Liquid psilocybe spore syringe

How to make a magic mushroom spore syringe from spore print

STEP 1. Day 1.

For now you already prepared everything you need according to the lists of stuff for growing process.

The very first step in cultivation process is making spore syringe for grain substrate inoculation.

*Skip this step if you already have ready to use spore syringe or liquid culture syringe and move on STEP 2. Substrates for magic mushrooms

What is spore syringe

Liquid spore syringe or spore solution — consists of a syringe filled with mushroom spores in sterile water for spores hydration (rehydration). It is one of the method for transporting spores to a sterile substrate (aka inoculation). Spore syringe is the fastest and easiest way for inoculation.

Spore syringe VS Liquid culture

Spore syringe is often mistaken with liquid culture syringe. Liquid culture (or liquid mycelium) is the result of mycelium development in liquid nutrient broth based on honey, corn syrup, light malt extract etc.

Liquid culture (LC) is preferred over a spore syringe to inoculate grain spawn, because mycelium spread faster. Anyway you need to make spore syringe first, because it is a part of LC preparation.

LC is additional step, more complicated process in comparison with spore syringe and requires more time.

Check out: Liquid Culture Guide

Why we need a spore syringe

Let's turn to nature for the answer, because the whole process of mushrooms cultivation is a simulation of natural conditions.

When mushroom cap are opened, the mushroom begins to spread spores. Such fresh spores are ready to germinate, they contain enough moisture. But after a short period of time they become dehydrated and the cell walls of the spores curl toward the center. So that, they go into a dormant state for a period of drought and wait for the rainy season.

In order to reproduce the rainy season, thereby awakening and preparing spores for vegetation, we put them in sterile water in a sterile syringe.

In addition, spore syringe is the easiest and most accessible method of substrate inoculation for newbie growers.

Materials needed to prepare a Spore Syringe

Gather necessary materials to prepare a liquid spore syringe by your own:

1. Spore print in a zip bag

   

2. Sterile disposable syringe. One syringe per one spore print.

   

   💡 Tip: The syringe volume should be at least 5 cc/ml. Better to use syringe of medium and large volume 10-20-50 cc/ml, so that you can get more genetic material for inoculation, because each spore print has billions of active spores!

3. Sterile injection water in vial (minimum 5 cc/ml) and ampoule cutter (or kitchen knife) to open the ampoule.

   

   If you use big syringe or gonna dilute the spore solution you need additional injection water. Another 5-15-45 ml for 10-20-50 ml syringes, respectively.

   💡 Tip: If you don't have sterile injection water just boil clean drinking water for 10-15 mins in saucepan. Then fill the syringe with hot boiling water and wait till it cool down to room temperature before using it

4. Ethyl or Isopropyl alcohol 70% in a bottle or spray bottle.

   

   💡 Tip: 70% alcohol is more effective than 91/96/99% for disinfecting. Why? At higher concentrations, the alcohol evaporates too quickly to completely disinfect. At 70% the water content helps the alcohol permeate the cell membranes of bacteria, mold spores and viruses

   Shroomok's Choice on Amazon: Isopropyl Alcohol 70% + Spray bottle - 21.99
   
5. Cotton pads — 2-3 pcs.
6. Personal protective equipment: gloves, face mask, lab coat (PE raincoat), cap.

   

   Shroomok's Choice on Amazon: 10 Gloves and 1 Mask Bundle - $7.99

Preparation and materials sterilization before making Spore Syringe

1. Wash your hands and face.
2. Put on personal protective equipment: face mask, medical cap, gloves, lab coat (or PE raincoat). This helps prevent contamination from your own body (hands, hair, breath) and clothing.
3. Wipe the table with ethyl/iso alcohol 70%. Soak cotton pad in alcohol and wipe the table; or spray the alcohol with spray bottle and wipe the surface.
4. Spray the alcohol on your gloves. Wipe your hands thoroughly over the entire surface of the gloves and between your fingers.
5. Spray the alcohol on your hands up to the elbows.
6. Wipe with the alcohol all needed materials on the table: the vial with injection water, zip bag with the spore print, the ampoule cutter (or kitchen knife), the syringe package and even the bottle with alcohol.
7. Don't spare the alcohol for sterilization!

How to make Spore Syringe

Method 1. Making spore syringe in zip bag

The following method of preparing the liquid spore syringe is the easiest and very simple. It doesn't require perfect sterile conditions, no need to use a glove box, still air box or laminar flow hood. However, it is rather wasteful, because you need to use the whole print at once.

The process of spore syringe preparation you can watch in the video on Reddit

Don't skip detailed guide below, because video shows only the main principles!

1. Open the ampoule with sterile water for injections.
2. Open the syringe pack. Put the needle on. Fill the syringe with sterile water from the ampoule.

   

   ❗️Don't lean over the table with the whole your body during the process. Try to keep only your palms and hands above the table
3. Don't open zip bag with spore print! Wipe zip bag with alcohol again.
4. Pierce zip bag closer to the valve. Put the needle inside. Squeeze all water from the syringe into the zip bag.

   

5. Don't pull the needle out of the zip bag. Just clamp the puncture point with one hand and rub the spore print through the zip bag with the other hand. So that, spores separate and mix with water.

   

6. Draw water with spores from zip bag back into the syringe.
7. Remove the needle from the zip bag. Wipe the syringe needle with alcohol (wipe by cotton pad soaked with alcohol or just spray it with alcohol). Put the protective cap over the syringe needle. Make sure opened syringe needle doesn't touch anything. Do not put the syringe on the table without the protective cap on the needle!
8. Shake the syringe to mix spores in water water. Put the syringe in dark place or wrap the syringe in a foil to ensure dark conditions.

   

9. Sign the strain on a syringe or zip bag. Leave prepared liquid spore solution to rehydrate for 1-2 days at room temperature (+20+25°С or 68-77°F)

   

How to get a larger volume of liquid spore? How to dilute it?

You can dilute the prepared liquid spore, thus increasing the volume of material for inoculation by several times. This way, you can inoculate more jars of substrate.

Each spore print contains billions of spores (about 3-5% are capable of continuing life)

To make the dilution as sterile as possible and to avoid contact of the spore solution with contaminants take a medium or large syringe to prepare more spore solution from the very beginning. For example, 20-50 ml.

Make all manipulations for liquid spore syringe preparation in zip bag.

Then just add another 15-40 ml of water to fill in the whole volume of the syringe. So that you'll get 20-50 ml of spore syringe for inoculation.

Of course you can dilute it in a sterile disposable lab test tubes/containers in still air box or with using Fan Filter Unit or Laminar Flow Hood.

You can dilute the spore solution till it slightly colored with spores or almost transparent (share 1 spore print per 100-200 ml of water).

Method 2. Making spore syringe in still air box

In this way you can use half or 1/4 of spore print and save genetic material for the next attempts. The rest of spore print you can use any time you need. However, this method requires SAB (still air box) or Fan Filter Unit or Laminar flow hood.

1. Prepare Spore Print in zip bag and SAB (still air box)

   

2. Put spore print, syringes with needles, sterile water, iso alcohol, scissors, scalpel and sterile plastic container for lab tests. Wipe all instruments and SAB with iso alcohol.
3. Open zip bag with spore print. Scrap some spores from a spore print with scalpel to sterile plastic container for lab tests or sterile shot glass.

   

4. Add sterile injection water to spores in the container (you can use chilled boiled water, boil for 20 minutes and let it cool down before using). Fill the syringe (or few syringes) with spore solution.

   

5. Ready! Add more sterile water in syringe to have full syringe.

   

How long liquid spore syringe can be stored

Longer storage is not a problem. Ready-made liquid spore syringe can be stored up to 1 year and spores stay viable.

You can leave spore solution for a week or month at room temperature in a dark place and use it when you are ready for inoculation.

For long term storage (over 1 month) put the syringe in the refrigerator at 35-46°F or +2°..+8°C.

Shake the spore syringe every 2-4 weeks and don't forget to shake it well right before inoculation, because spores may stick together over time.

Now move on — STEP 2. Day 1. Choose and prepare substrate for magic mushrooms ▶️