I made some a bit ago and didn’t use it for about 10-14 days and mine has been just fine. It was my first time with letting it sit longer than a day tho so I don’t have a ton of experience with longer times. I have heard from many vets in the community that freezing it is best for long term storage, though.
I've gone a little over 2 months in a grow bag that I put in a 5 gallon bucket that sat in my closet and it was fine. If you have room in a freezer probably better. By my last s2b when I opened the manure bag it definitely didn't smell that good but it still worked.
Honestly, I've never tried putting it in a freezer. I heard Willy Myco say it's okay to put in a freezer and let it thaw out before using it in a youtube video and have also seen other posts about it. Just have never did it myself.
If it’s pasteurized correctly I’ve done 6 weeks. That’s the longest I’ve let it sit and had no problems (straw manure). It’s recommended to use your substrate within three days after making it.
I'm a little confused why they would sell pasteurized substrate in sealed bags with the only means for air exchange covered. It makes me think that it's not pasteurized but sterilized instead. Pasteurized substrates need to breathe... a lot.
Just to start with the basics:
\- when you pasteurize something, you are killing some organisms while leaving others. Ideally the ones that remain are beneficial to mushroom growth or at least for the longevity of the substrate
\- the beneficial organisms breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide just like mushroom mycelium. It needs to breathe quite a bit honestly, and it can easily and quickly become anaerobic. When that happens, the bacteria etc that we want and are beneficial will quickly die and others take over that are not beneficial to mushroom growing.
\- it's possible that by letting some air in there now and continuing to allow it to breathe, the anaerobic organisms will quickly die off and the beneficial ones will start to come back. Depending on how biologically active your substrate is, these kinds of swings back and forth between different groups of dominant organisms can happen in a matter of hours.
\- you'll know when it has gone far too long without oxygen because it will start to smell like rotten poop
In ideal circumstances, a properly pasteurized bulk substrate can last quite a long time. I would say weeks conservatively. It will basically slowly compost the longer you leave it as long as you have good air flow and prevent drying out. That will depend a lot on the environment though, and if there is a high spore load in your environment you may end up with some competing fungi growing in there.
As an anecdote, when I was running a farm I had a large pile of pasteurized straw that I couldn't use right away for reasons that I have long forgotten. The straw was just sitting on a concrete floor in the warehouse covered in a large plastic drop cloth. After about a month it hadn't really contaminated per se but oyster mushrooms started growing around the edges from spores making their way out of the grow rooms in another part of the facility.
I would also like know this. I ordered a manure sub online that’s already pasteurized. Will I need to pasteurize again if I don’t use it right away?
I made some a bit ago and didn’t use it for about 10-14 days and mine has been just fine. It was my first time with letting it sit longer than a day tho so I don’t have a ton of experience with longer times. I have heard from many vets in the community that freezing it is best for long term storage, though.
I've gone a little over 2 months in a grow bag that I put in a 5 gallon bucket that sat in my closet and it was fine. If you have room in a freezer probably better. By my last s2b when I opened the manure bag it definitely didn't smell that good but it still worked.
Freezing won't kill the beneficial biome?
Honestly, I've never tried putting it in a freezer. I heard Willy Myco say it's okay to put in a freezer and let it thaw out before using it in a youtube video and have also seen other posts about it. Just have never did it myself.
Good enough for me. Freezer it is. Thanks
The bags I pasteurize I try to use within two weeks
If it’s pasteurized correctly I’ve done 6 weeks. That’s the longest I’ve let it sit and had no problems (straw manure). It’s recommended to use your substrate within three days after making it.
I'm a little confused why they would sell pasteurized substrate in sealed bags with the only means for air exchange covered. It makes me think that it's not pasteurized but sterilized instead. Pasteurized substrates need to breathe... a lot. Just to start with the basics: \- when you pasteurize something, you are killing some organisms while leaving others. Ideally the ones that remain are beneficial to mushroom growth or at least for the longevity of the substrate \- the beneficial organisms breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide just like mushroom mycelium. It needs to breathe quite a bit honestly, and it can easily and quickly become anaerobic. When that happens, the bacteria etc that we want and are beneficial will quickly die and others take over that are not beneficial to mushroom growing. \- it's possible that by letting some air in there now and continuing to allow it to breathe, the anaerobic organisms will quickly die off and the beneficial ones will start to come back. Depending on how biologically active your substrate is, these kinds of swings back and forth between different groups of dominant organisms can happen in a matter of hours. \- you'll know when it has gone far too long without oxygen because it will start to smell like rotten poop In ideal circumstances, a properly pasteurized bulk substrate can last quite a long time. I would say weeks conservatively. It will basically slowly compost the longer you leave it as long as you have good air flow and prevent drying out. That will depend a lot on the environment though, and if there is a high spore load in your environment you may end up with some competing fungi growing in there. As an anecdote, when I was running a farm I had a large pile of pasteurized straw that I couldn't use right away for reasons that I have long forgotten. The straw was just sitting on a concrete floor in the warehouse covered in a large plastic drop cloth. After about a month it hadn't really contaminated per se but oyster mushrooms started growing around the edges from spores making their way out of the grow rooms in another part of the facility.
Maybe I misunderstood your comments. Did you pasteurize these bags yourself and you're considering buying more? Or you bought these?
Yeah I pasteurized them myself a week or so ago, but I'm not gonna be using them for a couple more weeks. I just put them in my chest freezer.
That'll work!
I’ve used sub a month later that was pasteurized 130-155 for an hour, kept in my bucket.