No Soak No Simmer tek
I use whole oats for this tek most of the time, but I also like a mixture of oats and milo/sorghum
1. Pour dry grain into jar (200g per quart works well)
2. Pour water into jar. (50-75% hydration depending on grain and environment. I use 150g)
3. Screw lid on jar. I mostly use the flip lid tek with a normal unmodified mason jar lid. One piece plastic lids work as well.
4. Stack jars in PC/sterilizer and bring to pressure, sterilize at 15psi for a minimum of 120 minutes.
5. Let the pressure drop but shake jars when still hot to evenly redistribute moisture.
6. Inoculate jars once completely cool.
No Pour Agar tek
1. Add 1000ml water to your mixing vessel, warm or hot mixes best. If you do not boil the agar mixture it will not set until you sterilize it and it cools. This makes the process of making plates less of a rush or mess. Just make sure to keep the mixture from settling, a magnetic stir plate works well for this.
2. Add 20g agar and mix thoroughly.
3. Add 14g Light Malt Extract and mix thoroughly. LME mixes best with hotter water.
4. Portion agar media to PP5 (polypropylene) or glass plates with a large syringe or turkey baster, or pour if you are so inclined. I recently started using a semi-automatic livestock injector with continuous feed.
6. Screw lids on plates (PP5) and stack in sterilizer
7. Bring to pressure and sterilize at 15psi for at least 25 minutes
8. Let cool in sterilizer or stack on flat surface while still warm and let set. Store upside down until use.
*Note* I prefer to use the screw top PP5 dishes because they eliminate the need for parafilm. They are also more durable than glass plates.
Tote Sub Prep tek
1. Place 5kg block of coco in a 27gal tote
2. Begin boiling water (I use 7.5 gal total broken down into 5 1.5 gal pots)
3. Dump boiling water onto coco block and close lid to trap steam
4. Let hydrate and mix
5. Repeat until full 7.5 gal is mixed into the coco. Make sure to break up any dry chunks and mix all the way to the bottom. I do this by hand with a small shovel but you can use a drill with a paint mixer as well.
6. Let cool completely before spawning tubs
*note* All coco is different! It also takes time to learn your environment. Experiment with different substrate hydration levels and find what works for your genetics coupled with environment!
Spawn to Bulk tek
1. Prep your tub by spraying and wiping down with your sanitizer of choice.
2. Micropore tape the holes (alternatives are tyvek, synthetic filter disks, polyfill etc. as well as unmodified tubs/dubtub tek)
3. Measure out substrate into tub (roughly 10 lbs per 56qt tub)
4. Break up colonized grain spawn into substrate (I use 4 qts but depending on genetics anywhere from 3-5 works fine for me, adjust sub level as needed to match vigor of genetics and your desired ratio of spawn to sub)
5. Mix spawn and substrate thoroughly and pack cake down. Focus on corners and edges making sure they are packed firmly to avoid any microclimates in these areas which helps prevent shrinkage and side pins.
6. Place lid on tub, set and forget.
I usually get 3-4 flushes without any additional hydration with this method. You may need to rehydrate the cake depending on your environmental conditions.
KISS Liquid Culture tek
1. Warm up 1000ml water
2. Mix in 2 g of Light Malt Extract
3. Add solution to a media bottle with stir bar and screw on lid, not fully tightened.
4. Load sterilizer with desired number of bottles. *note* Half gallons or quarts with flipped lid can also suffice. For quarts I use 600ml with 1g LME
5. Bring to pressure and steam sterilize for at least 30 mins at 15psi
6. Let cool completely before inoculation
7. After allowing the mycelium to expand, pour colonized LC into sterilized grain spawn in a sterile environment. Syringes can be used to portion LC. You can pull syringes through a self healing injection port or simply open the lid in a sterile environment and pull syringes this way. Some companies now sell liquid culture lids with a luer lock draw tube assembly which can be sterilized and reused.
*note* Always test liquid culture on agar for cleanliness! Place one drop of colonized LC on an agar dish and observe the growth after incubation for several days to ensure no hidden contamination is living in your LC.
Reusable Bag Tek
Bags can be reused for sterilizing grain and substrate. I accomplish this by folding the bag and sealing it using a reusable zip tie after inoculation. I prefer bags from FarWestFungi at this time, as they are more durable than other brands I've tried. I always use the 0.2 micron filter, and have had great success fruiting invitro in the bags without any venting or added gas exchange. This tek also enables the possibility of closing the loop on your substrate by continually reusing substrate, hydrating and sterilizing between cycles. I suggest adding straw to your mix, or something else to add aeration and structure to the mix, as it will break down and compress after several growth cycles, but straw holds up well. Rice hulls are an alternative input, I encourage you to seek out locally available materials!
1. Load hydrated substrate or grain into bag.
2. Fold bags and stack in sterilizer.
3. Bring to pressure and steam sterilize at 15psi for a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Unload bags in sterile environment, inoculate once cool.
5. Fold the top of the bag and seal with a reusable zip tie. Some people have success using binder clips as well.