Subtopic	Posts	Updated	Creator
	Makes a great tamper and vermiculite measure	6	01/11 09:49am	nuecrew

Can anyone relate experiences with overtamping jars. I followed, to the letter, PF BRF-Verm-Water ratios and now I believe I went a little crazy on the filling of the jars. I just hope there is room in those jars for growth.

By Tripster (Tripster) on Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 09:50 pm:

I did the same thing with some jars of mine. Just takes a little longer to colonize completely but it shouldn't give you any problems in the long run. Happy Tripping.

By greenthumb (Greenthumb) on Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 11:04 pm:

Thanks Tripster,
How long did it take your jars to colonize completely? I know you can't tell how hard I crammed the jars full, but I managed to get every bit of the substrate in the jar below the threads. (1/2 pt. Ball jar with 3/4+ cup substrate)
@ 75 deg. should expect a couple extra weeks till birth? I am feeling rather clueless. Thanks

By Tripster (Tripster) on Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 01:57 am:

Yeah I did that same thing, it was 3 days for first growth and about 24 days to fully colonize. I also kept the jars around 85F and mostly in the dark with only indirect light. Hope this info helps you out some and and I wish you luck with everything. Happy Shrooming.

By Hongus (Hongus) on Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 05:05 pm:

i use to pack jars tightly, only to find out that it was better when you just scoop in the substrate loosely. you will have some mix left, and you can use it in the next jar...

By Lichen (Lichen) on Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 07:35 pm:

I always follow the pfmax formula, trying not to tamp too much, because loosely packed substrate colonizes more quickly. You can even put a bit of verm in the bottom of the jar; this helps them colonize even more quickly; the downside is smaller cakemass.

One thing I have to differ with fanaticus over is mixing the substrate for each jar individually. He claims you get consistency this way. I say again, you get an even formula if you mix it 1-1-2 water-brf-verm in a large bowl.

By greenthumb (Greenthumb) on Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 08:11 pm:

THANKS EVERYONE-
Not having filled jars before I was thinking more like a cook less like a grower. I knew it was the PF 2-1-1 ratio that was important, I just was not familiar with the tek. I innoculated 4 days ago and I have nickel sized spots of growth in all my jars. I'm going to open up my control jars to check for smells and contams in a few days. If my substrate is damp enough I hope to have a birth or two in a few weeks and I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT THE HELP OF ALL ON BOARD!!!!!THANKS TO ALL.

By Tripster (Tripster) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 02:22 am:

Glad we could help ya out. Let us know how the jars turn out. But what do you mean by opening the control jars? Why not just let them grow? Just wondering...

By Nanook of the North (Nanook) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 05:30 am:

Don't ever open a jar unless it has failed. Opened jars will contam 9 times out of 10.

By Brettiejams (Brettiejams) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 06:12 am:

Words of wisdom Nan.

By greenthumb (Greenthumb) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 06:20 pm:

Trips,
I sterilized a couple of extra jars of substrate and left them un-innoculated so that I might be able to check for contams without opening growth jars. I thought it might be a way to help me get a feel for a rotten jar without having to kill anything good. I can't remember who suggested this newbie tek - but I read it here or maybe PF.