Sterile Substrates - Frequently Asked Questions | North Spore (2024)

FAQs

Sterile Substrates - Frequently Asked Questions | North Spore? ›

Are sterile substrates guaranteed? Yes! North Spore stands behind its products 100%. Our mission is to help you successfully grow mushrooms, and we are here to help guide you on your mushroom cultivation journey.

Hardwood sawdust contains a rich blend of nutrients that provide essential support for the development of healthy mycelium, crucial for successful mushroom growth. The porous nature of sawdust creates an ideal structure for mycelium colonization, allowing for efficient nutrient absorption and moisture retention.

Unfortunately, these competitors grow at a faster rate than the mushroom mycelium, and if left unchecked, they will quickly take over the substrate before the mycelium can establish itself. To avoid this, you'll need to either pasteurize or sterilize your mushroom substrate before inoculating it with mushroom spawn.

When sterilizing your substrate, longer and hotter is NOT better! A temperature of 121°C or 250°F will do the job. Just be sure the complete mass of substrate reaches that temperature for 30 minutes.

Your substrate should be slightly acidic, with a PH between 5 and 6.5. (Some mushrooms, such as oyster mushrooms, can withstand a PH of up to 8.) A minimum moisture content of 50-70% is essential for your substrate.

Temperature Fluctuations:

Each mushroom strain has an ideal temperature range for growth. If the ambient temperature veers too far from this sweet spot, colonization can slow down or even halt.

The higher the inoculation rate or amount of spawn added to the substrate, the faster the mycelium will grow through the substrate. The substrate likely will not produce a larger amount of mushrooms, so a high inoculation rate means more money spent on spawn per pound of mushrooms.

In general, sterilization of substrate blocks in a pressure cooker at 250°F (121°C) takes between 1 to 4 hours. The minimum time needed to sterilize small blocks is one hour, and for larger blocks, 3 to 4 hours is sufficient. If the blocks are sterilized for too long, they may become over-sterilized.

Sterile substrates do not require refrigeration, we recommend storing at room temperature. If kept at room temperature and out of direct sunlight, all sterile substrates can be stored for several months before use.

Yes, you can most definitely reuse mushroom grow kits! Mushroom grow kits are generally designed to give you more than one harvest depending on the species of mushroom inside your growing kit. There is enough water nutrition available in the substrate to give you multiple harvests over a period of 2-10 weeks.

What temperature damages mycelium? ›

5), and thus can be attributed fully to the loss of physically adsorbed water. The increase in heat release between 100 and 200 °C can be attributed to the release of flammable low molecular weight volatiles. Mycelium starts to decompose at approximately 225 °C.

Substrate may also be treated to reduce potential fungal or bacterial contaminants. Two common methods of substrate treatment include: Cold water with hydrated lime: Mix 6 grams of hydrated lime for every 1 gallon of water. You may need to add more or less depending on the pH of your water.

Put the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Gently submerge the bag or container with the substrate into the boiling water. Maintain the water at a simmer, not a rolling boil, to keep it at around 160° F (71° C). Pasteurize the substrate for at least 1 hour.

It just makes sense to grow mushrooms in coffee grounds. You make wonderful nutritious oyster mushrooms out of a bountiful waste resource that is still rich with nutrients. You can return the now composted grounds to enrich your soil at the end of the growth cycle to complete its life cycle too.

A) lots of water dripping shows that the substrate is too wet. b) a few drops released with some pressure show that the substrate is well watered. If it is too dry then with no drops will be released with pressure.

High temperatures can cause the mushroom substrate to dry out, leading to poor mushroom development. Yet, low temperatures can cause the substrate to become too wet, leading to the growth of mold and other microorganisms.

A mycelium is a network of fungal threads or hyphae. Mycelia often grow underground but can also thrive in other places such as rotting tree trunks. A single spore can develop into a mycelium.

Substrate prepared specifically for growing mushrooms is a blend of natural products. Common ingredients are wheat straw bedding containing horse manure, hay, corn cobs, cottonseed hulls, poultry manure, brewer's grain, cottonseed meal, cocoa bean hulls and gypsum.

If conditions remain good, the spores spread as mycelium throughout the entire substrate for planting. In a bag of potting soil, the mycelium can be easily identified as a white web, especially between the soil and the foil.

When making grain spawn, the gold standard has always been rye grain. And that makes sense. Rye is widely available, hydrates well- and is universally loved by almost any mushroom species.