Hey,
I found this excerpt from "The Mushroom Cultivator" by Paul Stamets and J. S. Chilton over at the
Shroomery, and thought it would be helpful to all my fellow mushroom growers!
Mycelial Types: Rhizomorphic to linear; whitish in overall color but often bruising bluish where injured.
Standard Spawn Medium: Rye grain. See Chapter III.
Fruiting Substrate: Rye grain; wheat straw; leached horse or cow manure and/or horse manure/straw compost balanced to a 71-74% moisture content.
Method of Preparation: See Chapters III, V, and VI. Pasteurization achieved through exposure to live steam for 2 hours at 140°F / 60°C. throughout the substrate. Straw or compost should be filled to a depth of 6-12 inches. Straw should be spawned at a rate of 2 cups/sq. ft.
Spawn Run:
Relative Humidity: 90%.
Substrate Temperature: 84 - 86°F / 28.8 - 30°C. Thermal death limits have been established at 106°F / 41.1°C.
Duration: 10-14 days.
CO2: 5000 - 10,000 ppm.
Fresh Air Exchanges: 0 per hour.
Type of Casing: After fully run, cover with the standard casing whose preparations described in Chapter VIII. Layer to a depth of 1-2 inches. The casing should be balanced to an initial pH of 6.8 - 7.2.
Post Casing/Prepinning:
Relative Humidity: 90 %.
Substrate Temperature: 84 - 86°F / 28.8 - 30°C.
Duration of Case Run: 5-10 days.
CO2: 5000-10,000 ppm.
Fresh Air Exchanges: 0 per hour.
Light: Incubation in total darkness.
Primordia Formation:
Relative Humidity: 95-100%.
Air Temperature: 74 - 78°F / 23.3 - 25.5°C.
Duration: 6-10 days.
CO2: less than 5000 ppm.
Fresh Air Exchanges: 1 -3 per hour. (For practical purposes, fanning a terrarium 2-3 times a day is sufficient)
Light: Diffuse natural or exposure for 12-16 hours/day of grow-lux type fluorescent light high in blue spectra at the 480 nanometer wavelength. (See Chapters IV and IX).
Cropping:
Relative Humidity: 85-92%. (For cakes: 95-100% )
Air Temperature: 74-78°F / 23.3 - 25.5°C.
CO2:less than 5000 ppm.
Fresh Air Exchanges: 1 -3 per hour. (For practical purposes, fanning a terrarium 2-3 times a day is sufficient)
Flushing Pattern: Every 5-8 days.
Harvest Stage: When the cap becomes convex and soon after the partial veil ruptures.
Light: Indirect natural or same as above.
Yield Potential: Average yields are 2-4 Ibs. /sq. ft. over a 5 week cropping period. Maximum yield potential has not been established.
Moisture Content of Mushrooms: 92% water; 8% dry matter.