My issue right now is I don't have a pressure cooker. I was considering trying fractional sterilization. Are you familiar with this? I was planning on using Rye spawn for horse-manure substrate.
without a PC I wouldn't recommend doing grain.. you'll surely get contams. I'm sure there is some success, but the time, materials, etc involved I wouldn't do it. I bought a cheap walmart $60 one and its worked great. Just make sure you can put at least 6-7 Quart jars in it.
In regards to HPoo make 100% sure you know what you're doing in the second half.. As you're pastuerizing NOT steralizing. The temps needs to be perfect or you'll kill the good microbes. For your first bulk grow I'd suggest using Coco Coir + Verm + Gypsum.. I've had great great success with this. I used a greenhouse and I spawn'd to bulk in 6qt shoebox containers(you can see one in my grow journal i was using as a catch basement for runoff).. they're great as you don't have all your eggs in one basket. But they won't work without a GH as you need a Humidifier, etc..
Try a Dub Tub or a Mono Tub for your first bulk spawn if you go that route. I also wouldn't recommend ralphster spores anymore.. He use to be very reliable but over the past couple of years he's pulled some really shady shit. Not sure what happened, but maybe times have changed. In the past I used sporeworks, but went through a period where about 10 syringes of the same sub-species(no strains in mycology) were bunk.. I switched to using a company called Earth's Tounge.. their syringes are absolutely fantastic and they're also 20ml(double the size of ralphster).. they're a bit more expensive, but I like the big syringes as the larger gauge needle is easier to suck up Liquid Cultures and more advanced techniques you'll get into because its just alot of fun! Happy growing!
They also use a special technique called blackout syringes where the syringe is literally BLACK as night which reduces contamination.
P.S. once you've mastered the art of cubensis in bulk subs try growing some eddibles too. Mushroom cultivation is one of the coolest things i've ever learned to do. I now am able to grow in the spring 40-50 lbs of mushrooms every year which we dry out and reconstitute into meals we cook here at home. We also because of this learned to forage for local choice mushrooms like Chanterelles, Hen of the Wood, Chicken of the Wood, Oysters, Lion's Mane, etc.. Careful you're venturing down a rabbit hole! hahaha
your jars look fantastic though.. very rizomorphic mycelium.. you should have good success!
I'm an expert mycologist and an amateur botanist.. I hope my green thumb is as good one day! Enjoy the smokes and the space travel when time comes. If you thought you needed to be patient with greenery, the one advice i can give with mushies is extreme patience. and don't pick up your jars. The more you handle them during colonization the higher chance of them getting contamination. Just let em be. Good luck!
