Hi everyone,

The 3d flush has started coming out and i noticed there are some tiny white spots on the mushrooms. I don't think they were there on the mushrooms of the previous flushes so i wonder if this is a bad sign? Anybody have some experience with this? Other then that they seem to look fine and growing well.

Peace
Elpo

I believe a white fuzz on your caps can be attributed to <edit>HIGH</edit> humidity. It's probably not a major issue if you don't see any other suspicious growth and should not drastically impact the health of your fruits.

-JM

Sorry if I misinterpreted your question- I assumed that your white spots were fuzzy, as in mycelial growth on the tops of the caps. If these spots are not fuzzy, there's still probably nothing to worry about. Markings can vary from strain to strain or flush to flush and some just have more spots or color variation than others. I've seen some with spots and some without. Either way, they should be fine. As long as the spots aren't gray/green/pink, you probably don't have any sort of contamination.

well, white fuzzy growth on the mushies (generally not on the caps, but rather on the stems) is most likely mycelium, which indicates that humidity is too high NOT too low. DO NOT increase your humidity if it's fuzzy/you think it's mycelium as this will greatly increase your chance of rotting the fruits.

Now, with whatever you've got going on, time is your ally in determining what's up. If its mycelium and you act accordingly, things should go smoothly. If you do that (or if you don't cuz you don't think its myc) and wait a few days, if it's a "real" contam, it WILL change colors/visibly spread. Trich would be the most likely candidate for this, especially given that its your third flush.

Time will tell...when it comes to the more ambiguous mushroom contams, especially on later flush, I ascribe to the knowledge of the Waytansee Tribe.

SnozzleBerry, you're correct. HIGH RH can cause mycelial growth on fruits, not low RH as I had indicated previously. Sorry for any confusion- I've edited my previous post so nobody else gets the wrong idea.

Elpo, are the white spots arranged in a ring around the caps? If so, I've seen similar markings before and they didn't seem to cause any problems at all. A friend of a friend just harvested flush #5 on a bulk hpoo/straw B+ grow. Small white spots showed up on flush #2 and have continued to appear in each successive flush without negatively affecting the fruits. Good luck!

Ok thanks guys, I do think the humidity might me too high. I don't see any other thing to worry about until now...
Is it correct that I should then open up the bag a bit to let some air enter? And won't this allow bacteria to enter?

Peace

Yeah, don't worry. If you're in a clean envroinment, the mycelium is strong at this point, don't really have to worry about contamination.
And I agree with others, it may be a too high humidity

Got any pictures man? I love mushroom pictures!

i'll try to post some this evening.

Yes, definitely let some air in. Fresh air exchange is crucial and a lack of it can also contribute to overzealous myc growth as well as Cobweb mold. As airmane stated, by the time you're fruiting the mycelial network is a strong biomass and you should not have to worry too much about contamination. Generally, contamination risks fall drastically after you have fully colonized cakes. While casing can introduce more contams, if you are reasonably clean, there shouldn't be much worry.

Hey guys

It it white fuzz afterall. I have let some air in now to reduce humidity, but for how long long should i do this? And should the fuzz eventually disappear or can i just go ahead and pick them like that when they are ready?

I haven't had time to post some pics, will try later on during the day.


Peace

White fuzz can be a bacterial mold. How fuzzy is it? Does it smell? If it smells at all "funky" and not purely earthy, then you probably have a mold, and I would harvest ASAP. If it is IN FACT a mold, you can try misting with a 50/50 solution of hydrogen peroxide and distilled water. SOMETIMES that will be enough to wipe out the mold and let things continue, but I will say that once you get contamination (especially bacterial contamination) it doesn't always go away.

What does it smell like (don't inhale a bunch! Just a quick wiff). And yes, pics would be very helpful!

Later flushes are more susceptible to contaminants because much of your mycelial mass is starting to fade, and the anti-biotic protection along with them. Go with what the others are saying about letting some air in, but if it's stinking at all, and looking like contamination, get your fruits out, try and kill the contam, and see if you can salvage it for another flush. Bacterial contams will try and feed off your fruits.

I'm not trying to be alarming, just exorcise some caution.

You've done very well Elpo! Don't get discouraged!

EDIT: I just re-read the above posts. I may have over reacted. If the fuzz is isolated to just the caps, or the stems, like the others said it's probably not a big deal. If it's light and fluffy, and spreading across your casing layer, and (like I said) stinks, then you have trouble, and what I say above is valid. Otherwise just do what the others are telling you.

Peace!
-idt

Hey guys here is the picture...




What is the verdict?

Peace

looks good to me, the first flush of one casing of my current Chilean grow has those spots as well, they change color/fade as the mushrooms grow. If for some reason they don't, I still wouldn't worry about it, it's just discoloration resulting from the manner in which the pinheads knot and then the fruits grow. Like I said, one of my casings has em and I know they're fine as my first flush from an earlier casing had em too and the mushies grew fine/the spots went away. Think of em as shroom acne, they'll outgrow it once they're through "puberty" and are nice and mature with the veil tearing. I'm pretty sure the only reason i didn't catch em in my third casing was that the fruits grew too quickly and i missed em.

So the white fuzz at the bottom of the stems is not harmful either (it does not smell)? Will that go away too when drying them?

Peace

The "fuzz" at the base of your mushrooms is the p. cubensis mycelium. At higher rh's the myc starts to creep up the stem and this can be stopped by lowering rh. However, the myc will generally hang out till they're picked. When you grasp the stem to pull your fruits, you'll find that you make an indentation in the myc and it pretty much dries up/falls off/goes away after you harvest and dry your fruits. If you're gonna be eating wet fruits, it's fine to eat the mycelium, it won't harm you.

ok thanks a lot SnozzleBerry. I'll be picking them later on so this information comes in handy.

i just harvested the mushrooms of my 3d flush. Here are is one pic of a few of them...




Can you tell me if these are ok? The blue stuff at the bottom of the stem worries me a bit. Especially the one at the bottom left.


Peace
Elpo

First, let me say congratulations on harvesting your third flush.

Now, from the quality of the picture/the glare in the greenhouse that is the office I work in, it's hard for me to tell what exactly is going on with that mushroom on the left. If the blue is in the flesh (as in a coloration, like a bruise on your arm) and not an external growth then it's just the mushroom bruising from when it was harvested and nothing to worry about. If that's not it, write up a desription of it and i'll give you my thoughts.

Also, you can wait a little longer to harvest in the future. Partially and even fully torn veils are ok, you really don't have to worry until the cap gets flat and starts to turn up or starts dropping spores (you can tell this because anything under the cap will turn black due to being covered in spores).

Anyways, it looks great, I don't think you've got anything to worry about, enjoy your fungus!

Thanks for your quick reply. I have checked and indeed the blue color seems to be engraved into the stem of the mushroom but it is also on the mycelium at the bottom of the stem and that was what worried me a bit... this is the case on only 2-3 mushrooms.

On the harvesting thing, I have waited until the cap of the biggest mushroom was torn, you don't see that one on the picture. I was told here on the Nexus in another thread that you should harvest as soon as you see a crack in the cap of the mushroom as this wouldn't reduce potency.

Thanks again

ps: If i am correct the blue will be the psilocybin oxidation right? I have read that this should be prevented but what is a good way to do this before the mushrooms are harvested?