This is a unique substrate which has the most
highly and balanced nutritional content ever composed in a spawn
substrate. This formula produces a very airy, spongy and evenly wet
substrate which colonizes very quickly and is very easy to work with
when casing. I have found through tests done with several of the
more popular substrates that this substrate produces a slightly more
potent mushroom, averaging about 10-15% more in potency.
Important Note : Do not substitute for anything in this
recipe. The 2 grains (Quinoa and Brown Rice) must be whole and not
ground or powdered. The formula presented below will produce this
awesome substrate, but if its altered it may be a disaster. Please
follow the instructions very closely.
Alien Substrate Formula
- 3/4 cup of quinoa (health food store)
- 3/4 cup long grain brown rice (grocery store)
- 3 cups spring water
- 1 1/2 cups vermiculite (Wal-Mart)
- 1/4 cup finch seed (measured before grinding)
- 1/8 cup flax seed (measured before grinding)
- Cook the quinoa and rice (use the whole grains, not ground) by
bringing it to a boil with 3 cups of spring water, then turn the
heat down to a simmer, cover the pot with lid and set a timer for
20 mins.
- Important!! -- Be sure to cover the pot with the lid,
otherwise water will be lost from evaporation.
- While this is cooking, measure out your finch and flax seed,
then grind them up in a coffee grinder or similar.
- Mix the ground seeds with the vermiculite, stir the cooking
grains occasionally so as not to burn them.
- When the grains are all done, turn off the heat and allow them
to cool for a minute or so.
- Now dump them and the water that is still in the pot (do not
strain) all in with the dry mix previously prepared.
- Mix this carefully with a fork (no hands) so it remains light
and fluffy.
- Cover and let it cool for about 15 minutes before spooning
into jars. I use the vermiculite topping like PF and this has
helped alot to eliminate contams.
- Don't pack the substrate when loading, try to keep it fluffy
and pressure cook at 15 p.s.i. for 30 minutes.
- If you use the PF style jars with the holes in the lids, then
cap the jars with aluminum foil. This substrate is very airy and
makes any good cubensis grow very rhyzomorphic.
Comments on this article:
Posted by: 109942
2003-02-21
13:18:15
Wizzle nizzle werd main. Good jizlnob on da substrate...w0rks
real g00d!
Posted by: 106060
2004-02-04
23:24:03
I have recently started using quinoa in all of my substrate
recipes and I agree that it maximizes mushroom potency. I use a
little bit more than you, about 1/3 of my total substrate is quinoa,
which I buy in bulk at $1.31 per pound at the hippy co-op.
Tryptophan is changed to psilocybin by the fungus, and quinoa has
the highest concentration of tryptophan of any grain in the world.
I'm planning also to use teff next time, the smallest grain in the
world, which has the highest bran to total mass ratio of any grain
in the world. This may provide a substitute for the grinding that
you are doing, but the texture of the resulting mixture would be
different.
Posted by: 3643
2004-03-12
10:42:11
Thanks for the comments, to this day I still use the substrate,
but it has changed just a tad via water ratios. I have found that at
different times of buying the grains, I get different moisture
contents. So I have backed off on the water a tad as a base formula,
then I add more in if needed when its all mixed
together.
Alien
Posted by: mycomaniac
2004-03-29
11:32:22
FAR too wet a mixture. Lost a syringe on 4 - 1/2 quart jars the
first time I tried this mix. Rotted to a slurry, and thats even with
adding a half cup of birdseed to the mix.
Second attempt added
extra half cup of vermiculite plus birdseed to soak up water, mix
looked ok, but all 4 jars no colonization.
So 2 syringes, 8
jars and not one single spot of growth using this formula.
Not
recommended.
