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My attempt at mushrooms in coffee grounds

wayne fajkus

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posted 4 years ago

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I used "coffee cultivator" from mushroom mountain. It is a small ziplock bag of oyster mushroom spawn. Basically you put your used coffee grounds into a bucket every day and sprinkle a little spawn in it. So far so good. It is growing and i see no odd colors in there. Just coffee grounds and the white stuff growing. I have been at it for a few weeks. This is a pic as of today.

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 4 years ago

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hau kola wayne, good looking spawn happening there. do check that yellow blob that I see dead center top of the photo, it could be something or nothing, I can't really tell without being there.

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wayne fajkus

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posted 4 years ago

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Those are condensated water droplets that fall from lid when I open it.

I've been out of town for 3 days so no more coffee was added. Here is a current picture.

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 4 years ago

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Sweet! glad it was nothing. Those will be tasty.

wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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I quit adding coffee grounds once i started taking the pictures. Here is another update. The off colors are definately water droplets. Not sure if the drops are a "tea" and picked up colors from the grounds. That is my assumption.

I didnt drill holes in the tote prior to filling with grounds. Based on reading another thread, i guess i will soak the drill bit in alcohol for several minutes or boil it prior to drilling? Are holes necessary? What size?

The other question is what to do now regarding light. Do i take the lid off and allow light once it is all white?

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 3 years ago

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I wouldn't worry about drilling holes in the tote. In the wild wine caps don't generally fruit sideways, so unless you just want holes for exterior harvesting I'd just remove the lid and let them fruit as if they were outdoors in a chip bed.

But, if the instructions that came with the spawn indicated you need holes (probably a 3/8" bit) (remembering that bagged substrate needs the tiny holes so fruiting can occur(top of bags are usually closed off to prevent contamination) then you would possibly have a need for side holes.

To sterilize a drill bit, do like barber shops do with their combs, glass of alcohol stick drill bit in tip down and let it sit until you need to use the bit, then glove up and set the bit in the chuck.

If contamination is a worry you can use scotch tape to cover the hole from the top edge, then fold the tape back onto itself (like making a tab) so the hole is covered but the fruits can push the tape up and out of their way as they grow.

Redhawk

wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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I would prefer to not drill. What about light? So far this has had a lid on it. Once it fully turns white, remove the lid and allow filtered light?

Sorry for the questions. I started this a couple months ago. I need a refresher on step 2+.

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 3 years ago

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My best winecaps live in very dappled (about 100 lumens, think I'll take a light meter out there this weekend so I can give you a more accurate assessment of the light quality) light all day long, so you might want to remove the lid and perhaps replace it with a piece of thin white cloth.
I have some well worn white sheets I have kept for such occasions, since they are thin they do let a lot of "filtered" light through. Another item that would work is a piece of light row cover material.

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Redhawk

wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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These are inside so the light will be filtered. Is the cloth strictly to filter light or does it assist with keeping contaminants out?

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 3 years ago

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In my case it helps keep stray spores from settling in and growing (I grow outdoors exclusively for now).

I tried logs in two spots on the farm and found out the hard way that for me, even those need to be inside a building to prevent contamination. ( I have since that event come up with a breathable cover (gray non woven and non plasticized roll of fabric) that is large enough to cover two stacks of logs.

If these are in your grow room just removing the cover should be enough but you can add a cloth cover if, like me, you like to sweeten the odds to your favor.

My next foray will be into some new for me species like morels and porchini.

Tj Jefferson

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posted 3 years ago

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Bryant RedHawk wrote:In my case it helps keep stray spores from settling in and growing (I grow outdoors exclusively for now).

I tried logs in two spots on the farm and found out the hard way that for me, even those need to be inside a building to prevent contamination. ( I have since that event come up with a breathable cover (gray non woven and non plasticized roll of fabric) that is large enough to cover two stacks of logs.

If these are in your grow room just removing the cover should be enough but you can add a cloth cover if, like me, you like to sweeten the odds to your favor.

My next foray will be into some new for me species like morels and porchini.

I’m interested in this Dr Redhawk. I’ve had a
couple stacks gone bad. I’m tinkering with the idea of building a “maturing” shed which would have a roof but passively water the logs somehow. I am gone for weeks at a time but it’s demoralizing to lose so much labor. Even the good logs get some turkey tail but I don’t mind as long as I get decent production. As I move into more challenging species I may have to up my game. So far I’ve just done easy ones like shiitake oyster and stropharia but my maiitake and chicken of the woods failed. I really am getting into this and they have replaced an amazing amount of store bought food in the winter.

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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The vibrancy went down after removing the cover. I misted it a few times yesterday as i think the lack of humidity is why it reversed. This morning i placed a scrap clear bubble wrap over it. Pic as of now:

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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After covering for humidity it seems to be doing better. I am no expert but looks like mushrooms may be coming soon.

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Bryant RedHawk

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posted 3 years ago

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you are getting close to fruiting Wayne, see the small bumps near the bottom of that photo? those do indeed appear to be the start of a fruiting body.

wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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I thought that. Pinheads is what i had read. Starting to get excited!

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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Another update. With the humidity dome it turned back into a fluffy white. There is a green color in there now. The other odd colors are water puddles. I think i will leave the cover off for a day.

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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2 mushrooms are coming up!

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steve bossie

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posted 3 years ago

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wow ! i never knew wine caps could grow on coffee grinds! did it with oysters but oysters are quite a bit more aggressive. good job!

wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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Steve, thank you! You are correct. I went back and looked and they are oyster mushrooms. I'll go back and edit my posts. Here is the link to the coffee kit:

Coffee Cultivator - Mushroom Mountain
https://mushroommountain.com/products/coffee-cultivator/

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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Looking good!

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wayne fajkus

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posted 3 years ago

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That first flush fizzled. I was out of town for a week so i put it in the dark. Got back, and a few days later, looks like i will be cooking mushrooms tonight. Thumb for size reference....

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J.B. Wells

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posted 3 years ago

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Very cool. Thanks for posting progress updates. I'm interested in trying this and it's helpful. Please let us know how good they are.

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steve bossie

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posted 3 years ago

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wayne fajkus wrote:That first flush fizzled. I was out of town for a week so i put it in the dark. Got back, and a few days later, looks like i will be cooking mushrooms tonight. Thumb for size reference....

Wayne,
try misting them with some water. looks like your substrate is drying out. ;)

Michael Cox

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posted 3 years ago

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I did some googling and found this video, growing mushrooms using the stems from shop bought mushrooms in coffee grounds.

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wayne fajkus

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steve bossie wrote:Wayne,
try misting them with some water. looks like your substrate is drying out. ;)

I drilled holes in the side. Doing that compressed it and caused the cracks.

Can i start taking a tablespoon of this mixture to start another tote? Seems like the only concern would be possible contamination?

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wayne fajkus

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I am moving forward with another batch using a cracked feed bucket. I drilled holes in the side because that is probably the correct method. Coffee culture spawn is ordered from mushroom mountain. I will be freezing my coffee grounds tol it gets here.

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Tj Jefferson

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Can i start taking a tablespoon of this mixture to start another tote? Seems like the only concern would be possible contamination?

Wayne, in my limited experience, oysters are so aggressive it is unlikely you will get contamination if they are fruiting and all the mycelium looks white and similar. I would take mycelium from the base of the fruiting bodies though.

I recently found flushes of oysters on tulip poplar I cut down to make my giant hugels. It seems like it really colonizes several substrates with little effort. Bacterial contamination i can't speak to, just ability to outcompete other fungi. Since I didn't start with mycleium, just spores on these trees, it means even the spores are aggressive enough to colonize in the absence of other mycelium pre-existing.

I would think you would be wise to use a pretty good portion of mycelium in the new batch, like maybe 10%. If it works you could back down. I have read in Sepp's book they used played out logs for that purpose to inoculate other logs and it looks like about 5-10% inoculum load from his pictures.

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wayne fajkus

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I started the other bucket. First pic shows the mycelium growing. Second picture is after sprinkling more spawn on it.

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Bryant RedHawk

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Looking good Kola Wayne, yes you can use mycelium from the first batch to start new ones. (I have one going now that will become many once I get the flushes from the bag)

Redhawk

steve bossie

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I've done the coffee ground thing with a small bag of plug spawn to start. as you add your daily used coffee grounds strait from the pot they won't have a chance to get contaminated with anything. I've done 5 gal. buckets slowly adding more daily grounds over months, not needing to add more spawn. when you add small amounts the mycelium is so aggressive it quickly colonizes it. I've even put wet newspaper and cardboard in boiling water then put it in there. they love that too. a buddy of mine grew oysters on 5 pair of wore out jeans in a 5 gal. bucket, wet with boiling water. they grew like crazy! he would add a pair a week to give the mycelium time to consume that pair before adding another.a 5 gal. bucket will give you many dozens of shrooms!

wayne fajkus

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Thanks for all the replies. I think this whole project will expand out to the garden as well as my terrace/earthworks project.

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Dennis Bangham

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posted 3 years ago

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You can add boiling water to hardwood fuel pellets and have them as the substrate for mycelium. They are sterilized by heat and pressure when they make the pellets.

Other people may reject you but if you lie in the forest floor for long enough the moss and fungi will accept you as one of their own!

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Dennis Bangham wrote:You can add boiling water to hardwood fuel pellets and have them as the substrate for mycelium. They are sterilized by heat and pressure when they make the pellets.

ive done this. works great !

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Tj Jefferson:
Could a spawn container be built with a water reservoir at the bottom, like a sub irrigated planter?
If they were done dutch bucket style, one bucket with a float valve could feed the rest.
Logs with one end in a bucket could be watered the same way.
Maybe add sand to the log buckets to avoid having open water that could be colonized.
How would shroons like an unheated hoop house?

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steve bossie wrote:I've done the coffee ground thing with a small bag of plug spawn to start. as you add your daily used coffee grounds strait from the pot they won't have a chance to get contaminated with anything. I've done 5 gal. buckets slowly adding more daily grounds over months, not needing to add more spawn.

Wouldn't the coffee grounds bury the mushrooms? (I'm ignorant about growing mushrooms, but would like to try it!)

Does the bucket ultimately fill up, and if so, what do you do then?

wayne fajkus

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The mycelium colonizes the coffee grounds. White fuzzy stuff. Once it is fully colonized it will fruit.

I am adding the spawn as i add the coffee grounds. At some point i stop to let it fully colonize and then fruit.

In my new set up, the mushrooms should come out the holes i drilled in the sides.

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wayne fajkus

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For those on the edge about growing these i made a slideshow of their growth. The pictures are 12 hours apart. I started when i saw little pinheads in the substrate

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Tj Jefferson

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William Bronson wrote:Tj Jefferson:
Could a spawn container be built with a water reservoir at the bottom, like a sub irrigated planter?
If they were done dutch bucket style, one bucket with a float valve could feed the rest.
Logs with one end in a bucket could be watered the same way.
Maybe add sand to the log buckets to avoid having open water that could be colonized.
How would shroons like an unheated hoop house?

Spawn would not spread wel in water if that’s the idea. Its designed for air distribution. One side in a sandy water bath should be fine to keep the logs hydrated make sure the original bottom is in the water it will wick better.

Hoop house in winter would probably make it colonize faster because it would have more hours in the 40-50F range. A hoop house would be a little challenging to keep the logs from drying.

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wayne fajkus

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The holes i drilled in the original tote are fruiting. This is technically the third fruiting.

I am learning a lot. Mainly how critical moisture is. I can now understand why my outdoor logs never took off. They dried out.

The red bucket is now full of coffee grounds and spawn. Just a waiting game now.

Next i will attempt using leftover hay. Maybe simmer it in water to sterilize it and see how it goes.

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