129 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
129 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
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Newsgroups: alt.drugs
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From: agaluhn@pomona.claremont.edu
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Subject: Results from the Shroom Grower's Survey
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Message-ID: <0096C062.271E5B82@pomona.claremont.edu>
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Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 07:10:30 GMT
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PRESENTING:
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THE RESULTS OF THE GREAT GRAND SHROOM GROWERS SURVEY
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Version 1.0 5/4/93
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by: Tony Galuhn, agaluhn@pomona.claremont.edu
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I said I'd post the results of this "sometime around the first week of May", so
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here we are. (It was either this or start grading this big stack of lab
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reports that I really don't feel like reading.)
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Feel free to distribute this in whatever form you wish, and it couldn't hurt
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for it to be archived. I'm mailing a copy to the person who told me he was
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working on a full FAQ for growing shrooms, so eventually some form of this will
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wind up in that.
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OK, for those who don't know/don't remember, I posted two requests asking how
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successful people had been with growing shrooms. I also asked that those
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replying give as many details as possible regarding sources, methods used, etc.
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A couple more things before we get to the results- I've summarized what people
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told me, rather than directly quote the messages people sent. I can change
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that, especially if one of the respondents wants to see their reply quoted. No
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names have been used, but if you responded and want credit, let me know. Also,
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if anyone who hasn't responded before wants to, I can update the results in
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future versions.
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Besides posting to alt.drugs, I'm e-mailing this to anyone who asked me to. If
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you'd like a copy, feel free to e-mail and ask me. (Although, how would you
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know to do that if you weren't reading this to begin with?)
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OK, last thing, and then the results:
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ObStandardDisclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only, and
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I am in no way advocating any illegal activities. This information does not
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reflect the opinion of, nor does it have anything to do with, Pomona College.
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(Although it would be nice if it did.)
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(Whoops, OK, this, for sure, is the ABSOLUTELY LAST THING before I get to the
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results: I refer below to the "brown rice method". This refers to a method of
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cultivation that gets posted to alt.drugs from time to time. It can be found
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in the file "mushrooms-growing.z" on "ftp.u.washingtion.edu". The path is
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"/pub/user-supported/alt.drugs". All files in this directory are in gzip
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format, which is not compatible with either standard UNIX uncompress or
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PKware's pkunzip. First get any file in that directory called "000-Readme-Zip"
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or "Readme-zipformat" or whatever it might be called (I forget exactly). It
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tells you where to get gzip, and gives "quick and dirty" compiling
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instructions. This explanation of this growing method might also be available
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from the new archive at "fenris.claremont.edu", but I don't know what it might
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be called there. (Files at fenris are in standard UNIX compress format.)
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OK, now the results:
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I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the number of respondents. To those
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who did respond, thank you once again. I had 4 people reply saying they knew
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someone who'd been successful, and 2 who had friends who'd not been successful.
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YES's
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4 positive responses, detailing the attempts of 6 separate people.
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1) 3 separate people, all successful. Used the brown rice method. Worked in
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draft free areas, and used much Lysol to control dust and airborne
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contaminants. All present wore germ masks. They were able to repeat their
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success, and improved their yields in successive generations.
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2) 1 person. Used the brown rice method. 6 of 12 jars were successful.
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Grower then tried to make spore prints from the product under non-sterile
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conditions, but was unable to get these to grow.
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3) 1 person. Respondent unsure of method used, but person observes very
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careful sterile procedure- has converted a closet to a "transfer area",
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which resembles a shower stall w/plastic wrap.
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4) 1 person. Used the brown rice method. Obtained initial print from FMRC.
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Typical success rate, 4-5 out of 7 jars. Besides spore prints, has also
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used live culture taken from an active jar, and even dust from a bag of
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purchased shrooms, all with the same success rate. (I guess this person
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emits some sort of sterile field that suppresses the growth of anything that
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isn't desired- no one else could get things to work starting from such a
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non-sterile source of spores.)
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And now, the bad news-
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NO's
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2 respondents, with a total of 3 people making attempts.
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1) 2 people with a total of 4 attempts, no details of method used.
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2) 1 person. Used brown rice method, with spores from Homestead Books.
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Mycelial growth started, but then mold struck. Person had covered the jars
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with paper towels to allow air exchange, but will not be doing this "next
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time."
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Well, that's what I've heard so far. What's it mean? Well, it is possible to
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cultivate your own. From what I've read from what people have sent, it would
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seem to be best to be as paranoid as possible about sterility. A recent
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posting mentioned the use of a "glove box"- you would have a transparent lid on
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a box, with gloves on one side you could put your hands in to work. The
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inside of the box would then be sterilized, and all transfers of spores would
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be done inside this box. I don't know if one would need to go that far, but
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definitely avoid drafty rooms, spray down with Lysol first, wear a mask, etc.
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Also, the brown rice method DOES work, apparently with a decent amount of
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success. This method would seem to have an advantage in not requiring separate
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culture and growth media, so you eliminate the risk of contamination when
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transferring from the culture medium to the growth medium.
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Well, that's it for now. Any feedback is welcome. I started this because I
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read a long string of messages saying how hard it was, it never worked, etc,
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and it seemed a bit odd for so many places to sell kits if they didn't work.
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Also note, I've never tried this myself, so I have no personal experience with
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this. Feel free to ask any questions if I've managed to confuse anybody. As
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stated above, my e-mail address is: agaluhn@pomona.claremont.edu
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peace, tony
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"Reality is what you can get away with" - Robert Anton Wilson
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