Hey WW, I've got a fruiting chamber built and ready, but balked because I have trouble properly doing sterile inoculation of spores. Any tips/advice for a simpler, idiot-proof method of doing so? I'd love to dig it out again, maybe grow some culinary ones alongside the magical ones.
Well, I'll try to come up with some helpful points.. Let's see.
A
dry vermiculite layer is a cool thing to have for the first time since it provides an excellent barrier against airborne contaminants.
Don't open the pot/pressure cooker until right before inoculation and make sure it's room temperature by then.
Another thing I found handy is
Micropore tape. It allows for air exchange while keeping all the contaminants on the outside. A lot safer than just having bare holes, a lot neater than messing with Tyvek and what have you. You can have it on the jars when pressure cooking or you can patch the inoculation holes afterwards, whichever you prefer.
Reduce clothing. When inoculating I stripped down to my boxers which cuts a lot on the particles flying around as you move. Simply having no sleeves should go a long way too.
Clean the working environment. No need to sterilize the whole room but I highly recommend removing unnecessary stuff that's just laying around, dusting, vacuuming - you know, the usual shite.
Invest in a
glove box. While definitely not necessary, it's pretty cheap and easy to make. Two holes on a plastic container (about >25l) and that's it.
(Isopropyl) alcohol is great for sterilizing the surfaces as well as all the equipment before you start.
Wipe your hands, glove box and everything inside the glovebox. With it before you start. It's a chore especially inside a smaller glove box but it's one of the most important precautions.
Flame sterilize the needle as often as you can manage (but finish inoculating the jar before re-flaming ofc). At least every 2 or 3 jars.
Don't touch the needle even with an alcohol wipe after flaming it, but quickly proceed to inoculate while it's still hot.
Keep the room air as still as possible. Mist water around the room before starting. This will catch some of the debris floating in the air. Don't move around a lot during the procedure. Be alone so that no one else does either. Close doors and windows. Turn off any fans well in advance.
Be calm. Rushing might result in sudden air movements and you don't want that.
Use
rubber gloves. A no-brainer, really. Every few jars, wipe your hands down with isopropyl alcohol.
Don't disturb the dry vermiculite layer. When checking for progress place the jar on a level surface and slowly rotate it.
Inject from the center and to the sides so that you can see what's happening early on. This way you'll also only have one injection hole which reduces chance for airborne contams to wander in.
I recommend using gypsum in the BRF mixture. It's probably the most beneficial addition you can have. I believe the right amount was 5-10% by volume. Drywall should do, but I personally used gypsum meant for use as tofu coagulant.
I'm sure I missed some things but you should manage with these.
Barely any of this is absolutely necessary in theory, but every precaution you take greatly reduces the part that luck plays in it all.
Oh, and one more thing. This is probably the single most helpful resource I have come across:
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/8468463#8468463
Roger Rabbit is something of a god when it comes to mushroom cultivation. Someone has compiled every one of his quotes in one place which is awesome.
ALWAYS double check
EVERY claim you see floating around before acting on it. There's a good chance Roger has something to say about it. Just ctrl+f it!
And of course, I might be able to help with some things too so don't hesitate to ask.
Man would I love to sample those caps never even thought about that! I wish I could do this myself!
