I just started mycology experiments and attempted to make up some of my own grain bags without any GE. 5 different genetics. Two types of grain. They all stalled on me. I tossed most of them but kept a few that started a decent growth. I decided to open them up and give them some air. The very next day they started growing again.

This only works with small amounts. A normal 5lb bag or larger will die off before full colonization without air.

@gonelucid

2 ай бұрын

Interesting

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

I agree with you. 8oz bags seem to work but it's pushing it!

@MonsterMushhead

Ай бұрын

Yea I had a 3 pound AIO stall out after I did a break and shake and folded the bag up it never recovered and completely died

Cool experiment 😎

lmao that lone kernel

Nice little experiment. Helps us new to the community especially since there is a lot of contradictory information afloat. Please keep those trials going. Thanks.

The air is for gas exchange, not so much for it to "breathe" but to off gas what it produces while its growing.

Great price and very cool for the shoe box growers. 👊💯👊🍄

I see the lone kernel often it always gets got😂

I’m a nail tech and proud of you as a guy for caring if you have clean nails 💅 😂 It does matter! Thanks for this channel I’m new to this. Just bought my first kit but I have 20ml of spores for 2lb bag. Is that too much? I’m going to fruit it in a box though.

There’s still air in that bag, that’s why it can keep going until fully colonized. Even when vacuum your vacuum sealer isn’t powerful enough to pull a full vacuum if there is space where air can be trapped (between the kernels) it is just sucking out all the air it can easily. You can easily test that if you don’t believe me: water has a boiling point of 40-45 degrees C in a real vacuum. Heat those bag up to 45 degrees and if there really a vac the water should be boiling and pumping the bag up until it reaches equilibrium With that little air the myc can grow, but over time the co2 level inside the bag gets higher and higher. That’s why they aren’t doing very well in the sealed bags. I am sure if you do a bigger bag and maybe spread out the kernels more flat so only little air can be trapped between them, the myc will stall

Wonderful! Thank you, I've been thinking about doing a similar experiment with jars instead of bags. What I'm wondering is at what point does increasing gas exchange no longer increase growth rate. For bags, like you're doing, that could be tested by having different samples with more small filter patches. In my case, I'm thinking about doing a jar with no filter patch, a jar with a small filter patch, a jar with a full wide mouth filter patch, and *maybe* a jar with air pumped (intermittantly, not continuously) in through a hose down to the bottom of the jar, filtered by a syringe filter.

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

This is a great idea! I'll try to keep it in mind for a future video! Thanks :)

Awesome experiment 🎉 thank you for sharing! One note: I Believe that Even when you vaccine seal the bag, there is still O2 molecules in the grain and in the air that's in the bag. You can not, i repeat can not eliminate all of the gasses with a househols vaccime sealer. The amount of energy needed to generate a true vaccume is insane. Even blood vials at work xone back with excessive po2 measurments on blood gasses drawn from central lines into a vacume container

@BrewmasterN8

Ай бұрын

Holy crap the typos man 😂 I'm leaving then in there..

it's more about the releasing of gas so I've read 02 helps with the size and weight its the c02 the mushroom is very sensitive to it - there is a paper somewhere about it they used Agaricus bisporus the fruit become heavy but fibrous the findings were the added o2 was not enough to be commercially viable in some cases ruined the product

@khg8519

13 күн бұрын

the co2 was deadly even in very small amounts

Cool! i do believe that most plastic is slightly permeable by “air”, but very interesting nonetheless

@willborio8613

2 ай бұрын

Freezer bags aren't.

@gonelucid

2 ай бұрын

As in the plastic itself can breathe? I don't think so.. although I've heard the same.

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

I don't think that these one's in particular are breathable. They're made with relatively thick pp5.

myc grows towards the air, and most plastic bags are a bit pours

@wookdabz6234

2 ай бұрын

they also breathe oxygen, so idk, i feel like its important, and id say u do "need" it, but it can deal without a lot of it for a bit

What are those bags and how did you prepare them.

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

They're small PP5 bags. I weighed out 8oz in each bag and modified them with injection ports and filter patches. You can read more here: coloradomycologycompany.com/products/8-oz-grain-spawn-bag

I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I have had two bags of grain spawn start going yellowish green. Threw them out. I tried nice agar to grain on both. I am trying my own pop corn spawn and not buying grain spawn only for them to go bad. My agar plates look really nice to start.

@gonelucid

2 ай бұрын

Yellowish green? Was it mycelium metabolites or legit contamination?

@deej7783

Ай бұрын

Make sure your pressure cooking for 2.5 hours!!! Pop corn is great bud it's bigger and needs a few extra mins in the PC vers brown rice. And have to make sure they are prepared perfectly or can dry out to fast. Rice is my absolute favorite and amazing pin sets!!! Good luck brother you will get it 👊💯🍄💪

First of all, thank you for your wonderful attempt and for sharing the information. can you try with a bigger bag? more than 5lb ?!

@deej7783

Ай бұрын

5 lb of just grain can be tough. Then tend to stall. I go 3 sometimes 4 lbs if I know the genetics are fast and consume like a mofo🤣🤣🤣

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

Honestly, I don't think it'll work in a 5lber lol. It's really pushing it with 8ozers as it is. The more airflow the better when you're working with weight like that imo.

You need oxygen. There is oxygen in the actual grain…

I have "6mil Mushroom Growing Bags, 8" x5" x 20"" with build-in 0.2 Micron filter patch. Can I seal this with my food saver and put in the PC? I've been using Brown Rice, should I switch to Popcorn?

@Comyco

2 ай бұрын

Yes, you should be able to do that without any issues. I prefer to seal afterwards but either option should be fine. Brown rice is great too if its been properly hydrated. The grain type comes down to personal preference and I'd encourage you to experiment.

@SilverPhoenix-PlazmaMoon

2 ай бұрын

@Comyco Thank you very mush!

I don’t have filter patches, is it okay if I do little holes in the bag? Or it can get contaminated

@Comyco

3 ай бұрын

It will contaminate if you don’t use a properly designed filter patch.

@billbill5396

3 ай бұрын

@@Comyco I've never in my life used a "specially designed" filter patch. Make a hole using a Red Hot poker and put some micropore tape over it. I know people who don't even seal their bags (they just fold it over a few times like you would close a potato chip bag and stapple it)..

@Comyco

2 ай бұрын

​@@billbill5396 Absolutely, that method is effective! Edward Grand is known for using the stapling technique. The logic behind rolling the bag several times is solid-it introduces numerous folds that can trap any contaminant spores before they reach the substrate. While I understand and appreciate the simplicity and effectiveness of these methods, I personally prefer using filter patches with a known .2 micron rating. It gives me peace of mind.

@billbill5396

2 ай бұрын

@@Comyco Absolutely, I could not agree more. The safer you can be the better. I run off Solar Panels and refrigeration is not always possible for me. I saw this comment and thought to answer Him on how I store mine. For me its the best way, but yes ideally it would be best to be as safe as you can. I was dumbfounded by this guys response.. lol basically told me what I have been doing for years is "rubbish". If I had thousands of dollars to spend on all the newest and nicest things it may very well be. But I don't, and its nice to know you don't need them things either, for those who are just starting out, it gives encouragement to the newcomer that they don't need all that fancy stuff. Thanks Comyco, your response not only respectful, but I appreciate the support for my original comment to the young man just starting out.

@gonelucid

2 ай бұрын

I agree with Bill bill.. use micropore/paper tape. It's a dollar at the dollar store.

I was actually just doing some similar experiments and was wondering about air/gas exchange. Also abou the BnS and how much space is needed, or can it be simply massaged around 😂

according to wiki they dont thrive in anaerobic environments.

@Comyco

Ай бұрын

Thats also what I've found. However, they can still manage just fine in some cases, it seems! I think it comes down to how much oxygen was left in the bag at time of sealing. At least thats a big factor.