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Instruction for
Grain production
Grain means a carrier material colonized by mycelium wich is used for inoculation of a fruiting substrate. A mixture of rye grain and vermiculite is the most common grain material. Such a mixture, as mentioned in this instructions, is also suitable as fruiting substrate for a few mushroom species.
Recommended Tools:
(for product information, please click on product name)
Petridish with mycelium, rizomorph
1 Liter Glassr
Measuring cup
Scale
Aluboxes with cover
Scalpell
Latex Gloves
Workspacedesinfection
Handdesinfection
Rye grain
Vermiculite “Medium”
Alabastergips
Casing Soil
Vermiculite “Large”
Water
Container for substrate mixing
Colander (fine pored)
Glove Bag (sterile workspace) / HEPA-Filter
Kitchenpot
For sterilization we recommend a pressure cooker with pressure gauge. Because of EU law we have to get a special attest, to sell this item in europe. To order our favourite cooker directly form producer, please click here.
You do not have a pressure cooker?
Ready sterilized substrates!
(For product information, please click here!)
General Procedure:
For the cultivation of mushrooms an appropriate substrate must be sterilised. At this step absolute sterile working is needed. The substrate must be kept clear of any bacteria or mould spores. The sterilised substrate is inoculated with rizomorph mushroom mycelium. The next phase is the colonization of the glases with the mushroom mycelium. As soon as the grain is fully colonized by the white mycelium, it is ready for inoculation of a fruiting substrate or to be put into a fruiting chamber.
1. Mixing the substrate:
The rhy grain have to be watered over night (about 12-18 hours). You need for the filling of one 1 liter glass about 180 - 200 g (about 250 ml) rye grain and 0,5 liter water, 75 ° C hot. It is not necessary to cover the container.
On the next day sive the watered rye and let the spare water drop out for about 15 minutes. Now put the rye into the container for susbtrate mixing. Water the vermiculite "medium" in the colander. Take 50 ml of vermiculite "medium" per each 1 liter glas. The vermiculite should be watered carefuly, do not make it to wet so that water drops out of it.
Now mix the rhy grain with 2 g gypsum per each 1 liter glass, then add the vermiculite and mix it again well.
Required time: (without watering) approx. 25-30 minutes.
     
2. Filling of the substrate:
Glasses should only be filled to about 2/3 of the volume. If you take 1 liter glasses this will be about 400 - 450 gram of the in this instruction mentioned rye-vermiculite substrate. Dirll a hole of 2 cm in diameter into the cover of the glass that the mushroom can get enough fresh air. The filter disc keeps any contamination out of the glass, press it in to the innerside of the cover.
Caution: Do not close the cover complete to make a pressure exchange possible!
  
3. Sterilisation of the glasses:
Use a pressure cooker for sterilisation of the glasses. Fill the pressure cooker with about 2-3 cm water and put in a layer. (Please read produktinformations of the producer of your pressure cooker!) Now put the glasses into the cooker. They should not swim - maybe you have to take out some water. If your cooker is large enough, you cann add a secon line of glasses. Please add a layer between the lines and arragen the second line displaced. This is importen to provide a constant circulation of the steam.
Close the cover of the pressure cooker fim and put the cooker on a cooking plate. Time begins to run, when the pressure cooker reacht highest level (if you take a kitchen pressure cookeer) or if the pressure gauge reaches the recommended level of 121 °C / 250 °F / 15 psi / 1,05 bar (if you work with a professional pressure cooker). Let the glasses sterilize for 1,5 hours and then let the cooker cool down. You can cover the cooker with a wet cloth during cooling down, this will filtrate the air which is absrobed in to the cooker.
As soon as the pressure is completely exhausted, open the cooker in a clean room. Bevor you take the glasses out, close the covers of glasses firm. Please clean and desinfect your hands, use latex cloves. Let the sterilized glasses cool down at a very clean place. It will fit best if you put them immediately in to an inoculation box. If you have a HEPA-filter you can also place the glasses in front of it.
Required time: about 2 hours
  
4. Inoculation of the grain:
In this step it is required that you work very clean and sterile to avoid contamination of the sterilized grain. It is absolutly needful to work in an inoculation box oder in front of a HEPA-filter. Please spring clean and desinfect your hands, tools and workspace. We recommend to wear latex gloves!
No remove the parafilm from the petri disch and open the cover. (If you do not work in fornt of a HEPA-filter, please open the petri disch as short and less as possible to reduce contamination risk.) Slice the with mycelium kompletely rizomorph colonized agar medium with a sterile scalpell. The smaler you slice the mycelium the faster it will colonize the grain. But if you make biger mycelium pices you can work faster, which reduces the contamination risk.
Put the mycelium pices in to the completely cooled down (under 30 °C) grain galsses. Caution: Even if the glass is cold outside it may be hot in the centre. (If you do not work with a HEPA-filter, please open the cover of the glass only as wide that you can dispense the mycelium pices in it.) Now close the glass firmly and shake it well to ditribute the mycelium pices equally.
Requred time: 5-15 minutes per each glass (depends on your routine)
     
5. Spawn run:
Please put the glasses during spawn run at a dark an warm (not warmer than 30 °C) place. To make the colonisation faster you can shake the glasses once a week. The conlonized grain is mixed with the uncolonized parts and mycelium will grow constant.
The grain is ready for further processing when every rye corn is coverd with white mycelium. It will take - depending on mushroom species - at minimum 10 - 14 days. Please take a look at the glasses continously. Caution: The myclium will geht very hard, if you let it grow to long. You can get it out of the glass only with force and the grain will get unusuable.
6. Inoculation of fruiting substrate:
As soon as the grain is completely colonized, you can inoculate a fruiting substrate. Shake the colonized grain glass well. Now mix the colonized grain with the fresh fruiting substrate. (If you do not work in front of a HEPA-filter, please open the cover of the glasses as short as possible.)
The grain from one 1 liter glass (about 400 g) fits for 10 other glasses of the same volume. (If you work with autoclave bags take 1 bag to inoculate 10 new bags). After you have add the colonized grain to the fresh substrate, close the cover fimly. Now shake the glasses well to distribute the colonized grain equally in the fresch substrate. Place the glasses for spawn run like in chapter 5 of this instructions.
This rye grain also fits for the inoculation of other fruiting substrates (straw, wood, compost, etc.) for mushrooms which may not bare fruit bodys on rye grain substrate.
Tips for wood habitant mushrooms:
It will be also practicable to mix grain with woodchips and prepare with this a outdoor mushroom garden. But grain may attract rats and mice. Therefor we recommend the following procedure:
Take about 2 - 3 liter of dry wood chips and 1 autoclave bag for each glas of grain. For 1 autoclavebag with Grain, please take 10 bags of wood chips. The wood chips ave to be watered over night (about 12-18 hours). On the next day sive the watered wood chips and let the spare water drop out and fill the chips into the autoclave bags. If you have got a fitting preasure cooker we recommend to sterilize the woodchips - as described in capter 3 - for 2,5 hours and let them cool down to room temperature bevor inoculation. If you can not sterilize the wood chips, please use clean and fresh basis material (i.e. cureing woodchips like the "chips beech wood large" from our webshop).
Now add the ready colonized grain into the autocavebags (with woodchips). To minimize contamination risk please clouse the bag immediately. A heat sealer will fit best, you also can use a strong tape. Now schake the bag well to mix the content well. Store the spawn-bags in a dark and clean place at spawn-run temperature.
As soon as the wood chips are fully colonized with white mycelium, you can mix them with fresh basic material and design a outdoor mushroom garden. For detailed instructions, please click here!
7. Pouring and casing for fruiting:
For a few mushroom species this rye-vermiculite substrate is also suitable for the production of fruit bodies. In this chapter you will find instructions how to prepare the ready colonized rye grain for fruiting:
If you want a substrate bring to start fruiting, we recommend to fill it into aluminium boxes (or similar flat containers). Shake the redy colonized glass with rye grain well and fill the substrate into the aluminium box. Take a clean an sterile fork (spring clean and use workspace desinfect) to make the substrate even. (Please work with attemtion and do not press the mycelium to hard). Fill the aluminium boxes only till 2 cm below the edge. Close the box and store it like described in chapter 5 of this instruction.
 
To provide fresh air exchange, please do not close the boxes airproof. It is also possible to case the substrate directly in the glasses. But caused by the smaler surface the yield will be much smaler. If you like to bring the mycelium to fruiting directly in the glases it is importent that you cover the glasses with a light proof coat to avoid the building of fruitbodies between the glass and the substrate. You can not harvest this fruitbodies so they will easy get contaminated.
 
After about 3-4 days the mushroom bricks are ready for casing. A special mushroom casing soil will fit best (you can order it at MRCA). If you do not want to purchase the ready mixed mushroom casing soil, you can take potting soil mixed with vermiculite “large”. When using the self made potting soil – vermiculite mixture, you have to steam it to reduce contamination risk.
Casing – soil formula:
Please take 2 parts of potting soil and mix it well with 1 part vermiculite “large”. Put the mixture into a colander. Place the colander over a pot with boiling hot water and cover it. Steam the soil mixture for 30 minutes. Time begins to run, when steam breakes trough the soil. After steaming put the soil into a cleaned and disinfected plastic container and take it to a clean place for cooling down.
As soon as the soil has cooled down (please note: even if the soil is cold outside, the middle may be hot) it is ready for use. If you work with special mushroom casing soil, you do not have to steam it – it is ready for use!
Now you have to case the bricks. Please work clean and sterile. Spring clean and disinfect your hands, tools and workspace! We recommend to work inside a glove-box or in front of a HEPA-filter.
Open the cover of the aluminium box carefully and place it upside down on the cleaned and disinfected workspace. Dispense the casing soil equally on the mycelium for a high of about 1,5 cm. Please use latex gloves, wash and disinfect your hands and do not touch the soil with your bare hands. Make the soil on the mycelium even with your fingers, but do not press to hard. If the soil is to compact, the mushroom will need more time and power to colonize it. Now place the cover on the aluminium box and put the boxes for colonization of the casing soil on a clean place (as described in chapter 5).
Mycelium takes about 5-10 days to colonize the casing soil. The bricks are ready to foreward in a fruiting chamber, when the white mycelium has colonized the surface of the soil. For a few species it is recommended to put the ready bricks into the refrigerator over night (about +5 to +7 ° C). Such a cooling shock will boost the generation of fruit bodies.
For fructification - phase we recommend to use a MRCA propergator.
Please click here for instructions!
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