Beginner Guide: Modified Monotub Setup for Growing Mushrooms

[@edwardgrand]

Love your narration. Very straight to the point and informative!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

My goal is to keep everything as simple as possible

[@TheOneTheyCallTim]

Shaping the liner on the outside is genius. I always struggle to line it without wanting to throw something bc I'm trying to work fast and clean.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

One of those golden tips you just have to share

[@slipknot42088]

very simple and smart method of cutting the liner, saves a step later on.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Glad you liked it!

[@nathanlee6011]

You can spray down the inside of your tub with hydrogen peroxide, before inserting your liner, and the surface tension will hold the liner in place…no need for tape.

[@TheTubejunky]

7:53 you touched the mycelium and then reach in to that bag of "soil". Sure to be a vector of contamination if that spawn was compromised.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I did but I used that entire bag of sub with the same strain. I did multiple tubs with that same strain.

[@novafiddler1712]

very informative. thank you.

[@rvre]

Yeah you earned a sub for this one Just begging this journey of learning just about to harvest my first flush from a kit and will be making a monotub next time Nice vid

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Thanks for the sub!

[@commietube4273]

Thx for telling me why you use a liner! I didn’t know that!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

No problem!!

[@SachaLotus]

Great video man. Can’t wait for the update 👏🏼

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Coming soon!

[@neeniewheenie27]

I love your channel so much!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Sure thing!

[@neeniewheenie27]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms awesome, thanks so much! 🥹💗I followed your modification guidelines to-a-T, but then realized the fruiting conditions video wasn’t posted yet! I just inoculated some jars and bags yesterday, so I’m still a while out from spawn-to-bulk. Can’t wait for the next installment in this series to help fill in the blanks🙏you’re doing great work for the mushroom community!😇

[@bofeity]

Music to -20dB, especially if there's narration. Good rule of thumb. Good stuff!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Thanks for that!

[@-biki-]

great video, subscribed! potential warning about using painter's tape. It holds on to moisture on the non sticky side, and if you mist the sides of your tub that moisture can eventually collect between the wall of the tub and the liner and with the tape in between. I have found trich growing on some strips of painters tape in my last mono tub and it was a bummer. I noticed that it really focused on the painter's tape and that by the time I had really noticed it, that tape had been gathering moisture and had lost integrity. I wonder what other kinds of tape I might use next time, perhaps electrical tape. something that is non-porous, especially since it's just for the liner

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I dont mist my tubs at all, if you're substrate is properly hydrated and your FAE is dialed in for your ambient environment it's really not needed, for the first flush at least.

[@-biki-]

yeah, It started to dry out even though I had a casing layer and everything. I'm really new to this, but I suspect that my grow light was too bright and too close, which was drying the top. That's why I ended up misting the sides. I want to do it different this next time. seeing mold grow on painters. tape really surprised me though, I didn't expect that. I'm sure it's not a guarantee, there was probably contamin elsewhere and it just latched onto that, but yeah I'm just going to not use that tape with my liner going forward. today is s2b day, wish me luck! thank you for such good videos

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

They dont need a lot of light, I just use a LED strip light in my tent. 6500K temp is best. If you're in an area with really low humidity like I am in the NE in the winter I will put 2-3 layers of micropore tape on my FAE holes to help keep that humidity up and keep the cake from drying as fast. I would experiment with another layer or 2 of tape.

[@ibberz]

Great video! You got my sub

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Thanks for the sub!

[@apippin774]

I also clean the lid before I’m spread the spawn

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I clean everything!!! A lot gets cut out to keep the videos reasonable length....people attention spans these days are quite short lol

[@MMAClipper]

Thank you for this video mate much appreciated

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

No problem 👍

[@apippin774]

For me the less I handle it the better. I toss a layer of Dino followed by the spawn crumbled over and a layer of Dino after I tape the holes. The less handles is less contamination.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

100%

[@genebailey7695]

thanks for the info

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Any time

[@ryantartarini8297]

So first inject into all in one bag and when mostly colonised you do this?

[@petarmarniku]

In what part here i need to use spores?

[@koeleasekoelease1636]

Can you do a video showing how much you put down for a casing layer?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I don’t use a casing layer on my tubs, there has been some recent studies done on using them which I found interesting. I’ll put it down as a video idea. It’s something I’ve wanted to test. As far as this video when you’re spawning a tub you only need enough sub to cover any exposed grains a 1/4” depth is fine

[@AndyLeeSWE]

Good video! Thank you ❤

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Glad you liked it!

[@ernestotoro7966]

Hello. What kind of substrates do you use? Thanks for the video

[@buttergoat89]

Awesome channel

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Thank you!

[@henningolsen2211]

Very well made videos! Thank you!! One question: For those of us who don't have laminar flow hoods and therefore operate under less sterile conditions, would it be a good idea to spray the top of the substrate with alcohol before putting the lid on? My thinking is that this would reduce the chance of contamination, without killing the mycelium. Very intereste din hearing your thoughts.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I would never recommend that, I don’t think it would help at all. When spawning a tub without a flow hood just make sure that you turn off all fans and anything that’s circulating air in you workspace at least 30-60 min before you start, another thing you can do to help is if you’re in the kitchen put on a large pot of water and bring it to a raging boil, that will saturate the air with moisture. The water molecules will attach to the dust and mold in the air weighing them down and causing them to fall to the surfaces where they can be wiped up. Hope this helps

[@henningolsen2211]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply! Much appreciated! :-)@@RealSimpleMushrooms

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Happy to help!@@henningolsen2211

[@kurdtcobainaguillon]

Great vid. thanks 👍😎

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Glad you enjoyed it, I'll be doing a lot more!

[@יוסףאיביי]

Hello, where is a good place to store the substrate under a lamp or in the dark? I would like to know?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Cool, dry, dark place

[@roaner4313]

Enjoying your content brotha. It’s nice seeing fresh up to date videos. Been watching shit from 3 years ago. Anyways, I’ve had no success so far trying to spawn substrate shoebox style. all three of my tubs had contamination. I’m going to work with liquid culture my next go at it. question for you, i’m going to be using a similar gasket sealed tub like you are using, will sealing it off from the top and closing off the air exchange holes like this be ok while the sub is colonizing? Are you opening the container every couple days for fresh air exchange? Or are you leaving It totally closed off? Some Advice would be awesome if you have time. Thanks 🙏🏼

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Honestly you can go either way, I find most strains I grow colonize far faster with the holes not sealed. I do have one particular cultivar that just loves a lot of CO2 but that’s not typically the norm, at least for 99% of the strains I work in rotation.

[@roaner4313]

Thanks you so much for the knowledge, I’m starting two tubs in the next few days, I will play with it and try both. Thanks again brotha. Keep pumpin out fresh content. It’s much needed🍄🙏🏼

[@BenjaminPitzer]

I recently tried the exact same monotub setup (sterilite gasket box, complete sealed holes) and the mycelium made almost no progress colonizing for 2 weeks. I finally replaced the painters tape over the ventilation holes with micropore and the mycelium took off within days. Have you tried this method of completely sealing before and it worked?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Yes, most of my tubs I seal until the surface has colonized. I have a couple of varieties that prefer fresh air from the start though. It's really trial and error. Every strain is a little different in its environmental needs.

[@Milkex]

Mycelium still requires gas exchange, not fresh air but gas. folks usually go down to .2micron for GE while inoculation is happening, some will double up on micropore tape ( an impromptu way to take the default 0.3micron to a ~0.15-0.2 ) then take one layer off when FAE is needed.

[@liam_1023]

@@Milkexdo i need to open the Monotub if i use the method with micropore tape? Or can i just let it grow and harvest?

[@Milkex]

@@liam_1023 you'll still need to mist the enclosure and do FAE manually

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

You should never have to mist for the first flush. If you do either your substrate isn't hydrated properly or you don't have your tubs dialed to their ambient environment. However, in my experience, I have found that with 2nd flushes it helps immensely to mist the tubs.

[@mariorakija]

Please, i am newbi Help, what to put for supstrate Mazatec and Equador Help all lower from Croatia

[@summersummer1232]

Can I tape the black plastic outside the monotub, instead of place it inside?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

No. It’s not light that causes side pins, it’s the small high CO2 microclimate that forms in the gap between the cake and the tub as it shrinks. The liner is meant to shrink with the cake to prevent those conditions from forming.

[@NikuKashi]

Why do you need the soil? Or why is it better? Cause some companies sell these ready-to-use GrowKits without soil, only pure grain and they are growing good. Is the yield better, or?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

All in one bags are a mix of grain and soil

[@NikuKashi]

​@@RealSimpleMushrooms no no... (the Dutches) they claim, that they are selling pure grains, without soil or perlite.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

@NikuKashi they will grow on just grains but remember that mushroom are around 90% water. The soil is there to provide moisture, so while yes they will grow just on grain, you won’t get a great flush.

[@fflegends8333]

I know you eyeballed it up, but what is the ratio of substrate to spawn you are typically using? Is it a 2 to 1 ratio? Is this ratio by weight like 2lbs of substrate to 1 pound of spawn? or is it by volume?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

So i try to maintain a 2:1 Sub/Spawn ratio, but i will usually go a little heavier on the sub to get a 3" finished depth.

[@stephkukurudza-pk2zi]

I’m just starting. Friend gave me corn with agar. He started it and got today. Where do I store the grain in the mason jars? Dark? Light? Warm? Cold? Alternate? Same with after putting in mono tub please. This is my first time and don’t want to mess up. So dirt, spawn, more dirt…. Then what? I do not have a tent just a regular home. Sorry just so much different info out there it can be confusing

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

So light is good at all stages of growth. Ideal temperatures should be between 68-78 degrees (mycelium grows faster when it’s warmer, slower when it’s cold) they don’t need direct bright light, ambient indirect light is just fine

[@cryptohound]

Why use the liner? You can tape the outside of the bin✨

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

That does nothing, it’s not light that creates side pins it’s the high CO2 environment that’s created in the gap between the tub and the cake as it shrinks. The liner shrinks with the cake preventing those side pins

[@SteveEaton]

What's the liner for exactly? Thanks for the video and subscribed!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

So the liner is to help eliminate side pins. As the mycelium and mushrooms use up the moisture in the substrate the cake will shrink. When it does it creates small gaps around the side and it create the perfect climate for pins to develop. We use a liner to eliminate the side pins. The liner will shrink with the cake and keep the sides covered so those pins don't grow, ultimately leaving more nutrients for the fruits on the top of the cake.

[@yolandabester7981]

Was wondering too. Thanks for the explanation.

[@Harshharsh111]

Amongst 20 mycologists, somehow I get your point. Thank you.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

:)

[@Catstok420]

Is there a difference between the soil you used and normal soil I buy at the store? This will be the first time I grow any so I’m trying to get everything right

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Yes, you don’t want to use potting soil, if you’re just getting started I would really recommend trying Dino Soil from Twisted Tree Nursery link should be in the video description. Use the code MicrodoseNY for 10% off.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Potting soil is going to be full of mold and bacteria that would instantly contaminate your grow. We use most coca coir and vermiculite which we pasteurize or sterilize to kill off contaminants. Pasteurization will kill off the contaminants while still leaving beneficial microbes for the fungi, sterilization will kill everything (if done right). At the end of the day your mushrooms get the majority of their nutrients from the grain spawn. Manure can be beneficial with some dung loving species but they also grow just fine without it.

[@Jkfrasier1980]

What if you spray that alcohol in your soil on accident ? Looked like maybe some mists sprays could have made it in there with your substrate.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

It should cause an issue at all unless you really spray it

[@jesseking4542]

Can i grow golden teachers or Blue meanies using the grain bag? Currently using a grow bag but would like to switch to a monotub for a bigger flush

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

You can grow any top fruiting species in a monotub :) More surface area = higher yield

[@Jkfrasier1980]

Do you replace that tape,? Like take the blue tape off after a while ?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Yes, I use a Micropore tape to allow FAE

[@shereenkhorami6447]

Do you mind sharing amount of grain and amount of substrate for that sized monotub?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

2lbs of grain spawn/ 4-5lbs of substrate

[@christiancarlson5431]

Noob here. I’m confused by the fan. Is it creating positive pressure in the room and it’s all going through a hepa filter?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Sterile laminar air flow, air is being pushed through a commercial grade HEPA filter and you work in the sterile airflow.

[@christiancarlson5431]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms Thank you!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Any time

[@neverwinterfarms]

Can I use a dark colored tub on the sides but the lid is clear?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

You can, they just need a little indirect light

[@renasdupont2806]

dont forget to turn off heaters too..no one ever mention but it makes air move around

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I thought I mentioned that, but yes....ANYTHING that's moving air should be shut off.

[@hamable1995]

how do you make sure it stays up to temp?

[@renasdupont2806]

turn back on once you finished the open air opperation@@hamable1995

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

@@hamable1995 You're only turning off the heater for a little while as you're working. The moral is you want to limit any air circulation other than a flow hood if you happen to be working with one. There are so many microscopic things floating in the air that we can't see. By turning off EVERYTHING that is circulating air in your work space it gives a lot of that a chance to settle on the floor, tables and surfaces....then you can clean and wipe a lot of it up. You can even go one step further and about an hour before you start put a large stockpot of water on the stove and get a raging boil. As the water boils it will evaporatesinto the air saturating the airborne contaminates making them heavier and causing more of it to fall to the surfaces where they can be cleaned up. Hope that makes sense

[@nenobarrios]

Should the micro tape be plastic or paper type?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Paper

[@RyanQuintanapolymath]

Contamination could smell sweet?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Yes, if it smells like anything other than fresh mushrooms you most likely have contaminated spawn

[@RyanQuintanapolymath]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms damn. One time I had sweet smelling mushrooms and it almost smelled of flowers 💐. It was weird. They fruited though. I also one time had pitri dishes that were in shoe box bins to grow. When I opened it, it smelled like minty.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Sometimes bacterial spawn will fruit but you won’t get an amazing flush out of it

[@plamenconev3387]

My idea is: When I move the finished substrate into the fertility chamber, should I add (bottom layer of perlite, middle layer of ready substrate, top layer of vermiculite. That is, when I start to colonize the jars, should I add all the nutrients?!

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Not quite sure I'm following? For growing top fruiting, dung loving species we don't use perlite. You might be thinking of a shotgun fruiting chamber, which has a layer of hydrated perlite in the bottom. For monotubs like this you'll just use a CVG (coca coir, vermiculite, gypsum) or CV (coca coir, verm) or some other manure-based substrate like Dino Soil. Look up "Bucket tek" here on KZbin. Making CV or CVG is really easy.

[@plamenconev3387]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms Is it possible to colonize a fully prepared jar. That is to add: Rye grain, parrot seed mix, brown rice flour, some vermiculite. When I have a fully colonized jar just put it in the box without adding anything as food substances! Only perlite on the bottom, middle layer of mycelium, top layer of vermiculite

[@plamenconev3387]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms I will be growing in a box...a small amount in a filter bag.Like a grow kit from an online store...filter bag

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

If you're going to grow in an all in one bag you wont need a tub. You can use the bag as your "tub". If you do the brown rice flower and vermiculite jars (called the "BRF Tek" if you want to research that) then a shotgun fruiting chamber is what you'll want to build to put the cakes in after you remove them from the jar. Does that make sense?

[@plamenconev3387]

@@RealSimpleMushrooms Sorry I'm using a translator! My idea is, do I need additional nutrients? I want to get all the ingredients at the beginning. When the jar is colonized, transfer the jar to the box. Add a layer of perlite, a middle layer of mycelium, a top layer of vermiculite. That is, to do everything necessary before to inject the spores

[@nathanlee6011]

Dino soil is expensive compared to CVG.

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Yes, any purchased soil will be more expensive than CVG

[@anonymouslyrics4902]

about how many quarts is 2 pounds of spawn?

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

2 quarts

[@14gamer12]

your floow hood working ? In this video .

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Not sure I understand the question? Was I running it?

[@fecorekasi]

I can hear it running

[@MycoAlan]

Don’t you worry about getting grainspawn into your bag of Dino soil putting your hand in the tub then the bag again??

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Usually yes, but I spawned 3 more tubs with the same culture right after this :)

[@davidzang683]

You’ve just added mycelium to your bag of substrate

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

I spanwed 3 more tubs of the same culture after this out of that bag. :)

[@Zac-ls6hn]

I saw that too. I'm a beginner and just inoculated my first all in one bag. I'm so paranoid about sterilization from all the videos I've seen. Thanks for the video, very informative

[@roaner4313]

Because he put his hand in the bag after breaking the grain down, etc?

[@macylouwho1187]

This confuses me so much. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m genuinely trying to understand the difference. It’s so confusing to see some people slopping mycelium in between layers of wet straw in a bucket with drilled holes and leaving it outside to spawn without cleaning anything and shooting it with a garden hose mist here and there-and then there’s this where you have to wipe down everything with alcohol and turn off fans, only to pour in soil full of turtle crap which obviously won’t be contamination free-just like outdoor conditions will not be where these originated from in the wild. It’s such a leap from one to the other and I don’t get it. If it works fine the easy way, why would you need to do all this? I’m sitting in front of a back to roots mushroom growing kit right now and it amounts to: cut open the mycelium bag in an x configuration, soak it in water for 6-10 hours, put it back in its cut open box and pop it up on a shelf totally open on front, mist it twice daily and in one week you’ll have mushrooms. No mention of sterilization or fear or drafts or cross contamination, and then just cook and eat it like no problem. Is there a reason for doing all this compared to that? Can someone explain it?

[@jeffnorred592]

I think it all depends on the variables involved and % likelihood of success you are looking for. The example you gave of people throwing straw and grains in a bucket are one of the lowest tech ways of growing mushrooms and it typically works for very easy to grow, quick colonizing strains like oyster mushrooms. Usually it’s recommended you pasteurize the straw which kills some of the other organisms (I’ll call them contams; bacteria/mold etc) then you add the oyster mushroom spawn and it grows so rapidly it doesn’t give the contams the opportunity to establish. Once the mycelium is fully colonized it has its own immune system that can fight off the contams on its own. It’s all about maximizing the chance of your mycelium reaching full colonization while minimizing the contams. Every strain of mushrooms is different. Also, when you say you have a grow kit that you just cut open and let them grow, the reason you can do this is because the substrate, grain spawn, bag etc has all been sterilized and has allowed the mycelium to fully colonize inside the sterile environment (in the bag). I can almost guarantee you would not be successful just throwing unsterilized/unpasteurized substrate in a bag and trying to grow that way.

[@macylouwho1187]

@@jeffnorred592 yeah I know, I should have explained the boiled straw substrate better. I didn’t mean unpasteurized straw. The videos do show it being soaked in boiling water, sorry I didn’t include that part. But there is no fear of risk from things in the air in those videos or extreme cleaning requirements. Most are done outside in open air with who knows what blowing in the wind. That’s what I meant to imply.

[@jeffnorred592]

@@macylouwho1187 yes. As I mentioned this works for some mushroom species that are very hardy and quick growing (oysters) like I said before, they can colonize so quickly that they successfully reach full colonization before the contams get established. If you tried this with other mushroom varieties, it might work every now and then if you get lucky, but your success rate would be so low it wouldn’t be worth it. So that’s why people use all the sterile/clean technique to maximize the chances of success.

[@pricelessmakoa4482]

@@jeffnorred592hey Jeff! Thank you for taking the time to explain all this. I can tell you have a love of mycology. Mush love bro

[@RyanQuintanapolymath]

Straw being put into a bucket is usually cold pasteurized with hydrated lime as of the sterilization at a specific pH so it seems like they’re skipping a step but that’s what kills off some of the more awful contaminations. gourmet kits are 100% colonized bags which means it’s already eating The nutrient rich part that the contaminations will eat so they’re able to fend off contamination, but are still able to be eaten by some contaminations as it will eat the mycelium itself. So yes, you can take 100% colonized brick and not worry as much when it’s cut open And exposed. In this case we are looking at grains, which are still somewhat exposed when you break them up, so can produce contamination because of the high sugar content/carbohydrate content, which is very nutritious to lots of microbes. also the exotic manure is pasteurized and cannot be used without Somewhat killing off bad microbes that won’t protect against contamination . This leaves behind good microbes that are beneficial and live in harmony to give time for the mycelium to eat the substrate and become 100% colonized just like the bag you could open up to the open elements.

[@DocWesting]

Mixing sub and spawn is not a steril process. You dont need to clean anything or use gloves........ If you dont belive me ask RR. If you dont know who RR is you shouldnt be growing.

[@reggiecluggins8528]

Your zipper is down :)

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Eyes on the work, not my crotch hahahaha...yea I noticed that too....too little too late I guess hahaha

[@Shannbyvank-zq6sw]

Geez I must be old I looked at your Ziploc bag.

[@tonyscott4333]

F monotubs Use bags

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Surface area = yield Bags create more plastic waste and they are environmentally irresponsible

[@ixxgxx]

nice weighing. guesstimate

[@RealSimpleMushrooms]

Not sure what you’re referring to, the spawn was weighed. Substrate depth is more important than weight