How to get crystal clear agar plates for mushroom cultivation 

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to watch how a real pro does it. Very impressive! And zero condensation! Thank you!

I just found your channel, looking forward to seeing everything you've posted so far and what else you come out with. New subscriber here, much love!

Gotta say, I love your technique and the way you clearly break it down in your videos. Keep it up and thank you!

love your precision & briefings

I enjoy your simple technique on important areas of mycology.

Thank you very much for all this we appreciate you 💯

Thank you for the tip. Last time i did my agar i let it cool to just under 50°C and after it cooled i used it straight away and got some condensation. Next time i will leave them out a few days like you have, hopefully that gets rid of my condensation problem

“look at how clear they are” Truth. Looked like nothing was in em ❤️

Great info, thanks Gary!!

So does that mean you didn't put parafilm on them while they cool? For a startup that cant keep something in front of a flow hood, what do you recommend?

Thanks for the tip on removing condensation, I have been dealing with this issue with mine

hey great technique, I'm having a problem using ordinary agar which is all I can source for the time being, but its gelling almost as soon as I mix it? and after heating and sterilizing it is 50% gelled, is it the agar or the mix in your opinion

very helpful thanks. :) do you keep flow hood turned on the few or so that you let them sit?

Great video!

I assume your using liquid malt extract but do you use any other "food" in the mix? I'm incredibly impressed could you post the EXACT recipe? Mine always come out cloudy but they work 🤟 thinking a simple liquid light malt extract with sugar water n agar might work out pretty clear but wld that recipe produce?

Amazing, after 3-4 days, they don't dry out????? Is that a top-down hood? And what is the CFM? Also, thank you so much for posting your knowledge and sharing your journey!!!!

Thanks Gary!

Thank you so much for the tips!What is your recipe? i can’t get LME agar to get that clear.

just ordered petri dishes, I use small glass jars and oyster mushrooms don't mind them but your petri dishes look so much better :)

Hi, great job. I am learning. Need to know why pressure cooker and not any simple boiling pot? And how long can you stock the Petri dishes with agar in them? Cheers!

Really enjoy your vids, they help answer quite a bit of my question, I was just curious how long you typically cook/boil your agar for things to dissolve? A simple MEA for example

I have that same tool! Got at costco from one of those product demonstrations!

We all have a giant flow hood at home, thx for the tips

I made my first at home agar last night. I’m letting them sit now like you did. They have all solidified but some have a it of extra liquid in them on the top. Guessing from initial condensation? Is that going to be okay? Will it evaporate over the next few days and if it does not do I just leave it in there and still use it?

Hey Gary, do you use any amendments into your agar like light malt extract, peptone, or yeast?

great video. any idea on which petri dish to use? what material should it be made from?

My laser thermometer has been sitting in a box all this time and I didn't even think of using it for my shrooming Thanks

Im a tip lover! Thanks for this video

Love your vids, man. When you're letting them rest for the QC in the flow hood, is the hood running the whole time? Thanks

What is the brand and model of that flow hood? Seems nice to work with. Thank you for all of the tips ✌️🍄❤️

Is that a verticle flow hood? Does it have intake vents at the bottom? I've seen so many people say vertical flow without intake vents won't work because it doesn't create laminar flow. I always thought that was BS and it would work fine. After all I work in front of a box fan with two merv13 filters taped to it and I have very little contamination.

Thank you for the pro tip Gary, I’ve been waiting for this one...I was skipping the pre cook melt and cool down. Any agar recipes you can share to help make those beautiful plates?

Great video! Would you ever recommend using reusable dishes?

Could I leave them in my still airbox instead of a flow hood? I don't see that being too big an issue. Just starting to get into agar. Been doing multispore then g2g for 6 months but it's way to tedious and time consuming for my desired production.

My god man the grammar PHDs are always out poking their virtual wieners into everything, all I want to know is….”How the fk do I do it right so my agar doesn’t look like chocolate pudding”… and this guy solved that issue for me perfectly. Thanks man! 💪🏽

Gary! First off, love the vids. Im still pretty new to Mycology but i definitely feel like i found a real passion here. So im curious, for someone with less then 2 years of exp. (And a cert. In horticulture) how hard of a time would i have getting into this industry? It seems like there's a lot of labs mostly in your area. I'm about an hour's drive north of you. I guess the question is, are there labs that would hire someone with that little experience/schooling? Or even do like internship type deal where id just be able to learn more first hand?

Gary if you see this: is it okay if I use brown-glass morphine bottles to sterilize my agar in? I have a lot of used bottles (long term illness) and they seem perfect for the job if they can be cleaned to standard. (I assume the smaller ones would be no good for slants?) They do have child proof caps though and I don’t know what that means yet like if I can autoclave them on loose or not at all. I have quite a few PP containers too but they’ve all had medicine in them of varying types. Obviously I don’t want cross contam but is reusing these containers feasible? Love the videos. You’re the best on actually showing the lab work and teaching those of us who never got to attend classes.

Hi Gary…what is your clear agar recipe THANKS!

Hi Gary great tips, have you done a video on your different agar recipies for from spores to final growth? Im having issues with tryingbto get ryzomorphic growth, Im using MEA a premix powder but I'm thinking Its to much nutrient for the spores as thebgrowth even when cleaned up is just very fuzzy.

Thats looks greate! What's your recipe for agar ingredients? you don't stick them on parafilm right after spilling them? how long are you waiting with this?

Thank you so much for sharing...much appreciated! I've liked and subscribed :). 3 questions please. I don't have a flow hood unfortunately but if I leave the plates out at room temperature for 72 hours (in a still air box), what signs am I looking for with regards to contamination before inoculating? If I have excess agar plates, how do I store them and how long will they last? Thanks a milliion 😀

Are they wrapped in parafilm while they are in the hood for a few days? Or no to let some condensation out?

May i know the bottle you used for sterilisation? Any glass bottles can autoclaved?

How do you clean plastic petri dishes? Any good method so they are again clean and completly dry stacked one on another ?

Thanks for sharing your experience, is there a reason why nobody uses Cristal petri,s anymore?

What products do you use for your agar plates and quantities of each product?

The holy grail of plates

I basically do my things in an sab and i seem to have trouble with bacteria and people from shroomery advised me to try antibiotic agar. is it appropriate? which one can i try

Can you post a link for your flow hood you’re using? Thank you.

Those look great. I get condensation on mine. Maybe this will help with that

Yeah....agar recipe or which agar did you use?

How do you deal with condensation? Any safe ways to get rid of it?

Did you turn on your flow hood for the whole time while you keep them there ?

Dope video but I have a question do you leave your flow hood on the whole time? Like I don’t wanna run mine for a couple days.

What do you think - maybe it’s better to immediately pour the mixture into cups and put it in a pressure cooker for sterilization, so in my opinion there is less risk of contamination?

Legend.

Hi Gary! Do you have any tools that you like for cleaning your media jars? I find it hard to reach the bottom of the bottle

Gary ma maan! Big up! What petri dishes do you buy , there are like a million ones to choose from.

did you leave the floowhood running over the weekend while they were drying?

what size was that cabinet? also may I ask where you purchased it?

What recipe gives clearer results? Are brewers yeast agar mixes supposedly always clouded? Thanks for the work.

What’s the recipe? And how do I limit condensation in my plates? It’s really getting frustrating? I’ve been told about the stack tip. But sometimes I’ll hit the agar with a mss and idk if there is too much liquid from the spore syringe going on the plate and then making condensation or if it’s the weather inside my home. Idk. Help needed!!!

Loved the video man. So is there a correct way to pronounce Agar? Because I've heard at least three different ways.

do you close them with with Parafilm during the 3 to 4 days before inoculation ?

My pours are pretty clear but I have terrible condensation problems. So much that I store them upside down. I didn't see any on yours at any point. How?

Did you leave the flow hood on for all four days? Or just while you were standing near the plates?

For sure bro... do you ever sterilize the plastic plate for your own production?

Hey what recipe did you use for the crystal clear plates? Is it just water agar?

How long and at psi do you cook the Agar to?

Can you share your Agar recipe? I couldn't find a video on your page where you discuss your recipe. :) Thanks in advance!!!

Does one just parafilm them until use if they're not going to use them for four days?

How do you make the magenta color? it was in the beginning of the video

What brand of malt extract do you use?

Great job

For about two month i've been trying to make agar and liquid culture but, how much i try i just can't grow mycelium in my agar dish. I try to do exactly as you do, but the tissue culture i put in the dish just dried up and doesn't grow at all. In liquid culture also its the same, it doesn't from any mycelium. But if i put a piece of wheat from the spawn into my agar dish it grows nicely.

I ordered the Criterion malt extract agar. How much of that should I use for 500ml?

But butt whatt is the name for that Agar mixer lool ? How can i find one ??? That is awesomee

How do people make the diff colored petri plates? Just food coloring?

Thanks Gary. What kind of agar did you use?

I don’t get what is happening to my Agar. I use 400ml of water, 8g of Agar, 8g of Light Malt Extract and I mix it in very hot water until its visibly dissolved. Then come back 5 mins later after pouring it into my bottle and its separated?! What gives? Why is it doing this? Surly it should stay clear right?

Hi Gary, how often do you change your flow filter?

I've seen you response to your ingredients. How much water? 1 liter?

You sale your agars?

Do you have a video on how to clean culture from bacteria? For example if you have contaminated petri dish, is there any way to clean mycelium from bacteria? Is gentamicin toxic to mycelium?

May I ask what dishes you use and where you purchase them from?

i've seen a lot of people wrap their bottle in foil before sterilizing, it's nice to see it's not necesary !

Hey, can you tell me what brand food coloring you use?

What is the name of that tool you used

May I ask what your recipe is? I think I’m adding too much nutrient or agar as after 10 mins of boiling and mixing it’s still cloudy and when put into the jar I can see things falling out of solution.

4:05 AHA! You have MPOW earphones! They served me well for approx 3 years )

Can you reuse those plates and pour them again? How would you get them sterile?

What is the name of that tool you used?

What temp do you pour your agar at?

So what do u use for colors ? Food coloring ?

Been working on this with my partner. Partner keeps skipping steps and I can’t figure out why.

What's the recipe that you use for this crystal clear Agar plates

That is some damn good looking agar. I’m just too scared to use a PC

That flowhood/clean desk you have there must have cost an absolute fortune!!!

Don't the plates dry up if you do that all weekend?

What are you using to color your agar?