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- Re PF TEK etc.
-
-
- As a grower I'd like to post a minor missal with a
- general account of my experiences and in defense of the PF Tek.
-
- I've now been thru about five VERY successful cycles of
- cultivation and must say it's had a tremendous impact on me. My first
- 'run' was using brown rice methods from the Hyperreal pages right here.
- - I had a PF spore sample - quart jars etc, meanwhile I shelled out the
- $10 for the PF Tek and waited. While i waited I found humidity VERY
- hard to maintain in the jars - especially during a heatwave with the AC
- drying the air. When the PF Tek arrived and I read it, it was obvious
- that this was the way to go - I busted all my jars and migrated
- mid-stream to dual chambered terrarium. I found the hand spraying to
- be a little laborious so I hooked up the bubbler method and it works
- great.
-
- In defense of PF!
-
- Before I got into this I scoured the net for everything I could
- find and read it all - the PF Tek isn't like anything on the Net that
- I've seen (besides the recent Growers Guide 2.4 here on the Hyperreal
- Growers Page). When I first read the 'Growers Guide' (which PF also
- rebuts) I was a little offended by it, I mean I payed ten bucks for
- this info and didn't even distribute it personally, I told friends
- "Dude you really need to buy these instructions" and here they are on
- the net.
- I feel a loyalty to PF here's why......The PF's Tek works, I
- can assure you and it's worth the $10 you spent in the frustrations you
- will save. I have not lost one jar to contaminents since fully
- implimenting the PF Tek. PF Tek is a real person out there somewhere
- that will answer questions too - I had what I though was a problem -
- wrote to PF and got a FAST answer back to reassure my neophyte mind.
- I can also say that PF was very generous in making good on a problem
- spore sample I got - no sweat at all.
-
- About the PF Tek
-
- I'm not gonna publish any methods because I am fiercely loyal
- but within those parameters here are some of my experiences which may
- help other growers - some are a response to the posting of the Growers
- Guide 2.4....
- The only thing I tried directly from the "Growers Guide
- 2.4" was the "drill a small hole in cakes approaching the end of their
- life span and rehydrate them" technique. I had high hopes for it but
- never saw a result - I will try it again though, I keep a diary with
- #'s of days on which events occur and will note when I implemented last
- time and try an adjustment.
-
- 1/2 pint jars are it - and make sure they're the short
- wide ones not the tall slender jelly jars - takes me 14-18 days to
- fully colonize these. Don't even think about Pints, you'll be there
- forever waiting for them to colonize.
-
- I use a 5.5 gallon aquarium - it's real small, fits in
- my closet much smaller than the reccomended 10 gallon one - I bought
- these things at rickel's - in their shelving organizing section -
- they're made of wire mesh rubber coated - like dish drainer material -
- approx 6"x10" flat surface with tall legs - i cut the legs real short
- and use them as a re-useable washable raised floor - I customized
- another one to act as a 2nd level about 5" over top of the floor level
- one and with only about 1/2 the floor space (length) otherwise - it
- lifts right out if needed - the 5.5 gallon supports 10 cakes
- comfortably.
-
- I use a cup-o-water with an aquarium bubble stone in it
- - sittin in the aquarium - with a diagonally mounted shield in front of
- it to stop actual flying drops - for a lid I bought one at the pet shop
- for my tank - it's a plastic frame with screen made into the top - I
- glued plastic to it and fitted the top edge of the tank with adhesive
- foam weatherstripping, the lid 'clicks' onto thew aquarium fram firmly,
- except for where my airhouse goes in (3") I'm airtight. - the whole
- thing fogs up - I don't have a humidistat but it gets WAY humid. - very
- low maintenance. I would never dream of doing it any other way
- (Humidifier?) unless perhaps i was going into mass production - I'm
- sure most of the interest here is for personal...
-
- In my experience w/ spore print I diverge with PF here
- a little (I tried both mature caps per PF and the rounder ones per
- "Growers Guide 2,4", PF is 'on' here too again - the round ones got me
- only the lightest prt. Here is where I diverge a little - I'm only just
- beginning with the printing so I defer to PF - I used optical lense
- cleaning paper - it's almost like cigarette paper, and short of
- delineating the entire technique - I layed it out like an open book and
- printed right in the middle where the fold was - then i closed the fold
- and with the open end up, rolled it like a cigarette and twisted the
- ends - later when i wanted to transfer it to sterile water i unrolled
- it - but it's still folded get it - and then unfolded it over the water
- - and never had to touch the side of the paper the print was on -
- there's a lot to learn however you approach this and PF is a powerful
- resource.
-
- If yer gonna do this, order the PF Tek, His spore
- samples are the most easily used, his technique is clear and effective
- and he explains a lot of the 'WHYs' and he (or she) can answer
- questions.
-
- M. Speed Bishop
-
- p.s. PF - I sincerely hope that I have not affronted you in anyway with
- these tips here.
-
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