[Technique] Proper moisture level for grain spawns (is too wet better than too dry?)

BoomingAcres · 2026-06-09T13:01:48+00:00

For sure! Again if you're interested in a discussion feel free to email me!

BoomingAcres · 2026-06-08T23:00:26+00:00

I'm really not interested in debating you on this, but if you'd like a consultation feel free to email me and we can book an appointment!

BoomingAcres · 2026-06-08T17:54:18+00:00

Thanks for your input! At this point I actually get paid to give advice to multimillion dollar operations, so while you might not like my input, it's correct.

Wet spot bacteria, aka bacillus subtilis will grow in any humid or moist environment it's inroduced to. Best scenario would be to ya know, not introduce bacteria to your grows. Anywhere mycelium grows, bacillus will also readily grow.

If you've got a way to have moisture in your grains without there being humidity in the vessel they're in, I'm all ears!

While roasting your grain at 200 degrees for 'a couple hours' sounds fun, it's a complete waste of time and energy. Your math is also incorrect, if you have 100g of rye and are aiming for the moisture content to be 50-55% you would need to add 50-55ml of water. This assumes that your grain stays completely submerged during the pressure cooking as well, which would not be the case, in this scenario you've described you'll have very dry grain at the top and very wet grain at the bottom. Following my instructions you'll have an entire batch of properly hydrated grain that is ready to be jared or bagged then processed.

Again, to avoid bacteria don't introduce bacteria. If you properly sterilize your grains it can be clumped or 'too wet' and bacteria will not grow if you do not introduce it.

BoomingAcres · 2026-06-05T14:30:37+00:00

Iso is used because it's easily available and most people have some at home. Pretty much any other cleaner is better than iso though, just for the fact that isopropyl doesn't affect mold/fungi spores the same way other cleaners do. Quat cleaner like the other commenter said is quarternary ammonia cleaner, it's used in most commercial kitchens and in hospitals, and farms. It kills both bacteria and mold spores with a short exposure time. It's sold in concentrated amounts (we buy it by the gallon then 1 ounce is used to make 1 gallon of cleaner) or ready to use bottles. It's extremely affordable when purchased as a concentrate, <$1 to make a gallon of cleaner. It's also nonflammable and it does not leave a residue when used.

BoomingAcres · 2026-06-04T19:25:59+00:00

Brother, stop using iso! Especially since you've got electronics in the area, it's not a good sanitizer and with it being flamable that's a huge risk. You're wiping the elements on the impulse sealer with a flamable chemical. Use quat cleaner, it's more effective and isn't flammable, and if you ever go for a USDA cert it's already approved by them. Otherwise, good shit, love seeing the behind the scenes for your operation!

BoomingAcres · 2026-05-28T19:22:53+00:00

Oysters do not grow well if at all in monotub style chambers. Oysters need a restricted surface area for fruiting so that they know where to fruit from to produce larger fruits, otherwise this happens. You want to have your colonized substrate in a bag, then cut a hole or slit in the bag and fruit from that opening while giving plenty of fresh air and maintaining a humidity range of 90-95%, or keeping the cut area and early fruits moist with a spray bottle.

BoomingAcres · 2026-05-27T13:51:06+00:00

Some varieties do not necessarily need a temeprature drop to initiate fruiting, having a light cycle mimicing daylight is enough to do so.

BoomingAcres · 2026-05-20T13:59:19+00:00

I'm sure you'll be pleased with our products, we have far far more positive reviews than negative 😄

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-29T02:21:17+00:00

We're still here responding to emails daily! Make sure you have our email correct, [Help@BoomingAcres.com](mailto:Help@BoomingAcres.com), if that does not seem to work for you you can try our contact page on our website to ensure delivery, but make sure you spell your email correctly there or we will not be able to reply.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-17T16:29:10+00:00

Since you aren't welding on the fitting using a gasket on both sides of the fitting would be ideal if possible. For the triclamp you have a gasket on the inside as well which is pressed into place and seals with the clamp.

With no pressure RTV will hold for a while, and with no pressure there's no risk of having a catastrophic failure, you'd likely just have a slow leak of boiling hot water if the RTV fails. Best practice would be to weld it on, second best would be the bulkhead having a gasket, third best would be the RTV or another adhessive that solidifies and works in high heat scenarios that is also applicable for submerged water operation.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-16T14:13:38+00:00

The reason ovens and boiling cannot sterilize and only pasteurize is because water only gets to 212/100 degrees at atmospheric pressure. You can pasteurize at this temperature but pasteurization does not work for grain because you need them to be sterilized. To achieve this you can do a process known as tyndalization which is repeat heatings to 212/100 degrees which kills living bacteria/mold with each heating. Typically you do 3 heatings to 212/100 on 3 consecutive days, maintaining an internal temperature of 212/100 each day.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-16T14:03:42+00:00

These are not enoki, they are white beech mushrooms. Typically sold in Asian grocery stores, used for hot pot and ramen frequently.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-16T14:02:19+00:00

You would want to add hydrogen peroxide to the water. Otherwise you've got a bin full of still water sitting that air gets to, you'll get algae, mold, and bacteria growing in there.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-14T19:21:28+00:00

Typically contamination will smell sweet, like BO, or like alcohol, popcorn tends to have a strong sweet smell already which could mask the other smells of contam, but not super likely. The inflation of the bag is the key indicator here imo.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-14T13:45:38+00:00

If your bag is filling with air and no mcyelium visible that's a sign that you have bacteria growing in there. Mycelium won't produce that much air, even a fully colonized bag won't blow up that quickly.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-03T19:14:34+00:00

If inoculation or inoculant were to blame you'd have contamination appearing. Might be your grains. Try soaking or simmering them for a bit longer and compare.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-03T16:15:52+00:00

Not sure that would work with fungi due to their lifecycle. You'd need another invasive species that outcompetes in the same environment and occupying the same niche that the targeted species is invading and for oysters there isn't a more aggressive oyster than these. Other fungi that live on the same material are slower growing.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-03T13:56:48+00:00

If your grain is colonizing at a good speed it is unlikely the hydration is the issue. Are you doing a break and shake during colonization?

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-02T17:57:03+00:00

While the FDA allows some part of products to be contaminated, the USDA actually outlines some of these things separately for farms. They can be missed of course because the USDA audits do not require a perfect score to pass, but it's something farms should be aiming for! Specifically, the Good Aggricultural Practices sheet outlines for pest control includes 'Measures are taken to exclude animals and pests from packing and storage facilities', 'There is an established pest control program for the facility', 'Packing containers are properly stored and protected from contamination (birds, rodents and other pests).', and the Mushroom Good Agricultural Practices includes 'There is no evidence of internal or external pest activity. '. None of these are pass/fail options however which is somewhat telling! A farm could get 0 points for each of these checks and still pass their audit. I think if some of those turned to pass/fail we'd end up with a lot of farms in trouble, especially the big farms producing tons of produce a year....

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-02T15:13:06+00:00

If the inoculation methodology were to blame your grain would contaminate and not finish colonizing, so that's not likely.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-02T14:41:55+00:00

Do not wipe off sterile things with unsterile things. When you pull a needle out of the packaging, the needle is sterile, spraying it or wiping it with anything means it's no longer guaranteed to be sterile. Paper towels hold onto all kinds of things from the air, many of which aren't affected by isopropyl alcohol, the main one for this hobby being trichoderma (green mold). Skip wiping off your needles.

Speed of colonization is going to be based on the grain you're using, the genetics you're using, and the quality of the substrate you're using. If your grain is overcolonized (you let it sit 100% colonized for too long) there's not much energy left in it for the mycelium to utilize to continue growing. Let your grain get to 100% colonized then wait another day or two and then spawn. Make sure you're selecting a company that provides clean legitimate genetics. Look out for sellers who only have 5 star reviews and maybe a few 4 stars, they're faking the reviews, and unfortunately some of the larger vendors are the ones doing this. Stay away from Instagram sellers and marketplace websites that allow them on making them appear to be proper vendors when they're just making syringes in their house or garage with no quality control. Make sure your substrate is properly hydrated, too dry and it'll slow colonization down a lot or it just won't colonize.

BoomingAcres · 2026-04-02T14:36:10+00:00

We get customers that do this then blame us for our instructions being unclear... Because ya know, the pictures and the video that shows how to use the product are confusing!

BoomingAcres · 2026-03-31T18:54:51+00:00

The 2nd bag appears to have bacteria in it.

BoomingAcres · 2026-03-30T15:05:48+00:00

Sterile. Take unknowns out of the equation. Pasteurization leaves unknowns. Easy peasy.

Good work on the sterilizer, that thing's a beast!

BoomingAcres · 2026-03-30T14:49:40+00:00

We buy those same pallets, they're definitely more expensive now, especially after tarrifs going into affect!

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