TROUBLESHOOTING: TIPS AND TRICKS
Growing mushrooms is not like growing plants. In fact, fungi are more closely related to humans than plants. As a beginner, it is crucial to familiarise yourself with the quirks and oddities of mushrooms, so that you can grow both smarter and better.
The Waiting Game
When growing mushrooms, it can be hard to resist the urge to check your kit or grain spawn every five minutes. It’s exciting! However, patience is key to success.
Most of the time, you can expect to see the first signs of colonisation after 5 days. However, don’t be disheartened if you don’t see the white stuff as soon as this. Colonisation can take up to 2 or 3 weeks to begin. This is especially true when using spores to inoculate grain spawn. Be patient and the results will come.
If you have to wait longer than 3 weeks, there is probably an issue that needs addressing. Reach out to a member of our team to see how we can help.
Stalled or Slow Growth
If you are experiencing slow growth, try moving your kit or grain spawn to a warmer spot in the house. Ideally above 21°C. Generally speaking, the cellular replication and metabolic processes of mycelium occur faster at higher temperatures, which leads to faster growth.
However, try not to exceed temperatures above 26°C as this promotes the growth of other competitive moulds or bacteria, which is definitely no bueno.
Condensation
Mycelium will produce its own heat as it grows. Therefore, the inside of the substrate will usually be a few degrees higher than the ambient room temperature. This temperature differential may cause some light condensation to build up inside the grow kit or grain spawn, but don’t worry this is normal and healthy as the mycelium develops.
However, pooling of water or sludgy looking substrate may be a sign of contamination. See the point below for more detail on contamination and how to spot it.
Non-White Growth
Sometimes, mature mycelium will turn a creamy yellow colour as it releases metabolites. This is most common at higher incubation temperatures, so try and keep things a little cooler.
Blue, black, green or red growth is usually a sign of bacterial or fungal contamination. Bad smells are also a sure sign that there is a contamination within the substrate. Contamination is the bane of all mushroom growers. Sadly, once it has taken hold it can be very difficult to treat. Your kit or grain spawn must be disposed of if contaminated.
Blue Bruising
Not to be confused with contamination. Mycelium can take on a blue colouration when bruised. This is usually not an issue, just limit the touching or moving of your kit or grain spawn. The mycelium will recover pretty rapidly.
If you see blue colouration during fruiting or when spawning your grain, a simple way to check for bruising is with the Q-Tip or cotton swab test. Simply dab the cotton swab onto the blue coloured area lightly, and inspect the tip of the swab. If the swab is clean, the mycelium is bruised. If there is colour on the swab, this is due to mould spores and you should dispose of your kit or spawn.
Mushroom Fruiting
The fruiting and yield of your mushrooms will depend mostly on its genetics. You may get all your mushrooms growing in uniform crops or ‘flushes’. Or, they may grow more sporadically. If they grow sporadically, pick them as they mature. If they grow in uniform flushes, pick all the mushrooms at once and then prep for subsequent flushes.
After you have harvested your first flush, you may notice the substrate is starting to look dry. Using a fine mister or spray bottle, mist heavily directly onto the substrate to rehydrate it.
Contamination After Spawning
Are you getting frustrated with your monotubs contaminating right after spawning? Usually if a tub contaminates before or after the first flush, the contamination has entered during the spawning process, when the grain and substrate were mixed together.
To avoid contamination during spawning, pay particular attention to the environment you're in. Spawn your tubs in a clean area with no drafts, we usually recommend a kitchen surface wiped down with disinfectant. Wear gloves and clean your hands with isopropyl alcohol.
Another critical factor is to keep your tub somewhere clean after its spawned. We recommend storing the tub on a shelf in a clean area, at least a few feet above the floor. This is because most contaminates float around near the floor level. So if you keep tubs on the floor, the air circulating there will be very dirty!
Mushrooms are Growing Small or Very Sparse
It often surprises people to hear that the reason their mushrooms are growing sparsely or are very small in size is not due to the substrate, environmental conditions or technique, but rather genetics!
Think about it this way. All members of a species show great variation between individuals. If we take people as an example, some people are born tall, some are short, thin, rotund, clever, creative, strong etc. This variation is caused by people's genetic makeup, in other words, the biological 4 letter code that creates that person. The same is true for fungi. If you want large, thick growing mushrooms, you must use strong genetics.
If you're using a spore syringe, these spores will germinate and random hyphae of compatible mating type will fuse to form mycelium, which will in turn have a random genetic makeup or code. There's just no way to guarantee that the genetics of the mycelium that grows, and the subsequent mushrooms that fruit, will have the desired characteristics you want. It's really luck of the draw. Maybe your mushrooms grow big and strong, but maybe they won't.
However, if you want to guarantee that the genetics you're using are of high quality and will yield big, beautiful mushrooms, use a liquid culture. This is because a liquid culture consists of mycelium suspended in liquid nutrients. The mycelium has already been bred and the genetics selected for by mycologists to produce big, luscious fruits. So there's no pot luck involved, you can guarantee great yields.
We hope you have found these tips and tricks useful. If you have a question that was not covered here, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team.