Well, today I finished inoculating the first few bags of sawdust spawn sterilized with hydrogen peroxide. Keeping everything somewhat clean was a hassle, let alone keeping it sterile.

I took the mixed sawdust and rice bran from yesterday and set it aside. Then, I boiled 3 quarts of water. After letting the water cool to room temperature (actually I got hasty and only let it cool most of the way), I mixed in a half a cup of 3% peroxide (like you get at the drug store) and dumped it into the bucket. Then, using a container rinsed out with boiling water, I scooped 3 quarts of moist substrate into the bags with filter patches I bought from MushroomPeople. I took the bags into the kitchen, cleaned everything, and then poured a bit of spawn (like a half pound maybe? I was just guesstimating) into each bag. After pouring in the spawn I shook the bags and kneaded them until the spawn was mixed throughout.

Two bags of Oyster, one bag of Lion’s Mane and one of Miatake.

I think I did some stuff wrong. For one, the substrate is way to wet. I tried draining some of the water out of the bag with moderate success. Hopefully, the mycelium (the main body of the fungus that grows in the substrate) will still grow despite the soggy conditions but I sort of doubt it. Bah.

Tomorrow, if I get a chance I will prepare some bags using wheat straw instead of sawdust as the substrate. This should be easier. See you then!