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Alex Field

Do you want to make mushroom magic in a plastic box? Would you like to grow your own living cultures for almost any mushroom, and make your own grain spawn? If you've got a spore syringe you want to clean up, a liquid culture you would like to expand, or a mushroom you want to clone, then this course is definitely for you.

Read more

Do you want to make mushroom magic in a plastic box? Would you like to grow your own living cultures for almost any mushroom, and make your own grain spawn? If you've got a spore syringe you want to clean up, a liquid culture you would like to expand, or a mushroom you want to clone, then this course is definitely for you.

Join me in this course as I set up a budget mushroom laboratory on my living room table, using a Still Air Box (a plastic box with arm holes in it) to make a sterile workspace. I'll be cloning and spore-printing supermarket mushrooms to show you how to create clean living cultures on petri dishes, in liquid culture solutions, and in 'master slants' for long-term storage.  I'll show you the step-by-step procedure from mushroom through to grain spawn so you'll never need to buy cultures or grain spawn again.

This is NOT a mushroom growing course - our focus here is on creating and expanding mushroom cultures to make grain spawn.  If you want to learn how to grow mushrooms please check out my other course "Growing Mushrooms for Business and Pleasure" and come back when you've caught the bug.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Cloning, using spores and growing living mushroom cultures from almost any mushroom
  • Expanding cultures for growing a limitless supply of mushrooms
  • Making grain spawn using petri dishes or liquid culture inoculation
  • Selecting genetics for the fastest and best-quality grows

Syllabus

Introduction
A Few Words About This Course
The Basics
What Can I do in a Home Mushroom Lab?
Read more
Live Cultures - and How we Can Use Them
Equipment for the Home Mushroom Lab
A Pressure Cooker/Canner
A Still Air Box (SAB)
A 'Sterile' Surface
Important Accessories
Setting Up your Lab
The Lab Setup Routine
Preparing Agar on Petri Dishes
An Introduction to Agar Magic
Equipment Making for Agar
'Pour' or 'No-Pour' Agar?
Preparing 'Pour' Agar Step-By-Step
Preparing 'No Pour' Agar Step-By-Step
Creating Liquid Cultures (LC)
An Introduction to Liquid Culture (LC)
Equipment for Making Liquid Cultures
Preparing Liquid Culture: Jars and Solution
Testing and Expanding Liquid Cultures (LC)
Introduction to Testing and Expanding Liquid Cultures
Testing Liquid Cultures on Agar
Expanding Liquid Cultures
Cloning Mushrooms
Introduction to Cloning Mushrooms
Equipment for Cloning Mushrooms
Meet the Clones-To-Be
Cloning to Agar Step-By-Step
Cloning to Liquid Culture Step-By-Step
Using Mushroom Spores
Spores: Why and How we Use Them
Taking and Storing Spore Prints
Making Spore Syringes
Using a Spore Syringe - On Agar and Grain
Growing Spores on Agar - from Fresh Mushrooms and Spore Prints
Making Transfers and Cleaning Up Contamination
Why Transfer?
Understanding Mycelial Growth

Practice reading Mycelium - including identifying different mycelial growth, differentiating between sectors and Choosing where to transfer from on a petri dish

Making Transfers: Agar to Agar
Making Transfers: Agar to Liquid Culture Solution
Dealing With Contamination
Making Grain Spawn
Introduction to Grain Spawn
Choosing a Grain
Equipment for Grain Spawn
Making Grain Spawn Step-By-Step
Inoculating and Incubating Grain
Introduction to Inoculating Grain
Inoculating Grain Using Liquid Culture
Inoculating Grain Using Agar
Expanding Grain - Grain to Grain Transfers
Incubating Grain
Long-Term Storage
Introduction to Long-Term Storage
Preparing and Inoculating Slants - Step-By-Step
Farewell - And Next Steps
Farewell - And Next Steps...

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
If you want to grow your own mushrooms and make your own grain spawn, this course can show you how
Explores fundamental mushroom cultivation techniques, from cloning and spore-printing to making grain spawn
Covers the basics of setting up a home mushroom lab, including equipment and sterilization techniques
Teaches how to create and expand mushroom cultures on petri dishes, in liquid culture solutions, and in 'master slants' for long-term storage
Provides step-by-step guidance on making grain spawn using either petri dishes or liquid culture inoculation
This course is not a comprehensive guide to mushroom cultivation, but it provides a solid foundation for those interested in learning the basics of mushroom culture and grain spawn production

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in The Home Mushroom Laboratory with these activities:
Read "The Mushroom Cultivator" by Paul Stamets
This book is a classic guide to mushroom cultivation and will provide you with a wealth of information on the topic.
Show steps
  • Purchase a copy of "The Mushroom Cultivator" by Paul Stamets.
  • Read the book thoroughly.
  • Take notes on the important information.
Review the basics of microbiology
Reviewing the basics of microbiology will help you to better understand the biology of mushrooms and how to cultivate them successfully.
Browse courses on Microbiology
Show steps
  • Read a textbook chapter or online article on microbiology basics.
  • Take a practice quiz on microbiology basics.
Practice using a Still Air Box
Practicing using a Still Air Box will help familiarize you with the equipment and techniques needed for successful mushroom cultivation.
Show steps
  • Gather the materials needed for a Still Air Box.
  • Assemble the Still Air Box.
  • Practice transferring spores or mycelium to agar plates in the Still Air Box.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Learn how to make a master slant
Master slants are a great way to preserve mushroom cultures for long-term storage. This tutorial will teach you how to make your own master slants.
Browse courses on Cloning
Show steps
  • Find a suitable video or blog post tutorial on making master slants.
  • Gather the materials needed to make master slants.
  • Follow the steps in the tutorial to make your own master slants.
Make a presentation on mushroom cultivation basics
Creating a presentation on mushroom cultivation basics will help you to synthesize what you have learned in the course and share your knowledge with others.
Show steps
  • Gather information on mushroom cultivation basics from the course materials.
  • Organize the information into a logical flow.
  • Create visual aids to support your presentation.
  • Practice your presentation.
  • Deliver your presentation to an audience.
Mentor a new mushroom cultivator
Mentoring a new mushroom cultivator will help you to deepen your understanding of mushroom cultivation and share your knowledge with others.
Show steps
  • Find a new mushroom cultivator who is looking for guidance.
  • Provide guidance and support to the new mushroom cultivator.
  • Answer the new mushroom cultivator's questions.
  • Help the new mushroom cultivator troubleshoot any problems they encounter.
Contribute to an open-source mushroom cultivation project
Contributing to an open-source mushroom cultivation project will allow you to connect with other mushroom enthusiasts and contribute to the advancement of mushroom cultivation.
Browse courses on Open Source
Show steps
  • Find an open-source mushroom cultivation project to contribute to.
  • Identify an area where you can contribute to the project.
  • Make a contribution to the project.

Career center

Learners who complete The Home Mushroom Laboratory will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

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