Iām too tired to go look up a source, but Iāve read many times that cloning from clusters is one of the ways you can you work towards getting those nice full canopies.
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These have been a joy to grow. Theyāre like perfect little white mushrooms, and a gently yet effective body effect at lower doses. I keep saying Iām going to be more careful when I open the lid one of these times, maybe get the hood set up and get some clean spores to store/share. They dry small, but are perfect for dosing individual little mushies at a time.
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So I got a question for you pros out there. I have never grown a mushroom in my life but would like to give it a try. Whatās the best way to try this out? I donāt want to buy a kit that has most of the work done already. Iām just thinking about getting spores and going start to finish so I can learn each step
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Use this guide for the best results going from spores. You can always go with the 90sec rice bags, but higher failure rate and canāt see as easily if itās contaminated.
If you get a clean syringe of spores or liquid culture, tested on agar, then you can go to bulk grains. Pre sterilized grains can be found on Amazon and Etsy, check the reviews. Read up on āNo pour agarā and you can easily test a syringe without needing to set up a still air box.
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In addition to what was said above, Iād add that while they donāt carry any of the more trendy varieties, Sporeworks has a reputation for clean(er) spore syringes.
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Looking at that guide it looks like it would be a lot more expensive to get started than with 90 sec rice. Is 90sec rice that bad to worry about the cost difference for someone who only plans to do occasional runs? Talking no more than 2-4 times a year. Iāve been looking at the Treasure Coast on Sporeworks and considering a 90 sec rice run as thereās minimal costs (looks less than $50 for my needs). Iāve looked into the PF Tek before too, but it just seemed too cost prohibitive to me.
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That guide is good if you want to maximize your chances of success, because itās well tested and proven.
Having said that, I did the 90 second rice thing as my introduction to growing and was actually much more successful than I expected, so thatās definitely one route you can pursue quite easily and cheaply, but keep in mind that for every success story you see thereās probably a dozen failures.
If you look back through this thread youāll see that several people here have been successful with the pre-cooked rice, so if thatās what you want to do then go for it. And if for some reason it doesnāt work out for you, you already have a backup plan 
It is at least useful to read those threads like the guide posted earlier to get an understanding of the underlying elements of a successful grow, which are pretty universal.
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Use some jam jars or any short wide jar. Brown rice flower or grind up some brown rice. Sterilize old school style and steam bath it for two hours. A still air box can be a unmodified clear tote, just hang it over the edge of a table and stick your arms up through the opening.
As seen in this video
Go though this playlist, pay special attention to the last video on how to avoid common mistakes. This tek is already boiled down to the bare minimum, donāt make more shortcuts. I would recommend doing it all in a still air box, making the breathing holes easily letās in contamination.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSbJjSukZXqTvn3GLExvvIr17ayJ09t7o
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As everyone said, itās really up to you and the tools you are willing to buy/already have.
I just got back in to the hobby for my own meds and using a still air box, successfully inoculated and colonized 12 Benās bags out of 12. I will be spawning then to bulk tmrw actually.
I only plan to do minimal runs as well, only need 13 grams for 100 capsules with .13 of myco, which is a microdose, and will use the rest to gift to Veterans who have no access. I actually already had a pressure cooker, but didnāt feel like dealing with the preferred/classic way of innoculating.
So, itās really just up to you.
90 second Myc, the video @Seamonkey84 posted a link to is one of the best video series for doing this hobby though in my humble opinion.
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Thanks! Iāve been looking at sporeslab. I will check that other place out too. Is there a recommended strain thatās easy and resilient to beginner mistakes?
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I tried Z-strain for my first go, very vigorous and said to overcome most contamination. Just have to be careful with mold, bacteria can usually be overcome by most cultures.
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I will continue to preach the gospel of the Uncle Ben tek for beginners. lol. The rice is already at the right moisture, itās already sterilized, and itās cheap. You can be growing for under $50 with the spores, rice, substrate(coco coir), tub, and still air box. The gotchas on it are that if you put too much spore solution in the bag, youāre likely going to get contamination, and you donāt get a full view of your myc growth.
Poor Boy or PF tek are also good options, but you can get the same contam in any grain when using a spore syringe and you have to buy more stuff up front. If you want to get serious about the hobby afterwards then you can invest in a pressure canner, mason jars, grain, agar stuff, flow hood etc. I did eventually, but after a couple years of not growing, when I wanted to get started a few weeks ago I went right over to the store and got 4 bags of UB. Didnāt want to be hassled with par-boiling oats and sterilizing jars.
Some people are really down on it as a viable method, either because they donāt think you learn anything(horseshit) or they tried it and either fucked up or had a bad syringe so instead of reevaluating their process they blame the tek, or they look at the overall cost because other teks are cheaper long term. But if you just want to get some shrooms popping up to have a little stash with a small investment, UB tek is the way to go.
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That sounds interesting to me. Spending a bunch on something Iām unsure of makes me second guess what Iām doing. I will look into that in tek for sure!
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I prefer the Tasty Bites brand, which is a little drier, but otherwise agree. Worked for me 
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If youāre not working with agar at all, Iād go with syringes from spore works. They have a reputation for being cleaner, so if you do your part, it should be successful. Just practice gripping the syringe and plunger, the rice tends to clog the needle and people tend to try to force it out and put too much into it. Only need .5-.75cc per bag. Spores are like seeds, putting too much in will cause more competition for each set of genetics, plus getting the rice too wet will encourage bacteria growth. Bens rice is on the wet side, tasty bites is the way to go, found cheapest at the dollar tree.
Hereās the ones I prepped with RTV silicone to act as an injection port.
Oh! Watch this video for a tip about using and storing the silicone.
If your syringe proves to be clean. You can always try and go big and order a pre sterilized bag of grains from Etsy or Amazon, theyāre a few pounds so you can do one big batch. So far Iāve done the pre made grain bag, a couple 90sec rice bags, and a few broke boi jars of brown rice.
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I think I have all that stuff sitting around the house 
does spore works ship to Canada? I think they are us based
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Sporeworks is good, but Iāve moved almost strictly to Milly Wyco. They do quality syringes and have shipping to Canada. A few bucks cheaper but if you wait until Wednesday and check Reddit - Dive into anything they put up great deals on spore bundles(5Pack gets 5 syringes for $30), and sometimes have a contest to get a $100 worth of prizes for free. No spore syringe is completely contam free, but some, like Sporeworks and Milly are better than others. Just depends on the mycologist and how much care they put into their product.
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Hereās my current run a couple weeks after spawning to bulk. Going to have to start burping it a couple times a day now, but I swear by these Sterilite tubs with the air tight seal. Takes a little longer to get full coverage on the cake but youāre mostly safe from mold spores and once it goes into fruiting it takes the fuck off. And if for whatever reason a mold takes off, I donāt have to worry about it spreading through the house, can just toss the tub while itās still sealed.
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Iāve found myco.ca and sporeslab in Canada. I havenāt tried them but shipping within Canada makes me a little bit more comfortable if they turn out to be junk I will try sporeworks
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