cobweb mold destruction

Started by mushysan, July 30, 2004, 11:25:32 AM

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mushysan

Hi!

I have a huge problems with cobweb mold lately. Everything is fine until I spawn the pasterized compost (dung/straw) with healthy micelium. I pasterize the compost for 1 hour in hot water and then drain the water out. Then I apply 1 inch of pure dung over the compost and colonize the plastic boxes covered with plastic sheets with filters and holes for air at 26 Celzius WITHOUT additional fanning. Although i put some micelium on the surface on pure dung to colonize quicker and lower the chances of contamination, after 5 days of incubation the cobweb is there! And even if I manage to make a casing after the surface is colonized healthy after 5 days, the cobweb appears later even if I fann then 3 times a day. (temp is then around 24,25C)

Please tell me what could be the main cause for mold - to much humidity and not enough fanning? Should I lower the temps and increase fanning to 5 times i day on fresh air? Or perhaps the casing soil was to wet, but i thing it was ok, becasuse if you sqeeze it only a few water droplets came out fist. So, please help me out with a suggestion, because I'm getting desperate, bacause I have already grown mushrooms succesfully, but now this mold drives me mad. Please help me out! tnx!

Mushysan

anno

>I apply 1 inch of pure dung over the compost

Why? You should case with something non-nutritious, for instance a mixture of peat, vermiculite and limestone flour.

PEACEMAN123

I ALWAYS PUT ATINY BIT OF BLEACH IN MY HUMIDITY SPRAY I RARELY GET CONTS;I WOULD LOOK UP COB.W.M. ON THE WEB STUDY

treasurecoast

I agree with anno. Case with a non-nutritious layer after the pasteurized substrate is fully colonized. Truth be told, a casing layer is not needed with bulk substrates and cubes. You may want to pasteurize longer. I usually go for at least 3 hours just to make sure the center has reached proper temps. That may be overkill but it also depends how much substrate you are making too. 73 deg C is perfect for pasteurization going higher and you start killing off good bacteria.

I use the pillow case method for making bulk substrate. After it is pasteurized I hang it overnight to drain. The next day it will be perfect field capacity. You can twist/squeeze it and almost no water will come out. Horse poo is perfect for this as it will be fluffy and moist, not muddy.

Bulk subs need to breathe. Take that plastic off of it. It will be fine. You just need air circulation, nothing intense, just very slight and light. Less is more. IMO cobweb is usually from stale air, but maybe your sub was too wet. Your temp seems fine.

Lastly, don't spray bleach on your sub. Fruits don't like it. If you want to kill cobweb use H2O2 Hydrogen peroxide. If it's bad use full strength. The cob web will sizzle like an infection.
Good luck