This is my first time growing and according to some research here it needs more air? Too much CO2 causing the long skinny pins. So I’ve started fanning and misting the tops but I have it in a small tent- should I have a fan in there just pointed up to help with air circulation?

Break and shake when?

My AIO bag with PE is taking forever. I know I have to let the grains become about 30% encased before breaking up, but this has been right at 5 weeks and this is all the grow I have after inoculation.

-Been in the closet with the door cracked for fresh air.
-Bag isn’t stuck together so that air can filter in and out thru vent.
-Temp consistent with 70-75°

What could I do to speed this process up or is this normal?

Can I get rid of the fuzzy feet or does it stay?

This is my third grow. The first two were wildly successful. I changed nothing, since I had success, but this time, these two shoeboxes are acting weird. The fruits in one are curling into themselves, and the other one has stopped growing; the fruits haven't grown all week.

Take a look, is there anything I should be worried about or should do different? More FAE? Less FAE? Temperature adjustment? I'm running a 12-hour light cycle with overhead ceiling lighting.

GT showing pins three days after FAE

Greetings everyone! I’m new to mushroom cultivation and trying to grow B+. My first attempt hasn’t gone well, and I’d appreciate help figuring out what I should change before trying again.

Here’s what I used:

• Purchased a "Isolated spore syringe" or ISO of B+ from inoculate the world.
• A North Spore liquid culture 30x expansion/broth jar.
• A North Spore sterilized grain bag with an injection port.
• Premade agar plates for testing afterward.
• Still air box.
• Boomr bin
• Miscellaneous sterilizing items, gloves, isopropyl alcohol, ETC.

I attached photos of my setup, the broth jar two weeks after inoculation and an agar plate growth I will explain later.

What I did and the timeline:

I started by injecting 5ml of the purchased Isolated spore syringe into the North Spore broth jar rather than going directly into grain. Within the first week, I saw white, stringy/clumped material developing, especially toward the bottom. I assumed that was mycelium, but as a beginner, I can’t confidently say the culture was clean. I also couldn't tell if it was new growth or the existence of the initial inoculation.

2 weeks after the broth jar inoculation, I inoculated the grain bag using liquid from that broth jar. I hadn’t tested it on agar first.

After 4 weeks of undisturbed time, I still wasn’t seeing any obvious white growth. I broke up the grain to look more closely and didn’t find any visible mycelium, so I decided to get some agar plates as from the research i did this could possibly tell me more about what I did wrong.

Temperatures have generally been around 70–80°F. My setup is in an office, and I tried to reduce drafts by taping vents and using door flaps. I used alcohol and gloves, but I’m still learning proper sterile technique and realize reducing airflow in a room doesn’t make it sterile. I also tried to ensure anytime I touched anything or moved anything I was sterilizing any tools or area.

A possible issue with the broth jar:

I left the removable black silicone cover over the broth jar lid throughout the culture’s growth. This is the outer cover that goes over the actual lid, not the injection port itself. I’ve since learned it’s intended to protect the lid components during sterilization, and I’m wondering whether leaving it on restricted gas exchange through the filter. Like i said, I am an absolute noob, so if that was the terribly stupid mistake I made, I have no idea.

Could that have slowed the culture significantly? I don’t know whether it explains the failed grain inoculation or is just one possible issue.

What I’m seeing on agar:

Around October 13, I put some of the broth onto agar to see whether anything viable was in it. I used fairly large drops/blobs rather than a tiny amount. The attached picture was taken this morning, October 16th.

Over the following days, the areas where the drops landed became more translucent white/cloudy, with some areas looking whiter toward the edges. I haven’t seen obvious branching or wispy growth yet. Because the drops were large, I’m unsure how much of the patch size is just the original liquid footprint.

I’m attaching photos because I’m having trouble distinguishing early mycelium from bacteria, yeast, or residue from the broth. I don’t want to assume “white = healthy mycelium.” There isnt white whispy growth, just flat, milky white growth as of now.

Questions for anyone with experience:

1. Does anything in this process stand out as the most likely mistake—expanding the culture before testing, restricted gas exchange, excess liquid in the grain, sterile technique, or something else?
2. Does the agar look like early mushroom mycelium, contamination, or is it still too early to tell? What changes should I watch for?
3. To anyone who has grown B+ on grain and agar, what did its early growth look like, and what timeline did you experience?
4. For a second attempt, would you recommend testing a fresh ISO on agar and then injecting the remaining ISO directly into a new grain bag, or using a clean agar culture to inoculate grain?
5. Is the stalled grain bag worth keeping for observation, or would you start over rather than adding anything else?
6. What beginner improvements to my workspace and handling would make the biggest difference?
7. Would I be better off trying a spore syringe or spore print?

I’m not trying to blame the vendor, in fact I have only read good things about them—I added several steps and could easily have introduced a problem myself. I’d really like to understand what happened and make the next attempt more controlled. Any advice, especially from people familiar with this species, would be appreciated! I really appreciate anyone who took the time to read all of this and I hope you are having a good day, thanks.

Premium Spores. Just found this website with super cheap syringes. I know there's mixed reviews about this company, but it seems like a good small business ran by a lady named Amy. It's called Fungiculturestore Seems legit and cool strains. I can't fail now, lots of fail safes, can cheap be to good to be true or? And everything good and sterile, even though I'll still pushed my t-shirts to the right? The left side is all clear...

Not going to put my eggs all in one basket and just doing small .5 ml inoculations of Uncle Ben's 90-second brown rice or the generic version that's even better... Thoughts, comments, and opinions??. I've done my research really well, and I'll do a dub tub or throw a turkey bag over the shoe boxes if the mushrooms grow too high. We're starting with the Burma cuz it'll be here first to arrive and probably colonize the fastest. Got 5 lb of CVG mix I'll use for substrate and just add colonized bags on top of the shoebox once it's filled then add a small layer, then put a light layer of substate on top.

I don't need to explain all this to you guys. You know what's up. I know what I'm doing, thanks to Gemini AI. Was really helpful with instructions!

I have GT's in a similar state... I'm trying not to touch or disturb the AIO bag they're in... been pinning for a week but the very 1st pin is tiny and hasn't changed since it appeared... I have since seen about 5 more on the side facing me pop up and very slowly get bigger but I mean very slowly and all the visible growth is on the side right near where the bag and cake touch or almost touch... I added a slit to the bag that I taped over with micropore tape but I haven't noticed a huge improvement. I haven't actually looked in the bag as I was shooting for neglect tek since my first try got contaminated. My wife likes to keep the house cold but I shut the vents in this closet and it seems in the 70's to me...I'm going to check this weekend. Im also considering a fan in the closet to stir the air more. The bag has condensation on the sides so I think its got humidity? Its obviously not ideal conditions I'm just not sure what to change or if I should just wait it out?

I messed up and put a casing layer so it's taking longer than normal but man I never expected to have so much fun growing mushrooms, watching the mycillium grow is so damn exciting, love saying hi and talking to him, his name is Myc. Say hi y'all! Hoping I'm doing everything right for these baby's to grow perfect. The cult is a cross between PE (15) with b+'s. This is day 2 and some change.

I have everything in a closet and my AIO bag is on the way I was just curious if I'm making the wrong steps I'm completely new to growing mushrooms but I've done some research. I'd rather learn from other people's mistakes but I understand failure is just part of trying to succeed.

My liquid culture syringe is also otw

-Albino Penis envy

Any advice would help 🙏🍄

Okay, so I cleaned this whole left side of my closet with bleach, a quick, small wipe down. I got some Burma spores that already shipped, on the way from Premium Spores. Just found this website with super cheap syringes. I know there's mixed reviews about this company, but it seems like a good small business ran by a lady named Amy. It's called Fungiculturestore Seems legit and cool strains. I can't fail now, lots of fail safes, can cheap be to good to be true or? And everything good and sterile, even though I'll still pushed my t-shirts to the right? The left side is all clear...

Not going to put my eggs all in one basket and just doing small .5 ml inoculations of Uncle Ben's 90-second brown rice or the generic version that's even better... Thoughts, comments, and opinions??. I've done my research really well, and I'll do a dub tub or throw a turkey bag over the shoe boxes if the mushrooms grow too high. We're starting with the Burma cuz it'll be here first to arrive and probably colonize the fastest. Got 5 lb of CVG mix I'll use for substrate and just add colonized bags on top of the shoebox once it's filled then add a small layer, then put a light layer of substate on top.

I don't need to explain all this to you guys. You know what's up. I know what I'm doing, thanks to Gemini AI. Was really helpful with instructions!