Yes, you should let the culture grow for about a week or so that it can get established and you can check it to confirm it is not contaminated. After that you can store most cultures in the refrigerator for a very long time. Keep in mind that some cultures (like pink oyster, pleurotus djamor) will die back if refrigerated. Thanks for watching! 🍄🌍
Thank you for your videos! They are very educational. I am more familiar with your old videos. Trying to catch up now. I feel my knowledge is a bit rusty after over a year break from studying mycology. I had experimented little and due to health conditions I was forced to have a break and my LC spoiled meanwhile. I’m ready to restart but now all I have is 1 spore print and 5ml spores suspended on water. Unfortunately I am not able to get more. I have materials for grains on jars, bags, agar, LC, bulk substrate… What would you recommend I start with so I make the best of the little I have? For grains I have access to rye and popcorn by the way. I am interested in starting a good self sustaining cycle loop so I don’t waste the spores I have. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Hi, thanks so much for watching! I would recommend starting simple with just a bag/jar of rye grain spawn. Use 1-2ml of your spore solution to inoculate it. You can then use that grain spawn to inoculate 5-10 more bags/jars of grain. I think this is the best method for working with a limited amount of inoculum. Once you have grown those bags to completion you can then make some fresh LC, fresh plates and more to start buking up your inoculation material. Really appreciate your comment! Let us know how it goes! 🍄
@@MotherMycelium thank you! I will try that and hopefully I won’t have any contaminants. Do grains last longer than LC then? Or is just because it produces more?
@@thiagorossi3860 LC should last much much longer than grain. I'd recommend starting with some grain and growing it all the way out to completion so that you can make your LC with a clean tissue clone.
@@thiagorossi3860 If you're just trying to make LC you could put a few drops of your spore solution on agar and then use that agar to make LC once you've confirmed it's contaminant free
Any agar nutrient will work here. To ensure a long shelf life, seal with a few layers of parafilm and store in a plastic bag. Some people also add sawdust to the solution or a popsicle stick help with the shelf life.
The inoculation loop is a little easier for me to use when working with slants. The only downside is that you're not going to get as much tissue with the loop. When working with a scalpel you can cut out a large piece of tissue if you need and it'll colonize a little faster. But keep in mind that you might want to preserve your master slant as long as possible so taking a smaller piece of mycelium with the loop could be more advantageous in many instances.
Thanks for watching! If you're just making enough agar for 5 slants you'll need about 50ml (10ml per slant). You'll need about 50ml water, 1g agar, 1g malt extract. However, I would recommend that if you're gonna go through the process of making slants then you should just make a larger batch and store the extras for later use. 🍄🌍
You could but I wouldn't recommend it. It is best to go with a clone or any type of isolated culture/genetics. Slants are often used as long term storage for cultures so it is better to use genetics you know are viable. The genetic variation in spores is high so you never really know for sure what you are going to get when the mushrooms are fruited. You can still use the spores to inoculate plates or grain and grow them out to completion. Let me know if you have any more questions! Thanks for watching! 🌍🍄
@@MotherMycelium okay makes sense I just feel like I won't be able the plates fast enough that's why I'm trying to figure a storage method. I can use the spores to create the plates and use cuts to put into slants correct ? Are you on Instagram as well or Facebook? Thanks very much.
The spores will store for a very long time in a spore syringe or a foil spore print. You can definitely try to isolate some on petri dishes but there's not really an advantage to moving it to slants from that point. You can just use part of your plate to inoculate grain and store the rest for later. Slants are better for long-term storage of cultures that are proven to be high-quality, viable genetics. Meaning you grow the culture to completetion to ensure healthy yeilds and substantial fruits. Yes we are on IG and Facebook (links below). Appreciate you! instagram.com/mother_mycelium/ facebook.com/mothermycelium
If you are having issues with excess condensation you can try letting the agar cool a little more before closing the lids completely. You can also pour the slants and then leave them open and let them cool in front of a flow but I generally don't recommend that unless it is totally necessary.
You got a link for that scalpel? I love how slender it is. Makes slant work easier and I bet it cools faster after flame sterilization than what I'm currently working with.
Once it's colonized you can use the methods that we used to inoculate the slant. You can simply cut a small piece of mycelium out of the colonized slant with a scalpel or inoculation loop. Then you can keep the slant in storage and use the freshly transferred mycelium.
You need to wait until the agar is completely cooled and solidified before you inoculate it. I like to heat up the agar mixture to dissolve it, then add the mixture to the tubes and sterilize. Then you let the slants cool completely before you inoculate them. If you incoulate the agar while it's still hot and liquid you will kill the fungus
You could but you'll need a way to keep them upright so the agar solution doesn't spill out. Keeping them in the tube rack or mason jar also helps to easily remove the tubes after they are sterilized
More info on how to grow mushrooms at home! ua-cam.com/video/W3xsqxZBnQ8/v-deo.htmlsi=sjMmYgIcm7CbRhDc
Nice clear instructions, thanks
Do you let the culture grow out a bit in the slant before storing it? Is it refrigerated during storage?
Yes, you should let the culture grow for about a week or so that it can get established and you can check it to confirm it is not contaminated. After that you can store most cultures in the refrigerator for a very long time. Keep in mind that some cultures (like pink oyster, pleurotus djamor) will die back if refrigerated. Thanks for watching! 🍄🌍
Thank you for your videos! They are very educational.
I am more familiar with your old videos. Trying to catch up now. I feel my knowledge is a bit rusty after over a year break from studying mycology. I had experimented little and due to health conditions I was forced to have a break and my LC spoiled meanwhile.
I’m ready to restart but now all I have is 1 spore print and 5ml spores suspended on water. Unfortunately I am not able to get more.
I have materials for grains on jars, bags, agar, LC, bulk substrate… What would you recommend I start with so I make the best of the little I have? For grains I have access to rye and popcorn by the way. I am interested in starting a good self sustaining cycle loop so I don’t waste the spores I have.
Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Hi, thanks so much for watching! I would recommend starting simple with just a bag/jar of rye grain spawn. Use 1-2ml of your spore solution to inoculate it. You can then use that grain spawn to inoculate 5-10 more bags/jars of grain. I think this is the best method for working with a limited amount of inoculum. Once you have grown those bags to completion you can then make some fresh LC, fresh plates and more to start buking up your inoculation material.
Really appreciate your comment! Let us know how it goes! 🍄
@@MotherMycelium thank you! I will try that and hopefully I won’t have any contaminants. Do grains last longer than LC then? Or is just because it produces more?
@@thiagorossi3860 LC should last much much longer than grain. I'd recommend starting with some grain and growing it all the way out to completion so that you can make your LC with a clean tissue clone.
@@thiagorossi3860 If you're just trying to make LC you could put a few drops of your spore solution on agar and then use that agar to make LC once you've confirmed it's contaminant free
Does it matter if you use potato dextrose or LME? Would it make a difference in terms of shelf life of the slants?
Any agar nutrient will work here. To ensure a long shelf life, seal with a few layers of parafilm and store in a plastic bag. Some people also add sawdust to the solution or a popsicle stick help with the shelf life.
@@MotherMycelium Thanks bro, mush love ❤️
Are there pros/cons to using a scalpel vs. inoculation loop? Great tutorial! Thanks!
The inoculation loop is a little easier for me to use when working with slants. The only downside is that you're not going to get as much tissue with the loop. When working with a scalpel you can cut out a large piece of tissue if you need and it'll colonize a little faster. But keep in mind that you might want to preserve your master slant as long as possible so taking a smaller piece of mycelium with the loop could be more advantageous in many instances.
Should the slants be colonized after the transfer at room temp, or should they go right into the fridge and can colonize over time at 40 degrees?
We always let them colonize for a day or two and then refrigerate. This way you can check for contamination and such.
I don’t need nearly this many slants. What would be the ratio for day like 5 of these?
Thanks for watching! If you're just making enough agar for 5 slants you'll need about 50ml (10ml per slant). You'll need about 50ml water, 1g agar, 1g malt extract.
However, I would recommend that if you're gonna go through the process of making slants then you should just make a larger batch and store the extras for later use. 🍄🌍
@motherMycelium can I use spore syringes to inoc the slants?
You could but I wouldn't recommend it. It is best to go with a clone or any type of isolated culture/genetics. Slants are often used as long term storage for cultures so it is better to use genetics you know are viable. The genetic variation in spores is high so you never really know for sure what you are going to get when the mushrooms are fruited.
You can still use the spores to inoculate plates or grain and grow them out to completion. Let me know if you have any more questions! Thanks for watching!
🌍🍄
@@MotherMycelium okay makes sense I just feel like I won't be able the plates fast enough that's why I'm trying to figure a storage method. I can use the spores to create the plates and use cuts to put into slants correct ? Are you on Instagram as well or Facebook? Thanks very much.
The spores will store for a very long time in a spore syringe or a foil spore print. You can definitely try to isolate some on petri dishes but there's not really an advantage to moving it to slants from that point. You can just use part of your plate to inoculate grain and store the rest for later. Slants are better for long-term storage of cultures that are proven to be high-quality, viable genetics. Meaning you grow the culture to completetion to ensure healthy yeilds and substantial fruits.
Yes we are on IG and Facebook (links below). Appreciate you!
instagram.com/mother_mycelium/
facebook.com/mothermycelium
I like this method however I found condensation inside the slants. Next-time, what do I do differently to negate the condensation?
If you are having issues with excess condensation you can try letting the agar cool a little more before closing the lids completely. You can also pour the slants and then leave them open and let them cool in front of a flow but I generally don't recommend that unless it is totally necessary.
You got a link for that scalpel? I love how slender it is. Makes slant work easier and I bet it cools faster after flame sterilization than what I'm currently working with.
Found it, looks like it might be a #7?
Yup, you got it
Wooww, don't mind me stalking your page lol but how do you exactly get it out once it's colonized? Does it just squeeze out?
Once it's colonized you can use the methods that we used to inoculate the slant. You can simply cut a small piece of mycelium out of the colonized slant with a scalpel or inoculation loop. Then you can keep the slant in storage and use the freshly transferred mycelium.
why do you add agar to the slant before inoculating it with the fungal inoculum?
You need to wait until the agar is completely cooled and solidified before you inoculate it. I like to heat up the agar mixture to dissolve it, then add the mixture to the tubes and sterilize. Then you let the slants cool completely before you inoculate them. If you incoulate the agar while it's still hot and liquid you will kill the fungus
Is there a reason why 20 minutes @15psi instead of the standard 90 minutes @15psi that grain jars/bags are sterilized?
Liquids generally take a lot less time to get up to temp. 15-20 min at @ 15 psi is typical for sterilizing liquids with autoclaves.
You also want to avoid caramelizing the sugars in your liquid culture/agar solutions
Can you place the slants directly in the pressure canner without anything like jars or racks?
You could but you'll need a way to keep them upright so the agar solution doesn't spill out. Keeping them in the tube rack or mason jar also helps to easily remove the tubes after they are sterilized
@@MotherMycelium dude thanks for the quick response! 🙏🏽🤘🏽
Thank you sir.
Thanks for watching 🍄
How come they always boil over? Any help
I would recommend filling your slants with a little less agar or using slightly larger slants.
Quality info
Glad it was helpful!
Aww man, i don't have a lab coat 😔
I guess I missed that part where the condensation is removed.
I like this method however I found condensation inside the slants. Next-time, what do I do differently to negate the condensation?