How to Grow Mushrooms from Start to Finish in a Monotub

hi Ashley here and today i'm going to show  you how to grow mushrooms from start to finish   a mushroom starts as a spore spores are  microscopic in size but contain the genetic   outline of each fruiting body a mature mushroom  can contain billions of spores one spore is half   the coat to make up its complete genetic makeup  when two spores are well suited for each other   they will come together to create compatible  hyphae called mycelium mycelium relies on   different types of substrate like different  types of grain vermiculite coco coir and   gypsum for nourishment to help it grow and fruit  you can germinate a spore a few different ways   one way is to inoculate a bag with a spore syringe  this is by far the easiest way to germinate a   spore but there are some downsides one issue is  sometimes the spore syringe is contaminated before   you even start so by testing the spore syringe on  agar or looking at it under a microscope you can   see if the spore syringe is contamination free or  not sometimes you don't have agar or a microscope   in order to look for contamination so at that  point you just have to go with it and hope that   they're clean to start it's best to be in front  of a laminar flow hood or in a sterile air box   if you don't have one turn off your ac and your  furnace and use your bathroom first we need to   prepare our spawn bag look over the spawn  bag for any damages holes or contamination   then spray and wipe down the syringe and the bag  with 70 isopropyl next we want to give the bag   a quick mix because we do need to let in a little  bit of fresh air so the spores can germinate   then wipe down the black injection port with an  alcohol pad now let's prepare the syringe first   open the needle and then the syringe and carefully  screw on the needle to the syringe if the needle   is new then it is pre-stale and ready to use then  give the syringe a thorough shake i also like to   squirt a few droplets out of the end before i  start and then carefully insert the needle into   the black injection port and inject three to five  cc's of solution throughout the spa bag and then   cover the black injection port with a piece of  micropore tape when inoculating a spawn bag by   spore syringe spore germination is not always  guaranteed two germinated spores need to come   together in order to create mycelium so if they  can't find each other nothing will ever germinate   make sure that the solution stays partially intact  so the germinated spores can create mycelium   but i do like to give the bags a slight mix  after i inoculate them if your syringe is   used you will need to flame the needle for  30 seconds then you can inject the needle   directly into the black injection port injecting  three to five cc's of solution in your spawn bag then after seven to ten days your spores  will germinate and create mycelium and   start to colonize the bag a spawn bag will  usually colonize in about 15 to 30 days   this bag took more than 60 days to colonize in  order to shorten your colonization time it's   best practice to mix the bag when it's about  10 to 30 percent colonized this will normally   cut your colonization time in half after  the bag is about 10 to 30 percent colonized   break up and mix the mycelium throughout the  bag trying to distribute the mycelium evenly   then wait 10 to 15 days until  the spawn bag is fully colonized   after the bag is fully colonized now it's time to  make our mono tub first you will need a 66 quart   sterilite tub with a clear lid next we need to  drill ten one inch holes around the tub i like to   place mine four inches from the bottom on the long  side and two inches from the top on the short side   then carefully drill the holes in the mono  tub next we need to make our liner it's   really important to use a liner in order to  reduce side pinning first measure the liner to   24 inches by 19 inches then make a two inch  fold on each side making a very strong crease   now let's make the corners fold the corners  into the center then crease the middle and bring   in the two sides making a crisp edge and then  tape to hold in place then repeat these steps   three more times or you can purchase one of my  inflatable mono tubs that has 10 pre-made holes   and a built-in liner after your bag is fully  colonized it's time to make the bulk substrate   i like to make my bulk substrate the day  before i'm going to use it to make bulk   substrate you will need 500 grams of vermiculite  500 grams of coco coir and 100 grams of gypsum   then add all three ingredients into a  five gallon bucket boil 16 cups of water   then pour the water over the substrate in the  bucket and close the lid then i like to wrap   a towel around the bucket because i think  this helps aid the pasteurization process   then after 24 hours your bulk substrate will  be cool and ready to use don't use your bulk   substrate when it's too hot it will kill the  mycelium now it's time to add our bulk substrate   and our colonized spawn into our mono tub first  you want to spray and wipe down the mono tub   the liner and the red plugs with 70 isopropyl  then plug all the holes with the red plugs   for the colonization stage you can also use  tape and then place the liner at the bottom   from now on i'm going to use my inflatable  mono tub to show you how to colonize and   fruit your mushrooms but if you're using  a hard tub it works exactly the same way   the only thing that you need to do different is  add a liner next spray and wipe down your fully   colonized spawn bag with 70 isopropyl then gently  break up the spawn bag into small little pieces   so that you can put it into your mono tub then  cut open the spawn bag and take a quick smell of   it make sure that the mycelium smells super earthy  if there's anything foul in there that is not good   now let's put our bulk substrate and our spawn  into our mono tub first dump all the spawn into   the mono tub i am using a three pound spawn  bag then hand mix your bulk substrate and put   about half of the recipe into the mono tub  then mix your bulk and your spawn together   finally lightly flatten to mold to the bottom of  the mono tub trying to squeeze out all the air   around the edges but don't pack too hard because  the mycelium needs to breathe then add a final   half inch layer of bulk substrate on top covering  all of the spawn and pack down evenly and neatly then close the lid and plug all  the holes with the red filters   you can plug the holes in the beginning i just  forgot to do this in the video next wait for   the tub to fully colonize you don't need to do  anything during this time now we need to watch   the tub daily to see how fast it's colonizing  when the tub is about 80 colonized it's time to   start the fruiting stage next we need to remove  the red plugs and replace with our foam filters you can also use polyfill micro post filters or micro pose tape for the inflatable mono tub  i really like to use the foam   filters i think they work super well i  also like that they're easily removable   now we want to start fanning our mushrooms  this is a very delicate process we want to   bring down the humidity and the temperature so  the mycelium knows it's time to start fruiting   by introducing fresh air this is the first  indicator telling the mycelium that it needs to   start pinning you want to fan your tub around 30  seconds twice a day make sure you wash your hands   and you're as sterile as possible when you're  opening the lid to the tub there should be quite a   bit of condensation on the side and basically when  we're fanning we're just fanning out the carbon   dioxide that's sitting at the bottom and we're  just displacing it so the mycelium can breathe then over the next five to ten days you're going  to start to see your mushrooms start to fruit   and you'll just want to fan your mushrooms twice   a day displacing the carbon  dioxide sitting at the bottom then once the mushrooms start to break  their veil that's when we want to harvest   and here's a side view of the inflatable these genetics were provided by mycotrophic   now it's time to harvest our mushrooms carefully  twist the mushroom from the substrate or cut the   bottom trying to preserve the substrate as much as  you can so we can get ready for our second flush   then place your freshly harvested  mushrooms directly into the dehydrator   if you don't have a dehydrator you can set the  mushrooms on a paper towel with a small fan   then stack up your dehydrator trays and put them  on the dehydrator then set the dehydrator for 125   degrees fahrenheit and dehydrate for 8 to 10 hours  make sure the mushrooms are completely dry before   you store them once your mushrooms are completely  dry store them in a mason jar in a cool dark place   also add a dry pack to the jar to make sure  to get all the moisture the ones that have   indicator beads are super nice now let's prepare  for the second flush i am using a hairdresser   bottle which gives me a finer mist lightly mist  the sides and fan the mono tub for 30 seconds   never miss the mycelium directly to prevent  bruising if the tub has a lot of condensation   only fan the tub and don't mist only miss the  tub if the sides are dry then every day keep   fanning and misting your tub as needed and your  mushrooms will start to fruit in about 5-10 days now we need to harvest our second flush i waited  a little longer after they broke their bale this   time for them to sporulate in order to take a few  spore prints i'm also going to take a live culture   this is so we can preserve our genetics as well  as continue to grow generations of mushrooms i'm   going to put most of these mushrooms directly  into the dehydrator but leave a few fresh   ones out in order to make a spore print and a  live culture before we start making our spore   prints we need to spray and wipe down our spore  chamber with 70 isopropyl next lay out a few   pieces of aluminum foil then take a freshly  harvested mushroom that just broke its veil   and twist or cut off the cap of the mushroom and  then place the mushroom cap gills down on the foil   next wait 24 hours for the spores to drop  then carefully remove the cap with a knife   or a toothpick and then let the spore  prints sit for a few hours and dry out   finally wrap up your spore print  and another piece of aluminum foil and then put into a plastic bag   then store your spore prints in a cool dark  place like your sock drawer now let's put our   spore print to acar first open up your spore  print and then with a sterile blade or loop   scrape a few specks of spores onto the loop  and then carefully place them onto the agar then wrap your petri dish with parafilm then after  about five to seven days your spores will start to   germinate and colonize the agar finally store  your petri dishes in a tote at room temperature   i keep my house about 70 degrees fahrenheit all  year long now let's take a live culture take a   freshly harvested mushroom and split the mushroom  down the middle then carefully cut a piece of   tissue from the inside of the mushroom and place  the live culture tissue in the center of the agar and then wrap the dish with parafilm then after  about three to five days the live culture will   start to colonize the dish and now we can transfer  our fully colonized agar dish to our spawn bag now let's inoculate our spawn bag with agar first  make sure to spray and wipe down the bag with 70   isopropyl then cut open the top of the  spawn bag and give it a quick mix next   with a sterile blade cut a few chunks of  agar and then drop them into the spawn bag then try to mix the agar chunks down into  the bag finally reseal the bag with a sealer   you can also zip tie the top or you  can fold over the top and tape it   then wait for your bag to fully colonize and now  it's time to start the process all over again   we need to make our bulk substrate and now we're  ready to put our spawn bag into our mono tub next we can prepare our mono tub for the  colonization stage then mix up our bulk substrate   next break up our spawn bag then add your  fully colonized spawn bag into your mono tub   add half of the bulk substrate  in there mix it up well and then add a half inch layer of bulk  on top of everything covering the spawn then after your monotube is fully colonized your   mushrooms will start to fruit  in the next seven to ten days and that's how you grow mushrooms from start to  finish there are a lot of additional resources on   youtube through text or other social medias so  make sure to explore them all also please feel   free to check out my free mushroom guide that  shows you step by step how to grow mushrooms   thank you guys so much for watching and if you  have any additional questions please feel free   to put them in the comments or you can reach out  to me on instagram or through email bye always   ensure a sterile environment by disinfecting  your equipment and surfaces it's important to be   as sterile as possible because it's easy to get  contamination so it's crucial to minimize risk

Channel: Boomer Shroomer

Views: 2,465,873

Keywords: mushrooms, How to Grow Mushrooms, Growing mushrooms, Agar, bulk substrate, monotub, how to grow mushrooms in a monotub, how to grow mushrooms from start to finish, start to finish, spore print, boomer shroomer, Ashley, Inflatable monotub

Id: Pm1FgFFzQd4

Length: 15min 52sec (952 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 09 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/AbbreviationsFun7243]

Yeah she’s great !

[u/Mushymagic22]

Ashley is the best gauranteed