I have some good news. After 20 days of waiting and fearing that the spores I received in the mail were a dud, I've seen some growth! Some mycelium has spread! You see, I got my spore syringe in the mail while we were away visiting family. It was also during a cold spell of 30s during the day and 20s at night. My syringe was left outside in below freezing temperatures for at least a night. My bright, eager eyes were quickly glazed over with disappointment upon receiving the package and reading in giant red letters DO NOT FREEZE.
Oh well, I thought. I'll give it a try. After all, we are talking about a life form. How delicate and susceptible to the cold could it be?
Although slow, I finally got some growth. It took a full 15 days longer than I had read about in books. This is probably due to some spores being frozen. Or it could be due to me inoculating towards the inner body of the substrate, so that it effectively grew from the inside out... leading to delayed visual results.
In about a week or two, I should have a fully-colonized set of jars to take to the next step of mushroom growing, the step called "dunking". Good thing I am a super patient person. Wink.
Oh well, I thought. I'll give it a try. After all, we are talking about a life form. How delicate and susceptible to the cold could it be?
Although slow, I finally got some growth. It took a full 15 days longer than I had read about in books. This is probably due to some spores being frozen. Or it could be due to me inoculating towards the inner body of the substrate, so that it effectively grew from the inside out... leading to delayed visual results.
In about a week or two, I should have a fully-colonized set of jars to take to the next step of mushroom growing, the step called "dunking". Good thing I am a super patient person. Wink.
You can see some fuzzy looking striations here in the jar. Mold? Contamination? Nope. That would most likely be orange, green, pink, etc...This fuzz holds the key to being a self-sufficient fungi farmer. Here is another, more unmistakable spot of mycelium growth.
Pow! Made my Monday. I've now acted as keeper to every branch of the Kingdom of Life. Feels good.