How to Use Our Mycelia on Grains?

Contents

1. Conservation of Mycelia upon Reception

Our mycelia on mycelium on grains are living products, sensitive to time and storage conditions. Upon receipt, it is imperative to use them as quickly as possible to preserve their vigor and minimize the risks of contamination.

Why is speed essential? Mycelia are composed of active fungal cells that continue to grow and evolve even after the mycelium on grains have been completely colonized. The shorter the time between receipt and use, the more vigorous the mycelium is and the more capable it is of effectively colonizing the substrate.

Anticipation of production times When ordering, it is important to take into account a production time which can vary between 1 and 3 weeks. To ensure timely delivery, we recommend ordering in advance and, if necessary, specifying your desired delivery date in the comments during checkout. This allows you to have fresh mycelium ready to use upon receipt.

2. Optimal Storage of Myceliums

A. Storage Temperature

Ideally, mycelia should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature between 1 and 5°C. This temperature range slows the growth of the mycelium without damaging it, thus extending its lifespan by up to 4 weeks.

For mycelia of exothermic varieties, such as oyster mushrooms, it is especially important to space the bags in the refrigerator to allow sufficient air circulation and even distribution of cold.

B. Precautions for Long-Term Storage

For extended storage, you can cover the filter with adhesive tape. This precaution reduces air entry and thus limits the intake of potential contaminants through the filter. However, even with these precautions, we recommend using them within 3-4 weeks, as mycelium viability decreases over time.

Factors influencing the lifespan of mycelia :

• Strain: Slow growing strains have a longer lifespan.
• Storage Temperature: A stable, low temperature is essential to extend shelf life.
• Storage conditions: Good air circulation and spacing of bags contribute to optimal conservation.

Signs of aging of the mycelium :

• Compaction of the mycelium, making it less friable.
• Appearance of crusts or lumps on the surface of the grain.
• Production of colored liquid, sometimes smelly, sign of degradation.
• Autolysis of the mycelium, leading to product degradation. At this point it is no longer usable.

How to identify a usable mycelium?
Even if the mycelium shows signs of aging such as compaction or crusting, it can still be used. However, it is best to use it before colored liquids appear, a sign that autolysis has begun.

3. The Importance of Working Cleanly

Cleanliness is a key factor for success in mushroom cultivation. Whether you work in a laboratory or an outdoor environment, maintaining clean working conditions will minimize the risk of contamination.

Classic question: “Yes, but in nature, mushrooms grow on their own, so why should I pasteurize or sterilize my substrates? Reply ->

It's true that in nature, mushrooms grow without human intervention, but the conditions there are very different. Outdoors, fungi often have to compete with other organisms, and only the strongest survive. Furthermore, if mushrooms produce millions of spores, it is mainly because they actually have very little probability of survival and achieving their objectives of fruiting: between the insects which come to eat them, bacteria, other molds, drought, frost, UV rays, others, the chances of success in nature are slim.
When growing mushrooms, the objective is to maximize the chances of success: to have good yields and optimal quality while minimizing losses due to contamination. By pasteurizing the substrate, you reduce the amount of potential contaminants, giving the mycelium an advantage to quickly colonize the substrate. Additionally, by working cleanly, you avoid introducing new contaminants, which is essential for more sensitive varieties of mushrooms.
So, although nature leaves a lot of room for competition, in controlled cultivation, cleanliness and pasteurization create optimal conditions for the growth of the mushrooms you cultivate, increasing your chances of success.

A. Working Conditions for Resistant Varieties

Some varieties, like oyster mushrooms, are more tolerant of non-sterile working conditions. If you work with a substrate low in sugar and nitrogen, such as straw, the risk of contamination is low. In this case, pasteurization of the substrate is sufficient and you can inoculate it in the open air. However, even in these conditions, cleaning surfaces and tools is recommended.

Tip: If you work outdoors, inoculating after rain can reduce the risk of contamination. Rain cleans the air and reduces the number of suspended particles, creating a cleaner environment for inoculation.

B. Working Conditions for Sensitive Varieties

For more demanding varieties, such as shiitakes or lion's manes, which require an enriched substrate, further pasteurization or sterilization is necessary. Working in sterile conditions is essential to avoid contamination that could compromise the culture.

Home Tip : When sterilizing an enriched substrate in a pressure cooker, open the bag in as clean an environment as possible. Spread the mycelium on the substrate without mixing it immediately.

This technique gives a competitive advantage to the mycelium over potential contaminants, which come into direct contact with it. After a week of surface colonization, you can mix the mycelium with the substrate.

4. Amount of Mycelium to Use in Relation to Substrate

The amount of mycelium to use depends on the variety grown and the type of substrate. Here are some recommendations based on our experiences:

• Oyster mushroom on straw: Use approximately 10% mycelium relative to the weight of the wet substrate.
• Shiitake on sawdust: A similar or slightly higher proportion is recommended.
• Stropharia in the garden on straw : In non-sterile outdoor conditions, increase the proportion to about 20% mycelium on mycelium on grains .

Under sterile laboratory conditions, it is possible to reduce the amount of mycelium to 2-3%, or even 1%, of the weight of the substrate. However, in an outdoor or less controlled environment, a higher quantity of mycelium is necessary to minimize the risk of contamination.

Why is it important?
Using an insufficient quantity of mycelium increases the risk of contamination, because the mycelium will take longer to colonize the substrate, thus leaving room for other organisms to settle in.

Mycelium on mycelium on grains can also be seen as a way to enrich its carbon substrate, and thus a greater quantity of mycelium will potentially also increase the productivity of the bales.

5. Use of Mycelium in the Laboratory

When using mycelium in the laboratory, it is essential to maintain rigorous sterile conditions to avoid contamination.

Steps to follow :

1. Clean the exterior of the mycelium bag with a 10% bleach solution or 70% alcohol.
2. Break up and crumble the mycelium by gently massaging the sac, being careful not to tear it.
3. Sterilize the blade of a scalpel by heating it with a flame, then open the bag.
4. Gradually pour the contents of the bag into the sterile substrate, avoiding any contact between the edges of the bag and the interior of the container containing the substrate.

Recommendation : It is best to use the entire contents of the bag at once to minimize the risk of contamination. If this is not possible, reseal the bag as cleanly as possible and reuse it promptly. However, our experience shows that this increases the risk of contamination.

6. Mycelium Viability Test

If you have any doubt about the viability of your mycelium, it is possible to test it in different ways:

1. Room Temperature Incubation : Store the mycelium bag at room temperature (around 20°C) for 5 to 10 days. The mycelium should continue to grow and cover the mycelium on grains . 

2. Petri Dish Test : You can also take a small amount of mycelium and spread it on a pre-poured Petri dish . Observe the development of the mycelium over several days.

3. Test on Wet Cardboard : Pasteurize a piece of brown cardboard for 30 seconds in boiling water, drain it. Place a small sample of mycelium on the cooled piece of cardboard. The mycelium should begin to colonize the cardboard within 5-10 days if it is viable.

Note: the appearance of the mycelium may vary from one variety of mycelium to another. It is normal, for example, that the mycelium of lion's mane is not as white and dense as that of the oyster mushroom. The smell and color may also vary between varieties and this is normal.

If you feel that the mycelium is not sufficiently visible when you receive your package, it is probably because it was shaken during transport and the mycelium on grains have separated, which is not a problem in itself. The mycelium is present inside the mycelium on grains and can be used as is. You can also choose to incubate it for a few days at 20° to see the mycelium fuse all the mycelium on grains again, indicating its vigor.

If you have any concerns with any of our myceliums, please do not hesitate to contact us.

7. Our quality guarantee

Our mycelia, or "mushroom spawn", are seeds grown on mycelium on grains intended for seeding substrates. Here is some additional information on our practices and products.

Local production and guaranteed quality
All our mycelia are produced in our laboratories in Gembloux, Belgium. We select our strains based on their vigor, their natural resistance to diseases, their taste quality and their productivity. We are controlled every year by Certisys for the organic certification of our mycelia, substrates and mushrooms.

Maintenance of potential and vigor
We guarantee the purity and vigor of our strains through regular cultivation in non-sterile environments, followed by reproduction in a sterile laboratory environment. This method allows you to maintain robust and efficient strains, ready to successfully seed your substrates.

Made to order
We produce our mycelia to order, with a production lead time of 2 to 3 weeks. This allows us to send you mycelia at the peak of their vigor, directly after incubation, without storing them in the refrigerator. These conditions guarantee better resistance to transport conditions.

Discover the list of our mycelia on mycelium on grains on this page .

If you are interested in producing your own mycelium, our liquid cultures are available here .