Is there anybody in here? Post, if u r

[Braniac]

Just like the title says....is there anyone in here? If so, post something get the board going....

[Maddhatter]

Hey! I need a guide or something that will show me what shroom's are safe. Rather hunt than grow, I live in the southwest. Seeya!

[johnnypoke]

Hey Brainiac, are u an experienced grower? Total newb myself, gone out and bought ALL the gear after having done a bit of readin on Erowid and (more importantly) coming into the possession of 3 nice spore prints in the Dam (3, just in case I f*ck up). Am currently putting a glovebox together as I plan to purify my strain on agar plates before colonizing my so called PF cakes. I've got it all down in my mind... I have a vague idea about the incubation period and fruiting stages, but am not so well versed as Ive been concentrating all my efforts on planning sterile procedures, and building the apparatus to get my jars inuculated.
I'm determined to do everything right, so I ask do you have any advice for a highly determined newbie grower like myself, and please feel free to give detailed practical advice.
Peace.

[Braniac]

Ok, let me get this right you are going to utilize agar to isolate a strain befor you inoculate your pf jars? and this is your first time? I advise you to pick a tek whether it be the pf or another and stick to it. Do not deviate one bit and do not rush. Patience is key.

I would knock up some pf jars and in the meantime, while the jars were colonizing, I would then begin to play with agar and strain isolation. Get a couple of grows under your belt before attempting more advanced teks. The reason is a lot of times people try an advanced tek and fail and loose interest.

Where did you get your spores from?

[johnnypoke]

I bought the spores from a smart shop in Amsterdam and brought them back home in my suitcase. I appreciate your advice on going straight up PF tek rather than jumping in the deep end with strain isolation. I am not rushing at all, I will not proceed until I am totally satisfied that I understand all the steps of the process. The main reason I want to isolate on agar first is so my shrooms will be similar in potency. Let me give you a run down of my plan, straight off the top of my head and please tell me if you can see any obvious flaws with it.

So, I will prepare my agar recipe in small flat jars with screw on lids, PC them (with the lids slightly loose to avoid pressure build up inside the jars) for the required amount of time then leave to cool without opening the PC. In the meantime the glovebox is prepared, thouroughly cleaned with hydrogen peroxide solution (1:100 water:peroxide of the 5% kind). I will very swiftly (and in a clean environment) place the agar jars (very flat jars BTW, so essentially as good as petri dishes) in the glove box, which will already contain my little packet of spores (the out side of which I will thoroughly clean with peroxide too, being very careful not to let it contact the spores within it). once all the gear is in the glove box I will give one last fine misting of H2o2 to clean the air in the box and then seal it tightly.
I'll let this stand for a while to make sure there will be no peroxide left hanging in the air and then carefully open the spore packet and with my sterile innoculation loop I will transport a small amount of the spores to the dishes and reseal. These will then be placed in a good spot for incubation to let the mycellium develope. I'll keep a look out for the ropey looking mycellium, and then, using the same careful sterile procedure in the glovebox, I will colonise more sterilised plates with it (this will continue until I am satisfied that I have a good strong strain of mycellium).
Now I have my favourite looking mycellium on a fully colonised plate I will (of course in the sterile environment of the glovebox) pour sterilised distilled water onto the plate and gently scrape the mycellium off the agar using a sterilised tool into the surrounding water. This mycellium filled water will then be injected into PF style cakes and left to colonise before going to the fruiting chamber.

And that's really the main gist of the plan so far. I'm still going PF cake for the main grow because it sounds simple and seemingly less susceptible to contamination. I'm only doing the agar thing to make sure that all cakes will be prolific.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, and will look forward to any thoughts u may have on my plan so far.

:)

BTW, can't wait to see these little babies flourish!

[Braniac]

seriously head over to http://www.shroomotopia.net and ask your questions there, you will receive a lot of input on your plan! see you there!!

[johnnypoke]

lol, OK. Do you work on commission or what? I will join shroomtopia for sure. Thanks for the heads up :)

So...liked the plan or what?

[Braniac]

lol, OK. Do you work on commission or what? I will join shroomtopia for sure. Thanks for the heads up :)

So...liked the plan or what?
No i do not work on commission lol...it will just be easier for youto get answers to your questions there

[johnnypoke]

Brainiac...would you be able to provide a link for shroomtopia please? I'm Googling for it with no luck :(

[johnnypoke]

doh! Now I see u had already put the link. Tnx man :)

[Dockrat]

Forget about the PF tek... Work with grains. Much larger harvest for the same ammount of work...

[MassMushrooms]

Brainiac...would you be able to provide a link for shroomtopia please? I'm Googling for it with no luck :(


You forgot the "O" in shroomOtopia.com :p