Once the mycelial growth phase is finished I will recede as followed.
Red Boy is the most developed jar, but it still has not fill the bottom of the jar. Maybe another week or so, before dunking.
How do you handle the fruit inside the jars?
It is recommended that all pins and forming mushroom inside the jar are removed before dunking the cake.
Much of the information I post is from Midwest Grow Kits , sometimes from other references. If you buy a kit they kind a walk you through it to get you started.
Birthing the Cakes
The first signs of mycelial growth should appear within 5-9 days. If none appear within two weeks, something went wrong. (Perhaps the heat killed the spores, or the spores simply did not make it into the cake.) Most types of mushroom mycelium will be a brilliant white fuzz, often growing in ropy strands. This ropy type of growth is called rhizomorphic growth, and is a sign that the mycelium will probably fruit very well.
Any other color is usually mold and a sign of contamination. A contaminated cake will not recover and, except in very rare instances, will never produce mushrooms.
Once a cake is completely covered in white mycelium usually around 4-5 weeks, wait at least 2-3 more days before taking the cake out of the jar. This allows any unseen mycelium to finish colonizing. When you are ready, and in a fairly clean room, begin transferring the cakes from their jars into their fruiting chamber.
Remove the band from the jar, slowly turn the jar upside down, so that the cake is resting on the jar lid. You may need to gently tap the jar to knock the cake loose. Sometimes a rubber mallet is needed to lightly tap the bottom of the jar to dislodge stubborn cakes.
Take the cake out of the jar and then carefully pick up the cake and turn it over so it is sitting right side up on the lid or small piece of aluminum foil. We usually recommend wearing gloves when handling the cakes, although once a cake is fully colonized they have their own immune system and are very resistant to molds and bacteria.
Dunking
After you “birth your cake” you will want to re-hydrate your cake. Place the cake into a slider zip lock bag, 1-quart size is perfect. Fill the bag with water (bottled spring water or filtered water is best) Place the cake in the bag, seal off any air in the bag by slowly zipping the bag closed and removing air as you go.
Do this for each cake in its own bag. We recommend placing the bags into a big bowl or pot to avoid any leakage issues.
Next you want to let them soak for 18-23 hours. Do this after every Flush. Do not exceed 23 hours in the water. Place back in fruiting chamber. Within 4-7 days it will start pinning and producing more mushrooms. Some people like to dunk right after they birth them, but others like to wait until after the first flush of mushrooms. This is up to you!
If you want a batch of mushrooms right away then dunk after the first flush.
If you can wait, we recommend dunking right after birth. When dunking for the second or third time a great tip is to place the bags in the fridge for the dunking process. This cold shock can help trigger stubborn cakes to re-start the mushroom producing cycle again without any harm to the cakes.
Note:
@Midwest GrowKits recommends separate bags for each cake to avoid any cross contamination in the case you have any issues with one. If you are certain all the jars look healthy you can use a larger gallon size Ziplok slider bag with multiple cakes per bag.
I hope this answered your question
@Carmen Ray
Be safe, and grow well my friend,
Tok..
