Not having ANY luck finding these elusive little guys for the past 2 years, I have decided I'm going to start my own portable patch.

The only thing is, I have zero experience with growing mushrooms. I have tried looking around the shroomery for information, but wading through all the trolling and what not is getting tiresome. I found some relevant information but it has not answered my questions.

Apparently, one could start with a standard PF tek and then crumble that into wood chips. That is fine, but I am wondering if I could just get a spawn bag full of wood chips and inoculate it with a syringe, skipping the PF tek? I hear cyans are a pretty aggressive species so I'm thinking it might just work.

Does anyone have experience growing these beautiful mushrooms?

They are of the most bullet proof shroomies around. That is a good start, inoculating spores to a jar. Grains are pretty easy to work with as well.

The thing to keep in mind is these will not grow like cubes. They don't grow in dung, but wood chips, as you said. Alder works best, but most hardwoods will do, you just want the wood and not bark. They like cooler temps, at most 70 degrees. Above this they go dormant and don't usually grow vegetatively. They like pre-soaked chips. They will not fruit for you indoors (unless you are ready to put in TONS of work). It's best if you are in a climate they like to just get a nice wood chip bed going outside and keep the watered. Most places you should get good results in the fall, provided it does not get cold too fast, or too dry. If you're in the PNW, then they'll thrive. But honestly, if you haven't found any in the PNW, then.... well I don't know what to say! I have enough parks in my repertoire to where I don't think I'll ever run out! For reals.

Once you get some healthy chips going, there's really no stopping them. There's no need to worry about contams. They destroy everything. The only time I've seen them defeated was in a tub of mine that sat out all summer with no water and no fresh food, they were weak and when they got water, other stuff took hold before they could summon their strength. I felt pretty bad. Other than this one instance (which they are actually fighting back now) I have never seen them taken over. They are tough SOBs.

Here's a good link. They used to let you view pics without being a member, but not any more. Still a good thread with good info. (I think about azurescens, but they are nearly identical in every way except cap shape)

I think I would like to try grains over the BRF tek I was looking at. You say they are pretty much contaminant-proof? So if I were to start from grains there would be no need to sterilize with a pressure cooker?

I'm in the PNW so no need to worry about the conditions. Alas, I have been looking for hours and have yet to find any. I may be a little out of the hot spot for them, but I know they are around here. I just can't seem to find any good habitats for them, if I do they are all full of galerina

I want to start a tub as well since I don't own my house and would like to continue to reap the harvest for years to come. I just want to get an easy sure fire method down before I waste money on spores.

Here's a useful PDF.

Good Luck

No, you still need to sterilize the grains. Grains are high in starch and sugar and contam very easy. They would probably eventually take over a grain contam, but it would take a while. So keep sterile until the grains are fully colonized, and then you can take the gloves off on those bad boys! Literally.

If you would like to go hunting some more, here's my advice.

Look for wood chips! Most parks have wood chips, especially after the ice storm we had in January in the Sea-Tac area. I don't know what it is with these guys, but they seem to find me. My first time hunting for them, I hit a huge score after about 10 minutes. I basically walked straight to the patch. Pretty strange. I have never found any in the woods, or wooded areas, only parks and on the edge of the woods where the trees begin. And every time in wood chips.

Thanks, for the links!

Thanks peabody, thats mainly what I needed to know. So I just have to get a strong mycelium going before I can forget about contams. Check. Ya I look in parks and wood chipped areas for hours but I'm not in the Seattle area so I think thats why I haven't found any yet. Plus it seems that they only use redwood and cedar chips around here and I can't seem to find the right type of wood chips, with the exception of one area in which I could only find galerina sp. I am slowly checking off every park in my area, it is getting a little silly, but I know I will find some if I can just find those hardwood chips!

For a good understanding of the mushroom lifecycle I recommend Paul Stamets' book, Mycelium Running.

Really easy read, good mix of science and spirituality, and by the end you'll have a deeper knowledge and appreciation of what these teachers need to thrive.

well one of my parks has galerinas right next the cyans. They actually seem to favor similar conditions, so thh gals seem to be a decent indicator of cyan viability.
I have read people being suspicious of cyans grown in the same dirt as galerinas, but I have never had any issues. There's really no mistaking one for the other unless it is your first day mushroom hunting. Galerinas look similar from above, but thats about where the similarities end.

Good luck! I hope you can get them going. They're my favorites.

Oh, they do well in tubs, too. Not as well as a nice bed, but well enough. Just make sure you give them new chips about 2-4 times a year. If you split your already colonized portions in half, mix in new chips you'll have double what you did before. Mathematic types would call that an exponential increase.

The hunt can be super frustrating, I hear you. I have spent hours out there looking, and found nothing. And then been randomly out for a family walk or in the neighborhood and stumbled across them. Maddening. Yes, Galerinas are a good indicator species but do NOT mix them up! Cyans never have brown stalks.

I was out looking today but it's been way too dry. Even a patch I know was fruiting last weekend was just all dried up and I harvested the poor dry stunted cyans. I'll post a few photos in another thread. This was the prettiest one.

Thanks guys, it seems like the season is starting to pop off a little better in the past week unless it freezes. I'll go check back at the spots I've seen galerinas and try my luck again. I found a nice little area full of libs so I've been occupied with that for the past couple days

Semios, thats a beauty. I think the reason I am so drawn to cyans is because they just look majestic and delicious, not to mention they are hyperbolic.

They're definitely my favorites. They've always treated me well, both hunting and tripping.

Good luck finding some! They're out. I think the frost hurt my park on the south sound. We'll see in a few days, but luckily I have plenty from last year.

I've heard that cyans can be a little rough on the body, some say they have experienced slight paralysis from the wood lovers. Is this true?

They are some of the cleanest best friggin shrooms i have had the pleasure to have tasted. I sincerely hope you had luck with your pursuits.







"Further up and Further in"
Aslan