NH's grow shrooms for under 100.00

Actually, all this is just stuff that has come from other sources, I am by no means claiming any of this methods as my own ideas. I am not recommending this to anyone either, its all hypothetical and for entertainment ;)

Now I know there are better ways and fancier equipment, this is simply one easy cheap way to grow plenty of shrooms for you and your friends. You know give a man some shrooms and he trips for a day teach him to grow them and he trips forever :eek: :D :D

In reality you can probably do this for under 50 bucks if you really try, most of the stuff you'll need you can scrounge from family and friends.

First you need an Incubation chamber, fancy words for 2 buckets and an aquarium heater.
You will need:
2 five gal. buckets and 1 lid ____ 8.00 at lowes or HD or you may be able to scrounge these.
They need to be clean.
1 Adjustable aquarium heater___ 5.00 +/- at wally world
has have an adjustable heat control
1 glass jar catsup, jelly, whatever it doesn't matter ____ free
has to be tall enough so that when laid on its side the aquarium heater fits inside
1 digital thermometer (easier to read) _____ 9.00 at wally world
And thats it.

Into one of the buckets put the jar on its side, inside the jar place the aquarium heater, make certain that it doesn't touch the bottom of the bucket
Now pour enough water into the bucket to submerge the heater. (if you have to much when you add the second bucket on top water will go everywhere)
I always add a little bleach to the water to retard algae and bacterial growth,
but H2O2 might work as well.
Now put the second bucket into the first until it comes in contact with the water level in the first one. drop the probe from the digtal thermometer in to it and adjust the heater until you get it to stay around 84f
This is your incubation chamber you will put the jars in here after you inoculate them with spores and wait for the mycelium to grow.

Next you need a fruiting chamber this is where you will watch with anticipation the mycelium fuzz up and eventually pin and grow into the little mushies we love so much. :)

For this we will need:
1 styrofoam ice chest _____ 11.00 at Acadamy sports or free from someone's garage :eek: The bigger the better (the bigger the more cakes you can put in it)

1 adjustable heating pad___ 10.00 at wally world or free if you can lift one from a friend.
It has to be adjustable and it can't have the auto shut off crap on it.

1 piece of plexiglass____ 4.00 at lowes
needs to be 6-8 inches smaller in length and width than the top of the ice chest, this is where you will see whats happening and let light into the ice chest

1 bag of perlite (the white crunchy stuff in potting soil)___ 4.00 at wally world

1 digital thermometer____ 9.00 bucks at wally world

1 tube of silicone sealer or glue____ 2.00 anywhere

Cut a hole in the top of the ice chest smaller than the plexiglass by an inch on all sides and use the silicone to glue the plexiglass to the ice chest top.
Next take enough of the perlite to fill the ice chest to a depth of 2-3 inches
put the perlite into a lage bowl or something and fill it with warm water with a 1/4 (2oz, 60ml) of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) and let it soak for a little while.
Now pour off the water (put a towel of t-shirt over the top of the bowl and invert)
Take the wet perlite and spread across the bottom of the ice chest. Sit the ice chest on the heating pad and this is your fruiting chamber adjust it until you get it in the mid 70's

Now all you need:
are some half pint wide mouth jars w/lids ____ can't remember how much they cost. available at most grocery stores.

Brown rice flour (its important this be organic so it doesn't have any fungus killers :mad: in it) 3.00

Vermiculite____ 4.00 at wally world
I recommend you use fine and not the course

This will be your substrate, you mix 1 part BRF (1/4 cup per jar), 1 part water (1/4 cup per jar), 2 parts verm (1/2 cup per jar)
I recommend you mix only 1 or 2 jars at a time to ensure the proper water content per jar (very improtant)

Heres the pf tek

PF SUBSTRATE FORMULATION
Jars and glasses to be used with this technique are 1/2 pint capacity (8 ounces) - (250 milliliters). They must have tapered sides and no shoulders, otherwise the fungus cakes won't easily come out of the jars.
Appropriate jars; (source - super markets and hardware stores)

1. KERR wide mouth half pint canning jar - preferable
2. BALL wide mouth half pint (similar to the KERR wide mouth half pint) - preferable
3. BALL regular mouth half pint canning jar
4. BALL half pint jelly jar
5. 1/2 pint (250 ml) capacity drinking glasses (tapered sides)

NOTE: Even though the regular mouth BALL half pint and the regular mouth KERR half pint look similar, the KERR is not tapered.

1/8 cup of brown rice powder (Health food stores and co-ops)
1/2 - 2/3 cup of horticultural vermiculite (medium grade) (garden centers and hardware)
40-45 cc's (milliliters) of water or (a little less than 1/4 cup) (1&1/2 ounces) (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)

Maximum fruiting formula:
1/4 cup of brown rice powder
1/2 cup of vermiculite
60 cc's water

Not all vermiculite is the same. The coarseness varies quite considerably among different brands. The coarser type will hold less water than the finer type which will alter the water holding capacity. If the formulation (water content) results in a really wet or sloppy substrate, use less water. Keep notes on formulas for replicating the substrate formula that fruits the best.

The above formulas utilize the finer type of vermiculite. If the above maximum fruiting formula is used with the finer type of vermiculite, the jar lid should be loose during incubation (see - "The canning jar lid - loose or tight").

The finer type of vermiculite is recommended over the coarser type because it holds more water. To ascertain the size of the vermiculite particles, observe them under a photo magnifier next to a millimeter ruler. The finer type of vermiculite has particles averaging around 1 millimeter across (some larger and some smaller). The coarser type has particles averaging around 4 or 5 millimeters across and up to 8 millimeters. Stores usually carry one type. Plus, there will be regional differences in the different brands of vermiculite. Shop around and try to get both types to compare.

To make homemade brown rice powder, place some regular brown rice in a small canister type coffee bean grinder and grind it to fine powder. Freshly ground brown rice is recommended over prepackaged type. The freshness sometimes makes a big difference.

If the measuring cup specs aren't true, the formulas will be off, setting up certain failure or diminished growth. Check the cup measurers this way: 1 cup is 237 milliliters which is 1/2 pint or 8 liquid ounces (English measurement). There are 2 cups in a pint, 2 pints in a quart and 4 cups in a quart.

Prepare the canning lid by placing it with the rubber sealing edge upwards on a supporting surface and with a sharpened 3 penny nail (held with vise grip pliers), punch 4 holes inside the periphery of the rubber sealing edge.

When using two piece canning jar lids, the inner lid (with the rubber edges up) rests on the top of the jar and when the lid band is screwed off, the lid remains resting on the jar top. To make the lid and band act as one lid, place pieces of masking tape on the lid attaching the band to the lid. Then, the lid can be adjusted for air ventilation and looseness like an ordinary one piece jar lid.

PF SUBSTRATE JAR PREPARATION
Steam sterilizing PF substrate jars with regular cookware is possible because there is no grain to cook up and the substrate is airy. Other regular jars (other than canning type) or small drinking glasses (with tin foil covering) can be substituted for these canning jars. To insure similar results, make sure the jars or glasses are tapered sided with no shoulder of any kind, and that they have a 1/2 pint (8 ounce - 250 ml) capacity. It is important to note, that jars somewhat larger than 1/2 pint are unreliable for the PF TEK and fail easily. The low form KERR 1/2 pint canning jar is the most versatile (fits into tight spaces et).
A 3 piece vegetable steamer (pot, basket insert & lid) is used for the steam sterilizing stage. Also, the stainless steel vegetable steamers that fold out and stand on the bottom of the pot are good. Anything is good as long as it keeps the jar bottoms off the pot bottom where the high temperature will crack the glass.

Step 1. Place 1/2 cup of vermiculite into a mixing bowl. Place the brown rice powder on top of the vermiculite. Slowly add the water directly onto the brown rice powder, wetting it first. Thoroughly mix the ingredients. The mixture should feel damp and cohesive. More water (or less) can be used if experimenting to improve the fruiting. Mix Each jars substrate individually for loading to insure accurate formula rendering.

A note on water: A recent update is worth mentioning. Water quality is indeed important. I have found out that "natural" water is the water to use. It makes for better cultivation of this mushroom on this simple substrate. Distilled water is good for making spore solutions and syringes and storing spore solution. But for growing, they seem to like the "natural" water such as: swamp, lake, stream, pond,river, ground or any water that is rich in organics. I have heard that "mineral" type drinking water is good and makes a difference. I suppose that water seeping from an organic compost pile would be about the best.

Step 2. Fill the jar very loosely. Leave a 1/2 to 3/4 inch space at the top. Level the substrate. With a tissue or a fingertip, wipe the insides of the jar down to the substrate. Fill the top of the jar with plain dry vermiculite and level it off at the top. This upper layer will protect the wet substrate from air borne contaminants. It acts as a contaminant barrier. This is a Psylocybe Fanaticus original discovery. What this dry vermiculite layer does is protect the wet substrate from airborne contaminants and also absorbs and regulates moisture transpiration and condensation.

In the photo, the black tape is the depth for the dry vermiculite. The masking tape shows where the pf substrate goes. The top layer of dry vermiculite must be between 1/2" to 2/3" deep to provide protection from contaminants entering from above.

Tamping down tek
Getting the substrate level correct is very important. A slight tamping down is required. To get an accurate leveling of the substrate, loosely load the 1/2 pint jar and level the top of the mixture with the top of the jar. Screw a cap on the top to hold the mixture in. With one hand, hold the jar and lightly slam the bottom of the jar on the other palm a couple of times to lower the mixture level to around 1/2"-2/3" from the top rim. Further level and adjust the substrate with a fork down to the proper height. Clean the inside of the jar down to the substrate level with your fiinger tip or a paper towel and fill the jar back to the top with dry vermiculite.
Step 3. Place the lid on the jar with the rubberized edge up (jagged edges of the needle holes down). Screw the lid band on. Place pieces of "professional" grade masking tape (holds on during steaming) over the needle holes. This is to protect the needle holes from contaminant entry.

Step 4. Heat the pot of water to a boil. Put the jars into the pot with the lid bands loose so that the steam can penetrate the jars quickly. The jars can sit in water but make sure boiling water can't slosh into the jars. Turn the heat down and GENTLY steam the jars at the lowest possible boil for an hour in a TIGHTLY covered pot (gas stoves are the easiest to control). A good tight fitting pot lid is essential for successful steaming.

When steaming or pressure canning is performed, the jars must be protected from water dripping down from the underside of the pot lid caused by heavy condensation and drip off during boiling. This water can get into the jars by entering under the jar lids that arenâ??t tight and soaking the substrate - throwing off the formula and setting up failure. To prevent this, wrap some tin foil around the cap to ward off the water. The tin foil can be removed after steaming (with the tape guarding the needle holes - or the tin foil can be left on until it is inoculation time.)

Be careful to not overheat the jars, this dries the substrate. Drying is evidenced by o.k. spore germination and halted growth. The fungus will spread but stop at a certain point depending on how dry the substrate has become. Generally, any halted growth (with no contamination) is a sign of dried substrate. This is an important concept that will enable diagnosis and correction of problems experienced with drying. The remedy is to increase the water content of the substrate formula in use. After the jars have cooled, tighten the lids and store them in a cool draft free place until ready to inoculate them.

PRESSURE CANNER USE
PF jars and water bottles can be quickly sterilized with a pressure canner. For proper and safe use of the pressure canner, always refer to the manual that comes with it. If the canner is used and has no manual , try to get one from the manufacturer before using it. Pressure canners can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

Sterilization times
1. 1/2 pint PF substrate jars - 12 p.s.i. for 20 minutes
2. Water bottles - 12 p.s.i. for 55 minutes
3. Syringes and needles - 12 p.s.i. for 10 minutes

INOCULATION OF THE PF SUBSTRATE JARS
Any jar to be inoculated must be cool to the touch before proceeding. Make sure the lid is tight. Shake the syringe well and remove the tape from the syringe needle guard. This shaking of the syringe is important as to redistribute the spores in the water. Take off the tape covering the needle holes. Remove the needle guard and insert the needle through the lid hole. Tilt the syringe body back towards the center of the lid with the needle tip touching the glass. This distributes the spore water down the side of the jar, giving a good inoculation down the side of the substrate cake. Inoculate a few drops down each needle hole. As the syringe plunger is pressed, observe the needle tip against the inside of the glass. As soon as water appears around the needle tip, release the syringe plunger pressure. In between each hole inoculation, shake the syringe a little to keep the spores distributed. Use 1 cc per jar. This will allow the syringe to inoculate 10 jars. More spore solution per jar can be used (speeds colonization), but fewer jars can be inoculated . If the syringe needle plugs up as it is inserted into the substrate, draw the needle back a little and it will unplug.

In this photo, the needle tip can be seen resting against the inside surface of the jar. Then, when the solution is injected, it will run down the side of glass, giving an even inoculation. It is also important to add, that the vermiculite in this jar photo is very course. This makes the needle more visible for the demo. This type of vermiculite is best avoided.

ALCOHOL FLAMING TECHNIQUE
If the syringe needle is touched, flame the needle to sterilize it. An alcohol flame is a clean flame whereas a butain cigarette lighter leaves behind an undesirable soot residue. To produce a short burning alcohol flame, place a tequila shotglass upside down. Using an eyedropper, put a few drops of denatured alcohol fuel (hardware store) on the hollow bottom of the glass and touch it with a match or lighter. The blue flame will cleanly and safely sterilize small stainless steel tools. Heat the needle in the flame for a few seconds to resterilize it. There might be a few "pops" of boiling water spurt out of the needle, but the spores within the syringe are safe. If there is some left over spore solution, replace the needle guard and store the syringe for later use. Resterilize the needle immediately before re-use. Store the syringe in a dark, cool place.

INOCULATION OF PF JARS WITHOUT THE LIDS
This technique can also be used if canning jars are not available (1/2 pint wide mouth canning jars are perfect and should be used at all cost). If regular drinking glasses are to be used - use regular tapered sided drinking glasses (8 ounce - 250ml)
Jars can be inoculated without using a lid with holes punched. Before trying this technique, inoculate with the punched lid first. That will show how it works without any problems (almost fail proof).

The only precaution to observe is to disturb the dry top vermiculite layer as little as possible, especially when removing the needle after the inoculation. The underlying substrate must not be exposed to the air. Carefully move any disturbed vermiculite back into place. If using a drinking glass or alternate container, cover the mouth with tin foil. Replace the tin foil cover after inoculation.

INCUBATION OF INOCULATED JARS
After inoculation of the jars, tighten the lid bands and retape the needle holes. Place the jars in a safe place out of direct sunlight. Indirect light is all that is required. If the temperature is kept around 70 degrees, germination will begin within 3 to 5 days. Germinating spores appear as small white fuzzy spots, quickly growing and spreading with cottony white growth and strandy "rhizomorphs". Any room temperature is O.K. If it gets cold indoors, over head light shinning down on the tops of the jars is a perfect heating technique for this culturing stage. A clamping type light with a reflector works well for this. If this is done, keep the temperature around 70 degrees (don't overheat the jars - monitor the temperature with a thermometer). A warm overall house temperature is fine. But in the overall view, cool temperatures are never a problem. The rule is to not overheat.

THE CANNING JAR LID (loose or tight)
There are two choices with the lids during incubation - tight or loose. With a very high moisture content (good for fruiting), a tight lid can cause water to collect in the bottom of the jar. This is to be avoided. If it happens, the lid should be kept on loose during incubation. Tape the canning jar lid to the band to make the lid act as a one piece lid for raising and lowering. If the substrate is on the dry side, a tight lid will preserve the moisture content. It is all a matter of the balance between the water needs of the mycelium, the size of the jar, the available air space in the jar and the type of vermiculite used. Only by simple experimenting and comparison can the right balance be found for a given set of conditions. Take notes and go with what fruits the best.
After the substrate turns white with the mycelium (2 or 3 weeks after inoculation), the jars are left to sit in indirect light. The mycelium will continue to infiltrate the substrate until it gets enough food to trigger the fruiting cycle. In less than a week to a few weeks after surface colonization of the cake, tiny white "pin" like structures begin to appear. This is called pinning. This is the beginning of the fruiting cycle. Soon after that, within the week, small round fungus growths appear that soon begin to turn yellow.

Lastly, "primordia" start to grow. These are tiny worm like structures with tiny reddish heads. These are the first mushrooms.

This photo is of a 1/2 pint PF substrate jar about 23 days after inoculation. The primordia have appeared and it is now time to birth the cake. Wait until you see this, and the fruiting will be maximized. The fruiting is fairly relative to the primordia that appear.
The best time to remove the fungus cake from the jar is when the primordia (tiny worm like structures with reddish heads) appear on the cake while still in the jar. Be careful not to damage them in handling. The rule is to handle with care.

Remove the lid. With a clean fork, scrape away the majority of the dry top vermiculite layer. There will probably be seen some wispy mycelium here and there in the top layer. Place an old jar lid over the jar mouth and turn the jar upside down. Lightly slam the jar down on a table cushioned with a magazine. The fungus cake will slide out onto the old jar cap (BIRTHDAY). The jar cap functions as a base for the cake. When handling the fungus cake, be careful as not to squeeze and bruise it. Bruising results in a bluish mark. This fungus is resilient and can tolerate a certain amount of handling, but handle it as least as possible. The aroma is distinctly mushroomy, very pleasant.

As soon as the fungus cake comes out of the jar, daub the cake with a piece of loose tissue paper to soak up any water droplets that may have deposited on the cake as it comes out of the jar. Immediately after the birthday, place the cakes into the dual chambered terrarium for the fruiting cycle.

This is the cake a few days after the birthday. This is a healthy fruiting start. Some of these primordia will abhort, but most will go on to full developement.

Some of the first mushrooms to form are "abhorts" (convoluted caps, gnarly stems and stunted growth), and ironically they are primo in magic alkaloids. They are even more powerful in magic than the stately beauties that will soon dominate the cake. The tiny "baby mushroom" abhorts are likewise good. After witnessing the growth of the fungus, recognition of these abhorts is easy. As long as the abhorts are healthy and pure, they are primo. Also, another form of mutants will manifest, blobs of fungus with little or no cap, also good for harvesting. And along with these mutants, appear the perfect specimens, the sporocarps.

It has been reported that Psilocybe Cubensis is a "weak" mushroom. PF and others have seen this to be not necessarily so. It all depends on how it is grown, on what medium and how it is harvested and preserved.

The secret to potent mushrooms is in their age when picked. It has been scientifically proven that the small immature specimens are significantly more potent than the larger mature specimens. Over half of the small primordia that first form will abhort (cease growing, convolute and deform). Pick these before their heads turn black. A pointed knife blade works well for removing these high potency primodia. These are among the most potent. The abortive mushrooms are also high potency. Harvest them when they are young and before their heads turn black. When the fruitbodies are normal, harvest them before the veil under the cap breaks. The mushrooms will be smaller and their heads will be roundish. It is important to note that the mushroom cakes pictured in this book are all mostly well matured. While these mature specimens are beautiful and perfect, they are not as potent as the diminutive specimens. The mature specimens are good for spore collecting and showcasing but are weak in psychedelic potency.

Grow them on brown rice, harvest them when they are young and cool dry them with desiccant. When this is done, they are an entheogen of the highest order.
TIME SCALE OF THE MUSHROOMS
1. Spore inoculation to spore germination - within a week, at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spore germination to complete colonization of the cake - about 2 to 3 weeks.
3. Colonization to fruiting cycle start - within 2 weeks.
4. The fruiting cycle lasts about 2 weeks. After the initial flush, the mycelium cake begins to turn blue and no more mushrooms form. If the cake is thoroughly cleaned of abhorts and stray fungus blobs after the initial fruiting and given the PF double ended cake casing tek, fruiting can be doubled or even tripled.

All in all, the process takes from 4 - 6 weeks from spore inoculation to fruiting.

CONTAMINANT SOURCE IDENTIFICATION
Contaminant invaders appear in various colors from pastels to black. If they appear, the culture is doomed. Bacteria contamination is detectable through the top dry vermiculite layer as a sour foul odor within two days after inoculation (and no spore germination). If the jar is bacteria contaminated, be careful in cleaning it. Keep a safe distance from the contaminated substrate. Don't inhale the bacteria and wash after touching it. Bacteria can be dangerous.

Control jar technique
After the jars are steam sterilized, let them cool, tighten the lids and let them sit uninoculated for several days. Watch for any colored growths or changes in the appearance of the substrate. The tell tale rancid odor of bacteria can be easily detected by loosening the jar lid and checking for the odor. If there is contamination at this stage, the sterilization technique needs to be checked. Most likely it will be a to short sterilization time. If there is a problem at this stage, lengthen the sterilization time. If the jars remain clean and unchanged, they are ready for spore syringe inoculation. If contamination occurs after inoculation, the syringe was contaminated or the dry vermiculite layer was breached during inoculation.

NON-GERMINATION OF SPORES
1. The spore solution was not inoculated deep enough down into the jar. Instead of running down the side of the jar and inoculating the substrate cake, the solution was absorbed by the non-nutritive top vermiculite layer. To avoid this from happening, make sure that the spore solution flows down along the sides of the substrate cake by inserting the syringe needle so that the tip is below the non-nutritive upper vermiculite layer.
2. The substrate jars were not allowed to cool down after sterilization, killing the spores. Inoculate only when the jar feels cool to the touch.

3. There is evidence now that syringe boxes can be exposed to killing heat during transit (a very rare occurrence). The possibilities are such as over heated airplane cargo holds during intense heat waves or a superheated mail truck parked all day in the sun. Another possibility is that on arriving at the mail box, the syringe package was allowed to sit inside a broiling sun heated mail box, killing the spores.

4. Spore syringes can survive freezing, but extreme low temperatures are probably destructive to the spores.

Once you collect all your supplies I'm sure if you post here some one can help you out with a syringe. Good luck