Let's Grow! #1 - Equipment

Simple set ups tend to work the best. You'll read this a lot and it's 100% true.

Feel free to use your own variations of equipment, make your own grain bags and substrate, whatever floats your boat. I'm not very handy and I don't like to do things in the kitchen so I buy a lot of things that you could DIY to save money.

Equipment list

Monotub. I use these. Yes, they are expensive for plastic bins. But they work great and they are ready to go. If you want to DIY, you'll see all these videos about drilling holes without cracking plastic tubs and melting holes with hot screwdrivers and well - I'm not doing that. I bought my bins. How many bins do you need anyway? Two bins is all I can manage. One is really enough.

Grain bag and substrate. Your ratio is 1lb grain to 3lbs sterilized substrate so that's 1 of these to 3 of these. Cubensis mushrooms, which is the type you're probably going to grow, prefer manure-ish substrate.

Filters. I buy these. You can also use micropore tape on the big holes, just make sure you fully cover them.  

Micropore tape. Make sure it breathes.

Painter's tape. It's easy to remove.

Gloves, mask, shower cap for your head. Don't mess around with hygiene. Just don't. Contamination will break your heart.

Alcohol - 70% max. Anything higher evaporates too fast.

Spores  - there are several vendors listed on Shoomery. I have not ventured into cloning, spore prints, agar, any of that. Maybe later, but for now, I just buy spores.

The Tek

Watch this video, and do everything this super happy lady says. Seriously. This video, plus a few details, will make it work.

What you don't need for this tek

Casing layer. Lot of folks use a top layer of coir. I don't. The lady on the video even says you don't need it with our tubs. It probably won't hurt anything though, and I do have a bag of it I'll try sometime.

Humidifier. You don't need this either. Occasionally after the first flush, I'll do a little spray and fan. Generally not, though.

Grow lights. Nope. You don't need them. Mushrooms don't need light to grow. From what I understand, they do grow toward the light - so in the fruiting stage it's good to have them near a light source so they grow in the right direction.

Pressure cooker. Those things are scary. You don't need to sterilize anything when you just buy it ready to go.

Grow kits. Those things are generally chock full of things you don't need.

<<Jargon alert>>

There's a lot of terminology and acronyms on mushroom sites. Here's a glossary to help. Here's another one.

Next post - we'll discuss how that happy video lady got the full spawn bag, and how to get your own.