Yea I figured I would need to get some desiccant too. The oven at 170 was too high, I didnât even let them dry all the way and they were coming out blackened. Using just a fan or my dehumidifier blew spores all over, that or I was just tired and eyes were getting itchy from that lol. So until I get a dehydrator, this will have to do to get them mostly dry.
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Iâve always just dried mine by putting them onto a baking tray underneath my grow tent exhaust. Theyâre typically crispy after 24-48 hours and then into jars with dessicant packs they go!
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use some redneck engineering and go old school. Lay a box fan face down across something to hold it a couple feet of the floor. lay some mesh down then the shrooms. drape a sheet under the fan to catch the spores. The dehydrator is nice and something I had prior to growing, but I did have to buy extra trays for it.
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I was thinking about that, venting the exhaust into a drying box
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It works wonders.
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So I didnât take any pics of the third tub harvest, even thought it had the biggest mushroom yet lol. All three tubs have been soaked and lids put back in to get them going again.
But this is what I have dried so far from the first two boxes. The smaller dark pile is the first batch I tried to dry in the oven 
Unfortunately the Cordyceps sinensis silkworms didnât colonize all the way, and then the mycelium just seemed to have melted away and they are now just slimy. The hornworms looks like theyâre colonizing from thr inside, but Iâm not seeing but a few parts turning white under the skin.
Nothing changing on the C. Militaris bin, still looks the same so far. Theyâre kept at 60-62F right now so Iâm expecting slower growth (on a already slow growing mushroom). The next batch of Militaris LC should be done to use on the pupa I have, and to do some Militaris grows in mason jars.
In the mean time, Iâve just left and forgotten about the original Petri dishes I started with the cordyceps. The mycelium has almost completely filled the volume of the dish and is trying to bust out, thereâs a tiny air pocket against the lid still 
In the mean time, I have two rice bags started with more Z strain LC I made, just because. As long as theyâre good, Iâll be using them both for one shoebox.
Fingers crossed, Iâm getting a culture from someone that was cloned from a batch of these. But I hear itâs unstable, as in doesnât always grow out this color, and slow growing.
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Questions on consuming. Whatâs the best way youâve found. I have a hard time choking down dried shrooms, especially in larger quantities (2.5 - 5+ grams). Would blending into a smoothie work? Other thoughts?
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Into drinks, capsules, foods, make a tea, extract, what ever as long as it get inside you
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Sooooo close lol getting that good growth on today⌠already alot bigger than this morning when I left for work
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Oh man, Iâm jealous of yâall right now.
The only thing Iâve got going right now is a few jars of spawn and a few agar transfers in various stages, like these:
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If I had to pick if I was transferring slants to other dishes
That other one could use a bit more to show something definitive.
Mostly Iâm jealous of you⌠You get to mess around with the more in depth stuffs lol
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You donât have to use a pressure cooker to sterilize you can use a double boiler plenty of youtube videos on this. I sterilize in my oven 225* for 90 mins` works like a charm. Peace 
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Ya do that with birdseed and it doesnt sprout?
For bulk methods you need better sterilization than an oven
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Yes works well for PF cakes, brown rice, popcorn, agar and LC. Which will work fine for growing everything honestly. But the nutrient rich grains that are usually cheap and kinda dirty (feed quality) really should/need to be done hotter, and even then itâs 90min to two hours in a PC. So to steam it in a pot, itâs need to go for 4-6 hours.
Iâm loving the work growing and culturing on agar and LC as much as the actual fruiting. Just need to get some jars going for the next batch of cordyceps and full broke boi tek for the next double grows until I get a PC. Even then⌠I have a ton of brown rice⌠why bother with other grains lol.
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I only use pint wide mouth with rye flour and fine vermiculite usually four to six at a time. I screw grains every time` doesnât matter if they come in a bag pre-sterilized. Jars work for me. I have contaminated many a batch since dabbling this last year. The oven does work for my style. Peace.
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Well for sure, yea⌠grain flours like rye and brown rice flours have ultimate success on steam and oven sterilization.
Used many times for pf tek, works wonders
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Interesting, thanks for the suggestions!
I plan on doing transfers from those this weekend, and using anything left over that looks clean enough to do a âblenderless liquid inoculationâ on a few jars.
Speaking of which, after doing the transfers I cut up the agar that the cultures above were transferred from and dropped it into a jar of brown rice. It looks a bit weird, but itâs interesting:
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While I can usually just crunch them up without issue, sometimes I catch that harsh flavor and gag. So here are my 3 go to methods:
Lemon Tek
My favorite way to get to the tripping part quickly as it mimics what your stomach acid does when you ingest. Grind up my dose and soak in about 1cup of lemon or lime juice for 20min. Donât let them soak much longer as it starts to break down the active component and you donât want that. Then I strain out the pulp with a cheese cloth or old tshirt into a 16oz drinking glass, add 1tbsp of simple syrup and fill the rest with water, stir and fucking chug fast because it is still heinous.
Peanut Butter
I always fast for at least 6hrs prior to taking a proper dose so my stomach isnât trying to work with other foods, but a peanut butter sandwich is an exception Iâll make because it masks the flavor of the shrooms very well. Add some chocolate syrup if you need something else. Break the shrooms into smaller pieces and itâs like youâre eating a weird crunchy PB sandwich.
Flaming Hot Cheetos
Was the best tip Iâve ever been given, the texture is similar enough to get over that hurdle, and the flaming hot powder kills all your tastebuds for several minutes so you donât have to worry about tasting them.
The main thing is just donât do anything too heavy, filling, or takes more than a couple minutes to crush as you donât want your stomach fighting with other foods to process them slowing down the start or making the trip lighter as you miss the point where more wonât help increase the intensity of the trip. If a PB sandwich fills your bird stomach up, do one of the other methods.
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LOL! 
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