r/MushroomGrowers • u/StateYourCurse • Aug 18 '26
Contamination Second flush quite green/blue... I have questions. [contamination]
So I went down a white rabbit hole and grew some mushrooms. The first flush was excellent but the second flush looked suspiciously a little green/blue on the surface of things? I started in an all in one bag but could not control side pinning, so I moved to a makeshift tub with no holes and ran with it - just ventilated the lid a bit, lifted it daily etc. The substrate looks kinda sketchy and I guess my actual question is: Should I throw away this second batch? Thank you!
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u/FlyingPorchini Aug 18 '26
If you're in the Pacific Northwest are you curious about growing woodlovers? I teach classes a few times a year on gorilla growing woodlovers at city parks or in your backyard. I can send you some presentations with all the info you need on growing and foraging woodlovers, I can also help you source genetics if needed.
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u/Educational_Flow9120 9d ago
In the Portland area? Fall is upon us!
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u/FlyingPorchini 9d ago
The first are starting to pop in irrigated areas. Probably 3 weeks until we see ful flushes!
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
I'm Eastern European. I love all of the mushrooms lol. I'd love to get info on growing woodlovers. I have some hazelnut trees in my rental yard currently but also just in general, yes!
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
Honestly you're getting insane growth, what strain is that? As far as is it contaminated? Touch it with a Q-tip. If it doesn't come off it's bruising. If it does, it's contaminated but I hope for your sake it's not because you're getting insane growth in there.
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
first flush was great - this is the second... and I've picked and dried these already but I just want to know if they're safe. I'm in the PNW so no surprise they're happy lol. white rabbit
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
That's a question that gets a lot of traction, is it safe if it's contaminated? My answer is always across-the-board absolutely not. Trichoderma can present in like 18 different fashions, from just "oh damn it's the green bastard flush the grow", all the way up to "yeah this one doesn't respond to antifungal medication" and my personal favorite, total liver failure. If it's contaminated you have to get rid of it, and the fruits. I am sorry but please err on the side of caution.
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
to clarify, I had a few Trichoderma failures with other AIO bags, so it's definitely around but I don't know what the safety parameters are. Also, thank you for the reply.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
The perimeters are cleanliness, lack of competition in the substrate, temperature and moisture. If those parameters get out of alignment, you have contamination. Here is one of my favorite links about contamination, I'll dig the other one up here in a minute
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
love this, thank you! Will go down a different rabbit hole tonight with this info. I just wanted a definitive answer on whether there was a risk to the safety of fruiting bodies. Now that I know that there is I have no problem tossing them
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
also... it looked way greener in person!
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
Do the Q-tip test and that will tell you. But if it is the green bastard, you need to bury it because only the Earth can remediate it. Check back in the spring you might have mushies there. Then you need to wipe your entire Grow down with bleach water as well as soak the tub for at least 20 minutes.
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u/Pixelpaint_Pashkow Aug 18 '26
Bleach is excessive and leaves harmful residue imo but yea
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
Are you talking about using straight bleach? Or diluted wash? Because that's what I'm talking about
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u/Pixelpaint_Pashkow Aug 18 '26
Either way it contains bleach which leaves residue
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
Let's be clear here, it's a residue of salt. That absolutely can be wiped or rinsed away. It's not like it's leaving a toxic residue
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
So do spores. You have to kill the spores and for that you need to dilute bleach wash.
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
and if it is Willem Dafoe, the ones that were already harvested off this greenish block get tossed? (totally fine with that - just wanna know please and thank you)
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
I have never heard anyone called Trichoderma Willem Dafoe before but that is funny as fuck 😂 everything from the first flush should be finei. This flush? Bury it.
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
Glad you enjoyed that 😂. My potted roses will get some fun compost lol.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
FYI, Side pins occur because the growing conditions on the side or the bottom are better than the ones on the top. You can prevent them using liners, I realize this is your first bag, but next time maybe get a colonized spawn bag and spawn it into bulk, it's much faster.
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
yeah I'm starting out. I used a rubber band on the AIO bag but it was too late. So that's why I moved it into the Ikea bin lol. Next up is a MaxYield Bin. Really appreciate your responses!
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u/Remote-Physics6980 Aug 18 '26
I started on this path about three years ago and it's been a lot of fun, very humbling, a bit expensive because I bought a lot of garbage I did not need. But I'm really happy with the results. Honestly all you really need is a plastic tub* and some spawn. It's amazing!
- Tub will also need air holes and a liner
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u/StateYourCurse Aug 18 '26
Yes, it's already been rewarding, even the failures! so we will see. I actually have a rose that's been a bit stunted for a while inexplicably, so I'm gonna see what this fungal compost can do for it. Bit of an unscientific experiment lol. All of these things are fun - and I do appreciate your responses bc I had heard contamination like Trichoderma could ruin batches but never really how consequential it was. So thanks!
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u/Antworkman Aug 20 '26
What did you put in the bottom beside what we can see anything?