u/Fae-Bae-Realm

Testing a recent batch for consistency. The color comparison at the end is oddly satisfying.

This is the part of the process where all the cleaning, sterilizing, plate work, grain prep, bag shaking and waiting finally starts to pay off.
There’s always something new to check, adjust or clean in here, but watching the shelves fill up never gets old. Here’s a quick look around during one of the more colorful weeks.

Who else is tired of cleaning?

The cleaning never ends. Neither does breaking and shaking grain bags, making and packing substrate, transferring plates, pouring agar, making LC, pasteurizing and sterilizing.

By the time you finish everything, it’s somehow time to start cleaning again. Enough to make you lose your mind a little but at least everything looks good. 😂

People kept asking me how I got my cakes out of the containers… oddly satisfying!

I’m a clean freak. This place is spotless, and I’ve still been battling fungus gnats all week.

So this week has mostly been cleaning, searching, cleaning again, and learning far more about fungus gnats than I ever wanted to know. Hopefully I’m getting close to the end of it, but they’ve definitely reminded me that a clean space is never something you get to take for granted.

My standard ratio is 1 lb 10 oz of grain spawn to 3 lb of substrate, which works out to approximately 1:2. I weigh both rather than estimating by volume, and I use the same amount every run so there’s one less variable when comparing cultures.

What’s your ratio?

Grown on straight coco coir and grain in small tents. An old clip, but I still love how even this canopy came in.

This is nothing new for a lot of growers, but I’m finally making the switch from bags to reusable containers to cut down on plastic waste.

One thing I really like is how little cleanup they require. After harvest, the spent substrate gets dumped straight into the compost, the container gets reloaded with fresh substrate, stacked, and pasteurized. No peeling plastic bags apart or throwing away another bag every cycle.

Buying new grow bags week after week adds up fast, so I’m hoping this cuts down on recurring costs as well. The containers cost more upfront, but if they last for years, they’ll eventually pay for themselves while keeping a lot of plastic out of the landfill.

I’m interested to see how they perform over the long term, but so far it seems like a simple way to reduce waste and save money at the same time.

This is nothing new for a lot of growers, but I’m finally making the switch from bags to reusable containers to cut down on plastic waste.

One thing I really like is how little cleanup they require. After harvest, the spent substrate gets dumped straight into the compost, the container gets reloaded with fresh substrate, stacked, and pasteurized. No washing required. No peeling plastic bags apart or throwing away another bag every cycle.

Buying new grow bags week after week adds up fast, so I’m hoping this cuts down on recurring costs as well. The containers cost more upfront, but if they last for years, they’ll eventually pay for themselves while keeping a lot of plastic out of the landfill.

I’m interested to see how they perform over the long term, but so far it seems like a simple way to reduce waste and save money at the same time.

This line started from a single fruit that stood out enough for me to clone. Since then I’ve run it a handful of times alongside other cultures, and it just keeps proving itself.

I’ve learned not to get too excited over one great flush. Plenty of cultures will surprise you once. The ones worth keeping are the ones that keep showing up run after run.

I’m still putting this one through its paces, but so far it’s earned a permanent spot in the rotation.

Curious what everyone else looks for when deciding whether an isolate is worth hanging onto.

Plates, LC, clones, transfers, reruns…

Every culture that shows potential gets run again. If it still looks good, it gets cloned. If the clone outperforms the original, that becomes the new working culture. If not, back to the drawing board.

I don’t mind keeping way more cultures than I probably need. Going back months later and comparing them side by side has changed my mind more than once.

Curious how everyone else manages their culture library.

Both were grown under similar conditions but from different strains.

One produced a few very large fruits (660 g wet total), while the other produced a dense canopy with a 738 g wet harvest.

I find it interesting how different genetics allocate growth so differently, even in the same environment.
Which would you rather work with and why?

People often ask how we keep track of so many different cultures.

Honestly, it feels more like being an accountant than a cultivator some days. Every culture gets labeled, tracked, revisited, and compared against previous runs. If something stands out, it gets cloned. If a clone performs well, it gets run again—often side by side with other selections from the same line.

Some cultures improve. Some plateau. Some surprise you months later after you thought you’d already figured them out.

This room is the result of that ongoing process. Same environment, same substrate, same workflow—but every culture expresses itself a little differently.

That’s what keeps cultivation interesting to me. You’re never really finished. You’re always observing, comparing, selecting, and learning.

How does everyone else keep track of their cultures? Do you rely on detailed notes, or mostly let the results speak for themselves over time?

People often ask how I keep track of so many different cultures.

Honestly, it feels more like being an accountant than a cultivator some days. Every culture gets labeled, tracked, revisited, and compared against previous runs. If something stands out, it gets cloned. If a clone performs well, it gets run again - often side by side with other selections from the same line.
Some cultures improve. Some plateau. Some surprise you months later after you thought you’d already figured them out.

This room is the result of that ongoing process. Same environment, same substrate, same workflow - but every culture expresses itself a little differently.

That’s what keeps cultivation interesting to me. You’re never really finished. You’re always observing, comparing, selecting, and learning.
How does everyone else keep track of their cultures? Do you rely on detailed notes, or mostly let the results speak for themselves over time?

These bags were all run under the same conditions using the same strain, but the fruit morphology ended up very different. When do you harvest?