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Nutcracker — when mutation worked out well

Psilocybe Cubensis Nutckacker mushroom strain

Never cultivated albino mushrooms yet? Start with Nutcracker strain!

Nutcracker is a remarkable Psilocybe cubensis with a rich genetic history. Despite unique qualities, it’s not as widely known as Albino Penis Envy or Jack Frost. In fact, it might be one of the most underrated albino shrooms out there.

This strong and resilient strain is perfect for anyone eager to grow true albino mushrooms for the first time.

Let’s discover what makes Nutcracker so special!

Genetic Roots of the Nutcracker Strain

At the top of this page, you could notice a graph illustrating the genetic path of the Nutcracker strain in a simple and clear way (all buttons are clickable!).

Psilocybe -> P. Cubensis -> GT -> TAT -> Yeti -> Nutcracker

The story of the Nutcracker strain begins with a distant ancestor and the most famous Psilocybe Cubensis - Golden Teacher (GT) strain
Golden teacher magic mushroom description and effects

At one point, the Golden Teacher produced an albino mutation. Then, this mutation was isolated by Jik Fibs from Shroomery, which led to creation of a new strain called True Albino Teacher (TAT)
Tat true albino teacher

TAT marked the beginning of a new era in albino genetics, resulting in the development of over 30 new strains. Among these was YETI - a genetic isolation of TAT, also crafted by Jik Fibs
Yeti magic mushrooms

Later, another Shroomery researcher, Myco Clay, discovered an intriguing mutation while cultivating Yeti mushrooms. In 2020, he initiated a project to isolate these unique samples, resulting in over 15 generations of phenotypes with distinct characteristics. The stabilized genetics of this new strain were released to the public on March 5, 2021, under the name Psilocybe Cubensis Nutcracker strain

Some beautiful Nutcracker mushrooms

Features of the Nutcracker magic mushroom

The Nutcracker is a true albino strain, meaning it lacks of pigment on its caps, stems, or spores. Mushroom fruit bodies are white.

Bottle tek - Nutcracker strain - yielded 130 g on the first flush - day 18

The only coloration the mushrooms may develop are slightly beige tint, bluish edges on the caps, sometimes blue gills and intense bruising, caused by the reaction of psilocin with oxygen.

Beautiful Nutcracker mushroom

Nutcracker mushrooms with bruises

The stems of Nutcracker mushrooms are typically dense and thick, often with pronounced ridges.

Bottle tek yielded 130 g on the first flush - day 18

Cubensis Nutcracker mushrooms. Quickly becoming one of my favorite strains

Another distinctive characteristic is the charming wrinkled wavy white caps. Actually, its parent strain YETI (also Deep Blue Yeti) has this feature.

Cubensis Nutcracker mushroom cluster

Some beautiful Nutcrackers with wavy caps

Occasionally, caps may develop burrs or bumps, which are entirely normal for this strain and not considered abnormalities.

Top 10 essential tips for growing Nutcracker magic mushrooms

1) Cultivation Level

Nutcracker is one of the easiest strains to cultivate among ALBINO strains, making it suitable even for beginners. Its straightforward growth process is also appealing to cultivators with basic experience who are looking for something new.

If you’re new to mutated albino strains, starting with Nutcracker offers an excellent opportunity for success.

❗️Important Note: If you don’t have experience working with agar, consider using genetics in a syringe (liquid culture). Spore swab, agar plate, or agar slant require additional equipment (such as a Still Air Box) and more advanced skills.

2) Resistance to Contamination

Nutcracker is a resilient Cubensis strain with a high resistance to contamination. It can even compete with contaminants in challenging conditions. Here are a few examples.

Rob - Not an expert: It’s like a dark red-purple contamination inside the cake (bottle-tek)

Dark red purple contamination inside Nutcracker mushroom cake

Rob - Not an expert: I separated the cake a few days ago and was gonna trash it. But I woke up to some Nutcracker pins today

Nutcracker pins popping up

Rob - Not an expert: Update on the nutcracker. It coexisted with the contamination

Update on the nutcracker - it coexisted with the contamination

Rob - Not an expert: Nutcracker from contaminated Bottle Tek. Didn’t rehydrate or anything just let it be and it popped up some more after my first flush

Nutcracker from contaminated Bottle Tek

Another example where (possibly) contamination triggered an interesting mutation.

Grower: It's a Nutcracker. The tubs have been fighting contamination for a while, which is probably the cause of the strange growth patterns.

Nutcracker tubs been fighting contamination for awhile and strange growth patterns appeared on mushrooms

Nutcracker tubs been fighting contamination for awhile and strange growth patterns appeared on mushrooms

3) Common issues when growing Nutcracker magic mushrooms

Genetic Changes and Mutations. The Nutcracker strain has a complex genetic history, making it prone to changes. While albinism is its defining feature, this strain may develop new phenotypes, including:

Losing albino traits. Pigmentation and new color tints. Actually, this can be a positive feature for further work on genetics.

Alterations in shape. Chonky Nutcracker:

Mutated Nutcracker mushroom

Mutations and abnormalities, such as blob-like ("dino eggs") or coral-like formations:

Nutcracker mushroom mutation looks like a coral reef

Sensitivity to CO2. Thick meaty Nutcrackers' stems are normal. But they can become porous, puffy, or spongy inside when CO2 levels in the fruiting chamber are excessively high. This is especially noticeable during the final days of growth or just before the veil breaks, as mushrooms generate more CO2 during this stage.

Observation: Mushroom stems may resemble "cheeto puffs," particularly after the veil has torn and the effect progresses down the stem.

Nutcracker magic mushrooms fruiting

💡Tip: Increase fresh air exchange in your fruiting chamber. Harvest on time, either just before or immediately after the veil tears.

Spore Production. Nutcrackers often fail to produce fully-developed caps with gills and mature spores, leading to either no spores or very few, transparent spores. As a result, creating proper spore prints is nearly impossible.

The most effective methods for further reproduction are cloning on agar and making spore swabs (collecting spores from the gills with a sterile cotton swab).

Cloning Nutcracker mushroom sample on agar:
Cloning Nutcracker mushroom on agar

4) Grain for spawn

Nutcracker is not particular about the type of grain used for spawn. Options like rye, barley, wheat, millet, sorghum, oat, and corn all work exceptionally well.

💡Pro Tip: The Drippy Corn Tek works wonders for cultivating Nutcracker mushrooms.

5) Colonization speed

Nutcracker mushrooms demonstrate relatively fast colonization. At room temperature (73–77°F or 23–25°C), it takes approximately 10–14 days to colonize a 1-quart grain jar. In comparison, ordinary Cubensis strains require 10-20 days, other Albino strains often require 20-30 days.

6) Bulk fruiting substrate

The CVG recipe (coco coir + vermiculite + gypsum) is simply the best choice for Nutcracker cultivation.

Here’s the basic recipe:

  • Coco coir - 1 compressed brick (1.4 lbs / 650g)

  • Vermiculite - 8 cups (2 quarts)

  • Gypsum - 1 cup

  • Water - 18 cups (4.5 quarts)

For detailed instructions, refer to the full guide: Spawn to bulk and Casing

Casing for Nutrackers is optional!

7) Recommended Cultivation Teks

Nutcracker performs well with various cultivation teks, including:

  • MonoTub tek (30–50 quarts)

  • Shoebox tek (6–10 quarts)

  • Bottle tek (5–10 quarts)

  • DubTub tek (two 6-8-quarts tubs)

  • Fruiting in mushroom growing bags (small or medium size bags with breathable filters 0.2-0.5 micron. Bags contain 2-5 lbs of substrate)

❗️Note: While small mushroom cakes are an option, avoid using the PF-tek for Nutcrackers, as it is less suitable for this strain.

8) Pinning and Fruiting speed

While the speed of pinning depends on genetics, Nutcracker is generally a fast-fruiting strain.

Trippy: “Nutcracker quickly became one of my favorite strains. It is the fastest fruiting strain I’ve grown!

7 days post spawn to bulk: Look! This is Nutcracker 7 days post Spawn to Bulk. Already have pins!

This is Nutcracker 7 days post spawn already have pins

12 days post-spawn to bulk: Crazy speed of growth just in 5 days

Nutcracker about 12 days after spawn to bulk

14 days post-spawn to bulk: 2 weeks from the day of spawn to bulk (S2B) to the day of harvest

Nutcracker about 14 days after Spawn to Bulk

9) Flushing

Nutcracker typically produces 3–4 productive flushes.

10) Potency

As an albino strain, Nutcracker is considered above average in potency (compared to average potency of Psilocybe cubensis strains like Golden Teacher, Pink Buffalo and similar strains).

Afterword

Thank you for reading and allowing me to be part of your day!

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Peace, Shroomok

I'm grateful to all the members of the shroomok community, who shared their experience and made this write up happened!

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Check out more Nutcracker photos below and explore over 100 strains in the Mushroom Genetics Tree

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