(Part 2) Best products from r/shroomers

So I'm a first-time grower, ambient temperatures are currently in the 50s, and what I'm (about to be) doing is somewhat unconventional. I'm offering it as an idea but I'm also hoping to get some critical input. Right now I've got grain jars (destined for a monotub) colonizing on my dresser, using a 1500W space heater to keep my entire room around 80F when I'm home. This isn't my long-term plan, though.

I was considering a heat pad, controlled by a thermostat, but I was concerned about overheating the bottom of the substrate. For all I know, these fears may be completely unfounded, so shroomers feel free to call me an idiot. Anyway, here's what I'm doing instead. (Same idea for heating both my spawn jars and my mono.)

I purchased the following:

• Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand, Full Size
  
• Fluker's Sun Dome Reptile Lamp - Large Deep Dome Fixture
  
• BYB - 150W 110V Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter
  
• Zilla Reptile Terrarium Heat & Habitat Lighting Temp. Controller, 500W
  
  The idea is to have a 150W ceramic heat emitter suspended above the tub (or tray of jars). Direct radiant heat is apparently not good for our friends, and I don't know how well a transparent polypropylene lid will absorb the IR, so I'll toss some cotton garments on top of the lid to absorb the heat and conduct it gently into the tub. The thermostat's sensor will be embedded in the substrate, and I'll use temperature strips placed at various points to "calibrate" it.
  
  Given that this will be in a confined closet and the heat will be focused on my grow, I'm hopeful that 150W will be enough, at least to reach a decent fruiting temperature. And I figure this solution will be gentle on the little guys, won't dry the air, and won't pose a fire hazard. But I haven't heard much about people going this route, which leads me to wonder if there's a flaw I've failed to consider...
  
  Edit: MY IDEA SUCKS. In the close confines of my closet, the 150W bulb didn't take long to start melting the lid of my tub. I went and bought a $40 radiator at Home Depot like a normal human being.

I've never seen Let's Grow Mushrooms but I know they're quite good, so I reluctant to say it but bringing the temps 155˚F then killing the heat doesn't sound sufficient for something as rich as poo. When I've done rich mixtures (for Agaricus Blazei), I've maintained the temp at the center of the my bag of substrate between 140˚F and 170˚F for about 3 hours, then pulled it and let it cool in the bag. I have yet to have a problem with that procedure.

Some coirs are laced with Trichoderma (and lots of other things) since the mold and bacteria are beneficial to plants. Coir for hydroponics in particular is often laced. I've used this brand with great success, but really any non-laced one would be good.

The only things about your procedure that seem out of the ordinary are the no holes bit, and the short pasteurization on the poo. I'd guess the problem lies there, but that's just a guess.

That's overly complicated but will probably work fine if you have enough airflow.
Computer fans may be ok, but I haven't used them myself.
Silica packs are redundant when fan drying.
Instead of opening the box, why not have some vents at the other end of the box? That may help the air to keep moving through, preventing the setup from merely drying the shrooms closest to the fans.

I just dry mine in stationery baskets (stops them blowing away) in front of a cheap, mains voltage desk fan for a day or two, then place them into an airtight container with a cheap damprid knockoff. Works 100%, but nowhere near as cool as having your own customised drying rig.

Good luck with your grow!

Yeahhhh ya gotta fan those good. Great advice.

It's always a long process, though. You don't start growing shrooms to have them in a few weeks... you gotta plan 3-4 months out.

Takes me about 12 weeks from start to finish for even just the first flush.

Edit: I forgot... CONGRATS! Seeing them first sprout the first time is such a cool experience. Happy for ya bud!

Edit 2: Speaking of fanning... this bad boy has been working wonders

How much did you plan on paying for a dehydrator? I would HIGHLY recommend you purchase a dehydrator and avoid freezing your product. This is the dehydrator I got. I bought this one used for 36 dollars off of amazon, and it has been absolutely fantastic.

I would definitely recommend picking that bad boy up and picking up a pack of good desiccants like the ones I bought here. Some people say you can use cat litter, I tried and didn't really see it working well. You'll notice very quickly that even when they are cracker dry, if you store them in a plastic bag for a day or two they absorb moisture and start becoming soft.

Don't skimp out on this stage of the process.

Host Defense - The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home, by Paul Stamets and J. S. Chilton https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2RRSHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4QRKBb9T6DA7A


Ah goody goody gumdrops. I love being of help lol. But seriously I got this book for fiance about a year ago and he takes it with him EVERYWHERE. He has his nose in that book constantly. And Ive gotten him quite the collection of mushroom/mycology books over the past year... this one has definitley been the most beneficial as far as growing goes.

Don't use that, that is not what you want.

Coco Coir, not Coco Fiber is what you need. There is a difference!

This is what I use but I am sure you can find it in smaller quantities:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8D4N6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You will also need vermiculite and gypsum.

Here is an excellent link to preparing coir substrate.

http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/17325780#17325780

Read and believe. Use the proper pasteurization process. Coir is forgiving but why throw away all you time and previous resources expended taking a short cut? You will easily have a month into this process when you get to this point. You decide.

Ever since I read this book with my vegetable garden in mind, I've been really curious about putting a fungal species in both that and my cannabis/hemp tent to create a mycorrhizic relationship. Especially with a plant like cannabis where you're constantly fertilising it, it intuitively seems like it would boost nutrient uptake over the more or less sterile way I'd otherwise grow it indoors. Neither PF cakes nor grain spawn managed to take in the garden this year though. I think my next step is using the spent 50/50 from a monotub, maybe with additional straw on the surface, as a compost mixed in to the smart pots.

How do you do yours? Do you take it all the way to flowering in the monotub or transfer it?

My clean environment is simply a glass top table that I wipe down with 10% bleach and 70% ethanol with a little tiki torch burner and I've had great success with minimal contams (2 out of 40 plates). I'm starting LC using a $7 pipettor with a $10 reusable glass serological pipet for transferring between LC and grain jars. I'll also use an inoculating loop to transfer between spore print to agar or agar culture to LC. It's just some methods I'm adopting from things I've learned in microbiology lab courses so I can avoid using disposable syringes.

Have not seen the shroomery tek, but I got a container like this: http://amzn.com/B00012FER6

Using a roto zip, or any kinda saw, and cut two holes for arms.

Picked up one of these from home depot: http://amzn.com/B0008F5HIM

Cut the sleeves off and hot glue them to the holes so the outsides over lap on the outside of the box. When you use the glove box, use latex gloves and have the container rest on its lid... This is where its important you get a transparent container. Before you open up your equipment, use alcohol (isopropyl) to wipe down the inside. I went from having a 20% success rate to a 95% success rate once I built this.

> programmable power strip so I can set it to fan for as low as one minute a time several times throughout the day. Guess I should go pick up a fan

Automating as much as you can really makes your life easier, and you'll get more consistent results.

I used a setup where I had a duct booster fan blowing fresh air and the output of an ultrasonic humidifier and a small space heater into a 25 foot length of dryer duct that I piled into a plastic bin. The fan, humidifier, and blower (and lighting) were on X10 controllers to switch them on and off.

I had a scheduler program on the computer that would switch on the humidifier, and heater (if needed) then run the fan to blow the fresh air down the duct. The purpose of the duct was to give the water droplets time to evaporate; by the time the air reached the grow chamber it was nice warm and wet, but not dripping.

Once I got it all dialed in and added a thermometer in the grow chamber it was easy to maintain the right conditions with very little effort.

Clear Size 00 Empty Gelatin Capsules by Capsuline - 1000 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYV9D6M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_42E1CbMMBDPKN

They have different colors too but these are clear. If you want to play that game they can’t be clear unless you want to do it blindfolded or something.

My first strain was z-strain. I think it makes a good one for beginners because it seems to colonize very quickly. However, just about any cube is going to be pretty easy to work with. PF tek is a good place to start, but don't be intimidated by grain and bulk. It's not much more complicated and you get yields that are orders of magnitude greater in volume. The biggest advantage of PF tek, IMHO, is not having to buy a pressure cooker.
If you do buy a pressure cooker, I reccomend this one at first. http://www.amazon.com/Presto-1755-16-Quart-Aluminum-Pressure/dp/B000QJJ9NY
It holds 7 quart jars at a time, which is good volume for the cost.

This one here will easily fit 6 half pint wide mouth jars and it come in at a pretty nice price.

Alright, awesome thanks man. That's a bit more than I need so I think I'll use this,

http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Footprint-Coconut-Coir-Brick/dp/B004W8BMS0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414981257&sr=8-2&keywords=coco+coir