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Simple question:

Should one sterilize the vermiculite used for rolling?
Thanks for the input!

Hey my friend and I were just contemplating the same scenario. Would heavily and directly spraying the bulk substrate have any positive effects? Would a vermiculite casing have anything to do with being able to spray the mycelium? I've consistently read that directly spraying mycelium is bad form.

Let find the answer to this problem quick! 

Hi,
I just completed my first time through the PF Tek so my advice may not be entirely solid.
However the same thing happened to me and I took the same action; inverted all my jars.
When the jars were around 95% colonized, i took off the tape that was guarding the jars for the outside world and let some fresh air in. This replaces the CO2 built up from the mycelium with fresh Oxygen that I believe helped my cakes finish colonization. Of course I was concerned about contaminants getting in through the holes so I laid all the jars out on my kitchen table and placed a stationary fan right in front of them on the highest setting. This (at least gave me the illusion of) protected the jars from having stuff fall into the holes and the cakes getting spoiled.

None of my jars were contaminated! First time through and all 24 jars good! Hope this helps and best of luck! 

No I did not let the veils break before picking them. Can't remember where but I recently
read that the best time for harvesting mushrooms for highest potency is just before the veil
breaks. Is this entirely wrong? When should I be picking them for optimum potency?

Thanks everyone for your responses and time! 

Hi everyone,
I picked these lovelies about 2 days ago. I sat them in front of a fan for approximately
24 hrs. than I put them in a plastic DampRid container intended for taking the moisture out
of the air. The container has two parts: the bigger piece which collects the moister and the smaller
piece which fits inside and holds the DampRid (which pulls moister and deposits it below into the piece.)

So I simply reversed it...I put the DampRid at the bottom and the fruits in the smaller container supposing that the DampRid below would pull moister from above. Since there is a lid to the container I figured it'd be tight enough to only dry out the fruits. This is what they look like after one day



Now i've never eaten mushrooms that had all those crazy blues and yellows...are they safe to eat???

thanks again! 

Terrarium was a bit low on humidity for a couple of hours yesterday (roughly 86%).
I had just harvested several fruits yesterday and when I looked at some of the cakes
today this is what I saw!



Should i be worried???

Thanks 

I'd like to mention that user k12357 was the impetuous for this poll. interesting question raised! everyone, good luck in your endeavors!  :ph34r

 that last sentence brings up an interesting question; do mushrooms develop and show more growth during daylight or night-time conditions? I wonder if there is a golden ratio when it comes this. perhaps someone has the answer? i think i might conduct some experiments! thanks for the post k12357

Hey Vandal! man your pins are looking good and yes, you should see some good growth shortly.
Some of my pins looked very similar. but....i don't know what to say about the fruit with the cut right in the middle of its head  if thats what your tiny ---- looks like i'm so sorry man 
j/k keep us posted on your progress. good luck! 

Dub thanks for the response. I've plugged a couple holes in my enclosure to try and keep the humidity level higher. I know this is getting off subject now but....more on these lights. I just purchased a florescent 'natural' light bulb.  this is more along the 'blue' spectrum of bulb because it mimics natural light and puts off little heat correct? Hi moorhs! what many watts is the bulb that your using? and is 12 hrs lights on 12hrs off really the best option? would fruits grow quicker if the light was on 24hrs a day? thanks again for everyones time 

Hi, I'm having a very similar situation with my BRF cakes! I found the largest fruit in my terrarium so far when i noticed a cake tilting more than the Tower of Piza. either way big mushroom growing at the bottom of cake. according to one of our peers on this forum, this could be created by a micro-climate near the floor of your cakes; hence causing pins to form and develop quicker at the bottom, as opposed to the roof, of the cakes. i think the remedy will be more humidity in the enclosure and possibly growing lap over the cakes directing the pins to grow up in the preferred direction.

hey on the bright side...at least we've got some fruits of all our labors!!! congrats 

oh sorry i was just trying to not be redundant. The first post on this topic describes the percentage of humidity and temp. conditions of each terrarium i have. both FCs have been kept at a minimum of 90% humidity at roughly 69-72 degrees. I keep a large floor fan running 24hrs a day to circulate air as well as fan them about 4 times a day. I keep them near a window that gives them approximately 11 hours of indirect sunlight each day. i was thinking of buying a grow light. any suggestions as to which type i should get? thanks again for all your time and consideration. 

I have 2 shotgun terrariums with two sets of cakes: one had been dunked and rolled...the other I simply put in my enclosure without dunking or rolling. The cakes that I dunked are the ones with lots of fuzz growing on them and no pinning what-so-ever. I will be patient and wait for something to happen with those. Funny though, my other cakes that weren't dunked are fruiting!!! success!
expect now i noticed one of my cakes leaning over...this is what i found



Can i simply flip the cake over and wait to pick that massive fruit? or should i just leave it the way it was...either way, i'm certain the look on my face was priceless when i found this nugget of gold hidden under my cake. and yes i have all my cakes on something so light is not hitting them on the bottom.

Indeed, I will second that; I've only ordered syringes once from Ralphsters but the they came quickly and worked with no problems at all. Definitely recommended. 

[very]

Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, nothing came off when wiped so I was hoping
it was just bruising. No I did not dunk these particular cakes so they could be
parched. I have other cakes that i did dunk and roll that are not fruiting at all
and are becoming very fuzzy on the outside. These cakes were extremely
bruised from the dunking and now have been recovered with fuzzy white...(mycelium>?)
Is white fuzz on cakes normal? and is swabbing the best way to distinguish bruising from possible contaminants? Thanks again   

This is the blue spot I mentioned


and the white fuzz on cakes that were dunked

This is my first time cultivating. I birthed the jars 4 days ago.
Keep them around 90 - 100% humidity in a shotgun terrarium
with good air flow and indirect sunlight. Only issue is the temp
has consistently been at 69 - 70 degrees. Today started noticing
a little blue hue on some of my cakes. i touched it with a paper towel
to see if it would come off (meaning its mold) and nothing showed up on
the paper. is this something to worry about?