Hello!

I have a growing Box which sadly got a little contaminated. I know: now it's over, but the thing is that I already have some nice mushrooms harvested. The problem with the first was that after they were completely dry and I put them into a zipper bag, they started to get moldy :S

Either there was moisture left or they were simply not moldy itself when I harvested them, but they already had spores of the mold sticking on them.

So the second one I harvested were just shortly washed in Isopropylalcohol ( / Isopropanol) for like 5 Seconds. I guess this won't have washed anything active out of the mushrooms, as it is also evaporating very quickly afterwards, but MAAYYYBE it has killed mold spores, if they were even sticking on them.

The thing is just now:

The Mushrooms got reaallly black, it's a little bit like the dark bluish colour which you have on them anyways, but now on the complete mushroom.

I'm not afraid that anything is now bad with those shroomies and I think if they don't get moldy I may try one of those, but I just want to ask if anyone has an idea on what happened.


THXXX !

Your harvested mushrooms were certainly not dry enough for bagging them. Mold growth needs a fair amount of moisture.

Next time when you dry mushrooms for conservation, you must make sure that they are cracker dry. Even when dry enough to stop mold growth, there may still be enough moisture to allow degradation of the actives by enzymes in the mushroom. So, dry until crispy, and then bag with additional dehydrated silica gel beads, as even when initially dried to a crisp, there will still be some residual moisture in the mushrooms.

Throw away any mushrooms that have been affected by mold or have grown from a substrate that is moldy. The mold generates toxins that may become incorporated into the mushrooms. Some of these toxins are pretty bad ones, you do not want to ingest these. When combating mold infection, the mushroom itself may also produce substances that are not safe for consumption.

Always throw away all spoiled mushrooms.

A short washing with isopropyl alcohol will not kill spores. It might however damage the mushroom and make it more vulnerable to infection.

I did not wash my growing mushrooms or the grow box itself - only the harvested mushrooms. So they cannot become ill anyways x)

Yeah ... but I know: Mold = dead end

Just any idea why they have become totally dark ?

The harvested mushrooms are not dead at all. Sometimes, it is even possible to revive a tissue culture from dried mushrooms.


An enzymatic reaction by the mushroom cells, is my guess. It also does this in response to mechanical bruising. Note that your handling of the mushrooms already causes mechanical bruising.

on your first harvest it seems like the mushrooms were not completely dried out causing the mold when put into a bag these guys are tricky and take longer to dry then you think,

IPA should not be used to disinfect your mushrooms after harvesting it will destroy the tissue, cause massive oxidation(your black looking mushrooms are oxidized past the point of blueing) and is unecesary if your mushrooms have mold or a contam on the cake then they need to be tossed the toxins spread evenly throughout the entire myc even if you only have one little spot of mold on your cake the whole batch will have toxins from said mold

dont get discouraged just keep at it and keep in mind those growkits are notorious for not working well maybe next time try out a grow from spores and i almost guarantee that you will be surprised at how well you do

Growing from spores allows for much better control over the process. You do need much more preparation and it certainly requires an investment in tooling and skills. The rewards are in proportion to the input.

Nevertheless, a well handled grow kit is a good compromise for those who are unable or unwilling to invest in an elementary level mycology hobby.

Ok!

Well yeah ... it was a disappointment also to the point that the whole stuff was not growing for ages and then that moldy crap happened.

Another thing which I may ask here according to this grow box:


The grow box came colonized (as all are I think) but it was not grown to the top of the cake. I mean it was grown all throughout the sides and to the bottom, but not to the surface at the top.

And what happened after soaking it and keeping it moist there was NO grow to the surface. Therefore there was no mycelium at the top and ALL shroomies were growing at the sides. This is I think pretty shitty as I just felt like the box then not giving its full potantial.

Any tipps or ideas why there was no mycelium grow to the surface and the shrooms only growing at the sides (and a little at the bottom) ?

the Myc probably wasn't on the top because they may have had a casing layer which is a non nutritious layer to help create a micro climate conductive to forming primordia and mushroom pins

The side pins were probably caused by a microclimate created in between the bag and the mycellium which is condictive to forming primordia and pins

the addition of water when you get the bag makes a moist and humid enviroment which will revitalize the dormant mycellium they send you in a growkit this mycellium is rarely fresh which is why it is essential to add water when it is first recieved and why they generally contam out early


hope this helps and didn't seem to dry or condescending my web tone is hard for me to judge

hoping for the best of luck in your future grows

So that means that there are some myceliums which are intended to grow only at the sides?

A friend even told maybe just switch the cake around so that the ground is on the top. Then the complete *surface* is colonized, which may produce more mushrooms.

Then you may say: This will change the micro climate in the bag. But I already changed the micro climate, as I was told by other people to cut holes into the bag and spray the cake directly - yeah it's totally the opposite of what is said by the box vendors, but my box was not pinning for more than 1 month and these people said that the vendor's instructions are garbish.

Very confusing x)

so i wouldnt necesarily flip the cake the reason being if it has that Casing layer on the top the casing layer is there to help the mushrooms pin from humidity and evaporation if you are really concerned and want to try something different take it out of the bag and make a SGFC for it (sterilite tub with perlite on the bottom apprx. 2-3 inches holes drilled in side at substrate level and at upper sides fille with poly fill)

and ya the vendors instructions are confusing when met with actuall mycology techniques

Just to be sure a last time I have a picture of the Box. Maybe you can have a look:





Is this green stuff mold? I am pretty sure it is, well what else should it be, but maybe some of you can have an eye.


THXXX

Yes unfortunately it looks like mold and pretty sure it is. Some claim they can save the grow by carefully digging the mold part it out and spraying H2O2 solution which mold does not like. This never worked for me though.

Ah okay ... any chance that Isopropanol will also kill it?

ya but it will also kill your myc no saving this unfortunately

myc spreads out the nutrients and anything else in the substrate evenly throughout its entirety so if it its contamed in one spot that means that it will have toxins all throughout wether or not that area has been touched by the mold itself

So any mushrooms this cake grows from here on out will have unwanted toxins in them and should not be eaten cutting the mold out or trying to kill or disinfect it will not change this