How to Make Sterilized Grain Bags for Mushroom Growing

[@brennonmorning9682]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I want to add a manufacturer's recommendation from Unicorn Grow Bags. Unicorn states that you should not "Gusset Fold" your bags and instead "Flat Fold" them. The way you folded the top of the bag before sterilization by folding in the gussets in before folding the bag down is considered the gusset fold. Instead you should flatten the opening of the bag with no folds and then fold it down and under the bag.

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

I can't believe I missed his videos on flat folding. I'm very happy you pointed that out. I will definitely be flat folding going forward with my bags.

[@patricknevermind8529]

Bro, thank you.

[@TearringNable]

Curious, why would it make a difference between folds? Would it make sealing easier or is this for added grow room?

[@kdock13]

@@TearringNable The gusset fold means that your impulse sealer needs seal through 4 layers of plastic, making 2 seals, instead of 1 layer. This increases the risk of blowouts/leaks. You should also adjust your sealer so that you get a good tight seal in one pulse without burning the bag. Doing a second seal in a different spot is definitely a good idea.

[@80polishprincess]

@@PhillyGoldenTeacher can you tell me where you got your hood? This is a piece I'm thinking of either buying or making. Do you favor the bags over jars?

[@pottervi]

I started my journey into mycology about 15 years ago before youtube was really a thing. I had to read for hundreds of hours on the shroomery, and watch the couple vids RR had. Your videos are ultra clear and to the point. Simple teks explained very well without any bs that you don't need. I wish your videos were around back then

[@holothurie]

Same here. Thank you Sir PGT

[@adamxt3hxpwner]

But still john, thanks for all your research over the years. the last 15 years myco has come a long way.

[@pottervi]

@@adamxt3hxpwner oh fer sure. I hardly got into agar because you couldn't get supplies as easily back in the day. To start I had to go buy agar strips from an Asian market and grind it up with my coffee grinder lol. But now with Amazon and youtube it's cheap and easy. I'm excited to try the 2oz condiment cup thing. Also making a flow hood looks a lot easier now. Its amazing

[@LarsLarsen77]

And you usually got the worst advice ever on shroomery. I actually had to figure everything out by trial and error myself because the "tek" was always a failure.

[@pottervi]

@@LarsLarsen77 it wasn't too bad. Was able to grow more than I needed so everyone benefited.

[@chitsu1388]

I just want you know the things you put out there, the information you give, the tutorials you show, they save SO many people. You have healed many people, and will heal many more. Mush love

[@luplex7567]

that is by far the most informative cannel about shrooms, like if you wanna start you will ONLY need that channel. amazing

[@Vorpal_Wit]

Hey Sensei. Can you cover prepping the bags for fruiting - like where/how to cut the bag for the first and any subsequent flushes, things to watch for/avoid, etc? Thanks.

[@ScottWConvid19]

This isn't substrate. This is grain spawn. You don't fruit grain spawn unless it's a cordyceps fungi. You add the fully colonized grain spawn to substrate

[@ericcartman7102]

Thanks for putting this up! As of this week I was curious about stepping it up with bags, so funny you upload right after my curiosities. The universe is running on all cylinders today

[@gargoylekingGWO]

U and Willy are a treasure to the world keep shining like yaw do

[@ronnienoneyabusiness2844]

I had problems with bags but i wasn't pcing them long enough...thanks for the info pgt

[@AaronAlso]

Safety tip: You can use a butter knife to lift the vent for 10 - 15 sec to encourage sealing.

[@adamxt3hxpwner]

PGT! it's nice to see you back. I hope everything is going good for you. I'm just suggesting a video about all your supplies that you purchase. I have bought most of the stuff you have used and shown us, and it could help a new mycologist a lot. Everything I bought works great. Thanks for everything, man.

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

I'll add that to my list of video ideas. Thank you for the suggestion.

[@avadakedavra6695]

@@PhillyGoldenTeacher hello sensi. Can you help me with my rye ? Can I just soak the rye in cold water for 12 hours and then use it as inoculum? I'm new to mycology and you really helped me out. Thanks

[@Readlong247]

Thank you for suggesting adding coffee grounds to the bag to soak of moisture. I didn't have any but I did toss about quarter cup of brf into each of my two pounds bags

[@TheNativeNation]

Word bro. Glad to see ya back in class!

[@dustinbrady8900]

You have a very kind soothing voice.

[@tmorrissey5112]

You taught me everything I know man!!! I’m doing an uncle Ben two right now then doing some mono tubs. Thanks for the new vids I was hoping to see some new stuff. One thing I’ll say is following everything to a T I still have trouble getting lots of pins. Only One dubtub I’ve ever had pinned a lot. I have “gotten it down” in my head they just won’t pin across like all the videos do, even though most show the best results possible and don’t show the problem grows I feel like I get less than normal results… TIA!!! Mush Love from CO.

[@marskat8530]

Have you been using a liner in your tub? He recently made a video about this and it made my grow 10x better

[@doncromwelljr4926]

Should i add gypsum to my grains while they soak? By the way. Your videos are an absolute godsend...

[@michaelhudson3445]

i really like the mesh gate panel over the saw horses i'm gonna have to do that excellent!

[@thomashugh7086]

Thank you for posting a new video I'm so stoked to start trying my hand at gourmet growing. That and reishi and cordracepts eventually

[@duogarcotic]

Video I was looking for a few days ago 😂 crazy u just came out with it a few days later 👍🏻

[@gp8699]

Thanks for mentioning why you leave the filter patch on the outside when you fold the bag to put in the pressure cooker!

[@wombatkins]

This is exactly what i was looking for

[@peppergrowmienola4850]

This was awesome info. As a mycologist I am looking to widen my skills with agar and grain bags. This video has me confident I can make sterile bags of grain no problem. 👍

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

Wish you the best on your journey! 🙏🍄

[@MiguelRodriguez-wn8mc]

good explanation of what material could be used as an air filter for the grow bags, if you want to make them yourself

[@BaltimoresBerzerker]

Bags are awesome 😎 thanks for the idea about the screws!

[@shellieb1792]

I am loving your videos! I am a newbie to trying to grow mushrooms. You are making it easy for me to get the growing experience that is needed to be successful. Thanks so much.

[@Jaycomma]

How did the grow go?

[@Muay_Thai_Mycology]

Thanks for the videos mate! I’m finally getting back into cultivating after years of foraging 👌

[@tootegozy4998]

Thanks for the clear instructions and a great video. I grow oyster mushrooms and didn't know that I can put my grow bags into the pressure cooker.

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

😁

[@cyberdurden1284]

I just ordered adhesive injection ports with your promo code. Thanks.

[@koopher]

Omg the rag/pressure valve thing makes me wonder how much time I have spent waiting. Nice trick.

[@OrgoneDevices47]

If you dont have a Impulse Sealer for the end sealing, a vacuum sealer works if u press down a lil bit n do it like twice...

[@longfeatherlong8228]

Also aluminum foil on both sides and an iron.

[@omg_wtf]

@@longfeatherlong8228 the wife's hair straighters with some paper towel also works great :)

[@cg9747]

You're the man. You're videos are very easy to follow, too.

[@misfitmaniac3084]

Yooo Philly Geee on a dailyyyy!!

[@johnwayne420]

Thanks for the video and knowledge I was just going to upgrade to bags good timing. I hope all is well

[@theresasteinbacher]

I love your video. I noticed you didn't wash or cook the millet like you did for the brown rice. Is this because Millet is a small grain? TY. Theresa

[@LarsLarsen77]

It's not just the larger volume of grains that takes more time. The plastic bags are more insulating than glass is, that is they have a lower thermal conductivity. Even massive mayonnaise jars cook faster than even small bags.

[@josephklein7921]

Yay!!! I’m up early for class!!! Here’s an apple for the teacher!!🍎😁

[@EvolvedCognition]

So I'm inclined, due to ease of access & your video supporting that brown rice is the best grain for spawning, to use brown rice. In this vid there's an opportunity to elaborate on what the language "Now here I have some oats [or interchangeable grain?] & bird seeds that I've soaked overnight with some hot water." This suggests the water was kept hot for a 7-8 hour period; how was this accomplished, assuming that language is accurate? There's a fan in the frame, was that used, post soak, to decrease overall moisture levels? If so, for how long? Inquiring minds need to now the minutia without a need to guess. :) Thank you!

[@waynegreenway5445]

Great video Sensei. How long after processing in the pressure cooker are the bags considered clean and viable? How long can the be stored for at room temp or refrigerated? Thanks!

[@iminvisible0]

Haha, I did the same thing with nuts and bolts to make a trivet 😄 Depending on the diameter and material of your holy plate, a bolt leg in the middle will prevent it from sagging under weight.

[@markchick8385]

Use Aluminum.Or as I did You'll have a rusty mess.

[@tylerallen9856]

Chyea brah 🤘☮️. I'm sure oysters love it all but I've been doing bags with brown rice/millet. Wicked quick colonization.

[@pkgmsu]

And this guy is awesome so much helpful information

[@MaggieF59]

Thank you for sharing this. I finally found a video I could easily understand and follow.

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

I'm glad it helps! 🙏🍄

[@VoodooBrown]

Daddy is back

[@dannydanielsnyc]

🤣🤣

[@dannydanielsnyc]

Voodoo u daddy 💪🏾

[@MM-jt3nf]

hey PGT, can you make a video on your room set up and stuff

[@cambiapieles__]

¡Gran video, amigo fungicultor!

[@jessebrobin]

how long did you let the millet soak for?

[@magesticmushroomgarden6914]

ive always been fine pressure cooking oat jars for 1 hour.

[@troy37]

Man listen your bags look so perfect, can you do a bag folding tutorial? I need to look like yours! And my bags were full of static electricity how do i fix that!

[@LarsLarsen77]

It's not being in the water that makes bags blow out. It's touching the sidewall near the bottom where heat from below the PC is flowing around the sides of the PC and heating them up near the bottom. If you kept your riser setup and just put more water in the PC above the bottom of the bags it would still work fine (not that there is any reason to). You can also just line the bottom of the PC with silicone mats, or a towel. Also, bags touching the walls doesn't make them hotter (unless it's near the bottom like I said) it actually makes them cooler, since the wall of the PC is a heatsink. Sometimes you'll get patches of bacterial contam where the bags were touching the walls because steam didn't flow around the outside of the bag to get it hot enough. Luckily, if you face the patches out like you did, steam escapes the bag through the flap and flows between the grain and the wall of the PC, heating it up properly.

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

Glad to learn that. It makes sense now because when I started trying out bags, I was using the short trivet that came with the PC and I suppose that's just too close to the bottom and done it. The issue stopped once I modified my trivet.

[@junerobinson1220]

My bags bursted towards the bottom of the bag just like you stated. So what should I do ? Cause they were touching the walls and melted also. I figured it was the quality of the bag cause I did everything normal. I only had two 3.5 lbs bags in. And I also “gusset flapped “ the bags.

[@xspells]

Hahahaha dude drew is awesome I had no idea u recommended him. See and this is why ur the master my friend

[@vdjKryptosRock]

I’ve never seen this happen before, but when you said “hit like” near the end, youtube flashed a light ring around the ‘like/dislike’ area. I wonder if it actually times up when said in the video.

[@nathancks]

It does now haha, when they say subscribe the subscribe button has a rainbow ring go around it

[@joncampbell5021]

Not all hero’s wear capes, some wear antlers.

[@mattt9634]

Few questions can you use 90% iso, and how long does the gran bags last before needing to be inoculated?

[@HelpMe_OrNot]

Use 70% iso as 90% will evaporate before killing much bacteria. For grain jars, it is best to inoculate as soon as they have cooled down (1-3 days storage max). I assume the bags would be similar. A veteran would know much more than me, but I stick with making the jars/bags I'm going to use that day to help prevent contam. I hope this helps! Mush love and best of luck on your journey!

[@mattt9634]

@@HelpMe_OrNot thanks a million bro!

[@miladbozorgnia3571]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. I apologize if you’ve already answered this question but how long do you let your millet soak in the bags after adding the water before putting them inside the pressure canner? Thank you very much. Your instruction style is GOLD!!🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@excelself]

He doesn’t soak them per say just adds the water 9:29 after all it’s called “no soak millet”

[@davidallen4638]

BOOMER SOONER BOOMER SHROOMER....THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SIMPLIFIED TECHNIQUE TO MAKING OUR OWN GRAIN BAGS AND ALL OF THE OTHER BEN FRANKLIN SAVING TIPS AND ADVICE THAT YOU SHARE IN YOUR VIDEOS

[@MacCelium]

Thanks for all you do.

[@avadakedavra6695]

@phillygoldenteacher How do I prepare my rye ? I know I shouldn't cook it until it's broken but can I just soak it in cold water for 12 hours and then use it as a base for inoculum?

[@xojioghbiu]

Thank you for healing ports

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

🙏

[@pamelajohnson5056]

Loving the lessons. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@Man-EatingMushroom]

100% you can have the water up .25-5” the sides of the bottom bags, no doubt. I do it and so do many folks I know, because we’ll run 4 5lb bags and you have to have the trivet at a specific height to fit everything. It works great and no water gets in the bags and they seal themselves, and I fold and load them identical to you. Just thought I’d share so folks don’t have issues fitting everything. Just don’t let the water rise up the bags more than .5” at the very most, ideally .25” or not at all.

[@Man-EatingMushroom]

Also you want to vent the steam for 10min. It’s in the manual and if you don’t let it vent for 10min once a steady stream comes out, your pressurizing some air and not only steam and thus the temps are not even in every jar or bag. It’s in the manual and made a world of difference with contam s for me.

[@cubbymcghee9195]

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈👻👻👻👻👠👠👠👠

[@cubbymcghee9195]

@@Man-EatingMushroom Dear sir, you mean to wait 10 minutes AFTER the locking mechanism is engaged BEFORE putting the weight on the PC. 🙏🏽❤️

[@bigshoots1181]

Great vid! Do you have an idea on the grain to water ratio would be for milo?

[@fpsreach5039]

for those of us who dont have a flow hood, how do we seal the bags while maintaining sterility? Pre sealing maybe?

[@AustinWigley]

I have a homemade glove box I do mine in, but a neat trick I've tried with some success is to heat your oven and then do the inoculations with the oven open after it's been heated. The hot air convects and lifts particulate up and away from the bags.

[@emyers4001]

Without a flow hood, your best bet is a still air box. They can be made with a basic clear Rubbermaid container

[@donnyjuan7532]

i use a glovebox and rubber bands for the bags

[@MCToolhead]

Glove box bad SAB good

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

So one of my buddy sticks the flap out and under the still air box and has his impulse sealer setup right next to the SAB. He seals the flap outside the SAB while keeping the bags in the SAB. It's risky but is as sterile as you can get it with SAB.

[@thesuburbanelectric]

Why do you run Millet without pre-hydrating, but not the Oats?

[@JohnSmoke-ih1ow]

Thanks Ohilly

[@markmettles9148]

Love the vid! Was curious what kind of laminar flow hood you use? Tried looking through your products used but didn’t see that at all.

[@donnyjuan7532]

Philly I dont understand why you then dried your grains? what i do is add the grain and water to my 10T bags and immediately pressure cook follow the humble fungus no soak no simmer TEK. If you are having any contam issues with your bags i suggest increasing PC time to 3 hours min to 3 and half hour max when packing your PC to the max capacity it requires a long cook time to completely sterilize that is what i have found after trial and error after doing that i have very close to 100% success rate and i dont even have a flow hood just a SAB glovebox lol i wish you would get an all american canner mush love sensei!

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

I don't have much space for an all American. I'm kinda cool with the presto for now. As for the grains I do know there's no soak oat bags that midnight mushroom has a video on. My personal preference for grains other than millet is to soak them and get them to the right field capacity before sterilizing.

[@donnyjuan7532]

@@PhillyGoldenTeacher if you do get an all american remember to lube the lid with olive oil so it doesnt lock from the pressure as it has no rubber gasket pros and cons I had to replace the gasket on my presto too often so I saved up for an all american

[@frankfrank6541]

Very interesting. Thank you very much.

[@kloii]

I'm really struggling with sealing my bags. They come out of the PC with beads of water between the layers of plastic. These beads make the impulse sealer not work properly.

[@mypilogy2571]

Appreciate you my brother.

[@oneguyfungi]

So hey PGT is there no need to soak millet ?

[@TheOffCycle]

Can brown rice be used? If so what’s the process? It will be for pink oyster liquid culture inoculation

[@TheElan5]

You always release videos right after I try something for the first time 😂 You’re the man. Can’t wait to take a stab at this no soak no simmer millet tek. Can you do it with bird seed that’s had SF seeds poured off?

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

It's possible with birdseed, I personally haven't done no soak no simmer on birdseed with bags, but I have done it with jars. There will be a video coming out about no soak no simmer grains in the near future here.

[@TheElan5]

@@PhillyGoldenTeacher Amazing, thank you for this! I've seen a few teks circulating that I want to try. It just baffles me that whole white millet is more expensive than bird seed. Thanks for all you've done for this community!

[@tko3779]

Nice vid. 1) it’s stated that millet is the primary grain. No mention initially that there will be different grains in the vid and that there are two separate process (are there separate process for different types of grains?). 2) the two different types of grains not being mentioned is important because goes right into talking about drying grains (oat) with an non informed assumption that the millet needs to dry (ppl learn differently and this is confusing) does the millet need to dry? I assume you are taking it out of the bag afterwards so no? 3) hot water use for the oats. Is it boiled, simmered, tap hot? Does it matter? How long before drying? Why hot water for ATS and not millet? Or simple state room temp for millet. 4) there are things that are inferred. Yes, the vid is very helpful, but specifics for your process is key. Some things can be winged by people who go through trial and error. Sharing the process and spreading love and knowledge is to take away from the mistakes. There are a lot of inference and assumptions to made. The vid did help me. Thank you

[@ericdoe2318]

5:31 the hardware is genius…

[@COD_is_a_sin]

Where do you get the actual plastic bag? What should I look for

[@marcusbostick3246]

can you use Black cow manure for mushroom grow bags

[@theinhtikezaw428]

Thanks

[@abgoldate]

I wonder if you could use the same 1:2 water/grain tek in jars also.

[@longfeatherlong8228]

I do.

[@erictjones]

Great instructional video!

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

Thank you! 😄

[@Parikchp]

Hi PGT great video. A quick question, I don’t have a flow hood, would it be advisable to seal the bags before the sterilisation process? The filter should help exchange of air anyways…

[@Akovdan]

PGT we gotta get you a new mic bro

[@comedianarthurhamilton3070]

For bird seed with more than just millet, Is it still the same amount (1,000g/3lbs) ???

[@antoniosa932]

For 3lb i use 1.050g of bird seeds but it may vary from seed vendor, i use simmer method

[@LarsLarsen77]

You can't put stainless steel in a pressure cooker, it will cause galvanic corrosion of the aluminum of the pressure cooker. You can, but not if it's touching any of the aluminum which it would have to be to hold the base up like that.

[@tygerbaked6335]

Is it possible to inoculate a grain jar/bag the same way you'd clone on agar, by taking a little piece from inside a mushroom and using that to inoculate grains?

[@tygerbaked6335]

@Truth #2 🌲 okay sweet, I kinda figured you can based off what I've learned about the different ways of using myc to inoculate, just wanted to make sure from others that have more experience

[@officialking3459]

Where are you getting the bags from? I’m looking thru the link to all the equipment and can’t find the bags for purchase

[@toddwmac]

Thanks PGT, great stuff as always. Do you usually use LC in you bags or do you also use agar? Your agar videos got me hooked on working with agar but I've not used bags yet and was wondering if there are any tips. Thanks!

[@raquiti]

PGT thanks for this amazing video! Quick question - can you seal the grain bags before sterilization since they have a filter? Or is that an issue? I don’t have a flow hood so would like for everything to remain sterile inside. Thank youuuu! 🍄

[@donnyjuan7532]

do not do that watch the humble fungus no soak no simmer video!!

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

You don't want to do that. As the pressure changes within the bag, having them sealed up could cause them to blow.

[@BaltimoresBerzerker]

Fold a flap at the opening of the bag and fold the excess bag around the grain like in the video. The flap will form an easy to open seal while being pressure cooked. Now you don't have to worry about sealing the bags until after you inoculate the grains, unless you're just using a bag clip.

[@LarsLarsen77]

It is absolutely possible to do, but you have to use a 0.5 filter bag and you have to remove ALL of the air from it before you put it in the PC. You also have to put a plate on top of it and make sure it's not touching the walls at all. So basically you can only do one large bag, with maybe 6 pounds of grain per run. You also have to cook it for way longer because bigger bags are thicker and take longer to heat up in the middle. If you seal after the PC you can fit more than twice that much grain in per run. My flow hood is way too small (10"x10") to seal bags with, so I just do it in dirty air. If you use bag clamps it's really easy. The bags come out with the vacuum seal holding the plastic together, so nothing will get in. Heat sealing can be a problem because of moisture, but a clamp will have no problem pushing the moisture out of the way, and you can always heat seal it later when it dries out and remove the clamp.

[@etnobotanicaperu]

THANKS FOR SHARING MY FRIEND, the birdseeds hydrated in hot water ? or cold boiled water, For how many hours ? thank you and that you are very well,

[@christismith659]

Thanks so much for this! How long do these bags keep before you need to innculate?

[@crookedmouth7221]

Have you tried the no soak oat tek? - it's by far the easiest tek I've tried so far. 2lbs of oats, 1.5lb water in a bag and pc for 2 hours. So simple and effective

[@markchick8385]

If Your Not PC'ing for 2 hours and 30 minutes Studies show that is the perfect Time, Not 90 minutes not 2 hours 2 hours and 30 minutes At Least.

[@hemifrost3990]

@@markchick8385why is that? Can some stuff survive if it’s under 2hr30m?

[@friklefrunk743]

Just started my grow journey for the 1st time wish me luck ❤

[@HiTechFX]

Thanks brother, your insight makes the process easier.

[@badmachine7862]

Thanks for all the good advice. Do you have a recipe for sawdust spawn bags using hardwood fuel pellets. There are several that have varying amounts of water, some with gypsum some not etc. Want use it to inoculate outdoor beds and reckon the critters would eat grain spawn.

[@modeob88]

where can i but that kind of bags?

[@isaachainline3031]

So I have a question about the cook time. You say 2.5 hrs in the video and was wondering if that’s a standard cook time or for the elevation you live at ? I live at 8600 ft. So my presto says to increase water by a quart and cook time by 30% which is like 3 hrs and 20 mins verses the 2.5 in your video. So what I’m asking is, is the 2.5 hrs enough time for sterilization or do I follow the time recommended by presto? Also would I increase the amount of water in each bag to accommodate for the longer cook time or would the 500g/ml be enough either way ?

[@manuelgayao9077]

90 minutes sterilization! I use All American Pressure Canner. How come every time I sterilize my substrate even for 30 minutes, substrates bags sticks together and cannot be separated?

[@joanrandolph2235]

Question...I have an electric pressure cooker that only goes up to 12 psi. Will this work or do I need to invest in a stove top one?

[@PhillyGoldenTeacher]

I would invest in a stovetop one. 12psi will struggle to kill endospores and take much longer sterilization times or tyndallization. 🙏

[@guyfawkes6657]

TY! PGT

[@seanwelsh8884]

I know this is old but I just thought so if you had jars of liquid culture couldn't you pour some in after its sterilized and cooled before you seal so it colonizies way faster?

[@JohnSmoke-ih1ow]

Thank you

[@fractalrap7682]

Hey, someone can tell me the name of the bags, I cant find it in my country