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Mushroom Growing Guide: BRF Cake Recipe & PF TEK

Heres a post for anyone interested in mushroom growing. This document is my personal notes on making brown rice flour (BRF) cakes and using the Pf Tek procedure to fruit. The video series the notes are taken from can be viewed here:

Lets Grow Mushrooms! BRF/PF Tek Series

BRF Cake mix ingredients & equipment (5 Cakes)

Brown Rice Flour (BRF) cakes are highly nutritious mixes of nutrients and soil for mycillium to feed on/grow in to. A simple mixture of vermiculite, brown rice flour, and water.

Equipment

Big mixing bowl & stirring spoon
5x 1/2 pint mason jars (1 cup)
1x hole drill to make holes in jar lid
1x roll of medical micropore tape to cover holes

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour (240ml)
1 cup water (240ml)
2 cups vermiculite (480ml)

Step 1: Mix BRF

2. add 2 cups vermiculite (480ml)
3. add 1 cup water & mix very well (240ml)
4. Add 1 cup brown rice flour & mix (240ml)
-- Really need to emphasise mixing well so flour coats verm

Step 2: Fill 1/2 Pint Mason Jars With BRF Mix

0. drill 4 small holes in each jar lid for innoculation and gas exchange
1. Start to fill 1/2 pint (1 cup) jars with BRF mix
--DO NOT PACK, make sure plenty of air
--DO NOT FILL, make sure top 1/2" (1cm) of jar is clear
2. lightly use fingers to pat down BRF mix off inner side of jar
3. Clean inside rim above substrate. Take dry towel, wipe inside lip all around. Getting moisture off helps keep contamination out
4. fill top 1/2" (1cm) of jar with DRY vermiculite
5. Take cross-holed jar lids+rings and seal the jar with lid facing rubber side up (upside down)
6. put micropore tape over holes
7. Place aluminum foil over lids

Step 3: Steam Sterilize Jars

Steam sterilization of the jars and BRF mix is an important step to prevent contamination. Experienced mycologist often use pressure cookers. Fortunately for beginners who don't have one, similar effects can be achieved with the humble stove and pot.

Steam Sterilize by bringing to a full boil for 90 mins. Once water boils, reduce stove burner to a lower setting, but make sure water continues to boil and produce steam.

Equipment

Large boiling pot with lid
mason jar rings for spacers
Aluminum foil
stove

Procedure

1. get big boiling pot/kettle with lid
2. get some mason jar rings and sheets of aluminum foil
3. place rings on bottom of pot snuggly to act as spacers
4. place aluminum sheet on top of rings
5. put another layer of rings on top of foil
6. pour just enough water in to just come up to the top jar ring
--IMPORTANT: JARS NEED TO BE OUT OF THE WATER!!!! Leave space between jars and water

Steam sterilize by bringing pot to a boil and letting the jars steam for 90 mins. Turn stovetop to high. Once water boils, reduce stove to a lower setting to a minimum point where the water will still boil. Make sure water continues to boil and make steams. Dont let water boil dry!

Only start the 90 minute countdown after boiling/steam production starts.

step 4: Innoculation

Equipment:

innoculating glovebox (clear plastic tub with glove holes)
latex gloves
tyvec wrist sleves
butane/alcohol lighter for clean flame sterilization
medical alcohol
spore syringe

Where To Order Spore Syringes

USA: Sporeworks

How To Make Homemade Innoculation Glovebox

1. get clear plastic tub with lid from dollar store
2. use drill with circular hole saw attachment to make two glove holes
--cutters and a file will probably work too if you don't have a drill or hole saw laying around, just make sure there are no sharp edges around hole to cut gloves

Innoculation Procedure

1. sanitize gloves with alcohol
2. shake syringe
3. flame sterilize syringe needle until red hot
4. let needle cool two seconds
5. hold jar at an angle, shoot syringe towards outer glass walls
6. flame sterilize syringe needle between jars

allow jars to sit on a shelf at room temp (75-81F) for three weeks or until fully colonized. WAIT UNTIL FULL COLONIZATION! jar should be solid white with mycillium.

If green forest mold shows up, that jar is a lost cause. If you want to save the jar then boil the contaminated jars in water for an hour BEFORE you open up the jars and and dump em out. DO NOT OPEN CONTAMINATED JARS!!!

Step 6: BIRTHING!

1. smell cakes for mushroom smell
2. remove cakes from jar
--tapping jar on hard surface helps pop cake out
3. lightly scrape loose verm crud off cakes with hands
4. rinse cakes well under water
5. place cakes in pot of cold water
6. place weight to hold them down and soak for 24 hours.
-- Heavy plates will work.

Step 7: Dunk & Roll, Fruiting Time!

How To Make Fruiting Chamber/ Terrarium

0. get bag of pearlite
1. get clear plastic tub with lid from dollar store
2. drill lots of holes into tub on all sides, including bottom and lid.
3. rinse pearlite out with water
-- allow to drain well
4. fill bottom with pearlite about 2-3 inches

Dunk & Roll Procedure

1. Rinse birthed cakes well after their 24hr soak
2. After rinse, roll cakes in dry vermiculute. Make sure cake is coated really well!
3. place birthed cakes in fruiting chamber
4. Let the magic happen