u/Ordinary-Career1838

A month ago, I inoculated these Petri dishes with Golden Teacher spores from a vial, intending to create a liquid culture.

However, over the last two weeks, the mycelium seems to have stopped growing or is growing very slowly; it should have been almost fully colonized by the three-week mark. Additionally, some areas of the mycelium have started turning brown.

I cut a piece out a week ago to start a new culture; perhaps it got slightly contaminated then, or maybe some alcohol dripped onto it though I doubt that.

I just wanted to ask if there is a problem with my plates, if there is anything I can do to strengthen them, and if I should proceed with my plans to use them for the liquid culture.

A month ago, I inoculated these Petri dishes with Golden Teacher spores from a vial, intending to create a liquid culture.

However, over the last two weeks, the mycelium seems to have stopped growing or is growing very slowly whereas it should have been almost fully colonized by the three-week mark. Additionally, some areas of the mycelium have started turning brown.

I cut out a piece a week ago to start a new culture; perhaps it got slightly contaminated then, or maybe some alcohol dripped onto it, though I doubt that.

I just wanted to ask if there is actually something wrong with my plates, if there is anything I can do to strengthen them, and if I should still proceed with my plans to use them for liquid culture.