Hillbilly Mushroom Liquid Culture (2024)

FAQs

How to make liquid culture solution? ›

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.

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. Please research the specific species of mushroom you are cultivating in order to incubate at correct temperature.

Optimal Temperature Conditions

For optimal longevity and health of your liquid culture, it's best to store it in a refrigerator, ideally at temperatures between 2-8°C (35-46°F). Never freeze a liquid culture (or spores), as this will kill the living culture inside.

A good liquid culture will often be a tiny bit cloudy and then clear up. This is because the bacteria starts to grow a tiny bit but the mycelium is so far ahead that it scours the liquid culture of bacteria and particulates and then dominates it (mycelium has been fighting bacteria like this for millions of years).

A commonly held belief among growers is that mycelium will grow faster in total darkness. There is no data to support this premise; however, significant exposure to direct UV light from the sun can be detrimental. Light is a secondary trigger for initiating fruiting bodies.

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.

Incubation starts with leap off, which is the moment when the mycelium initially leaps off the spawn onto the new substrate. This typically occurs around four days after inoculation.

Usually about 1 – 2 CC's of liquid culture is sufficient per quart sized grain jar.

Nutrient-Rich: Honey packs natural sugars and nutrients, making it a mycelium magnet.

There are several opinions on this, but generally growers recommend swirling, stirring or shaking your jar once a day. If you have a very slow-growing strain, you may only need to shake it every second day when you see a clump or cloud of mycelium forming instead of small strands.

How to make liquid bacterial culture? ›

Using a sterile pipette tip or toothpick, select a single colony from your LB agar plate. Drop the tip or toothpick into the liquid LB + antibiotic and swirl. Loosely cover the culture with sterile aluminum foil or a cap that is not air tight. Incubate bacterial culture at 37°C for 12-18 hr in a shaking incubator.

Liquid culture (sometimes referred to as LC) is a self-contained sterile environment that allows for the cultivation of mycelium in a mixture of water and sugar. Though a basic concept in theory, it really provides the perfect setting for mycelium to flourish in a relatively short space of time.

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.

Liquid cultures

One method of microbiological culture is liquid culture, in which the desired organisms are suspended in a liquid nutrient medium, such as Luria broth, in an upright flask. This allows a scientist to grow up large amounts of bacteria or other microorganisms for a variety of downstream applications.