Voodoo Tek

Nan's Nook : Archives : Dunking : Voodoo Tek
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Prepping the drill 7 6/03 Smerd
Update: 'Voodoo Tek' 2nd flush  24 01/02 06:59pm Quote
Drill TEK  10 01/31 05:26pm Ron

By quote: (Quote) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 04:12 pm:

i'm observing a very interesting phenomenon with my recent batches of pf cakes.
i drilled each cake a hole, 3/8" wide by 1.5" deep, to use as a water reservoir.
now, almost every single cake, 48 in all, shows massive pinning around the hole.
some have completely covered the hole, they are growing thickly, dozens of nice healthy pins.
i had obseved similar patterns over the last few years from cutting, scratching cakes.
now i'm convinced there's definitly a property here that can be exploited.
i'm going to continue experimenting with drilling cakes, i plan to use a tiny bit to drill little holes around the cake and see if it will trigger pinning, hence the title 'voodoo' tek, since it's like sticking needles into a voodoo doll.
i'd like it if someone else could try the same and see if their results match mine.

By Snoopy (Snoopy) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 05:27 pm:

I got about 20 cakes ready to be fruited. And i'll drill 10 of them if you'd like all halfpint cakes with PFC's inside of them. Where did you want to drill the holes, how many holes did you want me to drill so that I can follow your course of action so we can best compare results.

By quote: (Quote) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 06:21 pm:

i just drilled one big hole in the middle,
but it would also be interesting to try multiple, smaller diameter holes spaced out, to see if it really triggered the pinning.
i left the powdered cake material kicked out by the drill in place on the cakes, where it quickly turned white and the pinning seems strongest in that area.
also, i've been filling the holes with water every other day, taking a little less than a full cc each time.

By Jim (Jim) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 06:43 pm:

when you drilled the holes out and left the material there, do you think the pinning had something to do with that material being loose and airated? maybe a combo of the loose material and the easy access to water? that's pretty interesting. i have a half dozen jars of EQ just about ready to birth. maybe i'll do three and leave three

By quote: (Quote) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 06:48 pm:

i do indeed suspect something along those lines.
it's kinda like oldtimer's powdered cake, it grew back very fast and pins just popped put.
amazing looking.

By quote: (Quote) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 06:57 pm:

in this case, the hole in the middle is almost invisible, there's a pin actually blocking it.
voodoo

By nuecrew (Nue) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 07:25 pm:

Disturbing or scratching has been mentioned as a way to get pinning started. The following is what I think of when I'm scratching a surface to get pinning started. If I have violated copyright laws I sincerly apologize and will not do it again. The second page says I can copy "brief excerpts for the purpose of review" The book is interesting.wordsbookisbn

By An guy (Boomer) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 07:40 pm:

I think yeah, it's the disturbance and the added moisture.

Remember I cauterized that little patch on a cake?

It threw shit all around that area.

I wonder if instead of drilling, you could just puncture using a large nail or large diameter wire, just so you're getting a hole big enough to disturb and to lay some water in. That would be less hassle than drilling.

By quote: (Quote) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 07:46 pm:

i was thinking the same thing, and it's worth looking into.
i can see us turning cakes into pin cushions,
literally. that's why i thought voodoo tek was appropriate.
although i think drilling does a better job of pulverizing the cake, wheres a puncture wound more compresses the cake.

By Snoopy (Snoopy) on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 11:44 pm:

Yep, thats why i was wondering if you wanted multiple holes quote. I think it would be interesting if you could get massive pinning by drilling 10 or so holes all spaced out on a cake. Think i'll hafta try that on some of them and see if there is a measureable different on the cakes that I turned into pin cushions.

By quote: (Quote) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 01:25 am:

i have a dozen more [south american strain] birthing tomorrow, which i plan to drill 3-4 times each on the top. we'll see how it goes.
the pf classics are absolutly amazing, all the 2nd flush is coming right around the hole.
here's a different cake...
voodoo2

By Gregory Topper (Socalshroomer) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 03:59 am:

Yo,

If "disturbance" seems to be good....then isn't that just what casing is? I dunno, it seems people are deathly afraid of messing with any sort of cake or casing in fear of bring contamination...But hmmm....this sounds interesting.

By Imok Urok2 (Imok) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 04:21 am:

Hey "Quo", aren't you also putting water in the hole(s) you drilled?
According the the info on the Hyro-Pod site, a problem its system solves
is the cake drying out before all the brf "food" is used up by the growth.
This is taken care of by the ebb/flow system it uses to allow the cake
to wick moisture from the Geo-Lite it sits on.
You might check this by not putting water in some of the cakes you put
holes in and compare the growth to cakes you put holes/water in.
Just an idea :)

By ion ewe (Ion) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 09:16 am:

Hey guy's! Just dropping in...
Try coring yer cakes. It's kinda like a hybrid concept in that it works like the flat TEK for the separation of cake chunks, and it also works like Quo's idea.
Sterilize an apple corer or a thin piece of metal tubing fashioned like a corer. Take cores from all over the cake and lay them out on or stand them up in some perlite like little "cake sticks" in yer grow chamber.
The shrooms will be slightly smaller in general due to less food per piece, but the fruiting response is great!

-ion

By Digital-Junkie (Digitaljunkie) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 11:52 am:

I observed something similar on a cake that I used the straw tek on.The cakes were done with the first flush,and I decided it was time to dunk.Before dunking I noticed a small mushroom growing down in the hole where the straw was.After dunking the mushroom took off,grew up,out,and "over" the hole. I thought it may have had something to do with the "virginal" mycelium inside the hole,or maybe it was just the much needed water?
It will definatly be interesting to see the results of your experiments! keep us updated!

By quote: (Quote) on Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 02:09 pm:

well, the water is a major factor for sure, esp. on the pfc's which were too dry, gave a poor 1st flush, and are what led me to start drilling holes in the first place.
and socalshroomer, i agree that there is prolly a similar mechanism at work in a casing.
here the correlation between pinning and the holes is so obvious, it begs use by us all in getting larger flushes more reliably.
here's yet a third example...
voodoo3

By Brettiejams (Brettiejams) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 04:32 am:

I think I see the Martian Face in that cake Quote.

By Stormdamage (Stormdamage) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 09:44 pm:

Has it occured to anyone that this method could be successful because it enables the mycelium cakes to have a greater surface area (due to the width of the holes) and thus absorb more water? Just an idea...

By quote: (Quote) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 10:51 pm:

well, that is the whole idea behind it, originally.
so i guess i can say that it occured to me....

By quote: (Quote) on Wednesday, January 02, 2002 - 01:48 pm:

btw, i've now concluded that it's better to remove the drilled out substrate than to leave it in place on the cake.

By UnkyHerb (Notapplicable) on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 01:11 am:

keep this thread alive and updated.. quo might have himself a new tek :)

By Nugdumper (Nugdumper) on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 02:05 am:

I don't understand really, how is this going beyond the inner resevoir tek? The cakes eventually depend completely on the water coming in through the hole, therefore they group around the hole and start to grow in it etc. Quote, do you really think the added surface area is increasing your yeilds? And increasing them beyond what just a larger central hole would do?

By plinkerdink420 (Plinkerdink420) on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 02:33 am:

i think that there has been some speculation that the disturbance in the cake is actually a cause for some of the fruiting around the holes... not sure though



oh yeah... there it is up the page a little... oops

By quote: (Quote) on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 02:29 pm:


Quote:

Quote, do you really think the added surface area is increasing your yeilds? And increasing them beyond what just a larger central hole would do?




well, i can't say definitly that it's the added surface area that increased my yields, i'm pretty sure it's mainly the additional water. but the point is the elimination of any casing, vermiculite or other. this definitly lowers the risk of contamination, extending the useful life of the cake and allows for more flushing before the inevitable comes.

i am certain, however, that multiple holes spred out perform better than a central hole. that much is obvious from the 3 test batches i've done so far.

By Fishy1 (Fishy1) on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 03:56 am:

ion, been there done that. Used the "plugs" to inoc. millet. worked great.
 

By Fishy1 (Fishy1) on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 04:46 am:

oooops...talkin to ATK and forgot the pic!! LOL ATK!! Here is an older pic of a fat PF w/ a pippet res.- the fat cap is right against the pippet. It was HUGE. Bigger than the jar bottom.
111

By Fishy1 (Fishy1) on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 04:50 am:

Anyhow, the holes, chunks, scored cakes, broken flatcakes, etc always seem to do best along the breaks and edges. I guess yall know that now...try it for yerself and see.
Why ask why?

By plinkerdink420 (Plinkerdink420) on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 05:24 am:

diggity damn!!