#mcxrants

[mycochaotix]

MCX Rants: Info Dumping and long form commenting as a mycoeducator and mycophile-generally.

I get what you mean. I think im often hesitant and very hyper aware that I info dump. I think to neurotypical people its often seen as annoying or whatever. Tbh, ever since initiating and taking up an active educational role in the mycoverse, in the last year or so, i am always on the receiving end of some internet anon being mad at how I info dump. I dont care anymore xD i keep it short and sweet on most social media and if im talkin to someone in DM or they comment asking for more info, i unload 😉

i see it this way: (A) heres all the keys to the kingdom. Choose to see it as resource and study OR (B) see it as annoying and excessive and disregard it without consideration for the total info dump. When I see people take the latter option B, I often believe they may be generally intellectually lazy, operating somewhat fallaciously, and /or probably not interested in the topic at hand as much as I am

—- and i want those who choose the former option A (because some do, and ultimately end up being my closet acquaintences lol) to be my mycopal and potentially join my own Myco community (I have a small private discord with Patrons and like minded/friends of McX)

—- even if someone doesnt click with me personally or join my mycocommunity, if i get to aid their mycojourney in any way, I am truly humbled and overjoyed to be a part of that!

[mycochaotix]

This comment I made, feeling like “misson statement” energy to me 🍄❤️💯🤪🧫💅🏻🥳🤣😍🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🍄❤️🍄

“I really appreciate that! I am starting to get a handful of followers a day the last few weeks, so it seems im successfully cultivating mycopals that enjoy my personality, style, content, etc :) I am excited for it, and am comtinuing to hold strongly to my passionate desire to educate other humans on mycology, not just home cultivation, but also the majesty of molds and the yeast and mycoremediation and even evolutionary biology of fungi… its beautiful and prismatic information to me! I love learning through experience and study, and teaching what I learn in a way thats open minded and not gatekeeping any ideas of knowledge! I may not be for everyone, but for those who I am for… I welcome them with open, chaotic arms of mycolove :)”

[mycochaotix]

r/ContamFam mycopal asks about cold storage:

“-Fridge Neglect Tek update- Original post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ContamFam/s/X2ESmRCwWq) -

I ended up putting two 40%ish colonised Golden Teacher tubs in the fridge at 15c (59f) for two weeks. Thoughts on what the outcome will be? I'm guessing the Mycelium will slowly colonise the substrate ready for fruiting in two week 🤞🏼

- MCX Answers:

Hey mycopal! Thanks for linking original post :) - i think the mycelial metabolism will slow down and as the colony cools to a certain point it will suspend metabolism kinda hibernation style. Based on my mycelium in fridges over the last few years there is potential that the spawn could be warmed to room temp over a few days then used to make new grain spawn or spawn a tub. But consider: contam fungal molds can still grow and sporulate even in fridge temps, just slower than if in the spawn at room temp (but still faster than the slowed down mushroom fungal colonies when fridge). Im sure there is am extreme like frostbite temp that may render the spawn inert, but I have no idea what point that is :)

To clarify: the fridge slows its metabolism down. It being the mushroom producing fungal colonies in question :) applies to plates, spawn bags/jars and even cakes if u had to cold store a cake (though I think plates and slants are ideal for cold storage). Taking any thing from fridge usually requires 2-3 days room temp then you should see minor exterior margin ‘new’ growth on plates. For bags its less obvious.

Of note: excessive bruising (from cold or fist punches, lol) can indeed stall growth the where it isnt able to restore to regular metabolism. But IME this is most applicable to plates.

Last note: its not a higher chance of contam, so much as … contam colonized at 4x and mushroom producing fungi colonize at 2x, but in fridge mushroom fungi go to 1x and contam to 2x… so the contam will slowly, slowly grow and outpace mushroom myc which will be quite slowed from the cold. Afaik: Cold loving organisms are called psychrophiles :) they grow from -20C (-4F) to 20C (68F)

[mycochaotix]

Day of 12/9—

Breaking some hygiene rules and opening plates to get pics for the interwebz xD those plates r tissue clones from the biggun, double/butt, and bell 1/2 (what im calling the phenos for my own reference lol).

Swab plate from double butt shows considerable germination and swab plate from biggun shows minimal but still some germination

More of my 2 year old refreshes from cold storage appear to show life signs but slowly, slowly.

I2 and i2(2) Huautla tubs colonizing, less substrate tub is almost full colonized the tub with more sub is actually moving slomg with no noted issue!

PE tub looks healthy

PE jars first round are all almost done, i gotta fuck spawn shit mycopals! Im so lazy xD

I have 3 huautla and2 pe jars to spawn…. The huautla has pins in the jars cause ive been putting it off… lol — im gonna just chop the pins up amd bury em with the grains when i spawn, unless they matured enough to develop cap and open, even then i might try it anyway xD

Make sure when using my swabs or anyones that if they arent fresh from the fruit, you leave the swab head dunked in the agar plate after Z pattern or the petal method

The more i look into swabs the more i realize that they arent always going to germinate even if gathered clean and proper!

-MCX

[mycochaotix]

Because sometimes there are nice people on the internet who dont treat me in a queerphobic, transphobic, or homophobic way when I make space for myself.

Oh… and I came out to my partner, family and friends (and now public) as trans nonbinary maybe… a few momths ago… its been hard. Is a whole other “coming out” (i originally came out as a gay cis boy at 12, but i know now had I had the language I do now… id have fucking been a nonbinary kid, absolutely)

i think ive been a trans nonbinary human for longer than I ever thought… im lowkey buzzing with awe as I recollect my WoW story…

-MCX

[mycochaotix]

MCX Rants: Cloning

r/ContamFam mycopal asks: “Hey pal do you have any good tips or sources for info on moving mushroom tissue to agar?”

MCX Answers: The way I understand it is: you can do two types of transfers for cloning, considered most common and effective.

One is as you mentioned the splitting stipe and taking a transfer from inside the stipe. You want to ensure that your area, yourself, and your tools are cleaned with isopropyl alcohol 70% . You will tear from the base up towards the cap, with the exposed part of the STIPE, towards your laminar flow, or towards the back of your still airbox. you only need a rice size piece of transfer.

Often the inner flesh is very stringy and breaks away quite easily. I’ll personally just cut a rice size cut in a square shape from the inner part of the stipe and then gently poke that and pull it out and put it on a plate. Sometimes inner Mycelium flesh can pull away and you can put that on a plate. The mushroom fruit body is all mycelium. Everything about it is made from mycelium, and arguably all of its components, contain but also can, either: produce or generate, and proliferate mycelium from that fruit body.

The second way involves approaching the xfer from the topside of the cap, ‘dorsal’ and cutting open the center dorsal point and then take from inside the cap at the pileus-stipe junction… but from within the cap… its a little more technical and often can expose the xfer to contam from the flesh u open up before taking xfer if you arent careful in how you peel back the external flesh and when you push the knife into the cap it can push microbes down into the previously unexposed inner mycelial tissue).

The idea for these types of transfers is that contaminants in your environment that float in around you or fall off of you, if present, likely is on or near your external fruitbody. If you take from the inside of the fruitbody its arguable that its more clean and free of contaminant microbes as the primordia formation is assumedly on healthy uncontaminated mycelium and unless the flesh tears during maturation, the inner parts are fully protected from external contaminant sources while growing.

Sometimes these cooccurring microbes are harmless to your grow and to you, and can even be beneficial (like certain yeasts that are used in agar preparation) or even some naturally occurring bacteria in the substrate! I think of my tubs as a homeostatic localized microclimate - environment :)

Our tubs, and the fungi in them have similar homeostasis in the wild, and can be conceptually applied to community mycology cultivation!

I think of comparing potential “microcosm” cultivation much like the human body, external and internal… theres always gonna be contaminant microbes on our skin and around our mucosal membranes, but with proper hygiene and diet our body is its own microcosm of microbes that are fucking and fighting away under our literal noses xD —- its when one grouping of these microbes begins to advantage over the equalized body microcosm we have (think if you dont bathe you may develop yeast and bacterial infections more easily as surface conditions of your skin and within your creases, nooks and crannies will can be overpowered by something that spreads… )

and thats kind of the basic idea of germ theory I think… and I also think it applies to our grow environments if approach cultivation holistically :)

surely im missing technical nuance but I know my thoughts are in the spirit of the theory!

Hope my thoughts aid your mycojourney!

-MCX

Related resources:

- Yoshi Cloning vid and result video

- PGT Cloning Vid

- Ashley/Boomer Shroomer Cloning vid