Magic Mushrooms
The idea of growing magic mushrooms can be real fascinating and fun filled hobby too. Although magic mushrooms are wild in nature that contain a compound called, psilocybin, which is psychoactive in nature and can cause hallucination effect on the people who are consuming the magic mushrooms. However, it solely depends upon person to person as they would be responding to the magic mushroom they have had in whichever form. Keeping all these things in mind, stating a fact that magic mushrooms have those superficial qualities too which cannot be handled by many, the cultivation of magic mushroom is considered to be an illegal activity. But magic mushroom enthusiasts, still experiment to grow it at home, considerably those species that have less amount of such elements to make feel dizzy. Mostly magic mushrooms are consumed rather by mixing in with food or in a drink. Many people prefer to call them as Shrooms. It should also be kept in mind that amount of psilocybin vary from mushroom to mushroom so it cannot be fixed that consuming a certain mushroom would tend to react in a similar manner as the other one. It can have its own effect on mind and body of a person.
Preparation : Magic Mushrooms
Magic mushrooms are mostly prepared by drying. There are numerous methods to grow magic mushrooms. But the most convenient way to cultivate them is with the help of Magic Mushroom Growing Kit wherein we find all the required ingredients we need for the same. For the beginners who wish to explore magic mushroom cultivation, this is the easiest and safest way. We grow wide variety of magic mushrooms like Shaggy Mane, Lion’s Mane and P.Cubensis with this technique. But the most convenient and basic is PF Tek method which was introduced by Robert McPherson. This method include the basic elements, brown rice flour and vermiculite. It is considered to be the most popular and widely used method as it is reliable, easy and simple. But for the more experienced people in the field of magic mushroom cultivation, it is not preferred as for them it yields less and is more of high labor. This method also requires hygiene to the maximum level. Sterilization of all equipments is necessary. They should be sterilized either by steaming or boiling or rubbing alcohol. As there is always a risk of contamination, so while the process of inoculation too sterilization is important and should not be ignored anyhow. The main element in this process is, Spores and mostly buy them online in form of spore syringes.
Growing Magic Mushrooms
The basic elements we require are organic brown rice, vermiculite and sterilized water. We prepare our base which is the substrate with all these three elements. Pressure cooker set, half-pint jars with lid, hammer and nails, micropore tape, tin foil, small towel, measuring cup, mixing bowl, clear plastic bag, perlite, mist spray bottle and drill are the equipment we need for the entire process. Workplace has to be hygienic and properly disinfected time and again to keep away mold or bacteria that can tarnish the growth and damage the process. Firstly, prepare jars by punching holes down through each lid and spacing them evenly. For preparing the substrate, we take a fixed amount of vermiculite and water with the help of measuring cup and drain the excess water. Now add ¼ cup organic brown rice to the moist mixture to get a substrate cake which is lose and fluffy in nature as it is where the mushroom spores will be growing. Fill the jars with the substrate but not upto the neck of it and sterilize it by rubbing alcohol. Put a layer of dry vermiculite on the top of the jars to protect them from contamination. Screw lids tightly and cover jars with tin foil securing the edges against water or condensation. To sterilize, we put the jars inside the pressure cooker placing them upon a small towel so that the jars do not come in direct contact with the surface of pressure cooker. Add water half way up the sides of the jar and bring it to boiling point and cover the pressure cooker fixing the lid perfectly. Let it steam for approximately one and half hour and after steaming, allow the jars to cool. The jars should come to the room temperature before the process of inoculation. With the help of lighter, sterilize the needle of the syringe by heating it till it glows red hot. Now as the jars have cooled down, the substrate will be inoculated with spore syringe through holes punched in the jars’ lid. Set aside the jars covering them with micropore tape. Incubation of the jars should be done at a steady temperature of 70-80 degree Farhenheit, avoiding direct sunlight. Within a week, spore sprouting should start and they begin to grow looking like rope of white fuzz which is called , mycelium. Once mycelium has covered the substratre cake, they would placed properly into the plastic container for the process of Fruiting. The container should be placed in such place where it would be receiving adequate amount of light, humidity and ventilation as well. Add perlite and moist it by running the perlite under running cold tap. Spread the perlite inside the grow chamber. Remove all the layer of dry vermiculite after opening the jar. Upend each jar to release the cakes on a clean and disinfected surface. Again fill cooking pot with water and place the cakes inside leave it on a room temperature for up to 24 hours so that cake would be hydrated. Take out the cake placing them on disinfected surface, roll it inside the mixture of dry vermiculite. Put a tin foil inside the grow chamber and put the cakes on it. The chamber must remain moist during the process. Keep spraying mist with spray bottle at least thrice a day. Soon, mushroom ‘pin’ start to appear as tiny white bumps. They should be harvested after 5-12 days . Magic mushroom now should be carefully cut close to the cake. It is advisable to pick the fruit as soon as it starts budding. As the mushroom are kept for a longer period, they tend to grow mature and consequently would lose potency. We decide the right time to harvest the mushroom by having a look at viel underneath their caps. If this veil appear to be broken, then the mushroom must be harvested. At this point, the mushrooms will be seen developing light, well-rounded, conical-shaped caps and this is when it is the perfect time to pick our fruit. It always suggested that mushrooms should be harvested a little early as it keeps intact the release of the spores. If it is late to harvest, they by themselves release mycelium which hinders fruiting and start to colonize. Consequently, the grow kit will become incapable of producing any further flushes.
Harvesting Magic Mushrooms
Harvesting mushrooms need proper care, attention and good amount of patience too. It should not be done in hurry else it will damage the entire process. Pick them gently by hands, by pulling them upwards from the base and slightly twisting them in clock and anti clock direction to pick them up. No force have to be used while plucking, be gentle in the approach or it will damage the mycelium. To pick the shorter mushrooms, a small tweezer can be used. If there is still any remaining substrate or vermiculite, it should be removed using a brush. It should be kept in mind that we reuse the same cake up to three times even after the first flush. They just have to be dried completely followed by dunking and to be again placed back in grow chamber with sufficient light, humidity and airflow.
Precautions while growing magic mushrooms
In the whole process of growing magic mushrooms, hygiene should be the priority till we harvest them. Our working environment should disinfected and whatever equipments are being used must properly sterilized repeatedly. Latex hand gloves should be worn so that our hands do not come direct in contact with magic mushrooms contaminating them. If possible we must also wear a surgical mask so minimize any chances of risk factor of contamination from mold or bacteria. Sterile all the tools and containers before utilizing them.
Storing Magic Mushrooms
Magic mushrooms can be stored by drying them completely for many days, before storing them in an air-tight container. They start to rot in few days when stored in fridge. However, their life increases in freezer. Proper storing can retain their potency up to 2-3 years. But they should be dried completely which may take 4-7 days. The moisture from their body should disappear completely resulting in noticeable reduction in size and weight, decrease in mass and shrinkage of stems and caps. Once fully dried, immediately store them in an air-tight container in a cool, dark, dry place. The shelf life of magic mushrooms even after drying is mostly 8-12 months as after it they start losing their potency. It is strongly recommended to consume them as soon as possible.