oh my splitting head.... - Experience reports (2024)

so, i'm on my fourth flush with this mycelliumbox and something strange has begun happening... the fruits shoot up and after about 3 days the heads start to split apart! one head even looked mutated like it was turning inside out! (see photo)

is this a mold situation? anybody have any ideas?

MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE!!

"Rise above the illusion of time and you will have tomorrow's
wisdom today."

They look terrible.

Eat them right away.

That doesn't look like any kind of infection. Its normal if you leave them for a while that they split. Some strains might do it more then others?

The best time to harvest is right before the veil breaks. Unless you are harvesting spores of course. But yea after the veil breaks they don't make more psilocybin just grow more and dilute out the psilocybin. At least thats what I heard I dunno how true it is.

Yup I second that.

I always harvested mine right as the veil was torn about half way from the cap or even as it started tearing.

Antrocles : insufficient humidity causes the cracks, and the knob on top is either rosecomb (caused by contact with chemicals - like lye or naptha perhaps !) or a result of inneficient air circulation (build up of CO2). Your humidity should be above 90%, and you should change air in your fruiting container several times a day. But don't worry - they're still all edible! What strain are they?

incidentally I sent you a link through another post. I am sure you are aware of these shoes, but in case not, from a fellow racing cyclist (retired) to another, check these out:

http://www.diamantdmt.com/diama...t_main.nsf/home?openform

gotta get me a pair!

cheers and good luck with the cubes,
JBArk

JBArk is a Mandelthought; a non-fiction character in a drama of his own design he calls "LIFE" who partakes in consciousness expanding activities and substances; he should in no way be confused with SWIM, who is an eminently data-mineable and prolific character who has somehow convinced himself the target he wears on his forehead is actually a shield.

hehehe....yeah, i posted that link a while back as my team was in negotiations with DMT to sponsor us for the season. unfortunately, Shimano won the bid but that won't stop me from getting a pair to rock in the off-season!

thanks for the tips on the bloomers...they are 'golden teacher' cubensis and they are so wonderful to grow! i've had four flushes already with this little mycelliumbox and i'm thinking about giving it a go with a proper 'from scratch' mushroom attempt.

...trust me....i'm gonna be buggin' THE CRAP outta you guys if i go that route.

MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE!!

"Rise above the illusion of time and you will have tomorrow's
wisdom today."

Golden teachers are great. The first batch I grew were strange - very visual, but short lived (2.5 hours max, even at 6g dried!) Subsequent batches (made from spore prints from that batch) seemed to react like normal cubes, however. I have been failing miserably at growing other genera though - P. azurescens & Pan cyans... The azures always colonize the BRF cakes really quickly then succumb to contamination (red, green, blue, brown, you name it). I have never, in 3 years of growing, had any contam problems with cubes... I might have to go the petri/agar route, but I don't want to have to build a flow hood etc. But it might be the only way. The Pans just don't colonize, despite 2 attempts with different techs and substrates and careful attention to temp. and humidity...

Insofar as cubes go, keep the questions coming. I have read a lot and have enough experience to donate knowledge of this in appreciation of all the spice extraction help I have received here (not to mention the reassurance I have had after 1 very trying accidental "overdose", reported in the nursery).

Antrocles - How does the cycling community view your other lifestyle? Do they know? It's such a part of you, I don't know how you could hide it from them. When I was racing (10 years all over North America and Europe), it was deeply frowned on to put anything but air in your lungs, and drugs that didn't shave off time were considered a dangerous waste that would jeopardize your career. Maybe times have changed...

cheers,
JBArk

JBArk is a Mandelthought; a non-fiction character in a drama of his own design he calls "LIFE" who partakes in consciousness expanding activities and substances; he should in no way be confused with SWIM, who is an eminently data-mineable and prolific character who has somehow convinced himself the target he wears on his forehead is actually a shield.

I'd agree that insufficient humidity is causing the cracks. Especially considering the size of the caps in the pics.

The caps that look like mutants, are in fact mutants. Still magic though. Just a mutant.

okay guys...it's looking like i've exhausted this little grow box...

now- someone was talking about soaking the mycellium in 99% ISA to extract psyllicin? can anyone explain this a little bit for me? this substrate has what looks like pearlite and some shiny flakes (they almost look metallic). will this stuff leech into my extract? is there a cleaning process i do?

much love and gratitude!!

"Rise above the illusion of time and you will have tomorrow's
wisdom today."

^^
this

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck