Solutions for Growing Psilocybe in a Cold Climate

[amor_fati]

SWIM's been growing psilocybe indoors for a while now. One of his biggest problems seems to be regulating temperatures. He's been using a space heater since the Winter, but he's had many problems with this. It can be hard to control the temperature without babysitting the grow area. SWIM has to keep his incubating jars and and fruiting terrarium in the same area due to space limitations and legal concerns. SWIM's lost many jars to wet-spot bacteria, presumably due to negligence regarding temperature control.

SWIM's decided to turn to water heating using an incubation setup. This is common for incubating jars, but not for terrariums.

SWIM's managed to set up a TIT (Tote In Tote) Incubator for under $30, and he's testing the temperatures in it at the moment. He's still forming a terrarium idea at the moment and so far it looks like he could set it up for ~$50. The biggest issue SWIM sees with the terrarium is gas exchange, so he's come up with some solution as outlined below:

 

[benzyme]

aquarium with a layer of perlite, heating pad under the aquarium.
some pidgeon used this method successfully

 

[amor_fati]

-The tyvek inlets are to allow oxygen to flow into the main tote while barring solid particles or vapor to flow through.
-The polyfill inlets are to allow that oxygen and moisture into the terrariums while barring particles.
-The outlets do essentially the same thing as the inlets, except they are intended to allow CO2 to fall out.

As said before, the main problem is gas exchange, as there would normally be a buildup of CO2 in the water basin, and eventually in the terrariums themselves. Fanning wouldn't work very well for this method, so SWIM's opted for the monotub method, which is intended to automate gas exchange. The method outlined here should regulate moisture, temperature and gas exchange automatically.

Some other details:
-The terrariums' lids will be clear, but the water basin will be opaque.
-The heater will sit between the the terrariums rather than directly underneath to avoid overheating and uneven heating.
-The totes SWIM has his eye on fit perfectly together for this method, allowing only a very minimum of space open in the top. SWIM may consider covering the top with a clear covering if needed for insulation, otherwise he will leave it open for gas exchange.

The beauty of this method is that it's self-contained and centralized, and also that it would allow SWIM to light from the top (something that SWIM's circumstances do not usually allow, due to the need for frequent fanning). Also, SWIM would have two decent sized terrariums that he would be able to alternate between perilite beds and filling the bottom completely with substrate. Also, water holds a lot of heat, and so this method will have very little heat loss; the heating throughout the tubs should be fairly even, considering the high humidity. Finally, the automation will greatly cut down the chances of contamination.

SWIM's only concerns with this method so far are:
-Since the water basin requires a small amount of bleach to stay clean, would this be detrimental to fruiting?
-If the water were in direct contact with the bottoms of the terrariums, would they be heated too much, or would having the water level just below the terrariums be sufficient.
-Whether it will require insulation during the Winter, or whether it will be able to maintain a consistent temperature year round.

aquarium with a layer of perlite, heating pad under the aquarium.
some pidgeon used this method successfully

SWIM will consider this, but maybe as a last resort. He generally doesn't like the idea of aquariums and a heating pad seems a little hazardous and potentially wasteful (in terms of energy use) to SWIM.

 

[burnt]

For incubation. SWIM just got an aquarium heater and two large bins. One bin water + heater. Other bin on top of warm water with jars in it. It worked awesome. SWIM invested in a decent water heater though so temperature remained stable. Also SWIM would add some bleach or just change the water every week or two just to keep it clean. It doesn't matter so much though.

For terranium part SWIM used an enclosed area (closet or shelf covered in plastic with a door) with some ventilation and a space heater that self regulates temperatures so it turns off after a little while. If it stays on too long or whatever it dries out everything and ruins the humid atmosphere. Regardless when SWIM cased SWIM used to use pasterized straw in boxes lined with plastic covered in sterile peat moss. If one has a healthy colony the heat almost takes care of itself within the box so the heater is only needed to keep things a bit warmer.

SWIM used 12 pack beer boxes lined with clean plastic + straw + one half liter jars of innoculated grain + sterile peat moss. Its cheap and its rugged. Over the box was plasitic with holes in it too to make it humid.

Straw rocks! Wow SWIM used to get awesome yields using that simple technique.

 

[amor_fati]

For incubation. SWIM just got an aquarium heater and two large bins. One bin water + heater. Other bin on top of warm water with jars in it. It worked awesome. SWIM invested in a decent water heater though so temperature remained stable. Also SWIM would add some bleach or just change the water every week or two just to keep it clean. It doesn't matter so much though.

This is what SWIM is doing. Glad to hear it works well for SWIY.

For terranium part SWIM used an enclosed area (closet or shelf covered in plastic with a door) with some ventilation and a space heater that self regulates temperatures so it turns off after a little while. If it stays on too long or whatever it dries out everything and ruins the humid atmosphere.

This is what SWIM was doing, but his heater didn't have an actual temperature setting, just a power setting; it does turn off though. SWIM's had way too many problems with it though (overheating incubating jars, drying out the terrarium, warping the sides of the terrarium) partly due to drastic changes in weather, partly due to SWIM's inability to babysit the grow area. SWIM's never going back to that. SWIM's grow area is basically a crawlspace/closet, making it very difficult to regulate heating and fan the terrarium. He also doesn't like to waste energy and money on heating an entire area rather than just the terrarium or risk a fire hazard.

SWIM needs to experiment a bit to adapt to his situation, but if it ends up working for him, it will work for damn near anyone. SWIM has had some great success with conventional methods, but not consistently. He needs to eliminate variables, so he can focus on what should be important in growing.

 

[Phlux-]

for cold climates how about an outdoor bed of azurescens - thats what swim would do if he lived somewhere cold.

 

[amor_fati]

for cold climates how about an outdoor bed of azurescens - thats what swim would do if he lived somewhere cold.

Guerilla gardening isn't completely out of the question, but SWIM needs methods for high yielding indoor grows with indoor temps significantly below normal room temp.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM would like to report that his $28 TIT incubator works perfectly, and that he's had full colonization in some jars within 2 weeks! No signs of contamination anywhere so far. He used the cheapest aquarium heater available w/o adjustable temp (advertised at 78F), and the incubator's temp stays between 75F and 77F (should be about 78F to 80F inside the jars). Since the indoor temps seem to be adequate for fruiting, he'll start out by using one of the inner tubs from his diagrams with perilite as the fruiting chamber and eventually expand to the second one, and when the temps start to drop, he'll begin using a heated water basin. He'll probably also have to put a water pump in his incubator's basin at that time to ensure even heating.