Well, these took a really long time – I started mid-April – and we finally have two healthy tubs with pins. Plus I just pulled the guy above today.
Here’s one of the tubs.
Things are looking good! ICYMI – the grain bags traveled to Texas, Montana, Utah, Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. They were questioned by TSA twice. Both times I gave the officer a long explanation about how to grow mushrooms – the point where he thought I was a crazy gardening lady and was just all – ok fine – please go forth with your crazy hobby.
I think my last grain bags were just too old, and I didn’t like the way the they were (not) colonizing. I tossed the last bag and started over today. See, this just looks weird.
After several weeks, it just didn’t look like full colonization…. still. So this one went in the bin and we’re starting over. There are some clear spots the mycelium was avoiding.
The mycelium just wasn’t taking over, and there were some definite spots that it was avoiding. The picture above looks weird too.
Sending all the happiness and health to these two new bags!
So today I started all new – with two fresh grain bags and PE uncut spores.
May 20th – Update! Broke up the bags. They are looking great.
June 6 – And more updates. I had to go on a trip and the bags needed a bit more time. So I brought them with me!
These bags have now traveled to Texas, Montana, Utah, Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The bags look super – and I’ll put them in tubs shortly!
Today’s the day we start new. I’m getting my Walter White outfit on, and ready to go inject the bags.
After the the John Allen failure, going back in with a two strain grow.
Update – Feb 11
One bag down, one is still doing fine. This is so frustrating. I had this so dialed in, and now, suddenly, it’s not working. After some thought, it could be that the grain bags are expired. They are supposed to last for “several months” and I didn’t check their dates before using, but checking my order history, they are likely over a year old. So… that could be it? I ordered new ones today – new spores too – and starting from scratch.
If the other bag makes it, I’ll get another tub and have tons of shrooms!
This will accelerate colonization. Hopefully it’s just another week until we move to the tun.
This is how the bags looked post break up
Jan 10 – Send It!
The bags looked like this….
So they went into the tubs. Should be about 4 weeks!
Jan 25, 2024
Everything was good, and we were just about to pin (hyphal knots and healthy mycelium) but I forgot to change the filters to fruiting conditions before I left on a trip. When I got back and started to change to filters, I saw this…..
Well sh!t.
I’ve never had a tub get contaminated before, but never say never. And this time, it was both tubs. So… what happened?
Could have been a mistake from bag to bin. Seeks unlikely bc we were almost to pins before I left and I wasn’t seeing contamination, but possible because I hadn’t taken the tops off the bins and looked closely.
Could have been that I left them too long with painter’s tape. The bins fully showed that the mycelium were struggling (lots of pee) – and maybe that gave the mold enough of an advantage to win.
I mentioned before that contamination will break your heart. Mine is definitely broken. I thought I was coming home to pins. I came home to trash instead.
Note – if you ever have this – GET IT OUTSIDE IMMEDIATELY. Don’t open it in the house and definitely don’t smell it. This stuff is nasty .
Another picture of one of the contaminated bins. Are you crying? No I’m crying.
Last night, I took some mushroom chocolates to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner as a gift for my 23-year old niece. Even after an explanation, she decided to treat them like pot edibles. This resulted in me doing unexpected (secret) trip sitting for the afternoon.
In this post: I went to Burning Man (nobody expected that situation) and last weekend I found out that my town is turning on to my shrooms
After a really long break – this year I went back to Burning Man. It wasn’t the trip I expected (no one expected what happened this year) but it was definitely full of magic. I took my own medicine only once, and really smalldosesteps – only 1g. It was enough to make things sparkle a tiny bit, but that’s all, in nights bookended by E. After my last super challenging trip, I’m still not ready to go in all the way. I did revist MDMA, and after a decade plus – with maturity, wisdom, and people I love – wow.
burning man 2023 – no one expected this
Second topic: I don’t ever sell shrooms. I do give them away. And recently I found out that that the giving is helping shrooms make their way across the town I live in. People are learning about themselves, they are loving nature – and I’ve been a part of that voyage. This makes me incredibly happy. We’re not here to get high, we’re here with intention. It means so much that I can help in any way.
These should be required listening before you do anything more than microdose. Excellent content, and definitely worth your time. The second one has a great conversion from shroom to amount of psilocybin.
Also I got two – yes two more flushes from the Huautla tub. Those are really special shrooms. Notice how far the substrate has pulled away from the tub – these guys gave it 100% – and when we had to part, I found a few more shrooms hidden on the sides (one is circled). This strain – I’ve gotten great reports – and I can just feel it. They are extra magic.
We’re still going. Flushes 4 and 5 yielded about a plate each – and still no contamination. Note how the substrate has pulled away from the tub as the mycelium has absorbed the nutrients. Not sure how long we have to go – but there’s still white fluff – flushes are smaller and slower, but maybe more to go. Doing a bit more spraying and fanning because the tub has definitely been dryer.
I never thought we’d get this far. This is a special strain. I don’t think either one of us wants it to end.
About a week after the completion of Flush 1, Flush 2 yielded about one plate of mushrooms. There weren’t a lot, but very few aborts and I think the tub is happier.
Flush 2Flush 2
Flush 3 was about 10 days after Flush 2, and a pattern I was seeing start in Flush 2 (shrooms around the outside of the tub) has definitely continued. I read up on this, and evidently they like the microclimate out there for some reason. The fuzzy feet are gone.
Flush 3 had two plates full. I guess “plates” are going to be how measure yield. My scale is too small to measure them wet, and I’m too lazy to measure them dry – so plates will do.
Flush 3 – We’re Hanging Out on the Edges
This strain is definitely different – they are picky. I never got a full canopy, and they need a lot more FAE than the other strains. I really do like them though – they feel really positive, there’s definitely good medicine here. Evidently the curandaras used to call the Huautla mushrooms – Holy Children, which I love. I used to refer to them as “the kids” as well.
So now we’re done with Flush 3, and the tub still looks healthy in the middle, but no pins. I’m leaving it to see what happens next. Eventually contamination will win, but that day isn’t today.
