OK wow, I’m going to have to do some reading on liquid cultures, that’s not something I’ve heard of before!
I’ve been attempting to grow blue and pink oysters – I started with a tiny sample from ebay, grew that out in rye and popcorn jars, then transferred to fruiting bags with pasteurized straw. The mycelium has grown out well in the bags, but in three attempts I have never gotten an oyster clump larger than about 4" tall before they stopped growing and started drying out. I’ve been spraying with water 3-4 times a day so I have no idea why they seem to abort. I think for the next round I’ll put them in the still-air box near a fan so they get a combination of airflow with higher humidity, otherwise I just have no idea what’s going wrong.
Oysters are notorious for needing tons of fresh air. The humidity is just to keep the caps from drying and cracking, and not an absolute hard requirement for development. If they are stunted, it’s the air. (I personally wouldn’t go without spraying or using a fogger, but it’s possible, is what I am saying.)
LC is the way to go if you feel like making the investment, especially for small growers like us. You need some jars and that is about it. I am doing a well rounded mix, but you can get away with just using corn syrup and water. You will probably need a pressure canner to sterilize the solution as pasteurization will not cut it. (I am sure there are methods out there that don’t use pressure canners, but I haven’t looked.)
For LC videos, there are tons of them out there. YouTube search for “Super Liquid Culture” or look through the videos by Mossy Creek Mushrooms for his formulas. At the end of the day, as long as the solution is clean and has sugar, the mycelium should eat it up. Malt and peptone are just helpful. In some cases, increased nutrients increase the risk of contam taking hold.
Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 1 year ago
I’m guessing some fruiting bags and jars of agar?
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Yep yep!
Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 1 year ago
OK wow, I’m going to have to do some reading on liquid cultures, that’s not something I’ve heard of before!
I’ve been attempting to grow blue and pink oysters – I started with a tiny sample from ebay, grew that out in rye and popcorn jars, then transferred to fruiting bags with pasteurized straw. The mycelium has grown out well in the bags, but in three attempts I have never gotten an oyster clump larger than about 4" tall before they stopped growing and started drying out. I’ve been spraying with water 3-4 times a day so I have no idea why they seem to abort. I think for the next round I’ll put them in the still-air box near a fan so they get a combination of airflow with higher humidity, otherwise I just have no idea what’s going wrong.
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Oysters are notorious for needing tons of fresh air. The humidity is just to keep the caps from drying and cracking, and not an absolute hard requirement for development. If they are stunted, it’s the air. (I personally wouldn’t go without spraying or using a fogger, but it’s possible, is what I am saying.)
LC is the way to go if you feel like making the investment, especially for small growers like us. You need some jars and that is about it. I am doing a well rounded mix, but you can get away with just using corn syrup and water. You will probably need a pressure canner to sterilize the solution as pasteurization will not cut it. (I am sure there are methods out there that don’t use pressure canners, but I haven’t looked.)
For LC videos, there are tons of them out there. YouTube search for “Super Liquid Culture” or look through the videos by Mossy Creek Mushrooms for his formulas. At the end of the day, as long as the solution is clean and has sugar, the mycelium should eat it up. Malt and peptone are just helpful. In some cases, increased nutrients increase the risk of contam taking hold.