Grow Bag problems

hello i did a post 5 days ago regarding a all in one bag mor growing ive misted evedyday 2/3 times a day and given it fae every time also and still no progress or signs of pins any help would be massivly appriciated as running of ideas on what to do

ive been spraying directly onto the substrate as you said to me to do as was dry

Hey Max, here I meant making one strong misting on the top layer. You don’t need to spray the mycelium directly every day. Just that one time is enough. After that, you can mist the walls of the tub/bag maybe once every 2–3 days if needed (only if the walls of the bag are dry). Although, in your case it's not a big mistake and the mycelium looks much better now.

Anyway, if you still see zero pins by day 15, try one of the options below. All of these methods can help trigger pinning and fruiting:

1) Rehydration + Cold Shock (easiest method):

Soak the mushroom block in cold water with added ice cubes for about 4 hours (you can put the cake in the refrigerator while soaking). Make sure the cake is completely submerged.

2) Rehydrate + Apply Casing Layer on top:

Soak the mushroom cake, then cover the top layer of the block with a casing or pseudo-casing layer. You can find recipes and examples here. Just skip the fork tek (step 1), since you don’t have overlay and go to step 2.

3) Break & Re-case in a Shoebox:

Break up the all-in-one block to create a flat mushroom cake in a plastic container (shoebox). Cover it with a thin layer (~1–1.5 cm or about ½ inch) of casing or pseudo-casing layer.

P.S. Please continue posting updates and asking your questions in this thread. No need to create a new one ;)

thank you really helpful just so i know the mycelium looks okay then??

Tell me, which option are you going to use? :)

Your mushroom block isn’t perfect, but overall it’s fine 👌

Don’t worry though, it’s pretty common. Pre-made all-in-one bags or growkits are never ideal. They’re always a bit of a pain in the ass! Why? Because, it’s almost guaranteed (99% of the time) that you’ll face some issues, like off field capacity (substrates' moisture balance), uneven mycelium colonization, stalled growth, or problems with pinning.

On top of that, newbies who use such products often don’t know how to manage all these, which makes it a double challenge...

hi thanka for the advice im going to try the shock method on day 15 do i put the mycelium block back into the all in one grow bag or another type of tub and carry on misting/fae or will doing that have given it enough moisture that it isnt needed

also there seems to be a lot of water pooling at the bottom of the all in onebag is this okay or should i have tipped it out?

sorry for all the questions im a newby lol this is really helping so does go a long way thanks

Ok, got you! Regarding your questions:

1. You can soak the cake right in the bag ;) Pour cold water (use clean unchlorinated tap water or drinking water) and add some ice cubes directly into the bag. Leave the cake to soak. Then remove the water and keep the cake in the same bag for further fruiting.

2. Water pooling at the bottom is NOT okay since it carries a high risk of contamination (bacterial). Pour the water out, and only mist the bag if the walls look dry!

thank you i will leave it until saturday and only mist if the walls are dry ive emptied the water pooling at the bottom if no pins by saturday will try the shock method i will keep you updated if your intrested again many thanks

Sure! Waiting for updates. Best of luck 🤞

ive done the rehydraye shock last night so just a waiting game now i have tied the bag back up and there is a slit to allow fae any tips for how i should be storing it plus do i need to open the bag up daily now ive done this shock or just simply leave it alone cheers

1. Hope you used freezing cold water for rehydration (or added ice cubes and/or put the cake in refrigerator while soaking).

2. The bag shouldn't be folded. Increase the empty part of bag to make it triple height as cake's height, so the mycelium can "breath".

3. The bag shouldn't be completely sealed for fruiting period! If there is no air filter (or it's wet), open the bag twice a day for a few minutes. For some natural air/gas exchange you can also make a 1-inch cut in the bag, or leave a tiny gap in the zip area, and cover it with micropore tape or another breathable tape.

4. After rehydration you don't need any misting, so skip it at this point.

5. At last, don't keep the bag on the floor. That's the dirtiest place in the room, with the highest contaminant concentration and drafts. Put it on the table or anywhere above.

6. Patience!

Hope to see your first pins within the next 10-15 days 🤞

yes used ice cubes and cold tap water eveything you mentioned on how to do it i did

my only issue is that i did the hoodie tek really low down so when i lift the bag up there is a large cut in the bag i will put some micropore tape over the join on the bag then just leave it be it isnt normally on the floor it was just to show the picture

i will leave alone now for 10/15 days and see how i get on once again i appricate the help a bunch cheers

Well done 👍 Alright, got you!

Now let’s just wait and see ;) Post an update on day 7, okay?

will do cheers :)

its not letting me post a pic for some reason can i send it to you on redditt?

just posted on the reddit page thanks in advance

Your cake looks pretty good 👍 It just needs more time! Natural day light (but NOT a direct sun light) is enough. Additional light is optional.

will a soft lamp above the growbag be okay for light or is this not okay

also so the mycelium is lookinh okay i was worteid about contam but it is all white no green ect

I've added your photo from reddit post

No worries, mycelium is healthy. Nothing green or gray, or looking strange. You don't need full spectrum light like for plants. And don't use lamps that produce heat. Light should be white-blue spectrum (~435-480 nm) or use fluorescent light 6500k lux power or just white-blue LED lamp.

cool cheers ill give it another week and update you many thanks

hi sorry another question just out of curisity if the mycelium doesnt get the correct lighting will it not pin?

Well, to support your curiosity :D

For some photosensitive species (e.g. Oysters) light is a must have for both pinhead initiation and normal mushroom metabolism, and thus for their appearance and development.

But if we are talking about Cubensis, this species is able to pinning without any light at all :)

Although light isn’t strictly necessary for fruiting, certain spectra (as I mentioned in a prev. reply) do influence pinning and the appearance of mushrooms. In practice, when ordinary Cubensis strains receive some light, their caps tend to be darker and more vividly colored.

Quick reference:

A thorough investigation of the photosensitivity of Cubensis can be found in a master’s thesis by E. R. Badham (1979). It showed that more pins are initiated under blue and ultraviolet light, with peaks at 370, 440, and 460 nm. Even extremely short exposure (just half a millisecond per day) caused primordia to form. In contrast, red, infrared, and green light with wavelengths above 510 nm were ineffective (e.g. plant-growing lamps).

What light to use?

• Diffused, soft natural day light.

• Avoid direct sunlight! Why? It breaks down psilocybin and overheats the mycelium.

• White-blue spectrum (~435–480 nm), a cool white/blue LED lamp, LED strips, or fluorescent light (6000–6500 K)

• A 12-hour on/off cycle is optimal.

In your case, if you just keep the bag in a room with some daylight, that’s absolutely enough ;)

For cultivation in a growtent or for monotubs in a dark room I'd use some additional light!

thanks again i just have the bag high up out of direct sunlight mow away from the floor are youve said thats not a good idea on the floor just waiting on pins now... at my stage im at now how long do we recon light dependant we have now im hoping anyday

just so you know these are golden teacher as this is my first flush i heard that there the easist to work with

Well done! Simply keep the bag as is (ofc, open it for FAE). And WAIT! Mushroom cultivation is a great workout for your patience ;) We need at least one more week.

If I got your question correctly… the light (natural or added) is used throughout the entire fruiting period. From providing fruiting conditions (FAE, misting), through pinning and mushroom development, all the way to harvesting

starting to get very small green dots on the mycelium now starting go think al this hard work was for nothing :///

i do however have another fully inoculated grow bag which i havent opened yet and am not really sure on how to go about allowing fresh air in what would be your best advice to get a brand now all in one to fruit

Could you show me pls:

1) The area with green dots. I need to check if there is mold or just bruising

2) Your new bag. Take photos from all sides: top, bottom, and around.

Good lighting and focused photos are highly appreciated!

again wont let me post on here i will post on reddit when im home of both bags ect many thanks

i have my very first TINY pin

see photos for green i have done the swap test and notning comes off onto the cotton bud so maybe bruisinh where i have been movinb it around ect

photos of bag ready for fruiting just woukd like to know what your advice would be i was thinking maybe just cut slits in bag and micropore tape them up and let it do its thing over time?

posting pics works now :)

Hey, your cake looks absolutely fine! In this area there are only a few small bruising dots and very wet mycelium (see blue circle in the photo).

AND! Hooray, finally your first mushroom popping up (pink circle in the photo). There are more tiny white beads appeared, they will turn into shrooms soon (hopefully).

Now leave it alone and don't touch pleeeeaaaase!

As for the new bag, I'd wait a while for that area (see blue circle in the photo) to become covered with mycelium. Because bald patches are highly prone to contamination.

You've already got some bottom pins growing here lol (pink circle) ;)

P.S. Don't forget to click the captcha button, then there will be no problem with publishing photos

thank you for all your help

i will wait until the whole bag is inoculated them what do you think would be the best method for fruiting just the same as ive done mow cut halfway down then seal it up and just give it fae

also off the top of my head because ive already cold shocked and rehydrated this cake im fruiting now will i be aboe to do a second flush

My pleasure! I'm waiting to see your shroom bag fruiting not any less than you

Both answers are YES

hi mate good news! just took the shroom bag down and theres lots of pins just adding some fae then back to rest

think the green on mycelium is bruising correct me if wrong

Brilliant! So glad to see your shrooms...

Yes, the greenish is bruising from your fingerprint lol

do you think just leave it now.. is there anywhere i can send you a bit of money to get a few pints ect as youve been a massive help :)

Yeah, just leave the bag alone, watch them grow 🤩 and share updates with me pls ;)

You can support Shroomok on buymeacoffee https://buymeacoffee.com/shroomok

Edit: there is a section called "Buy Shroomok a mushroom", where you can make a one-time donation of any amount

hi mate cant see anywhere where i can donate personaly to a single account as a one off only see subscriptions is there anywhere i can do a one off payment?? cheers?

all sorted sent some money will keep updated cheers

🤙❤️🙏

Thank you very much, mate! I appreciate your support
I had a fantastic pint of... coffee, thanks for taking care of me :D

hi just an update photo looking reallly good cant thank you enough hopefully be ready to fruit in a few days

just a quick one for the second flush do i just do the same as i did for the cold shock but no ice so let the cake sit in in the bag for 4/5 hours fully submerged in water cheers in advanve for help

Looking awesome! Yeah, shrooms will be ready in 3-5 days.

You have time to check out some harvesting tips here: https://shroomok.com/en/wiki/Magic_mushroom_harvesting_time,_first_flush

And how to dry and store them properly: https://shroomok.com/en/wiki/How_to_dry_and_store_psilocybe_mushrooms

Don't hurry up! Let me check your cake right before harvesting and after harvesting, okay? Maybe hard misting will be enough, maybe soaking in cold/freezing cold water for 1-2 hours.

Glad to help and watch them grow ;)

Waiting for new updates 🙌

:)

hi mate shrooms looking good a few flies in yhe bag tho any way of stoppinh that or is that okay??

looking unreal ready to harvest tommrow

quick one while i think can i make chcolate when there still wet or do they need to be dried

Amazing shrooms 🤘

1-2 days and they are ready!

Flies in the bag are not okay! Some types of flies leave their eggs in substrate. Then their larvaes ruin mycelium and mushroom tissues.

For making chocolates and storage - shrooms need to be COMPLETELY dry

any tips on how to get rid of flies i will harvest today and then rehydrate over night in hopes that gets rid of them its only a few i saw last night

Mushroom flies

Would be great if you can take a photo of that fly. Dead or alive doesn't matter :D

I need to see the body and wings. Hopefully, this is not the "contamination" type I ment (Sciarid fly, Cecids, Leptocera, Phorid)

If they fly it means they are mature and are able to produce eggs (150-170 eggs at a time), migrate between bags and spread pathogens like Verticillium, Trichoderma and even carry mites (a single fly can carry up to 20 mites)

You need to find out the source of these flies — either the substrate (typically it's due to poor pasteurization) or your environment. You have all-in-one bag, right? If so, your substrate bag contain grain, then it was sterilized and nothing stayed alive after that. So, it means they came from your room, Idk maybe plant pots.

You can work on prevention only! For now try to remove them from your bag. Use fine mosquito net or any cloth to cover the bags while you ventilate them in order to prevent spreading between other bags.

Although, if they came from the substrate itself and/or they already left eggs you can't treat it. You can't kill eggs and larvae (without harmful pesticides). And rehydration won't help in this case.

If the number of flies increases or any diseases appeared you will have to toss the bag!

hi mate i plucked the shrooms from the cake there were no extra flies they all semmed to vanish today here are photos shall i rrhydrate or what do you think os best for second flush

very hard to see here is the bug think its a fruit fly??

Congratulations mate! You did it 🤘

Now soak the cake in freezing cold water for 1 hour — it's enough. And wait for the 2nd flush ;)

Can't see details of that fly in the photos. Let's hope for the best

you helped me bro couldnt of done without you

will keep you updated on second flush if intrested?

Sure, I am!

hi mate just drying the last of the first harvest only a few that havent been dried out are these ones still okay to eat or should i toss these

also a few of the ones i have dried out were crispy and snapped perfect when i dried them and they are now not dey again does this mean they werent dried properly at the start??

been drying in front of a heater like you have shown on yhe page

is this cake looking ok whike your looking over the rest

Hey mate, glad to hear from you! Your mushrooms are fine. Just let them dry for longer. Then add them to the rest.

White rice as an alternative to silica gel for storing mushrooms

It is possible that your mushrooms have become slightly damp, as some moisture comes from deeper tissues of the mushroom to the upper tissue layer. You can dry them out a bit more.

Right after drying you should store mushrooms in airtight jars or zip bags with 2-5 packs of food grade silica gel. Otherwise, mushrooms will absorb moisture from the environment, like a sponge.

If you don't have silica gel right now, then just use white rice as a dehumidifier. How?

1. Take a jar (or zip bag).
2. Add ordinary the cheapest dry white rice — create a layer at the bottom about 2 inches (5 cm).
3. Add dry mushrooms.
4. Close the lid/zip tightly.

Check your mushrooms in 3-5-7 days, then again in 2 weeks. They should remain as dry as they were when you put them in the jar after drying.

Your cake looks good. Some new mushrooms popping up here and there (see attached photo). It needs time and your patience.

P.S. Check out my previous two answers ;)

cheers apprciate the answers i redried all my mushroms together last night cut the edges of a shoebox in to keep the heat kept checlkibg them there crisp as anytning checking again today so that worked really well ive put another all in one grow bag into fruiting conditions this one is looking extremly well here have a look

mental how much the shrooms shrik once dried fully

im going to make shroom choclate today as a way to preserve them (and enjoy them lol)

Mushrooms are ~90% water, so 500 grams of fresh mushrooms turn into 50 grams (or even less) of dry.

Check out mushroom chocolate recipes and tea recipe here:

1. Mushroom Chocolates
2. Mushroom Tea

Btw, you new bag looks fine.

thank you mate

mycelium looks kinda fluffy is that lack of fae also if this big shroom grows and others dont which it seems to be doing shall i just pickc that one or will that effect the harvest

My pleasure!

Keep ventilating them as you did it before. I don't think they need anything extra right now. Let them do their job ;) If you want, you can add 1-2 ventilations in a day — up to you.

Yes, you can harvest the mature mushrooms later and just wait for the rest. I assume your cake won't need to be soaked. It will be enough to mist the top layer. Show me your bag later, and we'll see what to do next.

cool mate ill show you later

this is the fly that is on the shroom cake

thing is the cake is still growing fine just get a fly or 2 whenvee i check

also does the cake still look okay?