Grain to Grain Transfer. 1 jar to 10 10 jars to 100 jars

[mushhed8055]

hey all
just trying to get more information on this method of taking one fully colonized jar and colonizing ten more. ive watched the videos on it just wonderin how people have done it and their results.
thanks

 

[GOD]

Its a total waste of time = a lot of avoidable extra contamination . Just go the right way and use spores and you will have less problems . If you do it with wood loving mushrooms it works well as the most contaminants dont grow on wood .

 

[BlimeyGrimey]

Grain to grain is not a waste of time. Using grain from one jar to colonize another will make the colonization time VERY fast.

There is only a big risk of contamination if your sterile procedures are flawed. Doing grain transfers in front of a flowhood or inside a glovebox/still-air box is very easily done without contamination.

Starting from spores is all good but not when you are trying to use a specific isolate. Multispore is for noobs. You could always use a liquid culture to innoculate grains , however in my experience liquid cultures contaminate easier than grain to grain.

Using a spoonful (tablespoon) of grain from a colonized jar to innoculate another jar, then shaking the jar real good after will ensure very fast colonization. Usually fast enough to beat out any contaminate spores that might have made their way into the new jar. I've had grain to grain transfers that have colonized a quart jar of barley in under 8 days.

I would think moderators at this site would have a little more know-how than what I've seen thus far.

 

[Subtle_Nod]

I would think moderators at this site would have a little more know-how than what I've seen thus far.

Cost-Benefit analysis here -

How much time and money is really saved?

Honest question as I don't know, would you be saving 20 minutes and a some small change or days of work and a weeks salary?

If the return on the risk is quite large and it does not save a lot of time or money, it makes more sense not to try it on a large amount until you have enough experience to be very sure of success.

If the risk is low or the gains are really high, it could be worth going ahead.

 

[Forkbender]

I would think moderators at this site would have a little more know-how than what I've seen thus far.

Please enlighten us. If you can tell us something we don't know, you are more than welcome and a valuable addition to the forum.

 

[BlimeyGrimey]

Seems that comment was taking a little harshly. Didn't mean any offense by it. I would expect the mods to encourage people to advance in the hobby instead of doing the pf tek constantly. It seems to me thought that when people ask things like "Is grain spawn better?" people give them the answer of "Stick to the PF tek, its best.". Thats far from true.

The pf tek is like driving 500 miles to work everyday for minimum wage. It works but is it worth it?

Look at this jar of Ganoderma spawn. Its barely grain that was soaked for 24 hrs in a dilute coffee (50% drinking strength) then simmered for 30 mins and allowed to strain for 30 minutes. (You can skip most of this and just boil the grains for about an hour but the water content will be less than soaking) This was loaded into pint jars (1/2 full) and pressure cooked for 1 1/2 hours. It was innoculated with an agar wedge and shaken on the 5th day.

It was started on 6/9 , this picture was taken on 6/19.

I don't think this is more work than the PF tek and the gains are quite big. You get bigger better flushes once cased versus pf cakes and you'll get more flushes due to having more food for the mycelium. Thats my 2cents.

Sorry the one comment seemed a little harsh but I meant it in a jovial way.

 

[Forkbender]

No worries. GOD knows how to fend for himself and he's not the one recommending everybody to stick to PF TEK.

The jar looks good, BTW.

 

[mushhed8055]

GOD is one of the is one of the most knowledgable peps i know on these forums. hes a great person to have hangin around in these forums. but i kinda am still interested on the way to inoculate other jars by adding a 100 percent inoculated jar shake it up or bang on a bike tire then put 1 teaspoon into the jar with freshly sterilized jars of substrate. put it in the new jer and then shake the new jer around??? that the method in a nutshell? id try this in my glove box. hell i got enough jars id love to try somthin else new

 

[BlimeyGrimey]

Yup, thats the idea in a nutshell. Just be sure to be very sterile and maybe spray some Oust or Neutra-Air in the room before starting work to lower the bacterial count in the air. Work fast and sanitize the spoon you use by wiping it down with 70% rubbing alcohol before using.

Use 70% alcohol for all you alcohol needs not that 91% shit. 70% is more effective at kill microbes than 91% is. The 91% is good for cleaning things as in getting junk off things but thats about it.

 

[mushhed8055]

whats wrong with 91% alcohol? thats what ive been using i figured the stronger the better. am i wrong?

 

[BlimeyGrimey]

Alcohol requires water to kill bacteria etc. Thats why you can even find 99% rubbing alcohol but you won't find 100% in stores. 70% alcohol/ 30% water is the ratio which kills bacteria the fastest. 90%+ alcohol can possibly kill more bacteria but takes much longer to do so. 90%+ alcohol also evaporates quicker. Thus 90% takes longer to kill the bad stuff but it evaps fast as hell meaning it probably won't be on there long enough to kill most of the bacteria.

70% works just fine for most things, leave the 90%+ stuff for cleaning adhesives off of shit.