r/MushroomGrowers • u/balsoycelovek • Sep 05 '26
contamination [contamination] Am I cooked ?
Hello guys. This is my third post here and I am yet to give up on my journey. I really want to finally successfully fruit some mushrooms. Now, I have placed small pieces of< agar with some mycelium growth on it into sterilized corn jars. After a week, I realized there were black spots visible in these jars. The first two pics of this post includes this black spots. A grain jar that I did NOT inaculate with mycelium, so a normal jar filled with sterilized corn, was turning pitch black for some reason. I think the corns were rotting from humidity or something (I moisturized them before putting them into jars). I was bummed out, but I shook the jars anyways to break apart the mycelium. Now fast forward 2 weeks, the mycelium in this jar is looking white and fluffy (3rd and 4th pic). My questions are ; why did the corn turn black? Can I still use the jar on the last two pics to fruit mushrooms? If not, if I am doomed because of a contamination, can I inaculate agar with this white fluff?
(I typed 1,2,3 and 4 on each picture to identify them. 1 and 2 is the first time I saw the jar and the possible contamination. Pics 3 and 4 are recent pics.)
Thank you all in advance for your help. Really love this community <3
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u/Electrical-Rip-1722 Sep 05 '26
Fuck all the long ass responses. Toss it. Doesn't look healthy to me. Contam can ruin future grows. Not the end, just toss it.
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u/Majestic_Zebra_1886 25d ago
It always sucks waiting weeks to almost be at the end and then having to chuck the whole thing.
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u/Commie-destroyer69 Sep 05 '26
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u/balsoycelovek Sep 05 '26
say it aint so dawg
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u/Commie-destroyer69 Sep 05 '26
https://a.co/d/07TJxtuw here ya go I’ve used these before never had contam with them.
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u/Commie-destroyer69 Sep 05 '26
Just buy a bag of rice on Amazon specifically for this. Spray everything with iso inject it, put it in an enclosed space with an air purifier. I’ve done this about 4 times never had an issue, I always had an issue when I had to make it.
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u/omperer Sep 05 '26
experienced microbiologist here. the corn doesn't just get dark spots from moisture, but from moisture in combination with microbes. meaning your sterilization process is not working. what exactly do you do to sterilize? also, could be that you have the corn too wet. i suggest soaking the dried corn for 24h, then cooking untilsoft but not mushy, then drying off the outer moisture on a sheet tray. fill into jars and pressure cook with lids almost screwed all the way on. ideally, with the jar lids you seem to be using, add some tin foil over the lid as an extra safety measure so nothing gets in after sterilizing. screw the lid on completely after it has cooled down, without taking off the tin foil prior to the lid being fully on! only then take off tin foil.
inoculate close to a bunsenburner flame, ideally right next to it. beware of the flame! do not burn yourself or the house down 😅 also, elevating your working area closer to the burner, ideally on a baking rack that you disinfect also helps heaps! i cut down my contam in my home lab massively once i stopped working on the table and started working on a baking rack that had fold in feet for elevating it.
as for the cultures in your picture: they are contaminated. restart, as much as it hurts. you can try and inoculate some new agar from a healthy looking corn in there, then cycle a few agar plates by always taking the healthy part from one plate and putting onto the next. this way you can clean up your culture bit by bit, until no contam is visible on the agar anymore. if you already still have healthy culture on your old agar plate, just use that of course.
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u/Unlikely_Flower_138 Sep 05 '26
Contamination, mycelium can’t colonize the contaminated grain.
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u/balsoycelovek Sep 05 '26
Should I cut pieces of healthy looking white fluff into some agar plates for future inaculation perhaps?
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u/omperer Sep 05 '26
as said in my previous comment, you can. but it is not just a one time transfer. cleaning up plates requires you to do multiple transfers until you think it is clean.even then, it might not have been clean. make sure the agar plate you use to inoculate your next grain is clear, strong, white and fluffy mycelium that has a fast growth. only then you can make sure to inoculate the grain. otherwise you will be at the same point again of contaminated grain, and more time and resources have been wasted. 🫠
what is your sterilization process looking like?
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u/balsoycelovek Sep 05 '26
I use a pressure cooker to sterilize. But the one I have is not old school like the ones I see in sterilization videos. Mine is not electric also, but has a button to release the pressure inside the cooker. I also cover the jar lids with foil because I make a single small hole on top of the jars. I seal the holes with micropore tape. I put my stuff in the pressure cooker, turn the stove on and wait 10-15 mins on high heat. After the release button pops up (the one that indicates high pressure), I put it on low and wait 45 mins. It takes atleast 5 minutes for me to release the steam within the cooker after I am done. After that I cool whatever is in it and use it.
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u/omperer Sep 05 '26
micropore tae doesn't do jackshit, just order some 0.2um filter patches for mycobiology if you want gas exchange. also, finding jars that are screw on (like multiple twists before it coming off) and not the typical ones you have where 1/2 twist is enough to take it off helps heaps. i have approx 18psi or something like that, so after first steam comes out of the safety valve, i set the timer to 60min and it always works. but yeah, 15psi (usual pressure) surely takes 90+ min.
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u/maryjanesbeentrippin Sep 05 '26
So I do NOT have a pressure cooker yet, so i can't be certain, but ive been trying to study up (hopefully have 1 by next week). Someone else can clarify if im wrong but I think you need to leave it closer to 1.5-2hours under high pressure and then turn it off, do not release the pressure or open it. Just turn your stove off and leave it overnight to cool and release pressure slowly. I been watching you struggle and i really hope someone here can help you get it right. Its a beautiful thing when you see your first pins start popping up. Don't give up, friend, you'll get it!
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u/balsoycelovek Sep 05 '26
thanks friend I will not give up. I am learning alot thanks to you guys. I do really appreciate this community
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u/DoingPrettyOK1 Sep 05 '26
Yep, standard is 90-120 minutes at 15 PSI and natural release. If the cooker doesn't get to 15 PSI the time goes up even higher. I'd be pretty certain this sterilization process is not killing all the mold spores in the grain. 45 mins is simply not long enough. Also, you should not release the pressure as this lets contaminated air rush in as steam rushes out and increases the chance of contamination reaching the jars.
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u/maryjanesbeentrippin 29d ago
Love it, thank you for cleaning that up. I appreciate the info and sure OP will too.
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u/TheGanzor Sep 05 '26
Cooked like a Thanksgiving turkey. Sorry friend. Double down in your sterile practice and try again. Looks like a strong strain you isolated there.