Mushroom Liquid Cultures: How, Why and Where to Buy (2024)

FAQs

How to use liquid mushroom culture? ›

We recommend that you use the liquid culture to inoculate grains and use the grain spawn to inoculate your growth substrate. Whether it is sawdust, hay or cardboard. Just break up the grain spawn once the mycelium have taken over it. Then inoculate the growth substrate you want to use.

Mycelium will incubate anywhere from 70-86 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the specific strain. Allow the bag to fully colonize (turn completely white). This should take 10-14 days at warmer temperatures, or 16-21 days at temperatures around 70 degrees.

I like using magnetic stir plates and a delay timer. A. few seconds on and a few hours off. on and a few hours off.

Usually about 1 – 2 CC's of liquid culture is sufficient per quart sized grain jar. You can also inoculate the grain jar without even opening the lid, by simply injecting the liquid culture right though the filter on the top of the jar.

Store in a cool, dark place: The liquid culture should be stored in a cool, dark place such as a refrigerator or a cool basem*nt. This will help to slow down the growth of the mycelium and extend the shelf life of the culture. Preventing UV light will also keep the mycelium viable for longer.

While liquid cultures can be stored for many months, we recommend using them within six months for the best results. In our experience, liquid cultures of nearly any variety can grow even after a year of storage in the refrigerator.

To make liquid culture, mix a sugar source (like light malt extract or honey) with water, sterilize the solution, and then introduce mushroom mycelium. Use a canning jar with an airport lid for the culture and a pressure cooker for sterilization.

Place your liquid culture in a plastic bag or other container to ensure the syringe stays protected and contamination free. Liquid cultures and isolated syringes are best kept in your refrigerator to keep the mycelium dormant and last longer.

A good liquid culture will often be a tiny bit cloudy and then clear up.

Disadvantages of Liquid Culture

Because there is still some risk of contamination, this is seen as a disadvantage of liquid culture. Not everyone has the ability to keep their workspace or equipment completely sterile, whether this is down to inexperience or otherwise.

How do you know if liquid culture is still good? ›

Often the first sign that something is off with your mushroom liquid culture is something doesn't look quite right. Visual signs of contamination in a mushroom liquid culture can include: 1. Cloudiness: A clear liquid culture should remain transparent.

Shake your master culture vigorously to break up the mycelium as much as possible. If it's the first time that you're using the syringe needle, you won't need a lighter since the needle will be sterile.

Add 12g of light corn syrup to the water and stir to form a solution. This is equivalent to 4% corn syrup:water ratio. The corn syrup provides the nutrients needed for the mycelium to grow in the liquid culture.

Once inoculated allow the jars to fully colonize for 10-18 days at room temperature. Halfway through, when you notice the mycelium has colonized 15-20% of the volume of the grain vigorously shake and turn the jars. This fully redistributes the mycelium and breaks it up drastically speeding up the colonization process.

Incubate bacterial culture at 37°C for 12-18 hr in a shaking incubator. Note: Some plasmids or strains require growth at 30°C. If so, you will likely need to grow for a longer time to get the correct density of bacteria since they will grow more slowly at lower temperatures.

Dried mushrooms need to be reconstituted with water before you can use them, and this produces two wonderful things: the mushrooms themselves and their flavorful soaking liquid. Both can be used in soups, stews, sauces, pâtés, and gratins.

Using Agar: Remove lid of agar culture, using the scalpel remove a segment of colonised agar. Place agar in either the jar or bag of sterile media. Using Liquid Culture: Shake liquid culture syringe and inject 1 ml into the jar or bag via the injection port. Remove syringe, wipe down, flame sterilise and re-cap.

Sterilize the Solution: Place the filled jars in a pressure cooker and sterilize them at 15 psi for 15 to 20 minutes. This step is crucial to eliminate any contaminants in the solution.