Mushrooms
How To Grow Magic Mushrooms (page 1)
MMGG - Magic Mushroom Growers Guide
Version 3.72 (Updated August 2008)
This document may be freely copied and distributed so long as the following conditions are met:
- Any copies of this document must include this notice.
- This document must be credited to Psylocybe Fanaticus for being the inventor of the PF Tek, and MMGG Author for adapting the PF Tek.
- This document can not be distributed for profit.
This document provides complete directions for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms in your home. The species this guide is intended to help you grow is Psilocybe cubensis (also known as Stropharia cubensis under older botanical nomenclature) of which there are several strains.
The term magic mushroom has been used to refer to any mushroom with psychoactive or psychedelic properties. However, when buying or growing magic mushrooms, Psilocybe cubensis are the species of mushroom most people expect.
It is the intent of this document to enable the first time grower to succeed at a minimal cost and with a minimal amount of effort. This growing guide might be the only reference you will need but it is recommended that you look at other mushroom grow guides.
After a person has completed the entire cycle successfully, later generations of mushrooms can be grown with even less cost and effort.
The initial cash outlay will be about one hundred to three hundred dollars (U.S.) for a fully automated mushroom factory. Subsequent crops can be produced for several dollars with expected yields of several ounces of dried mushrooms.
Table of contents:
Credits To Those Who Have Gone Before Us.
The procedures detailed in this document were invented by Psylocybe Fanaticus. The MMGG Author made some adaptations to show the grower, how she or he might make changes to the PF Tek to suit her or his needs, and resources.
Normally, growing Psilocybe mushrooms is next to impossible for a beginner. However, the PF process is a break through and virtually guarantees that the beginner will succeed. If you have problems using this method, there is an easier method but it will not produce as large a crop.
Structure Of This Document.
Information in this document is a mixture of mandatory and optional steps. The core document describes the basic procedure in its simplest form and at various points there will be possible adaptations that can be incorporated.
In general, the adaptations will summarize what is required and the benefit to the cultivator in the event the adaptation is implemented. You should read the entire document before you attempt to implement the procedures described in it.
The first time you use the process you should follow the directions exactly and resist the temptation to innovate. Innovation without experience is the primary cause of failure. If you must innovate because you can not find a particular item or for some other reason, first check with someone that has experience to make sure you are not doing something crazy.
This grow guide is intended to provide the first time cultivator with the knowledge to make informed decisions about the growing process for Magic Mushrooms.
The cultivator can select some adaptations that are felt to be worthwhile and reject others that don't have sufficient merit for him. It's his or her choice, but you are still guaranteed that if you follow the directions you will produce a crop of mushrooms.
One last note. A terrarium is required to complete the growing cycle. You can perform the steps to inoculate the culture jars and over the next few weeks build your terrarium. It takes time for the cultures to grow and this should provide you sufficient time to make a suitable terrarium if you are in a hurry to get started.
Overview Of Procedure And Care.
In order to grow magic mushrooms, a suitable substrate must be inoculated and colonized by the mushroom fungus. The substrate provides nutrients and moisture to the mushroom inoculant. This step requires sterility because the substrate contains no preservatives and can be overrun by any mold or bacteria that is present.
In the first step a substrate (a mixture of brown rice flour and vermiculite, both of which are readily available) is prepared, placed in canning jars and sterilized with heat.
After the jars cool, they are inoculated with a spore syringe. This phase of the cycle can be completed for about $50 to $150 and will allow you to produce enough substrate to yield many ounces of dried mushrooms.
After the substrate is inoculated, you wait until it is colonized completely by the fungus. While waiting for the substrate to colonize completely, no effort is required except monitoring them to make sure everything is as it should be.
This typically takes between two and three weeks to complete. At this point, the substrate is placed in a terrarium where high humidity is available to the fungus.
Once the substrate is colonized completely by the fungus, sterility is less of a concern because the fungus is pretty much able to fight off invaders and the rice cake substrate can be removed from the jar.
The terrarium is kept at around 90% humidity and the carbon dioxide that is produced by the fungus is constantly eliminated. Within a week of being placed in the terrarium, the rice cakes will start growing mushrooms. Within several weeks of being placed in the terrarium, the cultivator will have numerous mature mushrooms ready for consumption.
The cakes continue to produce mushrooms until either the nutrients in the rice cake are used up or the moisture in the rice cake is depleted. Depending on how the cultivator chooses to implement the terrarium, more or less attention is required at this phase in the cycle.
With the fully automated terrarium setup described later in this document, attention is only required every few days. Mostly, this involves picking mature mushrooms and adding water to the humidifier used in the setup.
It is very likely that the mushrooms will be produced faster than they can be consumed by the home cultivator once the cropping phase of the cycle starts. It is fairly easy to dry the mushrooms and preserve them for many months.
In fact, some people prefer the dried mushrooms to their fresh counterpart. Being the master of understatement, let me state that they do not taste as good as mushrooms available in the grocery store.
Occasionally, a sterile spore print from a mature mushroom needs to be generated if the cycle is to be repeated. This is used to produce a spore syringe to inoculate new culture jars.
It is a lot of effort and requires very careful, sterile procedures to be successful generating a spore print. If you are like most people, making a sterile spore print yourself is not worth it. This can be circumvented by simply getting a new spore syringe instead, the cost will be about $25.
A 10 cc. spore syringe should be sufficient to inoculate a dozen jars of substrate. It is the cultivator's choice which path to follow for successive generations of growing magic mushrooms.
Preparation And Colonization Of The Substrate.
Mushrooms are grown on a substrate of nutrients. Just as a common house plant is grown in a pot of soil, mushrooms can be grown on a cake of substrate material.
The big difference is that the substrate must be free of competing bacteria and molds in order for the process to be successful. Any contamination of the substrate will result in failure of the process.
Materials needed:
The canning jars need to be tapered. This means that the opening of the jar is wider than the body of the jar. This is important because the fully colonized rice cake needs to be removed intact from the jar.
You simply want the cake to slide out when the time is right. If you use a jar that is not on the following webpage, check to make sure the box says it is a tapered jar. The canning jars located here are acceptable.
Step 1:
Prepare the tops of the culture jars so that they can be in place, on the jars when inoculating the jars with the spore syringe.
Part of the reason this system works so well in the non-sterile kitchen environment is the fact that the sterilized substrate is never exposed to air born contaminates.
Drill or use a small nail to hammer 1/8 inch holes in the lid of each canning jar. See the following figure:
Step 2:
Decide how many jars you are going to initiate cultures in. The average terrarium that is built will hold 6 rice cakes but you may have some jars destroyed by contamination and some jars colonize quicker than others.
It is unlikely that every jar you prepare will be ready to be placed in the terrarium at the same time. The rice flour and vermiculite are cheap enough that it makes sense to do a dozen jars.
For each 1/2 pint jar mix 2/3 cup vermiculite and 1/4 cup brown rice flour in a mixing bowl. adaptation-23 When these ingredients are well mixed, add 1/4 cup of water to each jar.
If you are using 1 pint jars you need to double the recipe. Mix all of this stuff up well. This mixture is the substrate material that the fungus will consume and use for growth.
Step 3:
The next step is to fill each jar with substrate material. adaptation-20 This document used to suggest gently packing the substrate into the culture jars. It has been found that keeping the substrate as loose and full of air as possible is the best way to fill the jars.
The jars will colonize faster this way. Incidentally, the faster the jar colonizes, the lower the risk that some competitor contamination will get a foot hold and take over the substrate. adaptation-3 Fill each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top with substrate material.
If you run out of substrate material, either mix up enough for one more 1/2 pint jar or cannibalize a jar to fill up the rest of the jars. This is important because you need to make sure the substrate is high enough in the jars for the spore syringe to inject spores into it.
Step 4:
The top 1/2 inch of the glass on each culture jar needs to be cleaned. No substrate material can be left on the glass above the compressed cake. First wipe it with your finger to get the bulk of the material off of it and then do a thorough job with a moistened paper towel.
The glass needs to be spotless. The reason this is necessary is that bacteria and mold can use any material left there as a wick to infect the main substrate body.
Step 5:
Next, fill the top 1/2 inch of the each culture jar with vermiculite. This layer is pure, simple, dry vermiculite. Nothing else. Fill the jar level with the glass edge.
This layer is a break through pioneered by Psylocybe Fanaticus. What this layer does is insulate the sterilized substrate from any air borne contamination.
This layer gets sterilized with the substrate later and air borne molds and bacteria can not (usually) get through it to contaminate the substrate. At the same time, it allows some gas exchange to occur. The fungus needs oxygen and gasses can filter through the vermiculite.
Step 6:
Now, place the jar lids in place. Normally, the jar lids have a rubber seal that is placed in contact with the glass of the jar. Traditionally the rubber seal is not placed in contact with the glass. It was placed on the upper side of the lid. The reason was that people thought it would make too tight of a seal.
This does not seem to be an issue. If you wish to follow tradition, place the rubber on the upper side of the lid. Screw the lid down tight. Note that you need to have the four holes poked in the lid in Step 1. Otherwise you can have real problems when you heat these jars up!
Step 7:
Next, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of each jar and crumple it around the sides of the jar. This is to keep water drops from going in the four holes in the lid while the jar is being sterilized.
If you poked your holes in the lid such that the sharp edges are pointing up, be careful not to rip or puncture the tin foil. If you need to, you can add a second or even a third piece of tin foil to make sure water will not drip into the holes in the lid.
Step 8:
Now the culture jars need to be sterilized. Place the jars in a large kitchen pot and add water so that water comes half way up the side of the jars. Bring the water to a slow boil and place the lid on the pot. From the time the water starts to boil, the jars need 1 hour to be sterilized.
Water should not be bubbling and splashing all over the place. The jars should not be floating around in the water. The substrate in the culture jars has the right amount of water in it already. You do not want water leaking into the jars and changing the ratio.
The jars should not sit flat on the bottom of the pan. Too much heat can transfer directly to the jars and cause a loss of moisture. You can place a wash cloth inside the pan and set the jars directly on the wash cloth to help prevent too much heat from transferring to the jars.
Step 9:
Let the jars cool slowly. Leave them covered in the pan that was used to sterilize them. Let them cool completely. The jars need to be at or close to room temperature in order to inoculate.
The spores will be killed if the jars are not cool enough when they are inoculated. It will take several hours to cool sufficiently. You may hear sounds as the jars cool. This is normal.
Step 10:
Now comes the good part. Inoculation of the culture jars. Assuming you have a viable, sterile spore syringe, you are now in a position to inoculate the cultures and start the first phase of the growing cycle. The needle of the spore syringe must be sterile.
If your fingers or anything other than the lid or contents of the culture jars comes in contact with it, assume it is no longer sterile. If there is any doubt about its condition, use a cigarette lighter to heat the entire needle. Heat it until it glows red. Let it cool for a few minutes and squirt some of the solution out of the syringe.
Shake the syringe. Make sure the spores are mixed well within the syringe. This can be accomplished more easily if you pull the plunger back on the syringe to get a little air into the syringe.
Remove the tin foil from each culture jar as you prepare to inoculate it. Insert the needle of the syringe as far as it will go into a hole in the lid of the culture jar and get the needle to press against the glass.
Inject 1/4 cc of solution at each hole in the lid. adaptation-4
A total of 1 cc of solution is used for each jar. adaptation-5
Examine the next figure for a simple diagram of how things should look. A 10 cc spore syringe is sufficient to inoculate a dozen jars if you inject slightly less than 1 cc in each jar. Once each jar is inoculated, it is ready for incubation. Put tape over the holes in the lid to keep out any contaminants.
Step 11:
This is the easy part. Put the culture jars in a dark place and wait. The fungus will first appear as little splotches of white fuzzy stuff at the inoculation sites. adaptation-6
As the time goes by, the fungus will spread throughout the jar. Eventually, the entire surface of the glass will be covered with fungus. Typically, the bottom of the jar is the last area to be colonized. Be on the look out for any contamination.
Any odd colors that might appear are contamination and the jar must be thrown out. Do not take any chances. If you think the jar might be contaminated, throw it out!. Some molds and bacteria produce toxins that can kill you.
Just because a mushroom is growing on the opposite side of the cake from the contamination does not mean you are safe. The mycelium network carries nutrients and moisture to the mushrooms from far away and can easily pick up the toxins and bring them to the mushroom.
The fact that you are using this guide means you are not an experienced mycologist. You do not know which molds and bacteria are deadly. Do not take a chance.
The one exception to the previous statements is the mycelium will some times change from a bright white to a very pale yellow if it has water droplets touching it on the side of the glass. It is very unusual for any area that is colonized by the mushroom fungus to become infected while in the jar. The uncolonized areas of the substrate are usually significantly more prone to infection.
The above pictures show a typical germination and colonization cycle. If your spores are old, or the temperature is not optimum, or you did not mix the substrate very accurately you can easily add a week to the above time frames.
The cake must stay in the jar until the entire surface area is covered with mycelium. As the substrate gets more colonized, the growth slows down. This is a result of CO2 building up and less oxygen being available for the fungus to consume. adaptation-7
The cakes can not be taken out of the jars while there is still uncolonized substrate. adaptation-8
Step 12:
Once a rice cake is fully colonized, it can be taken out of the culture jar. adaptation-9 At this point, there are no areas on the substrate that can easily be infected by competitor molds and bacteria. Once the mycelium is established, it can usually prevent other organisms from gaining a foot hold and destroying the rice cake.
adaptation-10 Unscrew and remove the lid from the canning jars. Scrape all the loose vermiculite on the top of the substrate into the garbage.
Take care not to gouge into the substrate material as this can leave areas open to infection. You do not need to get all the vermiculite off of the cake. In fact, the only reason to remove any of it is to keep the terrarium neat and orderly.
Turn the jar up side down and see if the cake drops out, if not you might have to tap the jar against something like a table top to loosen the rice cake until it slides out of the jar. The rice cakes will typically shrink a little during the colonization phase of the process and will come out of the jars easily with a little tapping on a table top.
Step 13:
The rice cakes need to be placed into the terrarium. It is assumed that you have a fully functional and checked out terrarium setup at this point. This document contains all the information you need to prepare a terrarium.
You can handle the cakes but remember that the less you handle them and the more gently you handle them, the better off they will be. Also, you should wash your hands thoroughly and be sure to rinse with water just as thoroughly to remove any soap before touching the cakes.
If you have disposable sterile gloves available, it isn't a bad idea to use them. You can get away without using them, but they are a good idea. Contamination is the mushroom growers worst enemy.
The next step in how to grow magic mushrooms is the terrarium, which is located in the next section of this guide.
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