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General Systems, see below for Inject and forget systems
Simplicity inside a bag.
Simplicity inside a bag.
Simplicity inside a bag.
Firstly let me say a big hello from the team here at MushBuddies.com.
My name is Mark and I will be guiding you from start to finish. You can email me for support anytime you get stuck. There are so many methods out there that it’s hard to know which one to choose. I am only covering four of these methods as not to confuse you more than ne
Firstly let me say a big hello from the team here at MushBuddies.com.
My name is Mark and I will be guiding you from start to finish. You can email me for support anytime you get stuck. There are so many methods out there that it’s hard to know which one to choose. I am only covering four of these methods as not to confuse you more than needed.
For the beginner, using the same grow bags to incubate as well as fruit in removes most of the chances of contamination. This is because each bag will act as its own isolated grow chamber. By fruiting in the bag you will eliminate most chances of cake cross contamination also.
These instructions are mindfully written to keep your costs and equipment needs to a minimum.
Our ready to use mushroom substrate bags come perfectly hydrated and conditioned so your mushrooms will grow big and strong.
Just by adding spores, warmth and a little patience you will have bags packed full of beautiful white mushroom mycelium ready to transfer to bulk substrate or fruit directly from the bag within a few weeks.
All items needed can be purchased in the MushBuddies Store.
Four easy techniques
Simplicity inside a bag.
Simplicity inside a bag.
There are Four main methods that can be used with these bags, which are:
- Incubate and fruit in the bag - Choose Rye Grain or Brf substrate. Ideal for beginners. Low cost and hassle free. No need for extra Tubs or Fruiting Chambers
- PF Tek, Make a BRF cake - Ideal for the more experienced grower. A step on from the above allowing multiple ca
There are Four main methods that can be used with these bags, which are:
- Incubate and fruit in the bag - Choose Rye Grain or Brf substrate. Ideal for beginners. Low cost and hassle free. No need for extra Tubs or Fruiting Chambers
- PF Tek, Make a BRF cake - Ideal for the more experienced grower. A step on from the above allowing multiple cakes to be grown in the same Fruiting Chamber
- Transfer Rye Grain or Crumbled Brf to a Bulk bag and fruit direct - Ideal for beginners. Very easy system allowing for massive harvests and no need to invest in Tubs or Fruiting Chambers
- Mono Tub Bulk Grow- Layer Spawn with Bulk Substrate, Ideal for the more experienced grower. Big Yields grown in the Mono Tub of your Dreams
Do have a good read of the Guides and the Question and Answers section. If you are still stuck or need advice please get in touch.
What will i need?
Simplicity inside a bag.
What will i need?
The items that you will need from start to finish are as follows:
- Isopropyl Alcohol spray
- Kitchen towel
- Gloves (for handling substrates and cakes)
- Face Mask (when handling substrates and cakes)
- One or more substrate bags
- 1 Paper clip for each bag
- Spore syringe (you can get these from www.SporeBuddies.com)
- A heat mat with thermostat
- A thermometer a
The items that you will need from start to finish are as follows:
- Isopropyl Alcohol spray
- Kitchen towel
- Gloves (for handling substrates and cakes)
- Face Mask (when handling substrates and cakes)
- One or more substrate bags
- 1 Paper clip for each bag
- Spore syringe (you can get these from www.SporeBuddies.com)
- A heat mat with thermostat
- A thermometer and or Hydrometer
- Scissors
- Sterilised vermiculite (for all methods apart from Growing direct in a bulk bag)
- A spray bottle
- A LED grow lamp (required if you are growing them in a concealed space)
- Aluminium foil (required if using the Pf Tek cake method)
- Perlite (required if using the Pf Tek cake method)
- Fruiting Chamber (required for Pf Tek method)
The following are only needed if you have chosen the Mono Tub bulk substrate method
- Tub/Fruiting Chamber
- Black bin liner
- Bulk substrate
- Polyester filter/cushion filter
- Cling film
Help and Assistance
World First: Inject and Forget Bags
PF Tek, Fruiting and Birthing a Cake
World First: Inject and Forget Bags
Designed for Newcomers and Old school professionals.
Fruiting Direct From the Bag
PF Tek, Fruiting and Birthing a Cake
World First: Inject and Forget Bags
Would you like to keep you cost to a minimun?
PF Tek, Fruiting and Birthing a Cake
PF Tek, Fruiting and Birthing a Cake
PF Tek, Fruiting and Birthing a Cake
Feeling Confident and wanting to expand your Harvest with Multiple cakes?
Growing bulk from the Bag
Growing bulk from the Bag
Growing bulk from the Bag
Not tried bulk Growing before and want to do it the easy way.
Growing in a MonoTub
Growing bulk from the Bag
Growing bulk from the Bag
Would you like to see a Carpet of mushrooms
Harvesting
Growing bulk from the Bag
Harvesting
So the day is finally here but how do you harvest all these lovely fruits
Inject and Forget Bags A world First By www.MushBuddies.com
Hello. My names Mark, please allow me to be your guide.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
You will need a spore syringe or syringe of gourmet liquid culture. 2.5-10ml for the 1 pound bag, 10ml for the 2pound bag and 20ml for the 4 pound bag.
You will need a heat mat with thermostat or heated propagator.
You will need a dim light source around 4500k-6500k. Standard room lighting and indirect sunlight also works perfectly.
You will need a Easy Glide Bag Sealer as the bags are capable of many flushes and the bag sealer with do just as its name says between flushes/harvests.
Some things not to do!!!!
1 The needle is sterile from the packet. do not wipe it or heat it. just connect and go.
2 If the syringe seems blocked, do not remove it from the injection port. Just pull the needle back a tiny bit and press harder on the plunger.
3 Do not open the bag until you want to harvest. The bag is a sealed unit and keeps contamination out and moisture in.
Step 1
Connecting your syringe to your needle.
Open the end of the needle packet and then unscrew the black syringe lock tip from the syringe and screw the needle in its place. Leave the protective needle cap on the needle until you are ready to use.
Step 2
Injecting your spores into the bag.
Do not wipe or heat sterilise the needle for this mushroom growing kit
Wipe down your injection port with the included alcohol swab.
Remove the protective needle cap and push the needle into the black injection port on the bag. Push on the plunger to inject the solution into the bag. Remove needle and replace needle cap.
Take time to massage the substrate and break up any clumps, spreading the spore solution evenly throughout the bag. Do not open the bag. But do spend 5 minutes on this part..
Why?
If you can massage the bag so as to have at least on spore per square centimeter of substrate you will have a fully colonized bag after 14 days. If you don't evenly distribute the spores you will have a section with no life and this will delay your project and need a secondary shake up to aid colonisation.
When the substrate is all mixed up, lay the bag on its side and shake the bag to evenly level the substrate.
DO NOT COMPACT THE SUBSTRATE.
The bag should now look like an elongated tent with the substrate evenly distributed in the bottom just like in the pictures above. Do not compress the substrate. The substrate should be all broken up and airy.
Now mushrooms love to side pin and most pins will appear on the side walls of the colonised substrate. For this reason, making the substrate into a ‘loaf’ shape with taller sides and a thinner top will promote the heaviest harvest.
Step 3
How to colonise the substrate.
First tape your silver temperature probe of the thermostat to the Heat Mat, you do not want it to fall off. Now place the bag or one of your bags on top of the temperature probe on the heat mat or propagator and check temperature is set to 26-27C via the thermostat.
To help the bags work, you can house your heat mat and Inject-and-Forget bag in a small storage box if you want; simply drill 4x 8mm holes on each side of the box for air flow, make 2 holes down low on each side close to the base of the tub and two holes on each side up high close to the lid of the tub.
This makes you a little incubator, helping to maintain a nice warm environment around your bag. The holes you have drilled will allow the box to breath, bringing fresh air flow past your bags air filter.
Do not enclose the Inject-and-Forget bag in a sealed box, the bag must be able to expel moisture and gases via the Air filter. Evaporation inside the bag will depend on the filter patch being able to breath; the reason why the propagators with lids work so well is they have a nice flow of warm air (and therefore slightly drier air) to help the bags breath.
Keep the bag in the dark until it is fully colonised and ready to fruit.
Keep the bag in the dark until it is fully colonised and ready to fruit.
Keep the bag in the dark until it is fully colonised and ready to fruit.
Keep the bag in the dark until it is fully colonised and ready to fruit.
Chill and wait for life to appear, do not handle the bags as the mycelium is trying to do its job and is very delicate at all stages.
Very soon the mixed-up substrate will be WHITE and fully colonised and you`re ready to start the fruiting process.
If you did not mix the spores into all the substrate well enough, you may have some barren areas. Most of the time these areas will be colonised by the mycelium. It is common for a small patch of substrate to remain uncolonised by the filter patch. This shows that the evaporation and breathing process of the Inject-and-Forget system is working well. If you have barren areas at 3-4 weeks after injection. You can break all the substrate up again and remix. Full colonisation should be complete 5 days after.
If massage, temperatures and conditions are correct, full colonisation of the substrate can be as quick as two weeks meaning the bag has turned all white and is ready to fruit. If the bags are kept too warm, too cold or can’t breathe properly, full colonisation of the bag may take up to 5-6 weeks or longer, so maintaining the correct environment is IMPORTANT!
If you do drop the bag or need to break up the substrate at this time you may delay the fruiting process.... Keep calm and carry on. There is nothing you can do, but life will still prevail.
Step 4
How to fruit
Now you are ready to fruit! To start the fruiting process, turn on your lights, 12/24 works great and keep maintaining the temperature at 26-27C.
Make sure the light source is not to bright for the life inside the Mushroom Growing bag. Low light works great, bright light does not. Plants light bright light and mushroom light dim light.
After 10-20 days in the correct environment you will see the pins forming along the sides of the cake. These tiny dots are the mushroom pins that will grow into nice big juicy mushrooms.
Step 5
Sit back and just watch them grow!
Different strains will take different times, so please be patient. The life form that you are caring for will be able to do its job with the correct conditions and the correct amount of time. Try not to handle the bags and do place the bags in a heated propagator or on a heat mat in a nice warm room. Being warm and cosy is exactly what the mycelium wants.
The mushrooms will turn from the small pins into identifiable mushrooms. If you have one or two mushrooms that have started early, wait until those mushrooms are mature then cut the end of the bag open to remove them. Close the bag back up using a Easy-Glide Bag Sealer and allow the other mushrooms to mature.
If the bags have been kept too cool, the mushrooms will be short adapting to the lower temps. If the bags have been kept with both base and ambient temperature at 26-27 C, the mushrooms can grow huge with 10inch long stems!
When the majority of the mushrooms are mature (or the bag is full) please cut open one end of the bag. Peel the mushroom clusters away from the substrate including any under developed mushrooms.
Harvest before any spores (Black soot) fall out of the mushroom caps. If this happens, Keep calm and carry on.
Wash your hands and always keep the Mushroom Substrate loaf inside the bag at all times to reduce chances of contamination.
Step 6
How to get more flushes
If you want to get another flush after harvesting the mushrooms. Turn on the cold tap in the kitchen and add enough water to the bag so the mushroom substrate loaf sits in 1 inch of water. The trace amount of chlorine in the tap water helps cleanse the loaf while it soaks. Seal the bag up and leave for 12 hours, then drain for 30 minsat an angle. Close the grow bag with an Easy-Glide Bag Sealer and place back in fruiting conditions. It will take a similar amount of time for subsequent flushes to show.
MushBuddies’ brown rice flour substrate mix has oxygen release agents that will slowly release oxygen for your mushrooms during growth. The agents work by time release; meaning they will not hamper germination or colonisation… only releasing when needed. The oxygen release rate will increase during fruiting and so will actively push out any CO2 generated as the mushrooms grow.
Temperature and timing are important with this system, that's why we strongly recommend the use of a temperature controlled heat mat. Colder temps will lead to reduced yield and longer waiting times!
With temperatures of between 26-27C, you can expect a completely NO FUSS FIRST FLUSH YIELD OF BETWEEN 500-1000g of fresh mushrooms. The average first flush yield during product testing was a healthy 723g.
Fruiting Brf AND GRAIN Cakes Directly From the Bag
Prepare your Surface
Prepare your Surface
Prepare your Surface
Ok so your products have arrived and you’re really excited. Take a moment to calm down and think about the steps ahead. You’ll need to give yourself time, and a clean area to work. This step is required for all of the Growing Methods and should become part of your standard procedure. Choose a room where there are no Drafts or Bad Smells. Close all windows and doors and make sure you have all items you need inside the room that your are working in.
- Alcohol spray
- Paper Towel for wiping down
- Substrate Bags
- Spore Syringe
- Wind Proof Lighter for needle sterilisation
- Marker pen for species and date info on the bag
- Etc
Ladies tie your hair out of the way. Everybody roll your sleeves up and wash your hands well. Use Isopropyl Alcohol to clean the surface you are to work on. Open the Box containing the bags of sterilised mushroom substrate and remove the white outer protective bags. Check for contaminated or punctured bags. If found please contact us immediately and we will provide a replacement or refund. Place the mushroom substrate bags on the surface.
Prepare your Bags
Prepare your Surface
Prepare your Surface
Both the Rye Grain and the BRF bags will work best if a little air is drawn into the bags through the filter so the contents can be gently mixed up. BRF bags are best when the contents have been crumbled up into a soft cookie crumble. During the sterilisation process tiny air pockets inside the BRF/VERMICULITE mix are crushed and squashed by the high pressures inside the steriliser. By crumbling up the mix you will add the air back and this will really speed up the colonisation of the substrate by the mycelium.
The best way i have found to do this is to hold the bag up as if it were a bag of crisps that you were about to open.
*It is best to use one hand to pinch the bag just to one side of the filter (white square) and with the other hand pinch the back of the bag just behind the filter. Now slowly and carefully pull the filter side away from the back of the bag. By pulling the filter away from the back of the bag you will draw filtered air into the bag*
This will give you room to break up the BRF block into the crumble the mycelium loves. Do the same for the Rye Grain bags. The grains will easily separate and will be free in the bag.
Inoculation
Prepare your Surface
Inoculation
Now open the spore syringe packet. Remove the blue syringe protector and screw in the needle but leave the needle cap on the needle. Use the alcohol swab that comes with each bag to wipe the round black self healing injection ports. Pick up the syringe and remove the needle cap. *DO NOT TOUCH THE NEEDLE WITH YOUR FINGERS, ALCOHOL WIPES OR ANYTHING ELSE. IF YOU DO, HEAT THE NEEDLE TIP TO RED HOT WITH THE WINDPROOF LIGHTER AND ALLOW TO COOL. IT WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD IDEA TO HEAT STERILISE THE NEEDLE BEFORE INJECTING EACH BAG AND BEFORE PUTTING AWAY. You want to pierce the injection port fully with the needle and inject about 2ml of solution as you pull the needle out, this should leave a line of spore solution right through the centre of each bag. You will see the first signs of growth from this injection site. If you have any solution left you can Heat sterilise the needle and put the cap back on and store in the fridge at 2-8degC for future use. When you have completed this step you can put the mushroom substrate bags back into the packing box and use the box to incubate them.
Incubation
Casing Layer and Soak
Inoculation
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE BOX DOES NOT EXCEED 27°C. ADJUST THE THERMOSTAT CONTROLS OR ADD INSULATION BETWEEN THE BOX AND HEAT MAT TO ADJUST THE TEMPERATURE WITH 25-27°C BEING PERFECT.
Place your inoculated Bags of substrate back into the bubble lined packing box and position the box on the heat mat. Somewhere clean and out of the way. Place your thermometer inside the box. Put the Temperature probe of the thermostat directly under a bag. This positioning of the thermostat prob is important.
White, fluffy-looking mycelium should start to appear between 4-14 days after inoculation with spores, spreading outward from the inoculation site like fine silk. Note: Mushbuddies.com products are double sterilised to prevent contamination. However your spore syringes can not be sterilised. Watch out for any signs of contamination during incubation, including strange colours and smells. Dispose of any suspect Bags immediately. Do not open the mushroom substrate bag just put it straight in the bin. If you’re unsure about whether a bag is contaminated, always err on the side of caution even if the substrate is otherwise healthily colonised.
7 Days after you see mycelium starting to grow, we recommend that you break up the Brf substrate bag contents into tiny bits leaving no clumps or lumps and gently break up the rye grain so its loose.
Do not worry this will not damage the mycelium. Instead this allows the mycelium to colonise much faster. Break up the bags contents by using your hand on the outside of the bag. To finish, gently flatten the surface of the substrate ready for the vermiculite casing layer. Do not open the bag at this stage. Wait another 7 days, if all goes well, you should have Bags full of white mycelium and you are ready for the next step. For all other methods Click here
Casing Layer and Soak
Casing Layer and Soak
Casing Layer and Soak
In the previous step you gently flattened the surface of the mycelium. This was done so when you add the hydrated vermiculite casing layer (contamination protection and micro climate generator)) you will get a full and even pin set leading to maximum harvest weight.
You should add your sterilised vermiculite now.
To add the vermiculite simply cut the top off the colonised substrate bags and sprinkle around 5mm of vermiculite to the top of the fully colonised mushroom substrate. Now fold down the top 2 inches of the bag and seal with paperclips, pegs or something similar.
Put the bag back in a dark warm place to consolidate for 7 more days. After 7 days the mycelium will have grown up through the vermiculite and you are ready to Fruit. One last step for this system, you need to Soak the cakes by boiling up a cup of water for each bag you want to fruit, allow the water to cool before use by covering each cup and leaving to one side.
Open one bag at a time and gently pour the cup of cooled water into each bag then seal with a paperclip or similar as you go. Once the sterilised water has been added to all the bags, leave in a cool place. After 12 hours you need to drain the bags, this can be done by laying the tops of the bags into the sink so as all the water drains away from the cake. Leave for 15 minutes then carefully drain the water from the bag. The Vermiculite will stay attached to the cake where it is needed and dont worry if some falls down the sides.
So well done.
You now have bags of silky white mycelium with a 5mm layer of vermiculite on top. The bags have been drained fully and you are ready to fruit.
Fan and Air
Casing Layer and Soak
Casing Layer and Soak
The bags will now need a source of light. Light causes the mycelium to start to fruit. Led lights are compact ,low cost and best of all generate almost no heat. Normal light bulbs will need to be placed a distance from your grow bags or you will cook the bags. Led lights can be in direct contact with the bags meaning a small space can be used to house your grow area.
Light is a Pinning trigger as is fresh air and evaporation. Light also shows the mushrooms which way is up so i recommend the light source be directly above your bags. 12 Hours on 12 Hours off. If the light source is off to one side, your mushrooms will lean in that direction.
To add fresh air and moisture for evaporation you should open all the bags at least once a day (three times a day is best) and spray a small squirt of fine water mist against the inside walls of the bag and fan the top of the bag for 40 seconds with a piece of cardboard. Doing so will allow fresh air in and carbon dioxide out. Adding fine mist and fanning completes the evaporation process.
Now again, close the bag by rolling over the top 2 inches of the bag and adding your paper clip.
The temperature of the mat needs to be lowered to 21-23degC.
From this point on, open the top of the bag one to three times a day. Mist and fan fresh air into the bag for about 40 seconds.
DO NOT SPRAY THE WATER DIRECTLY ONTO THE SUBSTRATE SURFACE. ONLY ON THE INSIDES OF THE BAGS. You want to see a very fine dew on the vermiculite's surface with out any pools of water, ease off on the spray if water starts to pool.
Continue this until tiny pins appear or two weeks has passed (Repeat the Soak if pins fail to show). A top tip is to keep the bags slightly damp for the first 7 days or until your pins are 10mm tall. You want to aim for a fine Dew over the surface of the cake. Each day after this you will need to open the bags and spray a little less fine mist on the inside of the bags while continuing to Fan the top for 40 seconds. This has to be repeated once to three times a day until the mushrooms are mature and ready for harvesting. For most of you this will be just as the veil breaks away from the stem. If you wait to long the mushroom will drop its spores and these spores will clog the surface and lead to contamination. See Harvesting
Pf Tek, Fruiting a birthed cake in a fruiting chamber
Prepare your fruiting chamber
Prepare your fruiting chamber
Prepare your fruiting chamber
Wooow You have four fully colonised Brf cakes and you would like to fruit all these cakes in the one fruiting chamber.
Until we Launch the "TubbBuddies" range of fruiting chambers, you will have to make your own. Do not worry tho its not too hard.
Step 1 Find a clear tub with a clear lid. A 20Litre storage tub will work great.
Step 2 Draw a line all round the base of the box at 2" high. Get your self a drill and a 5mm bit and drill holes all along this line. At least every 2cm. Do the same along the top of the tub. These are for air flow.
Step 3 Pour your 3Litres of Sterilised Perlite into your tub. The perlite should come higher than your line of drilled holes and will filter the air as its exchanged.
Step 4 Pour Sterilised water into the tub to wet the perlite. Bring the water level just shy of you line of holes.
Step 6 Add Parcel tape to the line of holes at the top of the tub. We keep these closed off until the pins are 10mm tall.
Step 7 Evenly place 4x 5inch square pieces of aluminium foil on the Perlite.
Step 8 Set your light on a 12hr timer. This can sit on the closed lid if its LED.
Prepare you Brf cakes
Prepare your fruiting chamber
Prepare your fruiting chamber
Both the Rye Grain and the BRF bags will work but Brf is preferred for this method as the fully colonised cakes are stronger and wont crumble during handling.
You will need:
- Scissors
- Sterilised water
- 1000ml of Sterilised DRY Vermiculite
You need to Soak the cakes by boiling up a cup of water for each bag you want to fruit, allow to cool before use. Cover each cup and leave to one side until cool. Open one bag at a time and gently pour the cup of cooled water into each bag then seal with a paperclip or similar as you go. Once the sterilised water has been added to all the bags, leave in a cool place. After 12 hours you need to drain the bags, this can be done by laying the tops of the bags into the sink so as all the water drains away from the cake. Leave for 15 minutes then carefully drain the water from the bag.
Once fully Drained the cakes can be removed from the bag.
Take a pair of scissors and carefully cut the bag down its length. With a gloved hand removed the cake and place it into the bowl of DRY Vermiculite. Roll the cake around in the Vermiculite good and proper, aim for complete covering of vermiculite for a great pinset.
Prepare your fruiting chamber
TO FOLLOW