Ok here is Stamets Reasoning ,I was afraid I read this some where else.

Page 35 The Mushroom Cultivator

#2
Alter the media regularly using the fomulas described herein. Growing a strain on the same agar formula is not recommended because the nutrional composition of the medium exerts a selective influnence on the ability of the mushroom mycelium to produce digestive enzymes. By varying the media , the strain's enzyme system remains broadly based and the mycelium is better suited for survival.Species vary greatly in their preferences.Unless specific data is available, trial and error is the only recourse.

I also read something on growing volvariella and the altering of the medium ever so slightly keeps the strain growing vigorously .

This does make sense if you think about it .If you ate the same thing everyday ,you would be fine for a while ,then you would start experiencing deficantcies.Lack of vitamen and other nutrient that covers our needs .

DISCLAIMER

I just read and regurgetate this stuff ,I am not a pioneer ,I am a follower . Whos the master cultivator, me .Who is the Splinter of Fungi , me. Oh yeah did I mention , I am a storyteller also.

A ballanced diet is allways good, & varying mixes can't hurt. I just think the ability to digest different foods won't be lost, but the transition may be rougher.
How about 1 media for your stock culture, and something more representative of spawn & substrates for working cultures.

Shitaki mushrooms hate oatmeal, but love dog food. They think the malt is ok too.
Oysters like everything, maybe the oatmeal more than the dog food.
Criminis and buttons are not big fans of oatmeal but like dog food and malt about equaly.
Damn, I forgot how tanacious oysters are. They have allready been transfered to rye along with the shitaki that was on dog food.
Still waiting for the other samples to grow out more.
I will try to get some picks up soon, but my connection at home is unreliable right now. (surfing off a neighbors wireless signal).
Thom

Love it

Everybody loves the malt it seems. Malt is a wonderful thing, it gives us beer & scotch, hey, fungi are smarter than you think :wink:

Thom = mr resource , why pay monthly isp bill when you can pay a one time wireless card charge? You are the man . Hey, just bought a 36 x 24 x 5 7/8 Hepa filter .I was given a 1/6 hp squirrel cage fan , from a mobile home furnace .I am hoping this is enough to operate my hepa .I still need to build my box to hold filter and fan .I am in a hurry to get it up and running .I have a whole lot on my plate and don't want to use the glove box anymore .I need to back up about 20 cultures . I also need to reproduce a few for some friends . I am so ready for the flow hood thing .I have never worked with one ,I have always used a glove box . I liked my glove box ,the labor involved with using the glove box will not be missed ,nor the bleech eating my hands. I will miss the cramps and pains from sitting in the same position for extended periods of time .Unable to scratch my nose that itched from the time I started til I finished.

Peace

Funguy, good luck with the fan. I guess the trick is to work within 6 inches or so. I work within 10 inches. But I have a big one ya know. 8O
I bet the squirrell fan thing will work. They are designed to push air through alot of duct work. I keep my fan allmost on full low while I am working. Just enugh to bend a candle flame. I kick it on high for about 20 min before I work, thinking that I will blow off anything that may be stuck to the front of the filter. I have yet to grow mold on anything. Just some bacteria on one sample, but that was probably bad handleing on my part.

I think because of the ease and the fact that I have no dog and a whole bag of dog food. I will be useing DFA exclusively for quite a while. It works. At least Purina dog chow anyway. And I sort of like the little bits that don't desolve, it looks cool.
:idea:
20 grams of agar
20 grams of dog food (beat up with an old blade coffee grinder)
SIMPLE
:idea:
Oh yea, blade coffee grinders are only good for grains and dog food. Not good for coffee beans, but coffee is another one of my passions so I should not go off on that tangent.