Inoculating Uncle Bens for Colonization ? June 11, 2022 . Using the Shotgun Fruiting Chamber, create little foil islands for the cakes to sit on. A Still Air Box is a small space that can be kept sterile with no air flow. At field capacity, sprinkle enough coco coir to cover all visible white grains completely, 1/8 to deep. But also dont assume you cant do itonce you get the hang of it, its so rewarding. Using gloves, mix with coco coir using a ratio of 2:1 coco coir to substrate. Heres an example of some good-looking bags. It may seem counterintuitive, but picking one from the cluster will disturb the remaining mushrooms, and they will stop growing. At the bottom of each post will be a summary in bold. The tek is straightforwardyou inoculate satchels of pre-cooked rice (conveniently pre-sterilized) using a spore syringe. To test I purchased 4 uncle ben bags and would inoculate with agar wedge. Congrats! The 70% is perfect. Blue bruising is totally fine, but green, solid yellow, red, and purple are signs of contamination. ), Part 2: How to Inoculate Uncle Bens Bags (Inoculation & Colonization), Part 4: How to Harvest, Dry, and Prepare for next flush, (There will also be a TL;DR at the bottom of Part 4), -------------------------------------------------------. I recommend IKEA Samla 1 gallon tubs, or something similar, because they have clear plastic lids. Theyre probably right, but I also believe it will lead to contamination. You can see my casing layer is having mycelium colonize through. When the jars are fully colonized, it's time to move on to fruiting. Mist the walls of the SGFC, or the outside of the rice satchels. It is best to pull whole clusters in one go. Heres a great timelapse example from /u/tornadic_Vortex. This is rice that someone cooked completely and could put on a plate with some vegetables and protein and serve to a person. Wait a few seconds for it to cool. Many people find that their room temps in a closet work just fine. The Substrate. Show more Show more How to Grow Mushrooms from Start to Finish. This is NOT an advanced Tek, and if you ever want to get into other parts of mycology (sterilization, cloning, agar, liquid culture, isolation, better yields) you will need to learn other Teks. Many of these items can be bought from hardware or garden supply stores. But, if you want the best growth, you should consider finding a way to incubate your bags: Some people use heat mats, but many find them to be overkill or poorly distribute the heat. Also, cakes dont produce the same size harvests as Spawning to Bulk. This is essential for killing potential contaminants, Either a) Snip off the corner of the bag and insert the syringe needle or b) push the syringe needle through the top of the satchel, Gently inject 1 to 2 mL of your spore solution on top of the rice, Tape over either the corner you cut open or the syringe hole with micropore tape. Like Step 7, you want this casing layer to be as smooth as possible. Regardless of which approach you take, use a torch lighter or (gas stove) to heat the needle of the syringe til it is red-hot. I also live somewhere extremely dry, so the air already has little contaminants in it. Table 1: Overview of different growing conditions for various mushroom species [2] With the steam sterilization technique, you may find you have to add some water to the pot during steaming due to evaporation. Heres our full guide on how to store mushrooms. Uncle Ben Tek Contamination; 10 year . You may need more later. Fruiting chambers can get complicated, with humidity sensors, fans, humidifiers, piping, and timers, but you can start simple with a shotgun fruiting chamber. Pack it down a bit if you need to. Break up the rice through the bag (trust me, I learned the hard way! Manufacturers have profited from our laziness (especially here in North America) by creating instant foods that come pre-prepared and ready to go. The following pictures show what it looks like after mixing, then casing with coco. Optional: If you want to add vermiculite, its a good idea. ogun iferan ose; lan option rom msi; nicole nielsen instagram; asian granny cant take big black Use an indoor thermometer to keep temps between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit for fastest colonization rates. Most SABs are made from large clear plastic storage boxes (although my first SAB was a cardboard box with a cling wrap window!) Mycelium colonizes faster with steady temperatures. Once germinated in these ready to go rice bags, colonization takes around 10-20 days and within 1-2 months you can begin to see mushroom bursting out. Perlite, Gypsum, Vermiculite, and Coco Coir can be purchased from gardening and hardware stores. 10 bags of Uncle Bens Brown Rice or knockoff brands (Safeway knockoffs kick ass) per syringe. Break up the rice through the bag with your hands. Wait a few seconds for it to cool between each injection. The Spiderman Tek, originally known as the Uncle Bens Tek is a quick, cheap, and low tek way to grow magic mushrooms. Plus, many Uncle Bens enthusiasts say they get excellent results with the method. Privacy Policy. Heres my closet. You also need to provide some kind of Gas Exchange in the form of a small micropore tape vent. Side and bottom pins arent the end of the world. It comes in multiple flavors but the one you want is just plain brown rice.. And if you feel called, wed love to have you join our mushroom growing community, too. This is an easy, beginner-friendly Tek, that you can learn the basics of mycology and growing your own mushrooms with. : unclebens . Place the cakes/bulk substrates into the fruiting chamber only when they are fully colonizedwhen the substrate is all covered with mycelium and the mycelium starts becoming thicker. Some people believe adding extra new nutrients to the bulk substrate will help increase yields, such as manure or coffee grounds. One of the newest Teks that has been developed is the Uncle Ben's Tek. I first read about it from /u/CrazyCatLushies Full Instructions post, which I quote now: >Humans can be incredibly lazy. DO NOT GET 90% or higher. You DO NOT want standing water, or for it to be soaking wet on the bottom. The satchel should maintain some humidity, and you can keep the satchel in the bathroom where it is humid or in an SGFC. It's been 11 days, and no pins have formed. Here is a great example of a bag that is NOT CONTAMINATED, only bruised. If you can maintain thousands of tiny droplets, and some humidity on the sides/top of your tub, youre in great shape. Size should be 4-6 quarts for 1-2 bags of spawn, depending on tub height. Use the Capri-Sun method to inoculate your bag by sticking a hot-tipped needle into the middle of your bag and inserting 0.5cc of solution, then covering that hole with micropore tape. Mushrooms dont need light to grow. In this scenario, crack/fan your tub more frequently, and it will dry that pooling up. See this post for proper surface conditions. You need to give them some time to start eating their food. Once dry, store in a self-seal bag (or twoone inside the other) with a satchel or two of desiccant and store in an airtight glass jar or plastic container in a cool dark place. This is to get rid of contaminants. I dont measure my water amounts TBH. Break it apart as finely as you can. With that being said, Uncle Bens Tek is a fantastic way to start, and I grew 3 dry ounces from $12 of Uncle Bens and knockoff brand rice bags. If you have nasty tap water, Id recommend using distilled gallons for this step. By using a hole punch to add your air holes, you open even less of the bag up to contam chances. Our services include refrigerator repair, freezer repair, icemaker repair and cooler repair. One or more bags of pre-cooked plain brown rice, any brand but people obviously almost always use. Let it fully colonize, or put to fruiting right away? IKEA Samla 1 gal tubs are perfect. *A Still Air Box (SAB), or glovebox, is a sealed container that some people use to help limit air movement and keep contamination out of their grows. In your clean monotub, add 1 deep coco coir at field capacity. Prior to taking ANY supplements you should consult a health care professional. Additionally healing-mushrooms.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. The techniques involved in growing magic mushrooms have come a long way in the last 60 years, from Roger Heim growing Psilocybe mexicana for Albert Hofmann to Oss and Oerics (aka Terence and Dennis McKenna) Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Growers Guide. There is now a range of accessible books by authors such as Stamets, Peter McCoy, Tradd Cotter, and Dr. K Mandrake and Virginia Haze, the teachers in our mushroom growing course and the authors of The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible.. The hot tin should cut the plastic effortlesslybest to do this outside. Youve come to the right place! Now, you need the colonization to happen. Not only do the gloves protect you from the alcohol, etc., but your skin carries a variety of bacteria, and you are continually losing skin to the air around you. Let the tubs colonize until knots/pins show up. Spawning to bulk in a Monotub is easy and will get you bigger yields for your spawn grains. Inside should be clean, healthy, white mycelium 100% colonized. We recommend sporestock.com for USA and Orangutan Trading Co.com for UK! Psylocybe Fanaticus, shortened to PF, was the business name of Robert Billy McPhersonaka Professor Fanaticuswho pioneered a method of mushroom cultivation called the PF Tek. 01:09. What ratio of spawn: substrate? Youll break up your cakes from your Uncle Bens bags into the tub, add your field capacity substrate, mix thoroughly, then move onto the conditions. Take your lighter and flame sterilize the needle until its glowing red hot. The moist perlite will maintain the necessary humidity for the mushrooms to grow. I add 1-2 bags of Bens per 4 quart tub, and mix in coco coir until 2-4 deep. My Method for creating the perfect Uncle Bens Monotub: I basically follow Bods Bucket tek, except I dont bother measuring my water amounts, and I use a home depot bucket. Could be the best method yet! There are several stages to the mushroom growing process: inoculation, colonization, harvesting, drying, and storing. Using a large pot to steam sterilize the jars will not guarantee all the contaminants are killed. Interested in having a psychedelic experience, but don't know where to start? A syringe of liquid spore solution. Yield varies greatly, with some growers reporting huge harvests and others getting nothing at all. Shoebox Tek . You dont need ultimate sterile procedures. If your mushrooms begin growing too tall, you can toss a bag over it or do a dub-tub method. Updated version of Uncle Ben's Tek. Again, It is worth investing in a quality product. On the inside, these bags are miniature, pre-sterilized, perfect-humidity-water-weight nutrient-filled grains, just waiting for some spores to grow mycelium. All you need is a bit of sterile-mindedness, a spore syringe, and some patience. Theres nothing sketchy about it, unless youre in one of the unlucky 3 states. #6 Virgenu 12 Jars Mushroom Growing Kit. As mentioned, consider the placement of the armholes before you cut, in time you may find yourself working longer and longer hours, so comfort is essential. Remove your chip clip, and youre ready to go! Monotubs: At least 2-4 tubs. Use a torch lighter or (gas stove) to heat the needle of the syringe til it is red-hot. -------------------- Regular jars are easier to find and a lot cheaper than mason jars. PLEASE err on the side of caution, and if the bags look moist through the viewing window on the bottom, add LESS solution than you think you need. Read more about our, Growing Your Own Mushrooms: PF Tek vs. Uncle Bens Tek, Shotgun Fruiting Chamber for Growing Mushrooms. Its that simple. Depending on where you live you may want to dispose of contaminated satchels or jar content straight into the bin, do not open them inside as that color that you see is the color of the spores and opening the satchel will distribute them. Incorrect sterilization is the lead cause of . This is good. Many people use 6 quart Shoebox tubs for Shoebox Tek. Most of the hard work has been done for youall that remains is cleaning your area, and possibly making your spore syringe. Why, the haters say, encourage beginners to use a kinda-effective, hit-or-miss tek when they are fully capable of something way better? Dont worry about it too much. Fill the tub with perlite so that it is approximately 5 cm deepsitting just below the lowest holesand add enough water so the perlite becomes moist, but does not float on a layer of water. You will need at least a 4-quart (1 gallon) plastic tub. Most importantly, you want fast and health mycelium growth, so it can outcompete any potential contams inside the bag. All you need is a bit of sterile-mindedness, a spore syringe, and some patience. You can also combine this method with the next method for ultimate anti-contamination efforts: The Capri-Sun Method will likely be the next big thing, if it works well. For each jar, remove the foil and inject 0.5-1 mm of spore solution into each hole below the vermiculite layer. Spider-Man Tek) Full Instructions. Notes on particular items: Sporesthere are a variety of websites that sell spore syringes, or you can make your own from a spore print. Explanation: That was the inoculation step. Next, you will need to prepare the metal lidsyou will need to nail four holes into the lids, large enough to fit the syringe needle with a little wiggle room, but not too large as it may increase the chances of contamination. Thanks to u/question_tek420*.*. To be fair, though, it's not perfect. By stirring as you pour, this will help the vermiculite soak up an equal amount of water. Buy spore syringe and uncle bens bags. When you can see mycelium at the bottom of the jar, wait a week to ensure full colonization. A lot of the older growing guides, including those by Stamets, required a medium skill level, a good lab technique, some homemade lab gear, and excellent working knowledge of agar and growing from grains. The increased surface area of the bulk layer allows for more primordia formation and hence more mushrooms. Once theyve colonized the majority of the surface to 75% coverage, or you see knots or pins, flip/crack the lid. The materials needed are cheap and widely available, especially once you invest in your original setup. **You do NOT need many spores to enter your bag; all it takes is a few. colonize somewhere out of the way and about room-temperature (colonization will be slower than for jars incubated in . 8.8 Ounce (Pack of 12) 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (14,544) $27.96 $ 27. I would not recommend. To this, haters respond that PF Tek is not that difficult, requires only equipment that that is readily available at low cost, and is substantially more reliable. Wipe down your scissors with ISO and let them dry. I havent had a single tub contaminate yet. It is important to note that humidity of greater than 80% is necessary for mushrooms to grow. 04:20. Its a lifelong journey thats joyous and empowering. If you do the Capri Sun method for injecting, make sure to cut a vent or use a hole punch to add a GE vent. You cant really overdo the sterility here. After shaking, give it a day to recover from the shaking. You need this item. Once drained of excess water, place them back on the foil islands to get a second flush, when you get another batch of mushrooms from the same cake. )rice sticks together really well, and the dense clumps can inhibit both water movement and airflow, both crucial in terms of colonization. Make sure you get every part of it covered, and especially the front where you will inoculate. When you have removed all the mushrooms, let the cakes sit for a few days, then submerge them in clean water for 12 to 24 hours, remove and drain. You are simulating the fruiting phase that occurs in nature. Before you begin, it is recommended to wear food-safe gloves and a mask throughout the process. The tub. I find that knockoff brand bags, like Aldi or Safeway, have less water and therefore have better results. The idea behind the Spiderman Tek first surfaced on the Shroomery and Mycotopia around 2005. You need to get your spores into your Uncle Bens Bags while introducing as few contaminants as possible. But by being careful, the risk of contamination from airborne spores or bacteria is small, especially when using a Still Air Box* (more on that below), because air exposure is minimal and the layer of vermiculite we add to the top of the substrate acts as a filter. I don't even lift the lid to exchange airflow. Use the Chip clip method to hold your top of your bag separate. Add the boiling water, stirring with a knife, to the bucket. Put on your cleanest clothes, and wear a hat or a hairnet.