Nice growin. 
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Hey Gangā¦
Thanks for all of the feedbackā¦I appreciate the enthusiasm and helping āMr Specialā hereā¦Those PEās sound greatā¦.
Itās funny, because admittedly, I pulled a little bit of the āguyā maneuverā¦limited instructionsā¦I watched a number of videos, read some shroomery teks, and winged itā¦
I did some BRF cakes, but think I left it too long before fruitingā¦
Questionā¦I tried spawning to a bulk shoebox as wellā¦broken up spawn from 2 quart jarsā¦(approx 3 weeks to colonize) Is there a chance I am leaving my grain spawn too long, before I mix with substrate ? Perhaps depleting the grain nutrients too much before being mixed with substrateā¦
Thanks again folksā¦I appreciate the feedback.
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You are not depleting the nutes. Iāve ran whole oats nocāed up in jars after 4 months and got 2 flushes so itās not that. Have you had luck just fruiting cakes? The one you showed is t fully colonized yet so nope didnāt wait to long either. Stick to cakes before going to bulk. That way each is an individual grow so if one contams it doesnāt kill whole tub. Thatās my opinion unless you have ran a few dozen cakes with results that you were at least ok with you should do that before jumping to bulk. Also Iām not sure about where you are located but the shotgun fruiting chamber is hard to maintain unless you live somewhere with higher humidity. There is better fruiting chambers unless youve had success with this one.
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Thanks Noob
Like everything, I think Iāve gotta go back to the basicsā¦
Iāve got some colonized grain spawn jars left ā¦I think Iāll create some more cakesā¦scrape some grain spawn back to agar and make up some fresh BRF cakesā¦
I found lack of humidity to be my challengeā¦I believe.
Suggestions as to the best fruiting chamber would be appreciated? Iāve also read using tubs and simply flipping the lid so it is not snugā¦maintains more humidityā¦personally Iām thinking the shotgun approach might be a waste in my drier climate. (Central Canada)
Once my cakes start to pin should I be leaving them alone? I guess Iām still unsure of when exactly I begin to fan?
Thanks againā¦
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@MrToast Forgive me if you have already explained, but what do you do now to fruit ?
I may have a suggestion for you to keep humidity high, if you would like.
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Misting and fanning can be done as soon as you place the cakes into fruit.
Once pins start to form, you shouldnāt be misting directly onto the pins. It can cause them to abort. Continue to fan, and keep the humidity high tho.
The misting and fanning is what triggers the mycelium to start their fruits.
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I had the same issue with the shotgun fruiting chamber. The shoebox with lid so very slightly askew works. A water or humidity tub works well. I actually fill the holes of my shotgun fruiting chamber with caulk so I could use.lol. Anuways the askew lid works @seamonkey84 and I both do this or dub tub. For cakes put about an inch of water in a tub place a grate in the tub above the water, set cakes on grate and leave lid slightly cracked for fresh air exchange. Water Tub Tek for fruiting BRF cakes - Mushroom Cultivation - Shroomery Message Board this is exactly the Tek I used with success I hope this helps @mrtoast
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I use perlite pour distilled water in , just enough to wet the perlite . if you donāt have grates. This has worked well for me. Put the cakes on tin foil.
But Iām pretty new at this finding things that work for me.
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HappyTrees and 420ā¦
Thanksā¦
I think Iām gonna put the shotgun tubs on hold and start fresh with new tubs with no holes and a lid that I can invert. I also bought a hairsylist misterā¦one that produces the super fine mist.
Once these cakes get established, Iāll give em another goā¦
What I did was similar to noobs suggestionā¦(placing them on a grate above water)ā¦Instead, I put about 2 inches of perlite in the bottom of the shotgun chamber, mixed it with water for it to absorb, but not so much as to have excess water sloshing about at the bottomā¦I then placed a clean piece of tinfoil on the perlite to put the BRF cake onā¦
I would mist and fan a couple times a dayā¦I had some really fuzzy cakes, but after two weeks of not seeing any pins I figured I didnt have enough humidity so started to mist a bit more which is when the cakes flattened out the fuzzā¦Noob mistake Iām guessingā¦They never really recovered from thatā¦Then I assumed that nutes in the BRF cake had been used up so sprayed directly on the cakesā¦(Yes, the mistakes continuedā¦hence Inexperienced Charlie Brown may have been a better handle for meā¦chuckle) Fortunately, I do a better job of growing Cannabis. 
I get the impression that the perlite might not be necessary, as long as the cake is not sitting in water. Thoughts?
Cheers
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I was actually going to suggest the perlite idea.
I place the chamber on top of a heating mat as well.
I would rinse all the perlite with water, then let it drain.
It shouldnāt be dripping wet when you place it in the tub.
Then the chamber goes directly on top of a heating mat.
Squares of foil can be placed on top, and then the cakes on top of those.
Maybe you need to fan a bit more ?
It shouldnāt be the case that you didnāt have enough humidity if you did it that way.
I usually end up with 98% humidity (according to my meter)
Once you see pins form you can lower the humidity a bit. They wonāt need 
% BUT they also wonāt mind it.
They do need fresh air exchange tho. Fanning is the best way. Make sure you fan them for at least 2 minutes when you do.
That is why the holes are important as well.
The evaporation of water off their mycelium is what will trigger them to fruit pins.
Mist them, and then be sure to fan directly afterwards.
Also they only need low lighting. They donāt require a strong light. Just a single CFL above their chamber is enough.
Did you dunk and roll each cake ?
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Hey Happy
I soaked the BRF cakes for about 12 hours to rehydrate, then rolled them in vermiculite as per a video I had watched online.
As for lighting, I havent used an additional light sourceā¦should I? I have them sitting by a dining room table, which is back from my main living room window so the tubs get plenty of ambient light during the day, but never direct sunlight.
I have an RH gauge that I used for curing cannabis, but ironically, and probably being naĆÆve and winging it, I didnt replace with a new battery for my mushy project as Iāve had a fair amount on the goā¦Another issue ?(not using humidity meter), Iām guessing, Iām just assuming that having humidity droplets inside my fruiting chamber all the time should suggest Iām fineā¦
Iām open to all feedback and criticismā¦so please feel free to correct or suggest where I can improveā¦(or anyone else)
Thanks
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Yeah 12 hours seems like a fine amount of dunk time.
Light is a pin trigger as well. So if you do have a low watt bulb I would hang it above the chamber.
Temps should be around 85, so I would suggest a heating mat underneath.
If you choose to go the water with racks way, then you should have a fish tank heater in the water to keep things warm/hot.
Donāt directly mist the cakes after mycelium has grown over the verm.
They will get enough moisture from the humidity you make for them.
Be sure to fan enough tho. They % need to have moisture evaport off before they will start to pin.
So mist them on the verm and fan untill the mycelium takes over the verms surface. Then just make sure it is humid in the tub and be sure to fan them.
You can do it several times a day as long as the humidity stays high and you are seeing water droplets form on the cake surfaces before you fan again.
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Iāve been reading a lot of different opinions on the temps, and in all honesty, I havent been to concerned about themā¦My house is about 70 deg, but gets up to about 78 during the dayā¦Is this still okay? Too low?
I understand that Mushrooms should grow faster in warmer temps, but have read articles suggesting that warmer temps might also stimulate contamination growth as wellā¦
I have a basic heat pad that I used for stimulating root growth on cuttings with no temp switchā¦could maybe put on with a blanket between heat pad and tub?
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You can just put the tub directly on top of that heat mat.
And it is true higher temps can form contains, BUT thatās when things are first forming.
Once the mushrooms mycelium has taken over an area, it is strong enough to fight off contams.
This is why itās important to keep things clean in the beginning, and itās alright to have things in the open air after they have fully colonized the substrate.
Even if you get a few green spots during growth, it is okay, not ideal, but the shrooms will be fine as long as they themselves are not contaminated.
But I think the heat mat would help a lot. It would keep temps high into the 80s, and also would raise the humidity of your tubs.
Add a low light above the tank, and be sure to fan for at least 2 minutes to ensure some evaporation.
You should be able to get 3, or sometimes even 4 flushes from your cakes.
When you get a few of those under your belt, you can even try a simple bulk easily.
It requires that you simply shred up your fully colonized cakes, mix them into a substrate like coir, and place them in a tub set up like the one I suggested.
That could be an easy first step towards bulk growing for you, but you should learn to grow on cakes first a few times. Then it should be an easy transition.
Get to know what they want first, and how they grow, and then you can move on to bulk growing easily.
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Out of curiosity, what variety are you trying ?
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Use silicon to fill the holes in tub and do the perlite. That will work fine itās all the holes that dries your cakes out so fast. Also as you stated no sloshing water.
That way also you can set your cakes on a little square of foil.
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Greatā¦thanks for the tips gang!
Iām ātrying to growā Golden Teacher, as I understand, it shouldnāt be that hardā¦chuckle
I also get the impression I should be fanning moreā¦Iāve only waved the lid past the substrate 8-10 when I fan as I though it was merely trying to get rid of the CO2 that may have built up around the mushrooms.
Iāve got the heat mat, Iāll get that going tooā¦
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Nice 
Yeah Golden teaches should be perfect for a first time grow.
But yes, please fan a bit longer.
Itās true that the fan clears out any of the C02 build up, and will be the main way for fresh air exchange. The holes are also there for FAE
BUT
Evaporation is very important to trigger them to start fruiting. A small light as well.
Try for at least a minute of fanning
You could also just prop up a small desk fan above the tub and leave it there for a minute or two. That should be plenty.
Then I wouldnāt fan again untill you see water droplets on the mycelium again.
That build up of moisture and then evaporation off will trigger the mycelium to push out pins.
Once that happens ( meaning once pins form) you donāt need to fan as much.
And when you mist, be sure NOT to mist directly on the pins themselves. Spray everywhere else, just not on the cake anymore.
Also, if you find your cakes have dried out after your first flush, you can gently place them in a container and let them soak overnight before placing them back in the chamber.
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And once you get this under your belt, I can send you some more spores if you want.
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Question here: Iāve been harvesting the McKennaii that Iām growing, and upon examination, not all the stumps left behind have been bruising blue. In fact, most have not. Is this an indication of a bad batch or something wrong with the fruits?
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