I have 2 jars out of 6 with a different looking, but still white, substance. Any ID? I have a feeling it will be alright because it isn't changing colors or killing anything.

Looks alright to me, i'm pretty sure that whats in those pics is in fact uncontaminated mycelium. It just looks like its getting pressed up against the jar making funny looking blobs. T

The second pic from the top appears to be the best inoculation, because it has the ropey appearance of good mycelium.

Keep on going I think those jars you got are doing fine.

Awesome. Thanks jellyfox!

looks like you got a mutant strain
have fun getting that unstuck from the jars

I've had that happen a few times already where the mycelium partially stick to the jar, a butter knife in-between the cake and the inside of the jar works wonders if the cake is being stubborn to remove.

My friend says she doesn't know why everyone keeps their cakes intact. If those were hers, she says she would wait until they are fully colonized, chop them up into small chunks, spread them 1-1.5 inches thick on the bottom of a fruiting chamber, soak thoroughly for ~12 hours, then pour of the excess water. She found this to be the best method.

Strictly speaking that should only decrease potential yields versus properly treated cakes. This only forces the mycelium to waste more nutrients repairing itself.

Now what's in my jars? Brownish

looks like contam.

kill it with fire.

contam for sure

It just doesn't seem like contam, it never grew or changed colors. I think I burned the substrate when I was pressure cooking it. The bottom may have touched the water. Would anyone agree? Either way I'm cutting it off I just don't wanna throw the whole cake away.

This is Bacillus, or "wet spot bacteria"...it is most common if your substrate has too much water.

So i should throw these cakes away? Or is the bacteria limited to just the visible brown

If the top half of the jar is relatively free of the contaminant, it would be very possible to use the "clean" spawn to innoculate another substrate...use leached cow or horse manure and pasteurize it. Manure is much less susceptible to wet spot than grains are. You need *dried cow or horse patties*...nothing you can buy in a store will work. Pasteurize at 180f. for an hour, strain, cool, add gypsum, innoculate, throw in a tupperware on top of some vermiculite or perlite (to absorb excess water), pat down, cover with moist, clean, white towell, and put the lid on until spawn runs thru. When surface is completely white, scatter vermiculite on top and remove lid and expose to light..leave the towell on and keep it moist. This method will greatly increase your yield relative to jars. In fact, i highly recommend doing this with all your jars, regardless of contamination.....no promises with the contamination, but you might be able to salvage it if you're lucky....good luck!

Thanks, so if I see mushrooms growing from the healthy white mycelium could it still be dangerous? Or does the bacteria visibly affect the mushrooms like it did the mycelium? I am going to cut off the brown parts but im wondering if any of the bacteria spread invisibly throughout the jar.

There is nothing dangerous about wet spot. If you can pull off a fruiting, you're good.