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Messages - erasurehead

#1
Cultivation / Re: how to test PH?
October 15, 2007, 11:24:43 AM
Hi,

you mix up some of the casing with de-ionized (destilled) water and test the pH of the resulting solution.  At least, that's what you do if you want to test the pH of soil.

Hope that helps.

cheers,

-e
#2
Cultivation / Re: to uncover or not to uncover...
October 15, 2007, 01:07:53 AM
Quote from: anno on October 08, 2007, 11:38:12 AM
I guess yes. Not a thick layer, definitely leave some space for the mushrooms to grow through.

ok, how does this look:







Thanks for your help, anno!

-e
#3
Cultivation / Re: to uncover or not to uncover...
October 08, 2007, 10:15:45 AM
Hi Anno,

thanks for replying....you might remember consulting on this same (although then not fruiting) patch a year ago in the thread "too much rain?"  :ph34r:

Quote from: anno on October 08, 2007, 01:38:50 AM

>should some sort of minimal covering be placed on top?

Optionally, yes.
Keep the patch moist if you can.

ok...so would those hedge trimmings be okay as covering?

-e
#4
Cultivation / to uncover or not to uncover...
October 07, 2007, 10:44:20 AM
Hi,

someone I met at a bar showed me these pics of woodlover pinheads just starting to fruit:



as you can see the patch is still covered with cardboard, which is half disintegrated:




Under the cardboard it looks like this:




Can the cardboard be left on, or should the patch be uncovered now? If the cardboard is removed, can/should some sort of minimal covering, like some plant cuttings (e.g. there are some fresh trimmings from those little hedge plants to be seen at the bottom of the second pic which could be used), etc. be placed on top?

I'd appreciate any advice on this in case I bump into that person again since they were anxious to get a tip on this...

cheers,

-e
#5
Cultivation / Re: too much rain?
December 10, 2006, 02:41:12 AM
Hello Pboks,

thanks for the fats...I'll pass them along if I ever see this guy again...

Anno,

thanks again for your diagnosis...did you have any further comments regarding my last reply?

-e
#6
Cultivation / Re: too much rain?
December 06, 2006, 10:04:22 AM
Thanks for your reply and diagnosis.

I agree that it's not too well colonized, but don't you think it looked much better in September than in December, especially comparing the shot with the mycelium creeping up through the holes in the cardboard with the pure white chips below (must view in full size to see) with the later shot that I commented on as being too wet? Do those chips look too wet to you? It definitely seems like there's less mycelium on the chips that are really wet and less mycelium total compared w/ september.

btw, "more and more" chips aren't being added continuously, only some bigger beech bark chips along with leaf litter were scattered on top after uncovering in september and a little soil at the End of November. Was that unnecessary/unwise?

The patch wasn't prepared until mid May, so maybe that was just too late?

-e
#7
Cultivation / Re: too much rain?
December 06, 2006, 05:48:59 AM
Hi,

here are some pics he had. the first shows the patch being made, then next few show the patch just before being uncovered in September, the last ?? show the patch now:

setting up patch:




uncovering patch in september:




good mycelium growth, colonizing chips completely and creeping over cardboard:




covered w/ some chips and dead leaves, etc.:


patch beginning of December:










here especially are lots of wet chips w/o too much mycelium, just a thin white veil on some chips  :-(








here's a good clump of mycelium:


At least there's one big fruiting body... :-)

#8
Cultivation / Re: too much rain?
December 05, 2006, 01:15:10 PM
Hi,

thanks for the reply!

>Can  the person you  met at a bar make a photo of the patch and of the chips in detail?

funny you mention that, because I coincidentally ran into him again! He had his laptop in his backpack and gave me some pics on my usb stick. How can I upload them or send them to you?

He also reports watering plenty in the summer: once a week to once a day when it was really hot and dry, but "watering plenty" is subjective, so who knows?

cheers & thanks heaps for admin'ing this great site!

-e
#9
Cultivation / too much rain?
December 03, 2006, 10:29:45 AM
Hi,

The Psilocybe azurescens outdoor cultivation tek recommends uncovering the patch in the fall.

A person I met at a bar was relating an experience to me, where he uncovered the patch late in september and shortly afterward there were heavy rains.  This person didn't have a casing layer, except for some dead leaves and about 1cm of additonal wood chips, but nothing that would keep the patch from getting soaked in heavy rain.

Before uncovering the patch, he said the patch looked very good, with lots of mycelium growth all over, colonizing the the cardboard etc. After the rains, much of the mycelium seemed to have disappeared, and a good portion of the wood chips turned dark brown showing no mycelium growth. Since it's been a wet fall, the chips are very wet, though not quite soaked, right down to the bottom of the patch, and there isn't really any thick ropy mycelium, just a white veil on lots of the chips.  No fruiting ever occured even after temps got down to 5°C for over a month.

Can too much rain in the fall ruin a patch? Would it have been better for this person to have left the patch covered for the fall? Are the dark brown chips "ruined" and need to be removed? Does this patch need a casing layer? Can it be saved? Is it still possible for it to fruit this year?

I've also read that watering too much in the summer will encourage aggressive mycelium growth in the summer, but can abort fruiting in the fall. Could that the cause?

cheers and thanks for a great web site!

-e