OK update photos. Not much to look at until recently.
Of the 3 different substrates - straight coffee grounds, steamed rice straw, and soaked cardboard/newsprint, the
steamed rice straw is the WINNER as far as "hey, something's happening" award. These are from 11/8 and 11/9:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5819.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5803.jpg[/img] [img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5821.jpg[/img]
I took a new photo this morning but camera upload failed, and the fix is to reboot the computer, so I won't be posting it now. That white patch on the side of the pot has grown and turned solid white in the last two days. Also, white mycelial mass is starting to grow out of most of the side holes in this orchid pot.
The coffee substrates are not showing much except a couple of original spawn pieces that are visible on the surface:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5817.jpg[/img] [img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5807.jpg[/img]
The paper substrate is not doing anything as far as I can see. Not even in the side holes.
Now, the instructions didn't say anything about sterilizing or pasteurizing except for the straw. It's possible that the straw, which was pasteurized and the coffee grounds, which are "steam pasteurized" at brewing time provided a more pristine ground for the spawn to grow on.
Here are few photos of the Shiitake patch:
11/8.........................................................11/9 after turning it upside down (right side up):
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5798.jpg[/img] [img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5809.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5812.jpg[/img]
As it turned out, leaving the coir in place was the right thing to do -- provides a mulch to hold moisture (apparently called "casing" though usually the material used is non-nutritious medium like vermiculite) In this case, Shiitake mycelium is liking the coir, and today, there are filaments starting to grow on top.
I've been lurking
in a couple of mushroom forums where Culinary/Gourmet mushrooms are relegated to sub-forums and the main discussion areas are dedicated to "other kinds" of mushrooms. Most of the serious cultivation threads appear to relate to the other mushrooms and all kinds of "proven" methods are labeled "teks" and listed there. I've been borrowing from those but mostly from Stamet's two books to experiment. With the 2nd Oyster patch/spawn, I've pasteurized coffee grounds mixed with some corn cob bedding, oak twig clippings, and a bit of oyster shells for one patch, and appropriated the perforated inside pot of the pasta pot to grow in. Lined it with pasteurized cardboard so the coffee ground don't fall out. For my "Oh why not? I already have a lot of patches started" experiment, I made a "cardboard tower" inside a cardboard box, and nestled it inside a corrugated cardboard box in more spawn and pasteurized (in the coffee ground mix pasteurizing water) cardboard. I set this box outside for what Stamets calls "cold incubation". I'm not sure if this will work since it's getting rather cold around here already, but for the next wk or so, it'll be 50/60 high and low 40's low, so it will still be within the right temp parameters, PLUS it rained today and is supposed to rain for the next two days.