These are answers to the most commonly asked questions that I receive. Hopefully you will find the answers to your questions here, but if not, please email them to me and they will be privately answered (usually within 24 hours).

     1.) Can I use plain flour in the substrate instead of "Organically Produced" flour?

     Answer) Definitely not. Regular flour is grown in fields using chemical pesticides and herbicides. These unorganic substances eventually work their way into the grain and end up in the flour itself which would inhibit the growth of the mycelium. Also regular flour is usually bleached (for whitening) and has preservatives added that inhibit the growth of fungus (for longer shelf life). Since what is attempting to be cultivated is a fungus (mycelium) these preservatives would definately cause failure.

      2.) Do shrooms need light to grow, and if so, how much?

     Answer) Mushrooms do not use photosynthesis to grow like most other plants do. In nature, light is only used by the plant (mycelium) to let it know it has reached the surface of the soil (or dung) so that it can produce shrooms. If it were not for this fact, the shrooms would grow underground instead of on the surface. As long as the plant gets just a few seconds of light each day it is sufficient, and since you will be watering it on a daily basis it will get it's required light at that time. Light doesn't hurt or help the mycelium itself, so there is really no worry about too little or too much light.

      3.) Is there any other flour I can use in place of the "Organic Brown Rice" flour?

      Answer) Yes, you can use about any flour that is labeled "Organically Produced" on the package. All Natural or No Additives will not work. Believe me, if the flour is really organically produced it will state so on the package. I have had excellent success using rye and soy grain flour (organically produced) also.

      4.) What is the expected harvest/yield growing with this method?

     Answer) If all goes well, the expected harvest/yield should be about 7 to 10 grams of "dried" mushrooms for each half-pint substrate jar or 14 to 20 grams of "dried" mushrooms for each one-pint substrate jar. This calculation does not take into account lost substrate jars or trays due to foreign contamination attacks or poor maintenance.

      5.) I inoculated my substrate jars with spores two or three weeks ago and I can see little or no mycelium growth at all. Have I done something wrong, and if so what should I do?

     Answer) There are several things that could be causing this problem.

*A) The most common problem is that you might have filled your substrate jars too full of substrate mix.  This will take up too much space inside your jars and not allow enough oxygen inside for the mycelium to breathe and live off of. The best remedy for this is to open your jars by taking off the lid for just one second about once a week. This will allow fresh air to enter your substrate jar. Do not be too concerned about "foreign contaminates" entering your jar at this time because it is rare that this ever happens.   Another thing you can do to help this problem is to use the coffee pot filter method that is explained in my grow guide.
*B) You possibly "overcooked" your substrate jars when you were sterilizing them. This is a common problem with first time growers and there is no way to correct it except to dump them out and start over. What happens is that some people think that they can cook their jars for a longer period of time just to be sure they killed all of the contaminates in them, when in all reality they cooked the vitamins, minerals and nutrients out of the substrate (burned it) and the mycelium has run out of food it needs to thrive on.
*C) Possibly where you are keeping your jars is a bit too cool. One remedy to this problem is to give them a day or two of direct sunlight (to help heat them up). You could also try sitting your jars on a heating pad for a couple days that is turned to it's lowest setting (a folded towel between the jar bottoms and the heating pad will help).
*D) Sometimes the water in your substrate jars sinks to the bottom of your substrate by means of gravity and the spores or mycelium cease to grow due to thirst. This can usually be fixed by simply turning your jars upside down and leaving them that way for a couple days.
*E) You might have used a flour that was not labeled "Organically Produced". If this happened the only remedy is to dump out your substrate jars and restart the process with the correct type of flour.

     6.) I can't seem to find vermiculite anywhere. Is there anything else I can use in it's place that will work just as well?

     Answer) Yes,  you can use perlite if vermiculite is hard to locate.  I prefer using vermiculite because the flour seems to stick to it more than the perlite, but that is just my preference. Also, since perlite is white in color it is hard to see the mycelium growth because it is the same white color.

     7.) I have noticed a green mold growing on the surface of the soil in my casing trays. Will this ruin my crop and what can I do about it?

     Answer) The green mold is from a foreign spore that has drifted into your tray from the air and taken root in your soil. About the easiest way to get rid of this foreign contaminate is to take a clean teaspoon and carefully remove (and discard) as much of the soil as possible that has the green mold growing on it, then replace what soil was removed with fresh premoistened soil. This usually gets rid of the contaminate but if any more shows up just repeat the process.
   Another thing you can do is mix one tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide (it says 3% on the bottle) with one cup of water.  Put this mixture in your spray bottle and use it to water your trays.  The hydrogen peroxide will help kill the contaminate but not harm your growing mycelium.

     8.) If I have a foreign contaminate invade my crop will it make the mushrooms I grow poisoness and dangerous to consume?

     Answer) This is a very common worry I hear from most cultivators and the answer is very simple. There is no such thing as a contaminated mushroom. Mushrooms that grow in the wild have dozens of different molds that grow right along with the mycelium and they have no effect on the mushroom itself. Believe me, if anyone was ever harmed from eating a "contaminated mushroom" the news media would jump on the opportunity to make the shrooms look like dangerous drugs. Nowhere in recorded medical history has anyone ever been harmed, either physically or mentally, from the ingestion of psilocin/psilocybin based mushrooms.

9.) Why do I feel nausea when I am tripping?

     Answer)   There is a section of your brain that monitors every nerve cell in your skin. This is done subconsciously by your brain, so you are not really aware it is happening every second of every day you are alive. If someone comes up behind you and sticks you with a pin your subconscious mind will let your conscious mind know so you can jump or get away from what is causing the pain. This is a process of our minds that most people are not aware is going on all the time, but we would not last long without this 24 hour protection. When you ingest the "magic" mushroom this subconscious activity is awakened into your conscious state of mind and one of the first things you feel is your skin tingling. What you are actually feeling are your nerve cells being monitored (kewl if you ask me).
Well, keeping this in mind, there are also sections of your brain that subconsciously monitor the organs within your body as well. This is what keeps your heart pumping and your liver functioning without you needing to worry. There is also a subconscious section of your brain that makes sure your stomach functions properly. When you ingest the "magic" mushroom you bring this brain function into your conscious state of mind and for the first time in your life you can actually "feel" your stomach. Since we (as humans) are not used to this "feeling our own stomachs" we mistake it for nausea because the only times we actually have this feeling is when we are about to vomit.
The next time you ingest the "magic" mushroom, and you feel this nausea, all you need to do is remind yourself that this is not actually nausea but just your brain letting you know that you have a stomach. The feeling will quickly pass and you can enjoy your voyage a little better. Hopefully I have not lost you.

10.) What is your favorite recipe for preparing dried mushrooms for consumption?

Answer)

 "SHROOM COCOA"

This is my favorite recipe for those people who do not like the taste (or thought) of eating fresh or dried mushrooms.  It is very easy to make, tastes good and takes very little time.  It’s enough for 4 people using only 7 grams of dried mushrooms.

“INGREDIENTS”

                                              1 – small cooking pot
                                    4-1/2 - cups of cold tap water
                                    4 – small packages of instant cocoa mix
                                    1 – small strainer (or piece of cloth)

 “INSTRUCTIONS”

 1 – Place 7 grams of dried (or 70 grams fresh) mushrooms in the small cooking pot.  Add two cups of water and bring to a boil over the stove while stirring with a fork.

2 – Remove from heat. Strain the hot liquid through a strainer (or piece of cloth) into a     separate container.  Replace the strained mushrooms into the pot and add one and one-half more cups of water. Bring to a boil while constantly stirring with the fork.

3 – Remove from heat. Strain the hot liquid through a strainer (or piece of cloth) into the separate container containing the previously boiled liquid.  Replace the strained mushrooms into the pot and add one more cup of water. Bring to a boil while constantly stirring with the fork.

4 – Remove from heat. Strain the hot liquid through a strainer (or piece of cloth) into the separate container containing the previously boiled liquid.  You can now throw the left over three times boiled mushrooms in the trash.

5 – You should now have a little over 4 cups of hot purple liquid.  Pour this hot liquid into a glass bottle and let cool to room temperature.  Once it has cooled down place the bottle into the refrigerator overnight without disturbing it.  By the next morning the “purple spores” should have settled to the bottom and the liquid on top should be a clear cloudy color.  Carefully remove from the refrigerator without disturbing the liquid.   Slowly pour the clear liquid into another container until the dark spores start to pour out.  Quickly stop pouring and dump the thick spore solution down the drain.

6 – You should now have about 4 cups of clear “potent shroom juice”.  This liquid will last for 10 to 14 days if kept refrigerated.

7 – When you are ready to take a voyage all you need to do is pour one cup of this “shroom juice” into a ceramic coffee mug, heat to a boil in a microwave, stir in one packet of instant cocoa mix, fasten your seat belt and drink (hot).

     11.) Can a mycelium cake go into it's tray or chamber before the cake reaches 50% colonization?

     Answer) This  I think when a cake reaches 50% colonization it's too soon to case it. The mycelium at only 50% colonization is way too young and immature to produce mushrooms. I always wait for at least 90% colonization before I case it. Even if it's 50% mycelium and 50% contaminate I case it. How many days it takes to reach this point doesn't really matter. Sometimes I've had jars take two months to fully colonize - but it's worth the wait. If the contaminate is more than half of a jar's colonization I throw it out. One exception; Black contaminate - even if it takes over 90% of the cake, it will eventually die over time and the jar will usually fully colonize with white mycelium.
   Speaking on the subject of "throwing contaminated jars out", I have one important thing that might save you a lot of trouble. When a jar is contaminated you should NEVER remove the lid inside your house. ALWAYS step outside to remove the lid. When you open the jar you will instantly have billions of contaminate spores rush out into the air. If you open the jar inside your house you will be adding billions of contaminate spores to your indoor air supply. There is a slight chance of the spores harming your physical health - but it will definitely fuck up trying to inoculate new jars in your house because of the spores you accidentally released into the house's air two weeks ago. When I want to case a partially contaminated jar I take it outside, remove the lid, stick a fork into the cake to lift it out of the jar and then I blow the loose spores off of the cake. You don't need to worry about blowing on the cake because it is already contaminated.