So my Ps Tampanensis need to be stored while I get everything set up to grow sclerotia (I have to get a new pressure cooker. ). I normally throw (okay I place them, not throwing them ) them into a zip lock bag and pop them in the fridge until it is time to inoculate. This has always worked in the past and I am fine with keeping it that way.

My question(s) is/are (out of pure curiosity):

Is there a better or "best" way to store your spore syringes?

What method allows the spores to stay viable the longest?

Thank you

As far as I am aware, the best conditions are cold and dark, criteria which your fridge (assuming it's running and you've caught it lol) certainly satisfy. I'm not sure if there's a much better way available to us amateur mycologists, but they should last years (decades, perhaps) in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge.

You should be fine in a seldom-used drawer in the fridge. I actually kept mine outside the fridge in a room temperature drawer for months, about 70 degree area, and it stayed viable for agar isolation. (I was wondering if I was wasting my time when I was in the SAB, gloved up and dropping onto the plates. Turned out perfectly fine, growth showing within a week.)

Keep 'em cold and dark in a "captured" fridge...classic.

Like a good beer!

..Well, it sounds like the way I'm doing it is the way to go so I'll stick with that. Thanks for the input guys!

I keep my spore prints & syringes in a wine cooler inside a ziplockbag and the prints wraped in extra foil and put into a bag aswell.
works good for me

You can never be too careful

Spores are incredibly hardy under the right conditions, but can be incredibly vulnerable as well.

*Unrelated* ... sort of ...

Anyone know the difference between "Rye sprouting seed" and "Rye seed"...?

I just picked up "rye sprouting seed" and it is 100% organic. I read over at the Shroomery board that rye sprouting seed would be fine as long as it is thoroughly rinsed with hot water before going into the PC (to prevent the rye from sprouting). I have never grown sclerotia before (my experience is with Golden Teachers mostly) so I wouldn't want to mess it up due to something silly.

Hmm, no idea, sorry. I just make sure to get rye berries. Seed appears to be more difficult to clean out of the stones, so I avoid it.

The can also states:

Rye sprouting seed
100% organic
Weed:0.00%
Inert matter:0.39%
Other Crop: 0.00%
Purity: 99.61%

But that's okay if no one knows, I am not too worried about it. I'm pretty sure it is just Rye seed used for sprouting things like alfalfa, broccoli, buckwheat, Chinese cabbage, Fenugreek, Lentil, Mung beans, Radish, Red clover, Red spring wheat, sunflowers...etc. (it has instructions on the can on how to sprout these items)

I may pick up some regular rye grass seed (a product without the word "sprouting" on the label) and do a side by side comparison. I've also thought about using whole white rice too just to see which of these 3 would work better for scelrotia. But like I said, the stuff I have now seems to me like it will work so I will give it a try and see what happens! Oh, and thanks for the rye berry tip!

Well I feel sheepish now...

It clearly states:

"Certified Organic Rye Grain. Perfect for grinding into flour for rye bread, or sprouting."

*Facepalm*

Ha, you silly head.

Update:

Today was inoculation day! I am using a combination of these two methods:

How to grow sclerotia, "Magic Truffles" or "Philosopher's Stones"

and

Psilocybe mexicana & P. tampanensis (sclerotia)

9 individual quart jars with rye spouting seed. Washed and then PC'd for 90 minutes (my PC cooks at 12psi). Inoculated with ps tampanensis. Now we wait! I have some pictures but I am a little apprehensive about posting them. Perhaps in a couple months when everything is said and done...

Congratulations on taking your first step! Good luck, may your mycelium grow quickly and healthy.

I recommend keeping a log, putting a masking tape note of the inoculation date on one jar, or both. Track them in some way so you know when they should be ready.

I keep different batches separated by different drawers in an unused dresser. All out of sight, nothing anywhere to indicate that it's happening. Totally hands off, set and forget. Gotta love how easy truffles are.

Thanks! It has been more than a few years since I have been able to play around with any sort of mushroom. It is really refreshing to be jumping back in.

I always keep a grow log so I can remember when and what I did specifically (all jars were inoculated within minutes of each other so I wrote the date on the bottom of the box they are sitting in). I have a spare closet that I keep them in. Out of sight, out of mind! It is tempting to take peaks at them but I do a pretty good job at refraining from doing that.

I plan to start some more next month once I move to my new place in August! And yes, compared to my typical mushroom grow, this was a cakewalk! I was able to keep everything very sterile so there should be little to no contamination. Waiting is the hardest part. But man, it will definitely be worth it!

Small update:

It has been about a week and a half or so and 5 out of the 9 jars are showing signs of life! Nothing too dramatic yet but there is healthy white growth ranging from the size of a dime to the size of a quarter!

It may be moving slow but it is moving! I'll leave them alone for another week and a half to two weeks or so and see how it is going then!

Watching the development is truly fascinating. I still can't believe I waited about 5+ years to jump back into this!

Anywho...



EDIT: 8 out of 9 jars are growing healthily. I don't know what is up with that last jar but I will definitely give it time to do its thing...

Okay! So these jars have been going since July 12th, 2015. These are the most colonized out of the 9 jars and I apologize for the blurriness on one. It is a new digital camera and I didn't want to use the flash if possible. Had to on one...oh well.

Anyway, I read over at the shroomery that full colonization for truffles can take up to 2 months plus at least another month for truffle formation. That is 100% absolutely fine with me! Mushrooms have taught me the invaluable lesson of patience back when I used to do this kind of thing. I do not mind waiting 3 to 4+ months for something so precious!!!

These are 1 month and 5 days old. Do they look normal to you? They look pretty normal to me so far based off of my knowledge of growing cubes. I just like getting second opinions (also I'm new to sclerotia )

(Pics removed for personal reasons)

Yup, all looks OK. This is how my first round went with multispore inoculation. They move very slowly, but eventually get there. Your main concern will be that it might not be fast enough to outrun any contamination (if there even is any).

The jar on the left, with the growth at the bottom--the browning areas are the telltale signs of stone growth, which is a good sign. (Now that I know what to look for.) They will darken further until, by harvesting time, they actually look like mushrooms pushing their silly faces up against the glass like little kids. :-) You will see that happen in other areas, but I've found that it happens in that bottom curve of glass more than other areas. It's the prime growth area apparently.

What do you have tucked under the lids?

That is Tyvek so that gas exchange can occur but so no contams can get in! I was a little lazy and didn't cut off all the excess...

Also there should be little to no contamination. I pressure cooked at 12psi for at least 90 min (some went a bit longer, but not much). Also when I inoculated, I sterilized the entire work area with 99% iso, wore sterilized gloves, a painters mask, clean clothes and apron and hairnet w/bandana. Flame tipped and alcohol swabbed the syringe before each injection.

All jars look like healthy growth but yeah these tampanensis are moving rather slow, but they are moving!

This made me: