The Grainpsilo WBS Cultivation Method

Being a newbie grower sucks primarily because there is literally hundreds of techniques and everyone seems to have their own method and it is hard to figure out what is the best method or combinations of methods is right for you.

This is my method of preparation of Wild Bird Seed (WBS) that I formulated over years of trial and error trying dozens of different techniques. This method is primarily a mock up of the Mycota WBS Tek with some of my own personal additions. Since using this method I have had a 98% success rate (the 2% failrue were due to bacterial contam that could be traced back to a dirty print) so it works like a charm.

First off my WBS is a personal mixture the I make up with whatever grains I can find at the time I want to make up a batch of spawn but usually my mixtures consist of: 25% White millet, 10% sunflower seeds, 25% red milo, 20% cracked corn and/or 20% wheat/rye. I find that by having a diverse mixture of grains the moisture content is easier to dial in. I am much in favor of soaking my grains instead of seeping them like many people do. This is mainly because its a no fuss no muss way of ensuring your grain isn't over saturated, over cooked, and well rinsed. I also like giving the bacterial (Bacillus spp.) endospores time to germinate so they are vulernable to the sterilization process using a Pressure Canner (PC).


Step 1) Start out by pouring your grain into a bucket and topping off with water. Here I am using a mixture of rye berries and red milo.



Step 2) Go smoke a doobie and watch gillians island

Step 3) Take a nap

Step 4) Place pasta strainers in shower and pour the bucket of water through the strainers. Now rinse the grain for a minute and pour back into the bucket and top off with water again. This is to get all that nasty starch residue off the grain so that it doesn't stick together later.



Step 5) Now let the grain soak overnight. I like to try for 16-24 hours. With the time you now have to kill I suggest you return to the couch.

Step 6) Once again put your pasta strainers into the shower and strain your grain once again. I like to give it one more good rinsing with the shower nozzle until the water coming out the other end is clear. I like to use multiple strainers to spread the grain out which aids in quicker straining.



Step 7) Shake the strainers every 10 mintues or so to shake loose any excess moisture and stir the grain with your hand to mix the wetter with drier kernels. There is no time frame for proper draining... its done when you can squeeze a handful and 90% of the grain falls away from your hand when you open it. That can be 30 mintues or 4 hours depending on grain size, humidity of the air, hardness of water.... ect.
Basically you want it wet on the inside and semi dry on the outside. The problem is all those damn capillary spaces between the grain that hold water and the smaller the grains the tighter it holds the water. Thats the reason for the shaking and mixing of the grain.... to knock loose the water. Proper moisture content is a art and takes practice.



Step 8) Load jars 3/4 full



Step 9) Place a Tyvek filter on top ( These are 6 in x 6 in tyvek patches that were cut out of a tyvek sheet you can get at a home depot or you can get tyvek Priority Mail envelopes from your local post office for FREE.



Step 10) Put lid on top with seal facing up



Step 11) Add two coffee filters to the lid and secure with a sturdy rubber band



Step 12) Cover coffee filters with tin foil and secure with a sturdy rubber band (this is done to keep water from seeping into the jars during sterilization)



Step 13) PC the jars for 1.5 hours and let the PC depressurize on its own.



Step 14) Last but not least remove the foil from the lids to allow the coffee filters to dry and shake the jars throughly to distribute the grain while still piping hot.


The coffee filters coupled with the tyvek work well as a barrier IMO. I find the best way to innoculate a jar is through these filters. I apply alittle Iso alcohol to the top of the jar and the coffee filters become transparent so you can line up your flame sterilized needle with the hole in the lid.. then upon removing the needle I cover the hole with a napkin soaked in Iso alcohol and rotate the coffee filters 180 degrees so the holes don't line up with the innoculation hole in the lid.... all very sterile and the alcohol evaporates in a few mintues.

Here are the rest of the pictures



Any questions about anything that is unclear just let me know

once mycellium is est. and jar is colonized does the grain hold together like BRF cakes? i kinda assume so since the myc. holds it together.

Once the jar is colonized you shaken the jars and break the grain apart and it is mixed with pasturized substrate (straw, worm castings, manure ect) to make bulk casings. Each individual grain kernel becomes a independent innoculation point so the substrate colonizes quickly and thus minimizes the risk of other fungi/bacteria from colonizing the substrate.


I do not have any pictures on hand of this process so I am stealing 3 of the 4 following pictures from cyberhun in order to show the process:

even if it come out in one piece. it would still hold together SV.. just the same a rye grain bag does. you can take colonized cake out the bag..
People mix the bag during different stages. I found mixing my bags during colonization speeds it really fast. Most the time just under the injection site is where the mice grow. Spreads out from there.. just dont mix it up to vigorously, gently mix it in the lower half the bag...
shake grain jars at your discretion.

^

And props to grainpsilo for taking time to write this and find pictures

And he has been in these parts for a while..
I really like smoke a joint part..
Congratulation

could i possibly get those free spores you were talking about?

so after you make the jars, inoculate, you dump the jars into a container, and top it with the substrate?

You mix it throughly with the substrate so that it colonizes as rapidly as possible.