Finally, the world is coming back to plants to treat what ails us. But if you just want to get high and party, this probably isn’t the droid for you.

Maximize your chances for a good trip

I have found that lower doses tend to be more fun, while higher doses tend to be more educational. At lower doses (1.5-2g), I commune with nature and my fellow trippers, the colors are beautiful, I laugh until my belly hurts, and everything is sparkly. At higher doses (2.75-3g), things might be extra fun, but I have also gotten smacked around with a lesson. I’ve not every gone into heroic dose territory. For me, the same dose has done different things on different days. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

Using plants as medicine requires honesty and planning. You need to be honest with yourself about your mindset. Then you need to plan for the right environment and timing to maximize the opportunity to learn. That “set and setting thing” is solid guidance. Do you really want to meet God/experience ego death/have a super intense experience but you’re somewhat concerned your trip might go off the rails? Get a tripsitter, or wait. You can always go again and go bigger. We’re on a journey. No need to rush. God will be always be there. You can visit next time.

My problem with the positive psilocybin studies

The news is full of studies featuring the benefits of psychedelics and psilocybin in particular. I love it. It’s a giant step forward (and back tbh) because people have been using plant medicine for thousands of years until some people decided it was a good idea to make nature illegal…. but i digress.

The results that folks are having in studies like these happen in controlled “set and setting” conditions. But what happens to people who see these studies, and think – yes, I need to work on myself, I’m giving this a try. Maybe they DIY with a group of friends after a few drinks on a Friday night… And they are not going to have the same experience. Depending on dose, they might even have a really bad experience. Mushrooms take no prisoners. Even with a good set and setting – things can get very real. Funguys can be full of lessons you may or may not enjoy. You don’t get to choose your trip. The shrooms choose for you.

These articles need to come with guidance – “these studies were done in controlled environments…. do not expect same results” – similar to what you read when you invest in stocks “past results are not indicative of future gains.”

You can have it all. You can learn from the medicine without going to a serious lab (that’s what a shaman, curandera, tripsitter, or just plain experience is for), but it’s going to take a bit of planning, a lot of reverence for the medicine, and you have to be really honest with yourself about whether you’re in a place to receive.  

And some good news to end on today: Colorado has decriminalized magic mushrooms!

Ok, if you have gotten this far and you are thinking, “UGH, I have read pages of this person’s blog, bought all this stuff, done the Walter White mixology in my tiny bathroom in nothing but underwear, and all I have is a box of humid dirt to show for it….” Well just hang on. Things are about to get interesting.

Fruiting Conditions

Right now, your tub is in colonization conditions. For me, that means painter’s tape on all the holes and covered with a towel. At full colonization (100% mycelium coverage and possibly pins), I change the top holes to filters, remove the towel on top of the bin to let light in, and move the bin near a bright, indirect light source. With the combo of my substrate and bins, there’s generally no need to spray and fan, but do keep an eye to ensure humidity levels stay up and nothing is drying out. Mushrooms like LOTS of humidity, you should see water droplets on the top of your bin at all times. If you do need to spray for humidity, spray the inside top of the bin – do not spray the substrate or mycelium directly.

In fruiting conditions, I also have a fan going near the bin(s) to keep up adequate airflow.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Mushrooms don’t need light to grow. I’ve read that the light source helps them grow straighter (toward the light), and I swear they grow faster with sunlight but I don’t know if that’s scientifically proven. Lots of people grow them in closets and under beds.
• You’re going to want to open the bins and look at your shrooms as they develop. Don’t do it. You’ll let out humidity and let in contamination. Resist.
• If you see yellow dots or tiny orange/yellow puddles on the mycelium – don’t panic. It’s likely mushroom pee. That link is good to check out pics of contamination as well. Yuck.
• If you see contamination, your grow is over. Yes, you’ll read things about rescuing the grow. I don’t recommend trying. Who wants to eat contaminated food? Not me.
• Fruiting isn’t really a sterile process, but since we’re dealing with what is a “magical ingestible item” I keep it very clean. When we get to harvest time, I turn off the fan so contamination isn’t blowing around, wash up, wear gloves, and treat the mushrooms with respect. Again, we’re dealing with magic here people. Cannabis people can be all bulk and industrial, and while both shrooms and cannabis are both medicine – I really believe mushrooms are magic, and deserve huge respect in the growing and taking if you want to unlock that experience. I’m disgressing, and that’s going to be another post.
• The time from pin to small shroom to big shroom to overdone shroom can be super quick (days/hours). Once you have pins, keep a close eye on the mushrooms and harvest them as soon as you see the veil about to tear – imo a little early is tons better than a little late.

More on harvest and storing in the next post.

Spores were dropped but everything was ok

Mushrooms love to do stuff when you’re not around. Recently I left to go on a short trip, which got delayed due to a missed connection, and I knew we were going to be touch and go anyway bc the shrooms needed to harvested…. and I came home to the photo above. Yikes.

The mushrooms still had good texture, so I harvested and dried them. The ones with a ton of spores on them, I gave a quick bath. All of these I have marked to grind because I’ve read that spores make them unpalatable (which is interesting bc in general mushrooms taste pretty bad, so if dropping spores makes them taste worse, better to not eat these guys whole).

Now, here’s the debate – will a tub flush again after a spore drop? One of mine did, one didn’t. The tub you see in the photo above – that’s the second flush. It did a healthy third flush, and was on it’s way to a fourth but I had to stop it because I was going to be traveling again. I feel terrible dumping out healthy tubs.

The other tub – it smelled fine, (smell is a big indicator of health – your entire grow should smell good and earthy, not sweet, or sickly and FFS don’t smell anything that looks moldy) but it looked weird so I threw it out. It was probably bruising, but I just don’t have enough experience and risk tolerance to ride it out. So we got only two flushes from this one. Maybe folks with more experience know if I overreacted. Here’s a photo before I dumped it.

You’ll see pins in just a couple of days if you’re going to get another flush, and eventually contamination will win. Bet on about 4 flushes. There’s been talk about ways to feed mycelium with honey and flour after the fourth flush, so if you’re an endurance athlete, by all means give it a whirl.