Subtopic	Posts	Updated	Creator
	3T; aka the Two-Tone Tek	11	01/30 07:15pm	Underground_Shaman

Originally Posted at Drooldonkey.org
Topic: The Log Tek
Psychedelic Affiliate
Posts: 3275
Registered: MAR 2000
posted 04-27-2000 12:59 PM
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the log is basically just a variation of pf's double-ended casing tek.
what i do is this--
when preparing jars of substrate,
first take 1 tablespoon of dry vermiculite
( in order to still fit the pf max formula in without over-packing, this verm. should be taken from the 1/2 cup verm. used for the substrate itself. )
and put it in the bottom of the jar.
level it out.
then fill with substrate &
seal with dry verm. barrier as usual.
birth at 100% colonization
( you will see mycellial roots in the bottom verm.--it need not be completely colonized though.)
do not scrap off the verm. barrier but rather leave it as intact as possible.
place the cake on its' side in the terrarium so that both verm. ends are exposed.
a foil cradle can be used to hold the cake.
lighly mist both ends at birth and between flushes.
that's it--
it gives maximum fruiting area with virtually 0 contams
and it is very quick to fruit.

peace


[Nan: This Tek works great with pint jars]

By Kevin Smith (Canshroom) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 09:54 pm:

Hi Guys. I just looking at the double-ended casing tek where you put a layer of dry vermiculite on the bottom of the jar as well as the top of the jar. I understand why this would speed colonization time, but I was hoping to get some insight as to whether I should try it. Is the increased colonization time worth the smaller amount of substrate you'd be able to fit in the half-pint jar? If so, how thick a layer of vermiculite would be appropriate? Other than these questions, my only concern is that in a few of the jars that I have growth in now, the growth started in the bottom of the sides, where the inoculate collected after sliding down the side of the jar? Would this be lost if the bottom was all vermiculite? Most of the initital growth was along the sides, so it shouldn't matter, I guess. Anyway, any help you have would be great.

By Lichen (Lichen) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 11:23 pm:

this is not 'double-end casing'. This is just some harebrained idea of mine--I'm sure others may have thought it up, too--to speed colonization. But speeding colonization is only important if you're in a hurry, and when you put 1/4" of dry verm in the bottom of the jar before loading substrate, you do indeed cut down the amount of nutritive material that your shrooms could otherwise use. If you want to do this, you can; and you can also make sure your innoculum does not go down into the verm in the bottom by starting it higher up the jar.

Double-end casing is vermiculite under and on top of the birthed cake--

By Kevin Smith (Canshroom) on Monday, November 19, 2001 - 04:00 am:

Lichen- thanks for the info and for the correction. I think I'll stick to the standard PF tek

By quote: (Quote) on Monday, November 19, 2001 - 01:45 pm:

i've been doing that for years, not to take away from lichen's independent re-invention.
it's invitro double-end casing, pf once dubbed it the 'log tek'.
here's a pic...

By quote: (Quote) on Monday, November 19, 2001 - 01:48 pm:

i use a tablespoon of verm. in the bottom.
here's a better pic...

By jim brown (Shrhobbyist) on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 - 06:24 am:

Hey Quote, why not put some verm (or whatever you use) on the top of that? Make it a quad-case.

By quote: (Quote) on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 - 02:46 pm:

hey, i might just do that, next time.