How I Prepare and Sterilize Jars of Rye Grain to Make Grain Spawn for Growing Mushrooms 

Much appreciated!

Thank you!

Yeah idk why he said it smells bad. I got the 25lb bag from Amazon with the blue heron on it, and I noticed mine smelled exactly like a meadow after it has rained a lot -- that damp wood smell. It didn't smell bad, but it didn't smell good or anything. It just smelled very different, and very outdoors. I found it interesting and kept sticking my nose in it lol 😂 Now I'm curious wtf he was smelling though!

I bought some growing kits, spore prints, spawns, liquid culture and psychedelic products from an online supplier and they are affordable and discreetly delivered

in instagram

dude ditch the coffee its only a tiny increase in nutrients with a gigantic risk of contamination.

​@anthonyalexander5607 that seems to be the consensus, I cant determine what it is your giving up (besides the risk of Trich being ballooned). What benefit does it serve?

​​@@etownKeystoned it has a lot of nutrients in it including a lot of nitrogen, both of which the mycelium loves. It's this huge amount of nutrients and especially nitrogen that greatly increase the risk of contamination, because contams also love ample nutrition. To my understanding, you want SOME nitrogen in your substrate, but go over a certain percentage (idk what percent, maybe 5%? Don't quote me on that) and you'll be inviting contam in for a feast. So the problem is: yes, coffee is very nutritious for the mycelium, but it's also very nutritious for the contams -- and if your grow style is one in which your #1 priority is to mitigate any possible vector of contamination, then coffee grounds are something you don't want to consider adding. But if you are experimenting, go for it. Idk the mechanical process of how nitrogen invites contams specifically, but I'd certainly be interested in watching a video explaining it. I wonder if I can find one...

@@MissBlackMetal is it worth the risk?

Thank you!

Thank you Dominc!

He's not canning, he's sterilizing the grains for use in mushroom cultivation. The mycelium (the mushroom is the fruiting body and the mycelium is the underground network of filamentous hyphae) will start off growing in the mason jars using the grains as nutrients. Mycelium breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, just like humans, so the jars need a vent hole for fresh air exchange. However, at this stage the mycelium will be weak and easily prone to domination by other microorganisms. Hence, the grain are fully sterilized in a pressure canner prior to inoculation (introduction of live mycelium or spores), to ensure no other microorganisms are present before/with the mycelium, so the mycelium don't have to compete with anything. This is also the reason the modified lids don't have just an open hole, but rather have a 0.22μ (micron) filter patch placed over them (there are no microorganisms that are smaller than 0.3μ in size, so a 0.22μ filter will ensure no contaminants enter the jars. Hopefully that cleared things up for you. ;)

You're welcome!

The quicker you start the better, if left out the grain spawn is the perfect breeding ground for other molds and fungus.

Post sterilized substrate is good at a DRY ROOM TEMP for 3-6 months. Keep it in a dark area too. High temperature fluctuations/greenhouse affects should be avoided.

@@joshmills1194 Wonderful! Thanks Josh

Canning jars can get white rings on the outside that you can’t clean, use little vinegar and no stains

Your method would work fine!

by 1 hour it should be good. 90 mins is kind of od’ing it in my opinion

@@shivansohan6903 thanks for reply.

Hi Bert, the injection port is NOT necessary, but a hole for gas exchange IS necessary. This can be just a small hole that you puncture with a nail and cover with micropore tape (or any breathable covering) before you pressure cook the jar.

Hi Sadie! You should be trying to achieve 15 PSIG, or 121C/250F in the pressure cooker. I don't have any experience with a Pressure King Pro, but do you have the owner's manual? I'm certain the manual will tell you what settings to use for this pressure and temperature. I think that may work, but the chances of contamination are pretty high. Let me know how it works if you try this method!

Put micro tape on hole

Micropore tape, in the first aid section at rite aid and such

@Spiders Scam scam scam go away

Hi Kean, I think you'll be fine! I've done that before, and it honestly didn't seem to make much of a difference. I'm thinking about skipping the foil from now on, because it's not seeming to do much.

@@OneEarthMushrooms i think the only reason people suggest using hte foil is to more precisely control the humidity, but i agree it's not a necessary step at all

Yeah, the boiling is pretty necessary. It forces the grains to fully hydrate. Otherwise, the grain kernels will end up exploding in the P.C. I don't completely understand the physics of this, but I've done it.

Is there a pressure relief valve or rocker weight? For my pressure cooker, I use high until the rocker has steam coming out, then turn it down to 4.5 to maintain pressure.

@@OneEarthMushrooms thank you! It has a few valves on top! One I believe is the over pressure valve, another is the safety valve then the third valve has a weight on it. But it doesn't rock! I waited till the safety valve locked the handle and steam started to come out the weighted valve then turned it down and left for 1hr 30mins on a slightly lower heat to stop the weighted valve steaming! All seems to have gone well just hope there's no contamination now, only time will tell I guess!

Wipe it away with clean paper towel or tip em upside down to drain it off. Try doing it in a clean area or still air box. Shake the jars hood and let cool

If I'm inoculating with agar wedges, yes. If I'm inoculating with a liquid culture or spore culture, no..I inoculate through a self-healing injection port.

you don't even need the gypsum

It was a really cheap stove from Target that I don't recommend at all. Took forever to get up to temp.

Yeah, that'll increase the risk just a bit, but I'm sure you can still do it safely.

I close them tight. They can breathe through the micropore tape.

For grain spawn, yes. Substrate, no. Lion's mane is a wood loving species, so you'll need a hardwood substrate.

thats what the hole in the lid is for, he covered it with microtape so debris and bacteria cant get in but air (and pressure) can escape.

Same function

Awwwhh thank you!

Go to a brewing supply store and buy malted rye, its the same as rye berries and usually cheaper

Dude, that's so weird! I've never had that happen. They're sprouting overnight? I would figure that boiling would kill off the ability to sprout.

Probably not dry

Mine is the 18 qt, I couldn't find the 13 qt locally. It's not the best quality, but not too bad for the price. Is your pressure getting higher than 15 PSI?

I got the burner at Target, but it's a way underpowered. I don't recommend it.

@@OneEarthMushrooms Hmmmm. I haven't tried going past the 15 PSI. My other presto didn't have a gauge and I just left it on till the 15 weight rocker worked. This time the rocker for my 23qt didn't move at all which gave me concerns. I will try upping past the 15PSI next time, I hope my jars were properly sterilize though because I had to constantly shift the gas up and down to maintain pressure. Thanks for the response and the burner feedback.

Just skip the gypsum

I have a pretty detailed answer to this same question below. If that doesn't answer your question let me know!!

I'm sure you could! You can use pretty much any kind of grain. I'm working on using papaya seeds...just trying to build up enough seeds to be able to try it!

If you try it, I'd love to hear your results!

@@OneEarthMushrooms for sure! gunna be a couple weeks yet but ill be sure to let you know!

@@goofnewfie Can't wait! I'm sure grass seed is significantly less expensive than rye. The only thing I'd say to be careful of is making sure you don't use a seed thats coated with something, I know a lot of seeds come with coatings or have been sprayed with chemicals to make them grow better.

@@OneEarthMushrooms great idea! I tried using chuffa grain (nut) with no success but I'm giving it another go 😎

It would be worth the experiment, hard to know

Maybe not enough water, or maybe the burner is underpowered?

Ive heard that you should let the PC blow out steam without the cap on for 5 mins then put it back on. This gets rid of the extra air and gives a more accurate rating. Would love to hear anyone elses opinion

@@OneEarthMushrooms hey just saw this thanks. Failed at blue oyster but im gonna try again. Thinking fruit chamber didn't get enough air flow

My rye grain didn’t stink

I think the trade off is fewer points of inoculation so it could change the behavior of your flushes.

It's a 23qt Presto.

Presto

Yeah, immediately after pressure cooking the grain usually doesn't smell very good. My kids hate it!

Yeah, I think you'll be just fine. While having the correct moisture content is important, it's not necessary to be exactly precise...a little bit extra moisture isn't going to hurt. If it's pooling in the bottom of the jar/bag, then it's an issue.

@@OneEarthMushrooms It's not necessarily an issue if it's pooling in the bottom of the jar. @Home Mycology has videos confirming that. Check him out sometime. But I agree in that a little more or a little less moisture is fine. Keep up the good work, mate!

After you've sterilized the jars/grain in the pressure cooker, and after the jars have cooled back down to room temperature.

Everything but the grain...

That was my question, If you already got an answer please tell me.

I screw them on all the way but not tightly.

I screw them on all the way but not tightly.

@@OneEarthMushrooms Thank you.

it can create a toxic environment. Depending on how much youve added it can decrease yield or completely spoil the entire inoculation.

He didn’t boil. Just heated up plain water to ~140F

the heat still gets to the grain with the lids screwed on....

@@user-is3ie3wp7s sure the heat, but not the PSI? Am I missing something?

Hey Joe! The purpose of a pressure cooker is to raise the temperature above 212F....the only way to do that is to raise pressure, or add a SIGNIFICANT amount of energy to turn the pot into a super-heated system...not practical. To give a more simplified answer to your question, pressure isn't really what is sterilizing the grain, its the heat. The heat will penetrate the entire jar via conduction, even if the jar is completely sealed. However, in this case, I have breathing holes in the top of my jars that are covered with breathable micropore tape, so the pressure inside the jars is the same as the inside of the pressure cooker. Hope this answers your question! Thanks for watching!

@@Joe_P it's the heat that sterilizes, and it's the pressure that allows the high temperature

Hi Marissa! What stage are you talking about? Before pressure cooking, or after? After pressure cooking the grain is in a very sterile environment; sealed inside the glass jars that went through the pressure cooking process. Before the pressure cooker, it doesnt really matter because everything will get killed by the heat of the PC. Does that answer your question?

@@OneEarthMushrooms yeah I'm talking about after.. I had to go to work that day so I took them out.. so far only one of them had contam so that's good

@@skymayfield7104 ah gotcha. Glad it's working out for you!

After you add the jars to the PC you fill the water about half way up the jars.

Killing anything still living in the substrate before inoculation, mold and bacteria usually win if the environment isn't properly sterile for the mycellium to grow

Any mycelium growth? This doesn't sound good...

Yeah on top

Hi David. What do you mean by a "regular cooker"? It's my understanding that the medical industry uses autoclaves, which reach high temperatures of about 250F, roughly the same temperature that a pressure cooker reaches.

It's possible, you only need to use much longer time to sterilize

Ha! I'm working on that, life is difficult as a perfectionist.

Maybe let it dry longer (post-boil, before putting it in the jars to sterilize)

What kind of PC do you have? If you have a rubber gasket make sure it is in good condition and lubricated with the correct lubricant. (You can find out by searching your PC online or in the manual) and if you have a weighted system (you probably do unless it’s really old) make sure the weight is on and is the desired weight for your psi. If the weight is constantly giggling you may need to turn your heat down. Find a manual and see what they recommend. Some say the weight should giggle 3 times per minute etc. best thing you can do is watch people use your PC on RU-vid and do research to stay safe. ✌️

Also if your PC has a manual petcock (and not a weight / vent pipe) you may want to consider converting it to a weighted system like I did with my pressure canner. Just do your research and know that if you do have a vintage petcock you’ll need to babysit it and make sure the pressure doesn’t get too high. - Sorry to preach just don’t want anyone getting hurt and if you already knew all of this maybe it’ll help someone else ✌️

@@heyb6268 yeah I have an all American pressure cooker but I figured it out thank you though!

@@montanajrivera absolutely take it easy

Hi Daniel! I've never understood the purpose of venting the PC before putting the rocker on so I just don't do it. Can you think of a compelling reason for venting?

OneEarth Mushrooms yes! Venting for 10 minutes with lock up and rocker off allows air to escape and be volumetrically replaced by steam. Too much air leads to partial pressure, where your gage reads 15 psi, but the temp is not actually at sterilization temp. But hey, if your process works, amen! Thanks for the video and the reply!

@@danielc.729 let us see youre process. Mr. perfect

PLEBE JONES xiv 😂 I wouldn’t even consider myself an amateur, but that is my understanding of partial pressure.

@@danielc.729 but for real show us. Its all about growing. 😅🍄🚀👁