Mushroom Grow Kit Instructions: Monotub

Our mission is to teach proper cultivation methods, and strengthen the advocacy for Psilocybin research & integration to improve Mental Health, not only in Canada but globally. 

Thank you for purchasing one of our featured products! If there are any problems before starting your kit, please contact our staff immediately so we rectify the situation. 

These Grow Kits include most everything you need to perform ‘cultivation research’ in your own home, lab or office space by providing the ideal growing condition & simple instructions that you can reference as your Grow Kit journey unfolds. BEST OF ALL-- our kits allow you to produce results in a FRACTION of the time.

Be sure you are practicing in the cleanest possible manner. This is the most important part of your journey! If your Grow Kit contaminates-- GAME OVER! You will need to work on your sanitary techniques-- & start all over. This happens to the best of us, so don't be discouraged, please contact our staffing so we can discuss possible replacement or promotional savings on your next purchase. 

Things you may want to consider before you begin:  

1 – Pair of Nitrile gloves  

1 – dust mask or equivalent  

1 – 70% Isopropyl alcohol or disinfectant spray
 

GET ORGANIZED

Pick a room you an use for you planting or 'lab' space. An ideal room to use will be draft-free, such as a bedroom or perhaps your kitchen. Take everything you will need to your designated clean space before you begin. Its best to keep air currents to an absolute minimum, shut off any fans or heating - close doors and keep them closed until you are finished; this will lower the chances of competing organisms landing getting in the Grow Kit while its exposed to open air environments. 

(they can colonize up to 100x faster then Psilocybe cubensis mycelium)

CLEANLINESS

Take the time to ensure you are completely clean - change into fresh clothes, wash & wipe down your workstation well. It is best practice to use 70% isopropyl alcohol spray or Lysol-type disinfectant. Make sure your hands & forearms are clean before you begin. You can equip your dust mask as gloves also as this will help reduce the chance of contamination considerably.

TEMPERATURE

Psilocybe cubensis is a sub-tropical species & prefers warm climates during colonization, but there is a balance- because so do lurking competitors! If your mycelium is going strong, it can outrun many types of other bacteria, molds & fungi that may be present in your substrate. 

Keeping the Grow Kit somewhere between 68F & 76F is ideal for colonization (76F will prove to have noticeably faster growth than 68F but with some patience it will still colonize).

*If you are determined to have a warmer environment for faster colonization times, we strongly advise against the use of heat mats-- as they can cause over-evaporation of the substrate and potentially overheat and stall colonization.

SETTING

Once you are ready to begin, its time to wipe out your new Monotub Grow Kit with disinfectant and place the liner into the bottom of your tub evenly across the bottom. This is also a good time to put your 2" Microppose filters over the holes on each end of your tub.  

Then, break the mycelium up inside the spawn jar, this will enable you to pour the contents out easily. This can be done by tapping it against your other palm, or wrist carefully, not to break it. Once this is done, open the lid & pour the contents of the spawn jar & substrate bag onto the liner you have placed inside your Grow Kit. Now mix the contents & homogenize both spawn & substrate by mixing & turning with either sanitized hands or utensils such as a spatula or spoon. When you are all finished the mixing process, very lightly smooth down the surface to level it out & set the lid on securely.

NICE JOB!

It is now time to clean up and set the Grow Kit in a safe place to fully allow the mycelium to grow & colonize the substrate fully. We recommend placing it in a minimal airflow environment (such as the box it came in) and out of direct sunlight. This will reduce chance for anything to enter the Grow Kit during colonization and to give your mycelium a strong start against any potential competing organisms).

MYCELIUM RUN

Generally, you will start to see the mycelium begin to grow & colonize within 48 hours (however, this largely depends on temperature & conditions being within the margins detailed above). 

If it has not, hang in there a while longer as the growth is likely still under the surface, or the conditions are not ideal (Patience is the virtue here grasshopper).

On average, it takes around 7-10 days for the substrate to be fully colonized by the mycelium and become what we refer to as a ‘consolidated' (again, this largely depends on a range of factors such as temperature, genetics, etc.). If it needs a few additional days-- don't panic. Let it run its course. Observe and record your findings daily to retain the best information about your research.

FRUITING

For this stage, you may need: Spray bottle to lightly mist over the surface with water (not supplied) to encourage the stage of evaporation needed for the pinning mushrooms to form.

Once your substrate is fully consolidated (7-10 days & completely white surface), You can allow your Grow Kit to breathe by opening the lid briefly, allowing fresh air to exchange with the CO2 that has built up inside the tub during colonization (A biproduct of the mycelium consuming its substrate). This exchange will begin to encourage mushroom pinning. After doing this, allow 24hours before opening the Grow Kit again.

AFTER 24HR. 

Be sure to check your Grow Kit (1-2 times) daily. 

Each time you check, look at the surface conditions. Is there visible water beading present along the surface or is the surface bone dry?

Evaporation of moisture from the substrate surface is the primary trigger for mushroom pinning to form and grow. However, you want the Grow Kit to remain humid & have a moist surface condition for best results & highest yield (90%RH (Relative Humidity) inside the bag or chamber is ideal).  

Be sure to carefully replace lost humidity on the surface (if needed) by misting lightly overhead & indirectly using a fine mist setting. You want to see tiny beads along the surface after misting, not saturation and damage to the mycelium. 

Follow with a fanning motion (using  the lid) above the kit for approx. 5-10 seconds. 

AFTER 72-96HR.

You will begin to see very small knotting of the mycelium along the surface. This is what is called hyphal knots followed by primordial forming mycelium. These primordial are what will form into 'pins' or the beginning stage of your mushrooms. Once you can visibly see the mushrooms sticking out of the substrate, you should no longer need to mist the Grow Kit, However if your Grow Kit is in a very dry climate, A heavy misting can be applied once every 24hrs. to encourage the mushrooms into maturity. Caution: This can cause bacterial blotching &/or contaminating colonies from forming if you are continuously over-saturating.

HARVESTING

When your mushrooms are matured in size, they are ready for harvest. Best time to do this is before the caps are fully opened, as this is when the mushroom prepares to release its spores, covering the all over the Grow Kit & other mushrooms (this is considered undesirable, however not harmful to consume). Carefully check for contamination on the substrate surface before fully opening the Grow Kit (green, black, yellow or pink mold patches). If you notice contamination, take the Grow Kit outside your growing space to harvest.

You can either use a pair of alcohol sanitized scissors or a scalpel/knife to cut them off the cake. Do so as close to the base as possible. Some prefer to just twist & pull them off the substrate-- but be aware of this method it can often pull some of the substrate off with the mushroom, so this may not be the best method for beginners.

Once you have harvested all the mushrooms from the Grow Kit, its time to rehydrate the Grow Kit by pouring 2cups of COLD WATER into the substrate and/or misting the surface heavily. Allow 4-6hours resting period before draining off any excess water (This can be placed in the fridge). After that time, the Grow Kit can be drained off of any excess water & placed back into its fruiting area for continued fruiting. The Grow Kit will produce another 'flush' of mushrooms and grow much quicker this time, which you can repeat these steps until the substrate nutrition is “spent” or once it is deemed overly contaminated. Once the substrate is finished, simply discard the contents into the garden, or compost. The Grow Kit can be reused consecutively with any variety of mushroom in the future of your mycology journey. 

WANT TO TRY AGAIN?

You can purchase one of our many other available Grow Kits & products at https://ramushrooms.ca 

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https://ramushrooms.ca/monotub

Thank you for your continued support & we hope you enjoy the experience! 

RA MUSHROOMS