucked out. Researched it and there's a bit of info online saying the minerals in seaweed are good for mushrooms, others say it increases dry yield and potency but didn't want to add too much just in case it was really salty, they reckon to only add it to manure based substrates though

The presence of the calcareous seaweed in the growing medium surprisingly produced mushrooms that had increased % dry weight; increased mineral content with improved taste and colour.

 

[Orb]

u have an eye for a bargain Goonie, where did u get ur jars?

 

[Goonie Goat]

u have an eye for a bargain Goonie, where did u get ur jars?

12Pcs Glass Jars with Lid Small Food Candy Storage Mason Jam Bottle Container AU | eBay

12 Mason Jars. Open cabinets and quickly find what you're after with 2 kinds of jars labels. Stylish Design Clear Glass Round Mason Jar. - 12Pcs Mason Jars. Made of high-quality, crystal clear, 100% BPA-free, toxic-free, lead-free glass to ensure food-grade safety.

www.ebay.com.au

That's them Orb. I remember seeing the idea somewhere on YouTube I think

 

[benn0]

Where do you get the agar from mate? and what kind of pressure cooker are you using? I've tried dabbling in plant tissue culture but failed when i couldn't get my agar mix correct

 

[Goonie Goat]

Where do you get the agar from mate? and what kind of pressure cooker are you using? I've tried dabbling in plant tissue culture but failed when i couldn't get my agar mix correct

I've been using this stuff
https://www.shroombloomsupplies.com.au/product/malt-extract-agar
They have an eBay shop also but for some reason can't link it here, I wanted to make my own but just bought premixed for convenience,

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.com.au

Here's the pressure cooker, I'm pretty happy with it but it only goes to about 12 psi though, figured that bigger is better if making mushroom bags. Managed to jam 7 bags in which I cooked for 2 hours 30 mins. Agar cooks for 10-15 mins

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Agar agar can be purchase from most Asian grocery stores.
I use Saunders malt extract as my sugar source for agar dishes.
I bought proper Petri dishes from a science website for schools.

 

[benn0]

Agar agar can be purchase from most Asian grocery stores.
I use Saunders malt extract as my sugar source for agar dishes.
I bought proper Petri dishes from a science website for schools.

yeah thats what ive been mucking with, the sachels with what looks like thai writing on them and red and blue lines
edit:

 

[Goonie Goat]

Swabbed the agar with Avery's Albino and Tasmanian Spores, did four of each. They've been sitting in clothes draws for quite a while so hopefully it works. Sifted through my old bags I was using for CO2 and found some that didn't get contaminated so I decided to fruit those while waiting for the others to colonize. My setup is just some Supercheap auto shelves with some 6500k leds stuck under the shelves with liquid nails, runs off a laptop charger but only have them on for fruiting.

 

[Goonie Goat]

Just thought I'd share the parts to my mushroom shelves if anyone is interested in making something similar.
Starting with the shelves.

SCA 4 Shelf Unit Galvanised

SCA 4 Shelf Unit Galvanised

www.supercheapauto.com.au

Can get them on sale sometimes for $10 each, kind of flimsy but okay for the price.

6500k led strips

4X12V Waterproof Cool White 5630 Led Strip Lights Bars Camping Caravan Boat Car | eBay Australia

4X12V Waterproof Cool White 5630 Camping Light Led Strip Lights Bars Boat Car. LED Type: 5630 SUPER BRIGHT. 5630 Led Strip Lights Bars Camping Boat Car + Remote. 5630 Led Strip Lights Bars Camping Caravan Boat Set.

www.ebay.com.au

Power supply

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.com.au

16awg speaker cable

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.com.au

Liquid nails
Zip ties
Solder
Electrical tape or heat shrink tubes
50L clear storage tubs
Perlite

Pretty simple to make, put the shelf together, flip it upside down and glue the lights on with liquid nails. Then cut connectors off and extend the cable length with stereo cable so it will reach the next shelf and solder it up and wrap with tape, zip tie any loose bits of cable around the frame. 50L storage containers fit like a glove so great for monotubs and shotgun fruiting chambers. Mushrooms don't need much light at all but some light helps them get colour so you could probably run 2 shelves with 8 lights off the 1 power supply. Relatively cheap and tidy enough. Kind of reminds me of the stacked aquariums at pet shops

 

[Goonie Goat]

Looks like we have some mycelium from the Tasmanian strain. Very fast as mentioned before here on the mycology thread, so looks like a great beginner strain for sure. No signs of mycelium yet on the Avery's Albino, I remember it took a few weeks to see anything last time I tried but have noticed a spot of bacterial growth in 1 jar. Did 4 jars of each strain just in case this happened anyway. The Dark blotch in the picture is just the tip of the cotton bud which I chopped off and jammed into the agar.

I may even send a few bags out to some members if people are interested, won't take long for this mycelium to take over the mushroom bags.

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Awesome setup mate.

 

[Orb]

love it Goonie, super tidy setup!

 

[Goonie Goat]

Thanks @Orb @Aye Shroomer , hopefully I'll get some good chunks of mycelium with no contam.. will probably use liquid cultures after this, too convenient not to

 

[Orb]

Thanks @Orb @Aye Shroomer , hopefully I'll get some good chunks of mycelium with no contam.. will probably use liquid cultures after this, too convenient not to

Yeah keen to see how this plays out Goonie, love the detail and pics u post, going to make it so much easier to copy the master!!

 

[Mellow oldfark]

Anyone know if the turkey tail mushroom is grown in Oz?

 

[med180]

Anyone know if the turkey tail mushroom is grown in Oz?

Aussie mushroom supplies has them listed

Mushroom Spawn Bag 1.7kg - Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) made to order - Aussie Mushroom Supplies

Made to order Turkey Tail – Trametes versicolor – Spawn Turkey tail is a very slow fruiting fungi, so be mindful of that when dedicating grow space for your mushrooms. Recommended Substrate: Hardwood sawdust Type: medicinal usage and compounds, research Characteristics: Multicoloured...

aussiemushroomsupplies.com.au

 

[Goonie Goat]

Anyone know if the turkey tail mushroom is grown in Oz?

Sure is, got some on a stump in the backyard, theyre like leather with a velvet feel on-top, look underneath and it should be white with pores, these mushrooms don't have gills they are a polypore mushroom. If it has gills and yellow then it's a false turkey tail

They just turned up one day after lots of rain. They are Saprophytic, they break down and feed off wood

Found this on Reddit, lol