Hey everyone! So I've had this cascadian teacher all-in-one bag for about a month now. Shipping took a while and it was quite hot so I'm suspecting the mycelium might have arrived a little under the weather. The first flush was quick but apart from two very lanky shrooms all were aborted. I heard that long stems + aborts means the shrooms are suffocating so from then on I started fanning and misting the bag twice every day. I've had three flushes so far and harvested a little over 30g in dry weight. By now the top looks kinda unappetizing. It's partly covered in white fluff. There's some blue discoloration near the picking spots and the non fluffy areas have a sort of beige tint. It smells fresh though. Could there be contam or is the kit likely depleted anyway? Otherwise I think I'll just keep up the fanning and misting routine. Maybe just fanning from time to time, the humidity seems quite high. Looking forward to some advice!
Yeah it could be depleted. Three flushes is about what I expect from mine. Your yield sounds low though - 30g dry may be a disappointing haul depending on the size of your bag.
Looks like not enough FAE (fresh air exchange) to me (esp the fluffy myc on top & long stems. The beads of water are most likely due to high humidity + lack of FAE = condensation. The condensate on the myc surface will limit pinning. The liquid on the surface could also be mushroom metabolites - which could be a sign of many different things, including but not limited to high humidity w/o enough FAE.
I'd recommend getting a very fine spray bottle -"atomizers" I think they call them. Spray the walls of your fruiting bag and not the myc itself. Since it is a bag, and it sounds like it's mostly sealed, there is likely not much FAE, not enough evaporation, and a buildup of CO2.
I've never used bags, just PF tek and Uncle Bens bags - then spawning to bulk or spawning from pf tek cakes directly. The key is to have a lot of FAE and monitor the humidity. I now use Ikea Samla boxes for fruiting, and I basically just leave the lid cracked all the time. If water is beading on the sides still, your humidity is fine. If it isn't beading, then just close the lid for a bit. Probably similar for bags.
This one funjees. ↑
It's about half of what I expected but especially the small ones are surprisingly potent so I'm not too worried. For the future I know not to do this in the middle of summer.
I've installed a second filter on the back of the bag now. Basically just got everything clean, cut a hole and sealed it with a piece of a surgical mask. Either it works or it doesn't 😅 If it's done fruiting but without contam I might transfer it to a tub with coir. I've seen some claims that this particular bag has enough power to get a second wind that way.
Since this is my first grow I'm basically just trying stuff. Already feel much better prepared for the next one.
Yep! Definitely stick with it. Also, tbh things sometimes just go wrong for no discernible reason. But the fact that you got some mushrooms is awesome!
Just wanted to lyk we're currently at flush 8 😄 The surgical mask filter was a game changer. I only get about 50-70 g in fresh weight per flush and they really take their time before forming new pins but the sheer resilience is crazy. I ended up shake-and-braking the substrate just because I was curious and I think they might have packed it a bit tight. At least now it doesn't accumulate moisture like it did before. I honestly think we're nearing the end now but man this has been so much fun!
Congrats! That's fantastic. That many flushes is a real testament to your attentiveness to them/technique - clearly some happy mushies