Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
If that's the case I've had em for years lol.
Agar bitches
- Thread starter Richard Drysift
- Start date
natureboygrower
Well-Known Member
Instapot
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Sure but try and squeeze 10 grain jars in it
natureboygrower
Well-Known Member
True. But to the hobby shroom grower buying an actual pressure cooker for shrooms could be costly. Instapots are anywhere from say $75 on up to a couple hundred and some might already have one in their cupboard. And hey, you can do more than just sterilize in it
Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
A 23 qt presto pressure cooker is about 100, i paid 105 for a new one in october . I'd gladly add 25 to 75 to get a real pcTrue. But to the hobby shroom grower buying an actual pressure cooker for shrooms could be costly. Instapots are anywhere from say $75 on up to a couple hundred and some might already have one in their cupboard. And hey, you can do more than just sterilize in it
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Absolutely! I was lucky enough to find my PC at a garage sale. The rubber seals were missing so I had to order new ones. $20 and it had rust stains but she wouldn’t budge. The old lady selling it knew what she had lolTrue. But to the hobby shroom grower buying an actual pressure cooker for shrooms could be costly. Instapots are anywhere from say $75 on up to a couple hundred and some might already have one in their cupboard. And hey, you can do more than just sterilize in it
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Half the stuff I use in my growing and processing came from garage sales and thrift shops. Wife does canning so we found one of those for $20 too I think. New seal at the hardware store for $5. Last Fri I saw a big old galvanized steal mop bucket with the squeezer on it for $20 but left it. Saturday got a leak going in the basement and wringing out my mop by hand and it's f'n icy cold so 5min later my hands are near froze and now my arthritis is rockin them. Scooted in there Monday and it works great. Doesn't have the wheely platform tho but I can make one if I have too. It's going to live in the basement anyways so don't really need it.
Already got shrooms growing on that old string mop.
Ate the last two 0.3g shroom caps I had left over just an hour ago and buzzing along quite nicely as they kick in.
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canndo
Well-Known Member
Please be careful with those old pressure cookers.
Expansion and contraction cycles put tiny cracks in the metal
And be sure your fail safes are new.
I had a failure once. My wife was seconds from being scalded as a cooker blew as she was getting in to check it.
It steamed all the paint from the ceiling.
And got all the grease off the stove hood.
Just be sure you actually inspect the unit and, as I said, spend the money for the gasket set.
Expansion and contraction cycles put tiny cracks in the metal
And be sure your fail safes are new.
I had a failure once. My wife was seconds from being scalded as a cooker blew as she was getting in to check it.
It steamed all the paint from the ceiling.
And got all the grease off the stove hood.
Just be sure you actually inspect the unit and, as I said, spend the money for the gasket set.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
This is true. You should inspect your equipment and perform whatever maintenance is necessary to keep it in good working order; especially something as potentially dangerous as a pressure cooker. The rubber seals on old PCs are usually the thing that needs replacing. They are fairly cheap but need to be lubed if they get dry to keep them from cracking/dry rotting. Lubing them up with Vaseline keeps the rubber supple. If I had gone ahead and sterilized my plates with the pc as it was the little pop up valve would’ve been shot out at high velocity under pressure; luckily the replacement valve has arrived and we are back in business here. Time to finally get this show on the road again...
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Someone mentioned my recipe could make a very hard gel type of agar and while I have used that old recipe before with success after a careful review of my old notes I found a much better recipe. It is preferable that the agar plate is soft enough to easily pull off a wedge with an exacto knife or scalpel yet hard enough to stay solid while the mycelium spreads out on the surface. Measuring with a scale instead of a spoon is much more accurate:
1 gram (drop or 2) honey, karo, or raw sugar
2 grams agar agar
3 grams potato flakes
1/2 cup water
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
Stir in everything and heat on a stove. Bring to a simmer; about three seconds later the mixture will begin to fully boil. Turn off the heat; keep stirring. Pour the agar for a 1/8 to 1/4 thickness in the bottom of your containers while the mixture is still hot.
You can use glad mini rounds or ziplock squares; we are using squares here. Either will work; or a Petri dish if you prefer. Once the agar is cool it is time to snap the lids on tight, cover with a folded paper towel, and wrap each in foil.
1 gram (drop or 2) honey, karo, or raw sugar
2 grams agar agar
3 grams potato flakes
1/2 cup water
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
Stir in everything and heat on a stove. Bring to a simmer; about three seconds later the mixture will begin to fully boil. Turn off the heat; keep stirring. Pour the agar for a 1/8 to 1/4 thickness in the bottom of your containers while the mixture is still hot.
You can use glad mini rounds or ziplock squares; we are using squares here. Either will work; or a Petri dish if you prefer. Once the agar is cool it is time to snap the lids on tight, cover with a folded paper towel, and wrap each in foil.
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Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Making agar is easy; only takes 5 minutes but sterilization takes longer mostly because of the time it takes to heat up the water. I have made a few modifications to my PC that I would like to point out. Since PCs are designed for canning in mind they tend to be tall which is great for doing many jars of grain but here we are only steam sterilizing small squares. Raising up the plates inside the pc by placing something underneath will help keep them from floating around in the water. It is recommended that my 23q Presto be filled with 12 cups of water for steaming but if I fill that up without raising the base rack up the mini squares will tread water & float around. I use a round piece of metal rabbit fence under the stainless steel rack to raise it. Keeps the plates just above the waterline.
Also adding weight to the pressure float will help it stay more stable and make less noise. I taped 3 quarters to this one...just enough to keep it from dancing around too much when at full pressure. As you can see my PC barely fits under the hood....
So place your agar plates inside, spin the lid on tight, and turn the heat on full. Take the pressure weight off and wait for pressure to rise. Steam will begin to come out of the hole where the weight hangs and the pop up valve will pop up when under pressure. Keep waiting for the pressure to rise....
When the pop up valve is up you can place the weight back on. Pressure will continue to build but don’t start your timer just yet; wait for full pressure....
When the needle is this far right and stable you can begin a one hour timer. For grains I suggest to do 90 mins but for small agar plates an hour is plenty. You may need to back off the heat slightly to prevent redline.
After 60 mins turn off the heat. Let the PC cool overnight or until completely cooled 12 hrs later. NEVER try to open a hot PC. I leave everything inside the pc until I’m ready to innoculate which is the next step of this process. Everything inside will be sterile until the pc is opened. Stay tuned...
Also adding weight to the pressure float will help it stay more stable and make less noise. I taped 3 quarters to this one...just enough to keep it from dancing around too much when at full pressure. As you can see my PC barely fits under the hood....
So place your agar plates inside, spin the lid on tight, and turn the heat on full. Take the pressure weight off and wait for pressure to rise. Steam will begin to come out of the hole where the weight hangs and the pop up valve will pop up when under pressure. Keep waiting for the pressure to rise....
When the pop up valve is up you can place the weight back on. Pressure will continue to build but don’t start your timer just yet; wait for full pressure....
When the needle is this far right and stable you can begin a one hour timer. For grains I suggest to do 90 mins but for small agar plates an hour is plenty. You may need to back off the heat slightly to prevent redline.
After 60 mins turn off the heat. Let the PC cool overnight or until completely cooled 12 hrs later. NEVER try to open a hot PC. I leave everything inside the pc until I’m ready to innoculate which is the next step of this process. Everything inside will be sterile until the pc is opened. Stay tuned...
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Here is my DIY still air box (SAB). Not much to it but as described in a previous post this is how I set it up for streaking agar plates. I begin by wiping every surface including the SAB down with Lysol. Then place 2 freshly laundered towels underneath to prevent air flow from the bottom. Then a solution of hot water, bleach, and 2-3 drops of dish soap is sprayed on the walls and ceiling of the SAB.
The interior of the SAB is not sterile but should prevent most airborne contaminations from flying around in there. Keeping the air from circulating is the idea here; keeping the walls soapy causes most contams to stick to the walls or towel floor.
Next I put on latex gloves & slather them with ISO alcohol. I load everything into the SAB that I will be working with:
Agar plates
Sterile swabs
MS syringes and a torch will be left out side the SAB for now. Everything was wiped down with an ISO alcohol dipped paper towel as it was loaded. Then I go take a shower, change into clean clothing, brush my teeth & use mouthwash. Put on a clean medical grade face mask and fresh gloves slathers with alcohol. Now we are ready to innoculate.
The interior of the SAB is not sterile but should prevent most airborne contaminations from flying around in there. Keeping the air from circulating is the idea here; keeping the walls soapy causes most contams to stick to the walls or towel floor.
Next I put on latex gloves & slather them with ISO alcohol. I load everything into the SAB that I will be working with:
Agar plates
Sterile swabs
MS syringes and a torch will be left out side the SAB for now. Everything was wiped down with an ISO alcohol dipped paper towel as it was loaded. Then I go take a shower, change into clean clothing, brush my teeth & use mouthwash. Put on a clean medical grade face mask and fresh gloves slathers with alcohol. Now we are ready to innoculate.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
When you build your SAB make sure you put the arm holes in a comfortable position; nice and wide so you can sit and work without stress or strain. The first one I built was too small and narrow so I was struggling to keep my hands in there at an awkward position; sometimes the SAB would lift up and air rushed in causing contams. At the time I thought it would be better to have long gloves attached to the holes to prevent air from coming in but it didn’t work the way it was supposed to. Having large shoulder width holes makes it so you can move normally without stirring up the air much. Simplest designs tend to be best. I know it seems like all this is overkill but good sterile technique virtually guarantees chance of success.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Couldn’t really take pics because I didn’t want to touch my dirty phone with clean gloves but I streak the plates thusly:
Select the ms syringe you want to use & take out of the sleeve. Loosen the needle protector but don’t take it off just yet. Rest it in the SAB preferably raised off the floor for a minute. Unwrap the foil on the agar plate you intend to nocc up and place it on the floor in the center of the SAB. Get the sterile swab ready by tearing open the wrapper but don’t pull them out yet. Take the syringe with one hand and gently take it out of the SAB. Flame the needle tip with a lighter or torch and bring it back inside the SAB. Squeeze the plunger down to let a small amount of spore solution into the floor of the SAB. hissss ...keep holding it. Pull out the sterile swab and squeeze the plunger of the syringe until it drips onto the swab tip with spore solution; go until there’s a drop about to fall. Drop the needle onto the floor of the SAB. With your free hand quickly flip open the lid of the agar plate just enough to get the swab in there. Streak across the plate and close the lid tight. Mark the variety w/ sharpie.
Do all the plates like this flaming the needle again each time. Save any left over spore solution in the syringe and refrigerate; will be viable for a long time if kept cool. Leave your plates in the SAB to colonize or store in a dark area at room temperature. Keep checking every few days for signs of mycelium or contamination.
Select the ms syringe you want to use & take out of the sleeve. Loosen the needle protector but don’t take it off just yet. Rest it in the SAB preferably raised off the floor for a minute. Unwrap the foil on the agar plate you intend to nocc up and place it on the floor in the center of the SAB. Get the sterile swab ready by tearing open the wrapper but don’t pull them out yet. Take the syringe with one hand and gently take it out of the SAB. Flame the needle tip with a lighter or torch and bring it back inside the SAB. Squeeze the plunger down to let a small amount of spore solution into the floor of the SAB. hissss ...keep holding it. Pull out the sterile swab and squeeze the plunger of the syringe until it drips onto the swab tip with spore solution; go until there’s a drop about to fall. Drop the needle onto the floor of the SAB. With your free hand quickly flip open the lid of the agar plate just enough to get the swab in there. Streak across the plate and close the lid tight. Mark the variety w/ sharpie.
Do all the plates like this flaming the needle again each time. Save any left over spore solution in the syringe and refrigerate; will be viable for a long time if kept cool. Leave your plates in the SAB to colonize or store in a dark area at room temperature. Keep checking every few days for signs of mycelium or contamination.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Nothing on these plates so far but it has not been very long. Going to give these a bit more time but if nothing happens I will try once more and then order fresh ms syringes if that doesn’t work. Mind you these syringes were purchased 2 yrs ago and kept in a fridge next to a pound of bologna.
shroomhaze
Well-Known Member
damn I wonder if its gonna work maybe it will take longer then usual to colonize
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Has not been a week yet but in the past I have seen plates do nothing at all. It’s possible that there was no spore in any of the samples I took. There was like a ball of spores in the middle of the syringe so it’s possible they have stuck together. Gonna make up some more plates and try to squeeze spore juice directly on them instead of streaking a swab.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Hard to see but somethings happening on these plates....
Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
I stabbed 4 different kinds a few days ago, I have contam on 3 of 9 plates but all is going good.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
So you stab and jab as opposed to swabbing? I got mixed results squeezing spore juice directly onto agar but I’ve done it. Seem to get less contams squeezing the spore onto a swab and then gently streaking across agar.