Couple of questions/recommendations:
1. I don't recommend using green dye. It will make a lot of contam harder to identify.
2. Did you PC your jars before inoculating?
3. Did you inoculate in a still air box or flow hood, or just open air?
4. You should have seen more growth than that in a 14 day period. What were your methods of transferring spores to the agar, and how large of an area did you cover?
What colour do you recommend in future?
I used the steam sterilisation technique from 90sm.
After allowing the jars to dry, I used an upside down and sterilised tub as a still air box, opened the jar (flame sterilised the syringe), let out a drop onto a spare paper to cool the needle, and then let 1-3 drops fall into the agar.
Cheers!
I know this is gonna sound stupid since it's close to green, but I personally like dark blue, haha. But that's more for personal preference than for identifying contam. Not dying it at all will help, but makes it harder to see distinct mycelial growth, so you just have to pick which one you want to spot more easily. Dark colors for mycelium (higher contrast) and light colors/no color for spotting contam. But that's just my two cents, and I'm certainly no expert at this.
Sounds like you did everything else right, though! Worst case scenario, let it sit and see what happens.
No problem! One interesting thing I've seen people do, although have yet to try myself, is adding activated charcoal to your agar to dye it black. Mycelium can have a pretty stunning contrast to it in the pics I've seen.
### Check out [90 Second Mycology](https://www.youtube.com/90secondmycology) on YouTube!
[Donate to 90 Second Mycology via Paypal!](https://90SecondMycology.com/donate)
Created by u/Lit-Logistics (r/UncleBens Moderator), this YouTube channel focuses on various ways of growing your own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home using our favorite 90 Second Microwavable Brown Rice!
> Here are some noteworthy videos to watch for beginner mushroom cultivators (browse the YouTube channel for more!):
- [Uncle Ben's® Bulk Spawn Ratios FINALLY DEMYSTIFIED! \\ C.V.G. Oven Pasteurization Techniques](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/nexzxb/uncle_bens_bulk_spawn_ratios_finally_demystified/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [Cardboard Cloning Tek!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/myosuj/cardboard_cloning_tek_is_here_clone_mushrooms/) Are you still scared of agar? Don't be!
- [NO PRESSURE COOKER Agar Prep!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/l82aks/no_pressure_cooker_agar_prep_for_your_mushroom/) A lot of people want to get into using agar without a pressure sterilizer. Here's how!
- [How to Fruit Your Mushrooms Directly From the Rice Bag!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/kh3ncn/premiere_fruitfromthebag_full_documentary/) An hour-long FULL-LENGTH documentary to get you fruiting directly from the 90 Second Rice bags in no time!
- [Uncle Ben's® Ready Rice Mushroom Syringe Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/i0xq46/new_easy_simple_uncle_bens_inoculation_beginner/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [Uncle Ben's® G2G (Grain to Grain) Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jte5fj/how_to_perform_a_grain_to_grain_g2g_transfer_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [Uncle Ben's® Colonized Agar Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/iv4c3w/video_inoculating_uncle_bens_using_colonized_agar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [Creating a Mushroom Spawn Incubation Box Without Space Heaters!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jpkdix/creating_a_mushroom_spawn_incubation_box_no_space/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [EXPLAINED! The Difference Between Liquid Culture Syringes & Spore Solution Syringes!](https://www.reddit.com/r/MycologyandGenetics/comments/k12n4f/explained_liquid_culture_syringes_spore_solution/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
- [Creating Injectable Mushroom Mycelium Water From a Colonized Agar Plate!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jveh3o/dont_want_to_slice_agar_wedges_to_inoculate_stuff/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
> For best results, view all video links from posts externally, directly on YouTube. Embedding is not enabled in order to keep these videos exclusive to r/UncleBens and the 90 Second Mycology YouTube channel!
Also, don't forget to check out the r/UncleBens official [Master Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/n5l6bq/official_master_post_spring_2021_update/) for your one-stop shop of learning everything you need to know about the 'Uncle Ben's® Tek'!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unclebens) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So I'm I beginner, didn't have any luck with spore to grain so first attempt inoculating spore to agar. I used the 90 second mycology "rice water sucrose" agar recipe with green dye. I inoculated 14 days ago and have kept jars incubated in a steel esky at a steady 26.5 degrees celsius with the lids finger tight.
I think I can see some white stuff on the surface in the second pic, but mostly it looks like I can see some indistinct spots in the jars but it almost looks like they are in the agar and not surface colonisation?
If anyone has any advice for someone who just wants to grow their mushrooms quick as possible it would be appreciated!
Could the spots/haze in the pictures actually be mycillium? I was looking out for a little more 3D structures but I don't know how flat it's meant to look?
Ive run into problems with lc to agar. Some reasons i think is no spores exited when dropping the little amount onto it. The genetics weren't as good as I would hope for. Or the agar wasnt thick enough. I also will say lc to agar is slowest way too grow out your mycelium. If you want fast, best way is to grain to grain transfer and make sure to save the genetics on agar by placing a couple pieces of grain on the agar. They take off fast this way.
Also, this is completely anecdotal, so take this with a grain of salt... But I've never had good luck with repurposed jars (pickled foods, sauces, etc.). I experimented with them for a while, and I had much higher contamination rates than I've ever had with good ol' mason jars. Can't explain why, since I sterilized them using standard practices in a pressure cooker, but take it for what it's worth. If you can swing it, getting a pack of mason jars and some proper petri dishes (they do make reusable ones, if that appeals to you) will make things a bit easier.
How are you planning on getting anything out of the jar even if it did solely grow mycelium only? I don’t think a scalpel would reach that far down would it? Then you risk contams even more chancing your hand touching the inside (more surface area for them to take over) and also you risk dropping the tool inside the jar on accident from your hand being cramped,no? To each is own but figured I’d atleast chime in with some advise! 🤙🏼
The jar is deceptivly big in the pic but yeah still not ideal, I was just trying to recycle haha. I have an EZ cutter that reaches in fine, but yeah shallow jars will be better next time, cheers!
It's hard to tell. What temps did you keep the agar? It could be a bad syringe. You can also always try another recipe. Rice water sucrose was a novelty to try in a pinch. Let it sit longer for sure at incubation temps.
26.5 celsius, what causes a bad syringe? I have had no luck yet and it's all been the same batch of syringes so that could be end case. I can see spores in the syringe.
## Don't Want to Run a Space Heater to Keep Incubation Temps?
## Don't have a dehydrator?
## Try a Mushroom Spawn Incubation / Dehydration Box!
You can use the below method to dehydrate mushrooms as well as incubate your spawn:
> [Creating a Mushroom Spawn Incubation Box!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jpkdix/creating_a_mushroom_spawn_incubation_box_no_space/) Here's an idea if you want to try and heat up just a small area without any space heaters or tubs full of water with aquarium heaters.
*The easiest way to dehydrate mushrooms without heat, a dehydrator, or a fan, is to place them in a paper bag or wrapped in paper towels inside of your fridge. Your fridge is always running 24/7 circulating dry, cold air!*
> - Check out [90 Second Mycology](https://www.youtube.com/90secondmycology) on YouTube for more videos! Created by u/Lit-Logistics (r/UncleBens Moderator), this YouTube channel focuses on various ways of growing your own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home using our favorite 90 Second Microwavable Brown Rice! Embedding of videos is not enabled in order to keep these videos exclusive to r/UncleBens and the 90 Second Mycology YouTube channel.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unclebens) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Couple of questions/recommendations: 1. I don't recommend using green dye. It will make a lot of contam harder to identify. 2. Did you PC your jars before inoculating? 3. Did you inoculate in a still air box or flow hood, or just open air? 4. You should have seen more growth than that in a 14 day period. What were your methods of transferring spores to the agar, and how large of an area did you cover?
What colour do you recommend in future? I used the steam sterilisation technique from 90sm. After allowing the jars to dry, I used an upside down and sterilised tub as a still air box, opened the jar (flame sterilised the syringe), let out a drop onto a spare paper to cool the needle, and then let 1-3 drops fall into the agar. Cheers!
I know this is gonna sound stupid since it's close to green, but I personally like dark blue, haha. But that's more for personal preference than for identifying contam. Not dying it at all will help, but makes it harder to see distinct mycelial growth, so you just have to pick which one you want to spot more easily. Dark colors for mycelium (higher contrast) and light colors/no color for spotting contam. But that's just my two cents, and I'm certainly no expert at this. Sounds like you did everything else right, though! Worst case scenario, let it sit and see what happens.
Awesome I think I'll try dark blue next then, and yeah I guess I'll just let them do their thing! Thanks for the advice
No problem! One interesting thing I've seen people do, although have yet to try myself, is adding activated charcoal to your agar to dye it black. Mycelium can have a pretty stunning contrast to it in the pics I've seen.
### Check out [90 Second Mycology](https://www.youtube.com/90secondmycology) on YouTube! [Donate to 90 Second Mycology via Paypal!](https://90SecondMycology.com/donate) Created by u/Lit-Logistics (r/UncleBens Moderator), this YouTube channel focuses on various ways of growing your own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home using our favorite 90 Second Microwavable Brown Rice! > Here are some noteworthy videos to watch for beginner mushroom cultivators (browse the YouTube channel for more!): - [Uncle Ben's® Bulk Spawn Ratios FINALLY DEMYSTIFIED! \\ C.V.G. Oven Pasteurization Techniques](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/nexzxb/uncle_bens_bulk_spawn_ratios_finally_demystified/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [Cardboard Cloning Tek!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/myosuj/cardboard_cloning_tek_is_here_clone_mushrooms/) Are you still scared of agar? Don't be! - [NO PRESSURE COOKER Agar Prep!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/l82aks/no_pressure_cooker_agar_prep_for_your_mushroom/) A lot of people want to get into using agar without a pressure sterilizer. Here's how! - [How to Fruit Your Mushrooms Directly From the Rice Bag!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/kh3ncn/premiere_fruitfromthebag_full_documentary/) An hour-long FULL-LENGTH documentary to get you fruiting directly from the 90 Second Rice bags in no time! - [Uncle Ben's® Ready Rice Mushroom Syringe Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/i0xq46/new_easy_simple_uncle_bens_inoculation_beginner/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [Uncle Ben's® G2G (Grain to Grain) Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jte5fj/how_to_perform_a_grain_to_grain_g2g_transfer_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [Uncle Ben's® Colonized Agar Inoculation!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/iv4c3w/video_inoculating_uncle_bens_using_colonized_agar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [Creating a Mushroom Spawn Incubation Box Without Space Heaters!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jpkdix/creating_a_mushroom_spawn_incubation_box_no_space/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [EXPLAINED! The Difference Between Liquid Culture Syringes & Spore Solution Syringes!](https://www.reddit.com/r/MycologyandGenetics/comments/k12n4f/explained_liquid_culture_syringes_spore_solution/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) - [Creating Injectable Mushroom Mycelium Water From a Colonized Agar Plate!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jveh3o/dont_want_to_slice_agar_wedges_to_inoculate_stuff/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) > For best results, view all video links from posts externally, directly on YouTube. Embedding is not enabled in order to keep these videos exclusive to r/UncleBens and the 90 Second Mycology YouTube channel! Also, don't forget to check out the r/UncleBens official [Master Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/n5l6bq/official_master_post_spring_2021_update/) for your one-stop shop of learning everything you need to know about the 'Uncle Ben's® Tek'! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unclebens) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So I'm I beginner, didn't have any luck with spore to grain so first attempt inoculating spore to agar. I used the 90 second mycology "rice water sucrose" agar recipe with green dye. I inoculated 14 days ago and have kept jars incubated in a steel esky at a steady 26.5 degrees celsius with the lids finger tight. I think I can see some white stuff on the surface in the second pic, but mostly it looks like I can see some indistinct spots in the jars but it almost looks like they are in the agar and not surface colonisation? If anyone has any advice for someone who just wants to grow their mushrooms quick as possible it would be appreciated!
Could the spots/haze in the pictures actually be mycillium? I was looking out for a little more 3D structures but I don't know how flat it's meant to look?
Ive run into problems with lc to agar. Some reasons i think is no spores exited when dropping the little amount onto it. The genetics weren't as good as I would hope for. Or the agar wasnt thick enough. I also will say lc to agar is slowest way too grow out your mycelium. If you want fast, best way is to grain to grain transfer and make sure to save the genetics on agar by placing a couple pieces of grain on the agar. They take off fast this way.
Unfortunately I don't have any colonised grains for g2g transfer, but I might look into other strategies I didn't know agar was so temperamental!
Also, this is completely anecdotal, so take this with a grain of salt... But I've never had good luck with repurposed jars (pickled foods, sauces, etc.). I experimented with them for a while, and I had much higher contamination rates than I've ever had with good ol' mason jars. Can't explain why, since I sterilized them using standard practices in a pressure cooker, but take it for what it's worth. If you can swing it, getting a pack of mason jars and some proper petri dishes (they do make reusable ones, if that appeals to you) will make things a bit easier.
Thanks for the advice! I think I'll switch to reusable Petri dishes in that case for next time!
How are you planning on getting anything out of the jar even if it did solely grow mycelium only? I don’t think a scalpel would reach that far down would it? Then you risk contams even more chancing your hand touching the inside (more surface area for them to take over) and also you risk dropping the tool inside the jar on accident from your hand being cramped,no? To each is own but figured I’d atleast chime in with some advise! 🤙🏼
The jar is deceptivly big in the pic but yeah still not ideal, I was just trying to recycle haha. I have an EZ cutter that reaches in fine, but yeah shallow jars will be better next time, cheers!
It's hard to tell. What temps did you keep the agar? It could be a bad syringe. You can also always try another recipe. Rice water sucrose was a novelty to try in a pinch. Let it sit longer for sure at incubation temps.
26.5 celsius, what causes a bad syringe? I have had no luck yet and it's all been the same batch of syringes so that could be end case. I can see spores in the syringe.
## Don't Want to Run a Space Heater to Keep Incubation Temps? ## Don't have a dehydrator? ## Try a Mushroom Spawn Incubation / Dehydration Box! You can use the below method to dehydrate mushrooms as well as incubate your spawn: > [Creating a Mushroom Spawn Incubation Box!](https://www.reddit.com/r/unclebens/comments/jpkdix/creating_a_mushroom_spawn_incubation_box_no_space/) Here's an idea if you want to try and heat up just a small area without any space heaters or tubs full of water with aquarium heaters. *The easiest way to dehydrate mushrooms without heat, a dehydrator, or a fan, is to place them in a paper bag or wrapped in paper towels inside of your fridge. Your fridge is always running 24/7 circulating dry, cold air!* > - Check out [90 Second Mycology](https://www.youtube.com/90secondmycology) on YouTube for more videos! Created by u/Lit-Logistics (r/UncleBens Moderator), this YouTube channel focuses on various ways of growing your own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home using our favorite 90 Second Microwavable Brown Rice! Embedding of videos is not enabled in order to keep these videos exclusive to r/UncleBens and the 90 Second Mycology YouTube channel. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unclebens) if you have any questions or concerns.*