How do I pickle wood plugs for inoculation?

Question

I've heard from a world famous mycologist that you should pickle your wood plugs prior to inoculation. What solution should I use to pickle them?

Can you provide a link to the claim? – Graham Chiu Jul 23 '18 at 19:37 — Graham Chiu, Jul 23 '18 at 19:37
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcVDVXYrCG4 – black thumb Jul 24 '18 at 02:14 — black thumb, Jul 24 '18 at 02:14

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 22:11

3

He's talking about pasteurizing wood chips or straw using immersion in water to create an anaerobic environment to kill off the aerobic bacteria and fungi. Then he removes the water to expose the wood chips to air and inoculates them with mycelium. With no aerobic competitors, the mycelium then runs rapidly. This is a known method of pasteurizing without the need for heat.

Wooden dowels are much more compact, and it's easier to just boil them to sterilize them.

answered Jul 24 '18 at 22:11

Graham Chiu

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how do i use this method? – black thumb Jul 25 '18 at 02:34
Boil for 30 mins, cool, let them dry, and use. – Graham Chiu Jul 25 '18 at 21:25
that's the anaerobic method? – black thumb Jul 25 '18 at 21:40
No, the anaerobic method is in my answer. – Graham Chiu Jul 25 '18 at 23:26
how do you get them to go anaerobic? – black thumb Jul 26 '18 at 02:51
submerse them in the water and leave for 2 weeks. – Graham Chiu Jul 26 '18 at 03:13
how do i create the desired bacteria environments? – black thumb Jul 26 '18 at 04:10
Just double-checking: have you looked up what “anaerobic” and “aerobic” means? – Stephie Jul 30 '18 at 04:43

How do I pickle wood plugs for inoculation?

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