Veils opening too soon?

R

Rewbs

Member
Beginner grower here. I decided to go for a hassle free premade kit about 10 days ago. I'll be posting a full account of my experiences when I've finished with it, but I'm having a little trouble right now.



I started growing the kit 8 days ago. I'd say there are about 25 visible mushroom heads; the largest bunch are about 5cm, others are less than 0.5cm. The average height is probably 1cm.



The instructions say that the flush should be havested when the largest ones open their caps. But nearly all of mine, including the very smallest, seem to have opened their caps over night. Some have even begun to kind of turn "inside out". I can't believe it is already time to harvest them... is this a fair amount for a first flush? seems like a small amount to me...



I've included a few pics although they aren't much help (a cheapo webcam is not the ideal weapon here, especially when taking pics through a plastic bag... ) :







They seem to look bigger than they really are in these pics; trust me, they are about 1cm on average.



Should I pick them anyway? Is there any point in letting them grow?

What can I do next time to get a more healthy looking flush?



I guess the obvious answer is to user a proper tek rather than a premade kit..



Another guess would be that they got too much light (I couldn't put them in natural light, so I put them close to two 60W bulbs which I switched off at night). What do you experienced guys think? :)
 
You have used to much light, causing the kit to form fruit before the mycelium has fully grown through the top layer. Reduce the light to one 10Watt bulb. Cut a tiny cut in each of the four bottom corners of the bag to let the co2 out and make sure that the humidity in the bag keeps up. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice - I knew I'd done something wrong. But should I harvest this flush now or give them a bit longer with the extra fresh air and reduced light?
 
Leaving the shrooms grow, means they will open their cap, letting the spores fall out. This means that the mushroom growth of the rest of the kit will decrease because the shrooms have succeeded in this state of reproduction. Reap the mushrooms that start to open their caps by twisting them out and wait for the kit to continue growth. Please be very carefull with regards to sterility as the kit is extra vulnarable to infection now that it has lost some strength. Keep the filterbag closed as much as possible in order to keep hostile molds out. The little cuts in the bottom of the bag will only drain CO2 and will not pose a threat of infection. Please post more pictures as soon as the kit is flushing.
 
Thanks Sha-manic, that's very interesting info. I reaped the first flush this morning as you suggested. Here are some more crappy pics ;) :





(The coin is 2cm in diameter)



The total weight is about 48g wet, so I assume that's good for about two doses, which is fine. However, I have read that the psycho-active components are formed early in the development of the fruit.



Since I harvested them before they had time to put on much weight (due to the early opening of the veils), could it be possible that they will actually be more potent than 48g grams of cubensis harvested at a "normal" time? Should I therefore take less than 20-25g of these for a moderate trip?



Sure, I'll post more pics when the second flush comes through.
 
Okay, here's the next part in the saga. :)



Two mushroom popped up just after I harvested the first flush 6 days ago. They were strangely shaped, but I decided to leave them there anyway. They kept growing until yesterday. This morning I noticed that they had shrunk. I was concerned that they might rot and affect the rest of the kit, so I removed them:





(coin is 2cm)



The mycelium has populated the rest of the kit nicely now:





There are a few mushrooms growing (about 5), the biggest of which is about 5cm and is opening is cap, just like in the first flush. However, it looks healthier than most shrooms from the first flush.







I'm considering taking this out now, what do you reckon?

Or should I wait until I have a decent flush and do them all at the same time?





Another question, just out of interest: is it possible to leave shrooms with moisture absorber for too long ?

A friend of a friend wants to make sure her shrooms are properly dry. After 6 days in an air tight container with a nice amount of Calcium Chloride, she sais they feel more "spongy dry" than "cracker dry", so she's leaving them for longer. Is this OK?



(once again, sorry about the quality of the pics)
 
From the pic I see, it seems that the kit needs more water. This also seems the cause for the shrinking of your mutants. There is room between the sides of the kit. Poor 1/4 cup of water into the sides. The mycelium should grow a white layer allover the kit before mushies start to flush. What temperature is the environment? If possible in Celcius. Reap every mushroom that starts to open. Do not wait for others with reaping. Keep humidity up.
Drying by warm airflow is much more efficient, than CC.
Do not worry about the quality of the pics. We are happy with them.
 
Thanks so much for your help. I poured some water down the sides a few days ago, but I'll add some more. The temperature is quite good: varies between 22C and 25C, usually around 23C, as recommended by the instructions. The light now consists of a 60W bulb about 5m away from the kit - the best I can do for the time being.



I'm sure I read (eg here: http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/3371/pag/10) that drying with a desiccant causes less potency loss than with a warm air flow. Maybe there's not really too much difference. :)



By the way - are mutants safe to eat? I assume they are not really mutants in the genetic sense, but just a strange shape, right?
 
If you gave the kit some water a few days ago, it will be fine. You can eat the mutants and get as freaky as they are. Temp. and light are fine.
 
Reaped 68g today! Some of the shrooms I left to grow a bit big (15cm) - as you can see in the picks, they are fully developped and some have opened their caps too far. This is because I'd like them fresh in a few days time, and don't trust my dodgy fridge to keep them well. I'm not really expecting another full flush. I've reaped a total of 146g; since I haven't treated the kit perfectly from the onset, I'm fully satisfied with the results. However, I have added plenty more water and will continue to give the kit light until i see bad mold... You never know! :)
 
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