I just officially opened my personal little mushroom growing season. I have already (even successfully, occasionally 🙂 ) made grain spawn by just propagating mycelium plugs in pasteurized grain in the past, but while this is a cheap and simple way to use up “leftover mushroom seeds”, it’s also unfortunately very prone to contamination and failure. I decided to try a more professional approach this time and got myself some liquid mycelium in a syringe and this time aimed for a sterile procedure.
Growing Oyster Mushrooms on Straw – Bucket Method
Following the last two mushroom bags I made, I decided to eventually use up the leftover oyster mushroom spawn I was procreating then. It was sitting in a dry cool an dark place so I’m cautiously optimistic it might still be alive. This time, I wanted to try it with a straw growing substrate as shown in many internet publications and videos. So here’s a summary of what I did and in about a month’s time I hopefully can post an update on some progress.
How to: Grow Basil at Home
I sincerely love Basil. Best used fresh, this herb an enrichment for for a lot of dishes from pesto to all kinds of pasta, also poultry and countless sauces and even soups. Always a great addition.
Unfortunately, Basil a is a little diva-ish to have around and grow. I f***ed up numberless times when I tried to grow or even just maintain my basil plants, but finally, meanwhile I seem to have developed at least a little knack for it. I have actually managed to germinate as well as propagate, grow, perpetuate and correctly prune several basil plants on my southern windowsill! Here’s what I can share:
Homebrew Drain Cleaner
My kitchen sink drained very slowly and not properly anymore (that’s ok after 10 years of ample use). Thanks to the vastness of the internet I came across an easy and convenient manly hint on the topic requiring only household items, so I tried that.
The summary? In my case, this did actually work 🙂 Here’s how:
Cooking Rice for Beginners – Knuckle Method
My. Rice. Cooker. Died. Don’t laugh, this is serious, no kidding. I cooked rice without one before but I’m absolutely not experienced with it and a rice cooker really is very convenient.
Now, lots of people have smiled over Uncle Roger’s hilarious YouTube reaction on somebody’s rice cooking, so, of course I tried his “finger method”, just for the test. No measuring of rice and water, just use your index finger’s knuckles and somewhat “eyeball” everything. There’s a nice and comprehensible explanation here that I shamelessly copied – see below.
And it works! I got fluffy, perfectly cooked and delicious rice. So easy, so convenient, so idiot proof. I’m even thinking about NOT buying a new rice cooker now 🙂
“Shotgun Fruiting Chamber”
In order to assist my mushroom bags a little in growing I made this so-called “Shotgun Fruiting Chamber” that I stumbled upon here. It’s an easy concept, but afaics it makes perfect sense so I’m going to try it.
Mushroom Cultivation Bags
German TV can be a cornucopia of documentaries. Of course: Hitler. Up and down. I can’t stand that guy anymore, just because of his omnipresence. This is presumably the most reliable way to prevent something like this from ever happening again – grinding people’s last nerves with it 🙂
But also interesting stuff! Like for example on professional mushroom growing in an old airforce aircraft shelter. Made me try some cultivation bags on my own again, as I found a left over box of store-bought mycelium in the shed. I didn’t have a clue if it was still any good, but it was worth the try and as usual, I had a little fun.
How to Defrost Your Freezer
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