mushroom

Materials Needed

Procedure

It is important that any culture plate or grain jar be opened only enough to allow the necessary task to be completed. The longer the plates or jars are open, the more susceptible to infection they will be.
Pass the lid of the grain jar through the flame of the torch. Turn the jar as you move it through the flame so the entire lid is heated.
Loosen the lid of the jar.
Heat the knife until it is red-hot. Allow the knife to cool.
Transfer approximately ¼ of a culture plate into the jar. Cut the media into pieces then lift each piece out separately and transfer it to the grain jar.
Once the transfer is complete, immediately tighten the lids on both the culture plate and the grain jars.
Shake the grain jars, the goal is to distribute the pieces of media throughout the jjar and to work them to the bottom of the jar.
Label the jar with the type of mushroom you are growing and the date the grain was inoculated with the media.
Store the grain in a low traffic, dark, warm area.

Grain Evaluation

Grain should have mycelium growing through it in several days. The mycelium will appear white and will take over the entire grain jar.
The growth will originate at the areas in direct contact with the culture that was added.
Several days after the growth is observed, the grain jars need to be shaken. This is accomplish the same way described earlier, the object is to distribute the grain with the mycelium throughout the entire bottle.
Grain bottles are shaken every 2 to 3 days until the entire bottle is colonized.
If any growth other than white mycelium appears, the grain is contaminated and needs to be discarded. This contamination may appear as any number of colored growths, (including black, blue, green, gray, or slimy). The jars may be reused, but must first be emptied and cleaned.
Completely colonized grain jar