MycoBags
Acquire these things:
1) Pressure cooker - No way around it. If you want do it you need the right tools for grain. Get the biggest one you can afford, I have a 22Qt and wish I had a 30qt.
2) Large Soaking vessel - A Large stock pot, or bucket, whatever you have that is water tight.
3) LARGE wire strainer - Needs to be fine enough that your grain does not pass through mesh. This is a simple tool that makes things go easily. Too small of a strainer is ridiculous to work with, go buy a big one.
4) Medium Spawn Bags W/Filter patches* - Aprox 18" X 5.5" X 4" - Sporeworks.com, Mycobag.com.
* I use the ones with an injector port, you can use the ones without if you want to save a few bucks, but I figure what the heck.
5) Binder clips - You know those metal black paper clip type things that come in sizes ranging from silly small, to way big? Get one size up from tiny. Office depot has them cheap, and they work great, and last forever. You will be putting 3 on each bag. Clothes pins work just as well, but I like the metal clips.
6) Impulse sealer. An 8" sealer works perfectly for Medium sized bags.
7) Inoculant - Spore syringe OR Myc water works very well. Transfers from grain, or agar are also possible but will require a very clean prepared workspace, and hopefully a flow hood. Syringe innocs will be able to get by more readily using dodgy methods like mine.
Figure 2-3 CC's of spore juice per bag prepped
using this method, or 5-6 CC of Myc Suspension.8 )Rye Whole Grain** - Organic preferred. Check your local markets bulk section. .59 a lb is a fair price at the market. 12 dry lbs will do 5 bags using this method.
**Finch Mix, and Soft White Wheat can be substituted for Rye, you will need to add about 1/2 quart of dry finch mix per jar to your soak. Soft white wheat can be straight substituted.
9)Rubbing Alcohol - This is a handy instant sanitizer, just remember it kills everything. Good or bad, it will kill.
10) Paper towels. Duh
11) Rubber gloves - Clean sterile covers for those grubby hands of yours.
<<<<<<The method>>>>>>
Step 1 - Prepare The Grain
Place 1.5 quarts of dry grain for each bag you want to fill into your soaking vessel. Toss in an extra quart to make sure you have a little extra.
| QUOTE |
| Fun Grain Facts: 1 Quart Jar of Rye is 1.5Lbs of grain. - 1.5 Jars = 2.25Lbs of dry grain per bag. Use this to determine how much dry grain you need to start with for the qty of bags you are preparing. |
Rinse the rye twice, this just gets rid of all the dust. Don’t worry about draining it completely, that’s why you give it two rinses. It’s just a quick twice over.
Soak organic rye berries in water for 12-24 hours. Make sure there is plenty of water covering the rye. Cover with at least a few inches of water.***
*** Alternately you can place your grain in the soaking vessel, and cover with boiling water, let soak 1.5 hours, then drain and use. You may get a few busted grains this way but not too many and it speeds things up.
Drain for 15 minutes. Shake strainer to remove any extra water being held by capillary action.
Step 2 Fill The Bags
Fill medium size spawn bags with 2.5 to 3 Quarts of the pre-soaked, drained Rye. More will fit, but it won’t leave adequate room for mixing easily. You are still getting the equivalent of 4 or 5 Quart Jars worth of substrate into ONE bag so why over do it further. If you MUST fill the bag more, be sure to stay at least 3" below the filter patch.
Tap the bags a couple times on the counter and carefully fold over the bag at the top of the grain. You want to get as much of the air as you can out of the bag because it will expand in the PC. Don’t mash your grain, but do squeeze out the air. The bag will fold nice and flat against the top of the grain.
Once the bag is folded to one side, flip the bag over so the top rests on your folded over bag. This will keep air from rushing back in quickly.
Fold over the top 1" of the bag and crease it. Now place 3 clips along the edge.
Flip bag back upright, and fold the top down in a couple of folds.
| QUOTE |
| Fun Fact: Pre-sealable bags
are now available and you can skip the clips and post PC sealing and
seal them using the sealing instructions below now and all but
eliminate any chance of contams getting at your grain post PC. Worth
the extra cash if you have it and are lazy like me. |
Step 3 - Cook The Bags
Place your bags in the PC on the rack. You do not want them to touch the inside wall or the bottom of the PC. Use Lid Rings as spacers if you need to. Fill with water to just below the bags on the rack. A wet dish towel can be wrapped around the bags to protect them from the hot sides of the PC.
| QUOTE |
| Fun Fact: Props go out to Miko
for turning me on to the rings for spacers, and Flatty for the wet
towel trick. NEVER ever ever melted a bag.....ever.
|
Close the PC, Turn on the heat and wait till steam is escaping via the vent hole. Add the weight and wait till the PC reaches 15psi. Adjust heat to maintain 15psi.
PC the bags at 15psi for 2.5 hours.
Turn off the heat and let the PC pressure drop to zero.
Let the PC cool to a workable temperature.
Step 4 - Seal The Bags
Do this step in as clean an area as possible. I leave my bags in the PC overnight, then seal them on a preheated oven door.
Here are some tips on using a bag sealer:
1)Test your sealer and bags. Try it with an empty bag to determine the best setting. Cook the bag first if you want the most accurate results, they change.
2)Check that setting. The temp control on my sealer is easy to nudge in-between bags. Check it before you press it.
3)Let it cool. If you try and make two seals too quickly the second one will be MUCH hotter than the first.
4)Apply enough pressure. If you are getting the bag hot enough, but you are not getting that "perfect seal", try pressing a little harder. This is especially important when you are working on a "soft" or flexible surface, like an oven rack.
Step 5 - Inoculation
Work in as clean an area as possible.
You can Inoculate the bags using a spore syringe, or Myc water, Grain or agar transfers could be done before sealing but will require a very clean work area.
I use the bags with injection ports, I don’t have a super clean space and the success rate with these warrants the extra expense IMHO. If you have bags without ports, place a piece of scotch tape on the bag, swab with alcohol and once you inject though it, place a second piece over the hole.
| QUOTE |
| Fun Fact: I over filled these
bags... Oops. |
Wipe the area over the port or tape with rubbing alcohol. REPLACE your sterile needle and inject the bag.
Use 2-3CC's of spore water or 5-6 of Myc Suspension per bag.
Mix the bag after injecting and place in a dark place. 75-80deg is ideal.
Step 6 - Colonization
5-7 days after inoculation you will see white growth from germinating spores.
Mix the bags well once you see good growth.
In 11-14 days the bags will be 100% colonized.
