454 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
454 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
Well, here it is, just about all I know about growing psychedelic mushrooms...
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Most of this information was taken from a book in the rare books collection at
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the University of Texas at Austin entitled "Magic Mushroom Cultivation",
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published in 1977 and written by Stephen H. Pollock. Anyway, I have used the
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rice-cake method described below, and am currently growing my third batch, which
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has produced some pretty potent mushrooms! I feel the need to mention that
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I'm giving you this information for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, and I don't
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expect you or anyone else to actually undertake any of the techniques I will
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describe below, for to do so may violate certain laws--and I wouldn't give you
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this information if I thought you might do something illegal.
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Before I describe the technique I use, I'd like to say that there are many
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methods of growing 'shrooms, some more difficult than others, and I am simply
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presenting the method which has worked well for me: I've never had a dud batch--
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they've always fruited readily, and I've never poisoned myself or others with
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contaminated 'shrooms. I should mention, however, that the procedure I describe
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is not one which will give maximum yields of mushrooms--but it does have the
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advantage that the growing medium itself can be ingested for psychedelic
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effects (see section on Storage and Methods of Ingestion).
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Another point I'd like to make is that I STRONGLY recommend getting other
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information on mushroom cultivation before starting your own batch. Perhaps
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the best book I have seen on the subject is "The Mushroom Cultivator" by Paul
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Stamets. It gives extremely detailed information on the cultivation of
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psychedelic mushrooms. I highly recommend that you read this book before
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following any cultivation procedure.
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*******************************************************************************
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HOW TO GROW PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS
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*******************************************************************************
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Materials Needed:
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- a sporeprint from a strain of psychedelic mushrooms.
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(make sure it's the real thing, and that it's not contaminated with
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anything! Dust, for example.)
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- a pressure cooker, any size, but preferably one with 17 qt. (liquid) capacity.
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(this is the most expensive item, but it's a necessity. Borrow, rent,
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buy, or steal one.)
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- one dozen (or more) new canning jars, 1 quart size, pref. wide mouthed,
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with lids.
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- a box/bag of brown rice--NOT white rice. Long grain/wild rice might also
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be a good growing medium--maybe even better than regular brown rice, although
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I'm not positive about this. I once used a half-and-half mix of brown rice
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and Long grain wild rice which worked fine. However, a possible disadvantage
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to using the long grain/wild rice is that any contaminants such as
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dark-colored molds will be more difficult to spot in the growing medium.
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- something to scrape the spores off the print into the jar... You want
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something like a stiff metal wire with a handle, so you can heat the end
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red hot in a flame to sterilize it without burning your fingers. I find
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that a probe from a Biology dissection kit works wonderfully.
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- a flame source. An alcohol lamp is not hard to make out of a small jar
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filled with rubbing alcohol, with a cotton ball as a wick. I suppose you
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could just use a lighter, but i prefer making an alcohol lamp--just make
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sure you don't burn your place down!!
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- a clean place to store your jars--should have a relatively constant temp.
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(the optimum temperature for starting the 'shrooms is 86 degrees F, but I
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have found room temperature to work fairly well). Closet shelves are
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fine, in my experience. You want a place that's pretty dust/bug free,
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but you don't want the storage area to be airtight, as shrooms do have to
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breathe just like any other living organism. Many books recommend making
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some kind of superclean box to store the jars in, but I've never bothered
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with that. Most sources of information on growing 'shrooms (this one, too)
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stress that everything be AS STERILE AS POSSIBLE. However, if you do have
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to cut a few corners you should still be successful if you just USE YOUR HEAD!
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which leads me to the....
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- optional materials: germ-killing soap for washing hands, alcohol for
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sterilizing hands, etc., surgical gloves, dust masks, hair-nets, an
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air-filtering machine (Pollenex?), a couple 1 gallon jugs of distilled water,
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a spray bottle, bleach.
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(As you can see, this is all stuff which will help to make things a bit
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more sterile--definetly recommended!)
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PROCEDURE (finally!)
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This is the procedure I follow for the rice-cake method of propagating
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psychedelic mushrooms. I use this method for a number of reasons. One is
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that my first ever batch consisted of 6 jars of manure medium and 6 of the
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brown rice medium, I found the rice cakes produced more 'shrooms, and for
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a longer period of time than did the manure-filled jars. Rice has obvious
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advantages in that it's easy to obtain--no trekking thru a pasture looking
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for fresh cow-shit! Also, the manure stinks like hell when cooked in the
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pressure cooker! Perhaps the biggest advantage to the rice cake method is
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that when the rice cake no longer produces crops of 'shrooms (about 2mos.),
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you can actually CONSUME THE RICE CAKE ITSELF!! Given, of course, that you
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detect no contaminants on the rice cake (molds or bacteria). When mushroom
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growth stops, the rice cake can provide a trip for 2-4 people. See the end
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of this article for methods of ingesting mushrooms/rice cakes...
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PROCEDURE ( i promise! )
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1. Turn off the air-conditioner in the place you're going to do this...It is
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very important to work in a draft-free area. Turning the A/C off will allow
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the dust in the room to settle (including the heavier mold spores which can
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contaminate your rice-cake medium. )
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2. Set up the pressure cooker, make sure you read the manual if you have one.
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You don't want the damn pressure cooker exploding, or anything like that...
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Wash out the pressure cooker for good measure, and also wash the jars and lids.
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I wouldn't use a towel to dry them out, though, you'll just wipe germs & dust
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back on 'em.
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3. Wash yourself, too. It's recommended that you wear a long sleeved shirt,
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and to pull your hair back or wear a cap or hair-net. I don't think that the
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dust mask would be necessary at this point, maybe later, though...
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4. For each quart-size canning jar, add 1/4 cup brown rice and 1/3 - 1/2 cup
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water.
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I use the distilled water that you can buy in any grocery store--I don't trust
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tap water. Fill 6 or 7 jars with this mixture, or as many as will fit into
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your pressure cooker without stacking or jamming them in there. Place the lids
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on the jars, with the rubber UP, and leave the lids very loose.
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5. Place the jars on the bottom rack of the pressure cooker. I recommend using
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the rack, that way the jars won't tip and spill as the water boils around them.
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Using the rack also keeps them from breaking from the heat of the burner
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directly below them. For a 17 quart pressure cooker, add about 3 quarts of
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water, but not so much that the jars start to float and tip over. Again, I use
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distilled water for this.
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6. Now, follow the directions for sealing the pressure cooker. Some recommend
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that you rub a dab of cooking oil on the seal, so that it seals properly and
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is easier to close and open. Do it right. Do it by the book. Turn the stove
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on its highest setting and allow the pressure inside the cooker to build up to
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15 lbs. Once the pressure inside the cooker has reached 15 lbs., you want to
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maintain it at that level for one complete hour. You may have to turn down the
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stove for brief periods so that the pressure doesn't rise to unsafe levels
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above 15 lbs. When the hour has passed, turn off the stove and LET THE
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PRESSURE COOKER COOL BEFORE OPENING! Also, don't try to rush the cooling
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process, as the jars may crack.
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7. Just before opening the pr. cooker, wash up again, maybe use rubbing alcohol
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or put on surgical gloves. Now is the time for dust masks (although I usu. use my
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shirt to keep from breathing germs on the jars). Long sleeves and a hat or
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whatever is recommended because literally millions of germs are falling off
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your body at any given moment. Sterility and the absence of drafts are of
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utmost importance from here on out...
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(some books recommend filling a spray bottle with a 10% bleach / 90 % water
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solution and using it to mist the air in the room to further reduce airborne
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contaminants.)
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8. Open the pressure cooker and let the jars cool until they're pretty close
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to room temp. If you remove the jars too soon, they will crack and you will
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have to start over with new jars, so it pays to be a little patient.
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You may want to tighten the lids a bit so air/germs can't contaminate the rice
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cakes. When the jars cool off, you're ready to go...
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9. Heat your wire loop/probe/whatever until it is GLOWING RED. Put on your
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dust mask or pull your shirt up over your nose and mouth.
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10. Lift the lid off the jar and set it down on a sterile surface, with the
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inside face down. OR let a friend hold the lid for you. Make sure the person
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has washed/sterilized his/her hands as well as you have.
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11. Get out your sporeprint and hold it over the open jar at an acute angle.
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Use the sterilized wire loop/probe to gently scrape and tap the sporeprint to
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get the spores down onto the rice cake. If you can see dark specks fall onto
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the rice, you've done it sufficiently--anything you can see is probably several
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thousand spores. A sporeprint the size of a nickel can EASILY innoculate a
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dozen jars.
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12. Screw the jar's lid on tightly and shake the jar until the rice cake
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breaks up. This will allow the spores to spread throughout the rice medium,
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thus increasing the chances for success. A good way to start the process is to
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inspect the jars carefully for cracks, invert the jar, and strike the lid
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against the heel of your hand. Next, unscrew the lid until it almost comes
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off-- this allows for air to get into the jar. I usually just screw the lid
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on about 3/4 of a turn--just enough where it won't fall off easily.
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13. When you've done this for all your jars, put the jars in a safe, clean
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place with a fairly constant temp., a dark place is best. In 3 days-2 weeks
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you should see white, fluffy mycelia appear--looks like white fuzz. Any other
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color of fuzz (green, black, etc.) is mold, and the jar should be disposed of.
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I'm not kidding about this! Certain contaminants, molds in particular, can
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cause illness or even death if you ingest the contaminated 'shrooms. It's
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better to be safe than sorry, believe me. Also be on the lookout for bacterial
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infections of the rice medium. These will often appear as colored (orange or
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pink) runny or clammy looking gunk in with the rice. These should be thrown out
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immediately as well. Bacterial infections may also give off a kind of putrid
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odor, but of course you should not be taking the lids off the jars at all
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during this stage. Now, the rice itself will get very soft as a result of the
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pressure cooking, and the initial shaking of the jar may smear gel-looking gunk
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all over the insides of the jar. But by comparing with the rest of the jars
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you should be able to tell the difference between this gunk and a bacterial
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infection. Like I said before, JUST USE YOUR HEAD!!
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14. This is not actually another step because you're done! Just sit back and
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wait for nature to take its course! Shrooms are pretty much maintenance-free
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until fruiting starts to occur. It should take anywhere from 2 weeks to 1 month
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for the mycelia to completely permeate the rice medium, then it will start
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getting these stringy looking or fan shaped runners in the white fuzzy growth.
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Mushroom formation is not far off, and the jars should be getting a couple of
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hours of light per day--fluorescent is OK, and natural sunlight is superb, just
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make sure the jars don't get too warm. Of course at all stages be on the
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lookout for any possible contaminants in the mycelia. By the way, as the
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mycelia mature, they may start staining blue in spots, due to bruising, I
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think--so don't mistake this for a mold infection, but keep a close eye on any
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change in color from the white coloring. The 'shrooms first appear as tiny
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white pinheads and then the caps will darken (in P. cubensis) to a lovely
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reddish brown. When the 'shrooms are growing the lids on the jars should be
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very loose to allow for air exchange.
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Also, mushrooms grow best in an environment with a humidity of over 90%, so if
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you think that your 'shrooms may need a more moist environment, one thing to do
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is to simply use a spray bottle to spray boiled or distilled water directly onto
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the lids of the jars. I find that the moisture condenses inside the jars and
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runs down the inside of the jars, moisturizing the mycelia. You could also
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VERY LIGHTLY mist the surface of the rice cake if it looks dry. You don't want
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things TOO wet, however, as this will promote mold/bacteria growth and actually
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inhibit mushroom formation. Another possible method is to replace the lids
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with a double layer of paper towel which is misted daily--although I would
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think that not having an actual lid on the jar would invite contamination.
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Just my personal opinion. It is important that air exchange takes place in the
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storage area--this becomes more important as fruiting occurs, as the mycelia
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gives off CO2 and needs O2. Remember that CO2 is heavier than normal air, so
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it might be good to tip the jars a few times a day to let the CO2 dissipate out
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of the jar.
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HARVESTING:
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'Shrooms are "ripe" as soon as the white membrane connecting the cap to the
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stem has broken somewhat, although you don't want to pick them before they have
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reached their full size! To harvest an individual mushroom, wash your hands
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well--I usu. use rubbing alcohol, too. Then take the lid off the jar and grasp
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the mushroom firmly near the base. You may need to use a pair of sterilized
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tweezers to do this, which is what I usu. do--I avoid placing germy hands
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inside the jars. A brisk twisting motion will help to free the 'shroom from
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the mycelia. If it is too difficult to harvest them using those methods, you
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can clean you hands, wash a small knife (preferably with anti-bacterial soap),
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dip the blade in alcohol, flame it for several seconds, then use the tip of the
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sterilized knife to cut the mushroom as close to the rice cake as possible.
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STORAGE AND METHODS OF INGESTION:
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Avoid crushing fresh mushrooms before storing them. The blue staining that is
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common in psychedelic mushrooms is evidence of oxidation--meaning that the
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active ingredients (psilocin and psilocybin) are being oxidized, too--rendering
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the 'shrooms inactive. While refrigeration is recommended, freezing fresh
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mushrooms should be avoided, since the expansion of the freezing water in the
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cells ruptures the cell walls and thus opens them up for oxidation. Mushrooms
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that were frozen while fresh may be an attractive blue color, but they are
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inactive....
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Storage of fresh mushrooms should be in a breathable container such as a paper
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bag stored in a refrigerator, avoid putting fresh 'shrooms in a ziploc bag, as
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they may become slimy or moldy--ugh! I have heard of people also storing fresh
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shrooms by chopping them up and mixing them into honey--the 'shroom honey is
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then spread on bread or whatever and eaten.
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There are a few methods of drying mushrooms, although I have found dried
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shrooms to be MUCH weaker than fresh ones. One way to dry them is by placing
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them on a cookie sheet in an oven on the lowest temp. with the door slightly
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open. Simply drying them in sunlight is said to work also.
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My main problem with dried shrooms is that in my experience they are not any-
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where near as potent as fresh 'shrooms. I believe the reason for this is that
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the two psychoactive ingredients (psilocin and psilocybin) are present in equal
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amounts in fresh shrooms. BUT, psilocin is an unstable compound compared to
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psilocybin, and breaks down readily when exposed to heat and oxygen. The
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normal dosage for dried shrooms is 1 - 5 grams, dried. But I have never
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had a "trip" from dried shrooms--only with the fresh stuff. I ate 4 grams of
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dried 'shrooms once and only got a buzz--like being stoned or drunk.
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So, I like my shrooms fresh, and of course, I have that luxury since I grow my
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own. Whether they are dried or fresh, there are many interesting ways to ingest
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them. My current favorite method is to blend 3-4 fresh ones in a blender with
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orange juice--the effects are fantastic and the taste is tolerable. I believe
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this is due in part to the fact that the shrooms are almost completely
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liquified by the blending process, releasing the "good stuff" into the orange
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juice and making it more readily absorbed by the stomach. Some people may say
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that the vitamin C in the OJ also enhances the effects, but this may be just a
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myth. Another good method, one which I have used to eat
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the rice cakes, was to chop the rice cake (or shrooms), and brown them for JUST
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a few seconds in butter or margarine before pouring in an omelete mixture.
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Mushroom omeletes!! Not only a meal, but a good trip, and a tasty way to
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ingest the shrooms! (I happen to dislike the taste of shrooms by themselves)
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Yet another method of taking shrooms is to make a milkshake in a blender, and
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add the shrooms, you can make kind of a "strawberry smoothie" in this way.
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Remember though, that dairy products may delay/block the absorption of certain
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substances. Another method of ingestion is to boil the shrooms, fresh or
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dried (or a rice cake) in a couple cups of water for about 5 minutes (until
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they have sunk, one source says), and then either add a tea bag for hot tea,
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or make Kool-Aid with the cooled water (straining out the shrooms, of course).
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Sprinkling fresh or dried shrooms (chopped) onto pizza, or into spaghetti sauce
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is another treat--fun for a "shroom party". Since psilocin and psilocybin are
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soluble in both water and alcohol, soaking shrooms in any liquor will release
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these active ingredients into the liquor, making for a powerfully intoxicating
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liquor a la' the way an "Emerald Dragon" is made with marijuana...
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I have tried smoking a couple dried shroom caps, but only got the slightest buzz
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from the VERY harsh smoke, no real effects to tell the truth.
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I should mention again that once shroom production has really tapered off (and
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you'll be able to tell) after 2 - 3 months, the rice cake can be eaten/used, if
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you closely examine it and decide that there is no green or black mold
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contaminant present. I should note that the rice cake will probably be all
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kinds of funky colors--a mix of white, steel blue, gray, maybe even purple in
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places from spores falling on it! I have ingested several scary-looking rice
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cakes, however, with no ill effects. Again, USE YOUR HEAD! If in doubt, toss
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it out--it's not worth a trip (no pun intended) to the hospital. A single rice
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cake is enough for 2 - 4 people to trip on, although 2 is probably the better
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figure. Some of my best trips were on half a rice cake chopped up and cooked
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in an omelete! That's what I love about the rice-cake method--when the shrooms
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stop growing there's no waste! Speaking of no waste, if I ever had a rice cake
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that I didn't want to risk eating I might use it to innoculate a compost pile
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or a pasture full of cow shit by inserting a small piece into each cow-pie or
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into the compost pile. Just think of the idea of starting a culture of wild
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mushrooms in your area... :-)
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MAKING SPORE-PRINTS:
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This is really easy, just wash your hands well, then take a fresh shroom and
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gently twist the cap off away from the stem ( OR, I usually use a sterilized
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knife blade to cut the stem off as close to the cap as I can without touching
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it too much). Then place the cap, gills down, on a sterile card or piece of
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glass. Cover the cap and card with a clean, small container to keep drafts
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from blowing the spores away, and to prevent dust/contaminants from settling on
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the card/glass. I usu. use a small juice glass for this purpose. Leave the
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covered 'shroom cap on the card/glass overnight and, voila! I suggest folding
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the card the next day and keeping it in an airtight container (small ziploc bag)
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in a refrigerator. I have been told that spore prints will keep for up to a
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year in an airtight refrigerated (not frozen) environment. From personal
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experience I know that they are still viable after 3 months. Oh, by the way,
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try to find some use for the 'shroom cap after you've collected the spores
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from it--it's still psychoactive, so I'm sure you can think of something to do
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with it... :-)
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____________________________________________________________________________
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APPENDIX: Additional tips for more optimal yields.
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Here are some additional tips, based on what I have learned from "The
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Mushroom Cultivator"...one thing which comes to mind is that 86 degrees F is
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the best temp. for starting the growth process. Something to remember though,
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is that the temp. INSIDE the jars will be several degrees higher than the
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surrounding air temp. Growth of the mycelia generates small amounts of heat.
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"The Mushroom Cultivator" tells all about decreasing the temperature at various
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stages of growth to promote fruiting (the term they use for mushroom growth).
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After reading "TMC", I would also advise
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building a simple growth chamber. This will serve a number of purposes:
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(1) it will create a more sterile environment, guarding against contamination.
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(2) it will help keep the temp. high and more constant.
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(3) it will help keep the humidity high and more constant.
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(4) it will provide a place to hide the jars, rather than just having them out
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on a shelf in your closet or wherever.
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Here's what I recommend: get a styrofoam ice chest, one that's large enough to
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hold the 12 jars you've got. I used one I got at Circle K for less than $5
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bucks. You may want to line the inside with aluminum foil, to increase the
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reflection of light within the chamber, which will be good when you're ready to
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expose the cultures to light. At some point you'll need to cut a large hole in
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the lid--cut out as much of the lid as you can, but make sure that you leave
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enough of a margin on it so that it still functions as a lid. Then use some
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kind of tape to tape Saran Wrap over the hole. Now you have a lid which allows
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light into the grow-box, but helps to keep out dust, mold, and other
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contaminants.
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You don't have to mess around with the lid right away, though. "TMC" suggests
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leaving the jars in TOTAL darkness for the first week or two--even to the point
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that they suggest using only a red light to examine the jars for growth and/or
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contaminants. The book also suggests NO air exchanges during this initial
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growth phase. I guess you could leave the lids loose like I suggested, but
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leave the lid on the box.
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Oh, by the way, in "The Botany
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and Chemistry of the Hallucinogens" by Schultes and Hoffman, they say that the
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medium adult oral dose is 4-8 mg psilocybin. And that dried 'shrooms contain
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2 to 4 percent psilocybin--but this was from a sample of Psilocybe mexicana,
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and i think P. cubensis may be more potent.
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They also mention something else that's interesting...They say that psilocybin
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and psilocin are present in equal amounts in fresh 'shrooms, AND that psilocin
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is something like 1.4 times as psychoactive as psilocybin. Given the fact that
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psilocin is sensitive to oxidation, and breaks down upon drying (i suppose),
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this seems like a probable reason that fresh ones are so much more potent than
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dried ones. I have recently discovered a method of drying 'shrooms without
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heat, which may help them to retain a potency level similar to fresh ones,
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although I haven't tried any of the 'shrooms which I have dried by this method
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so I don't know for sure that this is true. What I
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do is cover the bottom of a shallow baking dish with a layer of uncooked (dry)
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rice--usually the rice that was left over in the bag from the initial start-up
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of the procedure. Then I place a clean paper towel over this layer of rice and
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place freshly harvested mushrooms on top of the paper towel. Then I cover the
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dish with another clean paper towel and place the dish in my refrigerator. I
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find that the rice absorbs all the moisture from the 'shrooms, and they are
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completely dried within a week. Be careful not to pile the fresh mushrooms on
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top of one another in the dish--spread them out directly on the paper towel or
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they may not dry, this creates the possibility of them getting moldy, which will
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RUIN them! Of course, if your refrigerator is unusually humid, the 'shrooms
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may take longer to dry out, if at all.
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Here is something else which may be helpful. Taken without permission from
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Paul Stamets' book, "The Mushroom Cultivator". (parentheses are comments from
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the author of this file.)
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PARAMETERS FOR OPTIMAL GROWTH
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(adhere to these as much as you feel comfortable with.)
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(Like I said before, I have obtained satisfactory )
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(results by keeping the jars on a closet shelf from )
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(start to finish. But trying to follow these guide- )
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(lines will certainly lead to better crop yields. )
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SPAWN RUN: ( 1st stage of growth )
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Relative Humidity: 90%
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Substrate Temp.: 84-86 degrees F.( Thermal death limits at 106 deg. F. )
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Duration: 10-14 days.
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CO2: 5000-10000 ppm
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Fresh Air Exchanges: 0 per hour.
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Light: Incubation in total darkness.
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PRIMORDIA FORMATION: ( pinhead formation )
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Relative Humidity: 90+%
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Air Temperature: 74-78 degrees F.
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Duration: 6-10 days.
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CO2: less than 5000 ppm.
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Fresh Air Exchanges: 1-3 per hour. (but rememeber this air MUST be free of)
|
|
(contaminants such as dust. )
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Light: Diffuse natural or exposure for 12-16 hours/day of grow-lux type
|
|
fluorescent high in blue spectra at the 480 nanometer wavelength.
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( I find that a regular fluorescent works fine, but I do try to let
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my jars get some natural sunlight whenever possible--making sure,
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of course, that the jars don't get too warm. )
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CROPPING:
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Relative Humidity: 85-92%
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Air Temperature: 74-78 degrees F.
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CO2: less than 5000 ppm.
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Fresh Air Exchanges: 1-3 per hour. (but be careful not to contaminate 'em!)
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Flushing Pattern: Every 5-8 days. (this means a new crop or "flush" of )
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(shrooms should appear every 5 -8 days.)
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Harvest Stage: When the cap becomes convex and soon after the partial
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|
veil ruptures.
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Light: Indirect natural or same as above. (hint: use same as above.)
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Moisture Content of Mushrooms: 92% water, 8% dry matter. P. cubensis have
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up to 1% psilocin and/or psilocybin per dried gram.
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|
( I would estimate approx. double that for fresh 'shrooms )
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|
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|
A quote I recently saw from the Oss & Oeric book reported that a
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|
10 - 12 milligram dose of psilocybin is contained in about .5 grams of dried
|
|
shrooms ( approx. 50 grams fresh weight). However, 10-12 mg is a HEAVY dose,
|
|
and it's ALWAYS best to start with smaller doses--you can always take more the
|
|
next time you trip. I would recommend then, that you cut this dose in half.
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|
The Oss & Oeric book reports that 2 - 3 dried mushrooms contains approx.
|
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4 mg of psilocybin. For fresh 'shrooms, I think a good dose to start with
|
|
would be 3 medium-sized shrooms. What's "medium-sized"? Well, I don't know--
|
|
but let's say it's one with a stem that's about 3 inches long and almost as
|
|
thick as a drinking straw, with a cap that's about the same diameter as a penny.
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|
Remember when experimenting with dosages, esp. if you haven't tried fresh ones
|
|
before, that it usually takes at least 15 minutes before you notice any effects
|
|
at all. If the effects don't seem to be very strong, even after 30 minutes or
|
|
an hour, I would still advise against taking more. I think one of the dumbest
|
|
things trippers do is to try and strengthen their current trip by taking more.
|
|
That's just asking for trouble in the form of an overwhelming/bad trip.
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|
Besides, your judgement probably isn't that great in that buzzed state.
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I wish good journeys to you all...
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