Only two things are being chased here: an even mix, and the right amount of water. It looks simple. It is the step most often got wrong.
5 lessons · 14 min
Mycelium travels through the substrate like a root. Where there is a patch of bare sawdust with no bran, it slows down. Where the bran is piled up, mould gets there first.
An uneven mix does not give you an uneven harvest — it gives you a spoiled bag. The weak patches are where the enemy gets in.
Mix the dry ingredients into the sawdust before adding any water. Dry material is far easier to even out than wet.
Start from the opposite side of the pile. The aim is that no part of it goes untouched by the shovel.
A final mix and a final look. Look for an even colour across the whole pile. If there are still paler patches, you are not finished.
Take a handful of the mixed substrate and squeeze it hard in one hand.
It is right when your palm is wet and only one or two drops come out between your fingers. There is too little water when nothing comes out and the substrate falls apart as you open your hand. There is too much when it runs in a steady trickle.
Of the two, too much water is the more dangerous. Water fills the gaps that should hold air — and mycelium needs air. Once the air is gone, bacteria take over, and the sign of that is a sour smell.
Once the bag is sealed, there is nothing more you can do about the water. There is no way to add or take away. One minute of checking now is worth one whole batch later.
The whole explanation as a PDF you can print and carry out to the farm — and the full course with it, for one payment.
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Mushy Deli
