Newbie: Questions regarding fruiting and yield of cakes.

Started by Wednesdays, October 19, 2010, 09:53:46 AM

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Wednesdays

Hello all,

I would like to thank everyone on this site first of all for providing awesome information. Growing mushrooms for the first time has been remarkably straight forward given all of the information found on this site.

That said, I have a few questions and I would appreciate any/all advice.

I recently inoculated 2 jars to begin with and was delighted to see the growth of mycelium within 5 days. I'm currently awaiting full colonization but am already wondering about fruiting.

The pictures/descriptions in the Pf-Tek series do not mention things such as soaking the colonized cakes overnight and later coating them in dry verm to fruit, while the videos provided (Part 4) advocate this. Is it necessary to soak/coat the cakes to initiate fruiting?

Also, the videos do not mention "pinning" unless I am mistaken. Is pinning necessary before you begin fruiting?

And, finally, what kind of yield can I expect from 2 1/2 pint cakes? I inoculated each with ~1.5 cc's of Golden Mammoth spores.

Thank you so much!!


Vandal_xx

The soaking after your jars are 100 percent colonized is called the "dunk" and the verm is called the" roll". It is important because it gives the cakes pleanty of moisture and will give you a way better yeild. Check out the "lets grow mushrooms PF-tek videos on youtube. They are awsome!!. Also the weight of mushrooms per cake really differs hard to say. you could probobly will get 7 grams dry per cake or so. GOOD LUCK!!
Feel good before dying!!!!!

Vandal_xx

Also, make sure to let your cakes incubate for a week after full colonization... the will fruit faster and better.
Feel good before dying!!!!!

Wednesdays

Awesome, thanks a lot! I'll be sure to do that.

Also, what should the temperature be in the fruiting chamber and what kind of lighting should there be?

Vandal_xx

fruiting in the low 70s and indirect daylight during daylight hours works fine for me.
Feel good before dying!!!!!

raiderred77077

I am in the same boat as Wednesdays, as this is my first time to grow.  I inoculated 12 jars Ecuador strain.  I also was unsure about doing the dunk and roll technique b/c it was not in the PF=Teck for simple minds.  So I took six of the 12 jars that were fully colonized and tried this procedure.  Sunday the 14th I took the cakes out of their soak, and rolled them in the verm.  Now I have them in the Fruiting Chamber w/ the peralite and the plastic container with a ton of holes in it on all 6 sides. 

I have yet to see any signs of growth.  However, I do not have a light on the FC giving it any light yet.  If I need to I have a portable florescent work light I could turn on during the daylight hours if this may help.  I just want to make sure I am doing everything properly.

darksyde

"I have them in the Fruiting Chamber w/ the peralite and the plastic container with a ton of holes in it on all 6 sides."

The holes are there to allow FAE (Fresh Air Exchange) Some are necessary, but too many will cause your RH (Relative Humidity) to be too low. Invest in a Hygrometer to monitor your RH level.

"I do not have a light on the FC giving it any light yet."

Light is a trigger for pinning. If there is an adequate amount of daylight in your room, then lighting isnt required. Without seeing your set-up its hard to judge though. You could use the portable, or Walmart has some nice fluorescent grow lights in various sizes that work great and they're pretty cheap. You can pick up a $5 timer to give you your 12on/off cycle.



raiderred77077

I just ordered the hygrometer the other day through amazon, so I am waiting on it now.  I may have too many holes but I am not sure.  So I have attached a few photos.  Let me know what you guys think.

Well I tried to attach the pictures to this post but I did not know what to put between the img tags it gave me.  I tried to put the file path, but that did not seem to work.    Any help is appreciated.

Also I have a temp gauge reading the internal temp of the fc.  Right now it is about 64 degrees in there.  Is that a bit too cold, and if so how would you guys recommend getting the fc to the proper temp?  I like the temp of my house where it is, and if I need a heating pad or something just let me know.  I have holes on the bottom of the FC to promote air flow and humidity, but if you think a bad would emit enough heat from the bottom I could do that.


raiderred77077

Also do you have a picture of the walmart grow light you are referring to?

darksyde

I use photobucket to post my pics.. Real simple.. load your pics in there, go to your pic and right click on img code, then copy.. Now you can paste right into your posts here.

As for your temps, its not too cold, but they will tend to grow slower in the mid 60's. If you dont want to turn up the furnace you could get an electric space heater and put it on a timer just to keep your grow room warmer. I dont know if a heating pad would be enough to raise the temps through the tub and perlite. Never hurts to try though..

The grow lights are in the lighting isle with all the other bulbs. Mine are 23" but Im pretty sure they had a 15" or 18" too and they are around $12 if I remember right.. The grow lights have UV output and work great for our project.


ImAFungi

I dig the setup :mellow:
I need to get a better pump so I can get 2 FCs going. Right now I'm working on a monotub.
String Cheese + Sherwood Forest = Rothbury Incident!!!

dub504

Monotubs make everything so simple and the yield will blow you away!  :wacko:

raiderred77077

darksyde,

Thanks for the information.  I went out to Walmart and bought a convection space heater, grow lamp and an opaque top to my container.  I tried to find something like your stand at walmart that I could zip tie the lamp to but nothing.  It looks like those rods have some plastic inserts that allow you to make the legs and such.  Do you know where I could pick up a stand like that or build one?

Your setup is very slick.  What is the thing in the middle with the tube running to the two fruiting chambers.  The folks here are mentioning they have a monotube, and hell I do not know what that is either.  Guess I will google that.

Thanks for the help and I will try to get my pictures of my FC up after I post this.

raiderred77077

#13
I use shutterfly for my pictures, and I think I figure out how to post the pictures here.  Thanks for the help.

This is the shotgun FC.  I am not sure what the humidity is in the chamber, but my hygrometer is on the way here.  Also I have replaced the green cover w/ an opaque cover so it can get light.  I then place my grow light on top and turn it on during the day.  Any thought/questions?






I finally figured out how to post pictures to a forum.  Perfect.  Thanks alot for the help everyone.

darksyde

Opaque top? I use plexi for my tops (Ace Hardware, even cut them to requested size) cuz you want unobstructed light shining into your FC.

The stands I made out of leftover tubing from my 3rd grow chamber which is a modified Martha Stewart wardrobe closet that acts as a greenhouse. You could build something simple from wood or pex tubing (plastic plumbing lines) or you could screw 2 small plant hooks and suspend the light from your ceiling with string.. Whatever works best for ya..

The unit in the middle is a TropicAire reptile humidifier set-up.. Thats a simple project as well.. Run a fish tank pump in, it bubbles through water, and the air coming out is humidified. Its a nice, easy, automated system that maintains RH and handles FAE all on its own.. I can send you a PM with the grocery list and help you set it up if you"re interested.

Monotubs are just another option for FC's.. Its basically taking your colonized sub and dumping it into a tub instead of placing in individual pans.. Ive never done 1, but am getting ready to grow some Pan Cyans on poo and Im gonna check it out..
Look at ImAFungi's "Monotub Confusion" post in Cultivation.. Dub posted a link for an easy Monotub set-up 2nd post, so you can get an idea

darksyde

OK so after clicking on the wrong 10 links lol I finally saw your pics.. You will either need to invest in alot of tape or a new tub cuz thats WAY too many holes.. No way you're gonna keep your RH up like that..

My tubs have 4 evenly spaced holes along each long side, and 3 evenly spaced down the short sides for a total of 14 3/16" holes..
I'd venture to say even that many wouldnt maintain the necessary RH if not for the TropicAire pumping in, especially during fruiting..

Live and learn.. Ive crashed and burned a few times.. You have a good support staff here to help so ask Q's til you really understand the "why" as well as the "how"  We'll have you up and running in no time though :mellow:


raiderred77077

I watched a video on building a shotgun FC and the guy had 100's of holes in the tub.  So I did the same, and then I got on here and noticed many post saying not to put too many holes.  Whoops.  I can get another tub and instead of drilling 1/4 holes all over the place I will follow your lead and drop down 1/16 of an inch to the 3/16.

Here is the link to the post/video if interested:
http://www.mushroomvideos.com/Terrarium-Tek

I believe it is the 3rd video on the page and it explains the making of the FC.

I now have the temp right in the room.  Now I will build that light stand out of pvc to hang my light.  Also, I would like you to pm if you get a chance so I can learn about your TropicAire setup.  That thing is slick.

I birthed these cakes on Sat. the 13th and soaked them until the 14th.  They then went into this holed up FC w/ soaked peralite.  Do you think they are junk or do you think w/ the right setup they will still fruit?


darksyde

I honestly couldnt say if they will fruit or not.. Im sure they have dried out quite a bit, but since I dont work with the PF tek, I wouldnt be the 1 for advice on how to turn things around.. Maybe another dunk?? Someone could weigh in on that..
My advice to you as well as all other beginners, would be to start using grains which you can case, or spawn to bulk grows.. The yields on these PF cakes do not justify the efforts IMO..
I started with grains and my 1st 2 casings netted me just over a QP dried weight by the end of their 4th flush..

I would try and salvage what you've got now, but would also get some more in the works asap.
I will send that PM along with pics to get you started and we'll go from there  :mellow:

Wednesdays

Hey darksyde, would you be able to pm me that information as well? I'm a first time grower in the process of fruiting my first cakes and am eager to try other methods on my next batch which are currently in the colonization process.

Thanks!