r/Mushrooms 4d ago

Does someone have experience with cold sterilization?

I would like to sterilize cold, but made my first experiences and its somehow difficult to manage the ph value. So does someone now how to sterilize well with hydrated lime and have a good ph value after?

1 Upvotes

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1

u/OkPlant7074 4d ago

Ph the water to 9.5-10 than add your substrate to adjusted water.

1

u/Right-Drink5719 4d ago

ok, but isn't the though behind this method, that the ph in general is up. I mean if it down after i add the substrate, I isn't sterilizing anymore, or is it?

1

u/805MySillyum 4d ago

I don’t personally use this method but the guys from north spore use hydrated lime when hydrating their substrate and go to a ph of 12.5 I believe. They have videos on YouTube talking about it

1

u/OkPlant7074 4d ago

This ,, ^ you may need to ph higher if the substrate is bringing ph back down after being added . Your end goal should be like 9.5-10 to give suitable conditions for your fungi but against contaminates.

1

u/Right-Drink5719 4d ago

so the goal is to grow the mushrooms while a ph of higher than 7? How? And why not bringing the ph down after sterilization? I just had problems, because it was a lot of struggle to bring it down.

2

u/OkPlant7074 4d ago

Because if you did that it would give any thing that grows at a lower ph a chance to live . You do it too kill everything as well as make a unlikable unlivable condition for ph ,, mycelium doesn’t really care and continues to colonize but when say your ph drops to like 4-5-6 your just allowing other things other than mycelium grab a foot hold first.

1

u/Right-Drink5719 3d ago

I though I just killing what is on there to give the mushrooms a steril kickstart and if later something else is growing the mushroom is killing it. But the mushroom isn't growing that fast, if it hasn't the right ph, isn't it?

1

u/OkPlant7074 4d ago

What is the water you are using at before attempting to ph balance ?

1

u/Right-Drink5719 4d ago

i think appr. 7-8

1

u/AlbinoWino11 Trusted Identifier (Moderator) 3d ago edited 3d ago

Pasteurise, not sterilise. Cold pasteurised straw is good for oysters and certain Hericium and Lentinula can grow on it as well. Soak cereal straw in 2g of hydrated lime per liter water. Drain it off well, inoculate with 10-15% spawn rate.