Cubensis Small Heads

[psilonian]

Hi,

I'm watching my first growbox producing it's magic fruits. It is now about 3 weeks in and I have 10 or so stems snaking around in the plastic bag. They are up to 10 cm long and say 1 cm thick but the heads are very small. More like little brown helmets. Do you think they will broaden out with time? They aren't getting much light (a small overgrown cellar window) - could that be the problem?

Any opinions?

 

[DevXavier]

What kind of cubensis are you growing?

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

Size and shape don't matter, just make sure you harvest the first flush (completely) just before the largest ones open their caps.

 

[psilonian]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

@DevXavier: It is just a "growbox cubensis", no further information on exact kind. If you google you'll see quite a few places selling the same thing.

I've also now seen a statement that buildups of C02 produce small caps. I've left the plastic bag folded at the top with paperclips as instructed, and I am obviously concerned about infection if I keep opening it up and wafting fresh air in.

@CaduceusMercurius: so you have to harvest before spores are produced if you want another flush later?

 

[skullarian]

I think:
U must give them fresh air once or two times a day ,there is no infection in fruting stage...

 

[tryptonaut]

Mushrooms don't need much light, they only need it to know where "up" is. They are not plants, they are mushrooms, they live on plant material and oxygen, not light.
Give them more fresh air (at least once a day) and they will become bigger (the shrooms, not just the caps). The size of the caps really doesn't matter that much for potency, but as soon as they open they become huge pretty quick (but you don't want to wait that long usually because you don't want them to release their spores on your growbox)

 

[Guest]

there is no infection in fruting stage...

Well, that sounds like Utopia
There's always a chance for infection, it's just a lot smaller in the fruiting stage.

 

[JJJ]

Give them fresh air, 2 times per day or so! Fresh air is essential in fruiting, as mushrooms need oxygen to grow (just like us) 8) And no, you don't need to harvest before the caps open up, this is just for aesthetic reasons, as the deposition of spores makes the caps of your mushrooms turn black. Some people say that potency drops a little when the caps open, but I have seen no proof of that.

 

[HeartCore]

Infections usually emerge after third or fourth flush. CO2 can be the problem of small heads/long stems..

You don't need to harvest before spore production but it's generally done because the tea is less bitter and, once spore production starts, psilocybin production seems to slow down.

However, my girlfriend had her first big journey on psilocybin last saturday and her tea was pitch black from spores and it was the most profound experience of her life so far

 

[tryptonaut]

Some people say that potency drops a little when the caps open, but I have seen no proof of that.

I don't think shrooms become less potent once the caps are open. Maybe 1-2% or something - so that you can measure it in a lab, but it really doesn't make that much of a difference for your tripping (my experience).

I don't like to eat open caps with tons of spores, it makes the whole eating part even more aesthetically un-pleasing...
I also think that parts of a growbox that become black from a lot of spores don't grow new shrooms anymore. I have no scientific proof for it, but it always seemed so with my growboxes.