Cultivation
Spawn production
The work that decides every flush. Grain prep, sterilization, inoculation, and the small habits that make spawn reliable at scale.
Spawn is the bridge between a culture and a fruiting block. Bad spawn cannot be saved by a good fruiting room. Good spawn forgives most other mistakes. We run both rye and millet here depending on species, with a strong bias toward rye for slower colonizers.
The chain
- ▸Hydrate grain to field capacity. Rinse, soak, and drain until the kernels are plump but not splitting.
- ▸Bag with gypsum, sterilize at 15 PSI for the time your bag size requires. Cool fully before inoculating.
- ▸Inoculate with a clean liquid culture or grain-to-grain transfer in a sterilizing-airflow flow hood.
- ▸Shake at 25-30% colonization to evenly distribute mycelium. Re-shake at 70% if needed.
- ▸Use spawn within 14 days of full colonization for best vigor.