(Part 3) Best products from r/shrooms

Want to start by saying I'm definitely no shroom-growing genius yet. This is just my current setup, and a bleg for comments/ideas.

I'm just growing for myself. My brother died 1.5 years ago, and I've subsequently started microdosing shrooms, which turns out to be an absolutely fantastic antidepressant. So I'm more interested in "cheap, consistent, and reliable" than I am trying to churn out a kilo a week.

My setup is:

• A 4-tier greenhouse
  
  
• A Vicks cold humidifier on the bottom shelf
  
  
• A water fountain mist maker on the top shelf, inside a random bowl from my cupboard
  
  
• Two fans in the tent to help circulate air One is at top blowing down, the other is at bottom on the other side of the tent blowing up
  
  
• A humidity controller (the humidifier and mister are plugged into it) to help keep humidity in the right zone
  
  
• A Raspberry Pi 3 with Sense Hat so I can log temperature and humidity and log into it from work to check
  
  
• The tent is sitting on an upside-down lid from the largest tote I could find at Lowes. This allows air circulation under the skirt of the greenhouse, and helps capture any water drips to ensure I don't get water elsewhere in the room.
  
  
• Two plastic totes from Costco (sorry, can't find a link), with holes drilled in and filled with polyfill, similar to this.
  
  
• A 20 W night light bulb on a 12 hour timer on the top shelf.
  
  According to the Raspberry Pi, the average temperature in the room is 62 F, with a bimodal distribution (my girlfriend loves AC...). It's 65 F when I'm here alone, and 60 F whenever she's here. Humidity varies between 65% and 75%, though I'm still working on it. It's rather hard to boost temperatures in that particular basement room.
  
  The shrooms are growing very slowly. They started pinning 3-ish weeks ago, and still don't look anything like the giant mushrooms I see posted here regularly. My "biggest yielding" tub currently looks like this. No giant shrooms, and rather sparse inside. Furthermore, a large percentage of the shrooms have been there long enough that the caps have turned black. The other tub has a few tiny pins but no growth yet.
  
  So what do I need to be doing differently in order to improve my growth/yield? And are those black cap shrooms still good? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
  
  Things I've already learned this round:
  
  
• Paint the bottom of your totes black or cover them with tape to prevent light from getting in. My totes don't have many shrooms as-is, but right now 2/3's of them are "side-dicks" that are impossible to get to.
  
  
• Regularly rotate totes between shelves, as well as rotating them around on the same shelf, to ensure reasonably equal amounts of sunlight and air.
  
  
• Even with a humidifier and a mister, it's hard to keep humidity in the zone. Use a squeeze bottle to mist totes every day.

Buy a regional guide. Here are a few if you are in the US. It's important to know the terminology that goes along with mushroom hunting.

Also Use the links in the sidebar here, they will tell you the active mushrooms in your area. Once you do this do individual research on each one.

Regional guides

Alaska

Common Interior Alaska Cryptogams

Western US

All The Rain Promises and More
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest

Mushrooms Demystified This is an old book, while still useful it definitely needs updating.

The New Savory Wild Mushroom Also dated but made for the PNW

Midwestern US

Mushrooms of the Midwest

Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States

Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest

Southern US

Texas Mushrooms: A Field Guide

Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States

Eastern US

Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians

Mushrooms of Northeast North America (This was out of print for awhile but it's they're supposed to be reprinting so the price will be normal again)

Mushrooms of Northeastern North America

Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America(Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America)

Mushrooms of Cape Cod and the National Seashore

More specific guides

Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World

North American Boletes

Tricholomas of North America

Milk Mushrooms of North America

Waxcap Mushrooms of North America

Ascomycete of North America

Ascomycete in colour

Fungi of Switzerland: Vol. 1 Ascomycetes

PDFs

For Pholiotas

For Chlorophyllum

Websites that aren't in the sidebar

For Amanita

For coprinoids

For Ascos

MycoQuebec: they have a kickass app but it's In French

Messiah college this has a lot of weird species for polypores and other things

Cultivation

The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home (If your home is a 50,000 sq ft warehouse)

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms

Mycology

The fifth kingdom beginner book, I would recommend this. It goes over fungal taxonomy Oomycota, Zygomycota and Eumycota. It also has ecology and fungi as food.

The kingdom fungi coffee table book it has general taxonomy of the kingdom but also very nice pictures.

Introduction to fungi Depends on your definition of beginner, this is bio and orgo heavy. Remember the fungi you see pop out of the ground (ascos and basidios) are only a tiny fraction of the kingdom.

The cheapest one you could possibly find, anywhere, is good, however I got this one which is currently on sale for pretty dang cheap. I like it because the trays can be flipped to create more vertical space, which is great to fit the shrooms with larger caps. It currently has a $20 off coupon on amazon, I highly recommend it.

Don't take the lid off. Can you put a fan inside the closet on the floor facing away from the sfgc on the lowest setting?

Evaporation triggers the growth of pins and a good indicator that you're lacking FAE is "fuzzy feet" (it looks like fluffy growth on the base of the stipe growing upwards) -- if you have more than a half inch of fuzzy feet, u need more FAE.


rice is a bad idea. it doesn't work for phones and it's an urban myth. don't do that either. your best and most inexpensive bet is to construct a desiccant chamber and couple that with a fan if possible.

here's a desiccant product u can get online or at lowes/home depot/walmart and some more information about using dessicants for drying

good luck.

I got mine from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mushrooms-Roger-Phillips/dp/0330442376 there are other books out there but that is a good guide.

You may be able to get them identified with help online here or somewhere else online but I would recommend more photos and information on where you got them.

EZ Bioresearch Sterile 100 mm X... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ARAZQM4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Or use this for no pour dishes. You just need to flip the lid, pour the agar, then PC

KAMOTA Mason Jars 4OZ With Regular Lids and Bands, Ideal for Jam, Honey, Wedding Favors, Shower Favors, Baby Foods, DIY Magnetic Spice Jars, 12 PACK, 20 Whiteboard Labels Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N3VSK1Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nof7CbYKZQ5YD

Amazon friend. Pre poured trays ready to use. Even with shipping they're under a buck a piece. For starting out its worth it can help to consolidate steps as it leaves less room for error. Then again some people nail first try.
https://www.amazon.com/Malt-Extract-Agar-MEA-grams/dp/B008W7XHSU/ref=pd_aw_fbt_328_img_2/140-1355592-1355928?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B008W7XHSU&pd_rd_r=0df17d51-af99-4e06-b575-b464b444e42a&pd_rd_w=gpaEC&pd_rd_wg=LCD1a&pf_rd_p=6e6afc8a-fbbd-4649-97cf-4e08f5113612&pf_rd_r=8CM4G0TX37C3AZEJT2NG&psc=1&refRID=8CM4G0TX37C3AZEJT2NG

https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Bioresearch-Sterile-Petri-vented/dp/B01ARAZQM4/ref=asc_df_B01ARAZQM4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241986316970&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=892502642786041879&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002272&hvtargid=pla-607290418314&psc=1

The Mushroom Life Cycle

An Easy Wild Bird Seed Tek

Building A Fruiting Chamber

Easy Bulk Substrate

Edit: If you are really interested in mycology all Paul Stamets books are must reads

Mycelium Running is a good start

I got it off amazon, its pre-made and sterilized and ready to inject... actually worked pretty well. Here is a link

Sterilized Rye Berry Mushroom Substrate With Self Healing Injection Port (1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWHYKT2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zyLQDbAE9DSGA

This is all very true, but I'm surprised you didn't even mention a scale when you're dealing with a substance that's active at 5mg. 4-AcO is literally impossible to eyeball cause you're dealing with small amounts of powder, when I bought mine I bought this with it. You NEED an accurate MILLIGRAM 0.000 scale for this substance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FS3SPCV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 enjoy my friend

Thanks a lot!!! I was really unsure of which of the two to get, but Damprid seems to be more popular. And I do plan on fanning for 2 days beforehand.

One more question, I plan on getting this size: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0029EGUNG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415820236&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40 Is this enough or too much for the shrooms I'll get from 5 cakes using PF Tek (after fanning that is)?

Bod's Unmodified Monotub TEK suggests using 32qt, 54qt, or 80qt for the mono tub.

from u/c1s2m3 comment you have about 1.75qt of spawn.

i use the 32qt tub, using Bod's tek you need 4-6qt spawn for this sized tub.

when i have less than 4qt of spawn i use food trays or shoe boxes inside my 32 qt unmodified monotubs


i can get two trays in one STERILITE 32 Quart Gasket Box, 4qt of perlite, no liner.

150g dry coco coir, add 750ml boiling water, let cool.

then mix with one qt jar grain spawn, split into two food trays and let get
colonized for 10-14 days.

then uncover put into tub with hydrated perlite with a hydrometer, mist as necessary.

mine are prone to side pinning, but that doesn't bother me one bit.

the cake will shrink, sometimes i flip them and dunk them, others i just bottom or top water depending how what i think it needs.

here it is I bought a used one though so that’s why it was so cheap and it works beautifully. Hopefully there’s a used one

I use these.
They last about a year or two, I have yet to have one last over 3. Just due to the spore and high humidity, but they are super cheap.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076LMFRHG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Organic Vermiculite by Perfect Plants - 8 Dry Quarts

https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Vermiculite-Perfect-Plants-Additive/dp/B07N7PSQM1/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=organic+vermiculite+perfect+plants&qid=1568231788&s=gateway&sr=8-2

​

Curious as to where your PF tek is failing? Are you never getting any signs of mycelium at all in the jars or do you get mycel growth and then it stalls?

They have really cheap mini greenhouses on amazon that would work great.


https://www.amazon.com/Worth-Mini-Greenhouse-Collapsible-Propagation/dp/B07BS54J3B/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1537055808&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=mini%2Bgreenhouse&th=1

Overkill, and has no shelves. I see people using these for mushrooms, nice shelves on the rack. Might fit easier into a closet to hide.

https://www.amazon.com/Gardman-R687-4-Tier-Mini-Greenhouse/dp/B000NCTGQE/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=humidity+tent&qid=1562174132&s=gateway&sr=8-2

You really should sterilize your substrate, and boiling method is long and not a guarantee. I just got the cheapest large canner off Amazon, but you'd probably have decent luck finding one at a Goodwill for like $5 and some patience. But the pressure cooker and dehydrator were the two biggest expenditures accounting for over half the entire budget, everything else is quite cheap.

Just get something like this and store them. I've read they can lose potentsy after time, so just make sure you use them in a somewhat timely manner. Also, you could put them in capsule form. Which is an easy way to control dosage.

Get this - https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/capsule-machine-filler-size-00-1-capsule-machine/cpm1002
Along with https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/solaray-empty-gel-caps-00-1000-capsules/so-1006 or this if you're vegetarian https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/vcaps-0-empty-250-vegetarian-capsules/n8-1852

Grind them up in a food processor or coffee grinder and fill up the capsules. Start with one pill and see how you feel and proceed to adjust your dosage.

Edit: the 00 pills give you about half a gram per pill.

Thanks a lot! I have some of those desiccant packs, I keep them in my trunks with clothing packed away etc., to keep moisture away.

Should I put the desiccant pack right in the zip lock with Shrooms OR in the airtight container?

I will probably do them in January at the latest.

Thanks!

This is what I have, but they are 5 Grams: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B003DKQB02/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511649137&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dessicant+packs&dpPl=1&dpID=51X6pjAYxpL&ref=plSrch

Sweet, haven't seen that. He is a seller of his own books on AZ... found it!

Mirro PC on amazon is like 70$.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RNH7PQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah they’re called Gelatin Capsules . There are different sizes so you might want to look into that a bit. Also, it’s probably going to be a pain in the ass to fill them if you don’t have a tray for it. There are also small machines that’ll help you fill them on Amazon. Then you’re free to go.

They're 00 capsules, here ya go :) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428B6X6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_lbJ2AbS96XGAT

Smart Weigh GEM20 High Precision Digital Milligram Scale 20 x 0.001g Reloading, Jewelry and Gems Scale https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ESHDGOI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ww06CbGHZH9MH

Non-mobile:

• http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428B6X6
  
• http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CH0PQM
  
  ^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00428B6X6

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008CH0PQM

Plus a walmart coffee grinder problem solved

No worries, had a quick search and Amazon US and found this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Mirro-Polished-Aluminum-Pressure-Cookware/dp/B000RNH7PQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=pressure%2Bcooker%2Bfor%2Bcanning&pd_rd_r=e059f68e-7cc2-4f7c-9c09-80403aa37933&pd_rd_w=ccvWO&pd_rd_wg=r3wz2&pf_rd_p=c4f415d0-a1e0-4106-ae10-812d2919cfaf&pf_rd_r=R5EGQE06942HK7ST0DD8&qid=1569515645&s=gateway&sr=8-7&th=1&psc=1

Little bit higher price and I can't see how much shipping would be, $80 to get it to the UK!

Does 5 10 or 15psi though and is 22 quart.