A Mushroom Growers Guide To Preventing Contamination

To grow mushrooms from scratch, you must do it clean and sterile and follow the due process. Be conscious of where the contamination can come from and how to avoid and clean it.

HOW CLEAN DOES IT NEED TO BE?

You might be wondering why all the fuss about contamination doesn't mushrooms also grow in the wild?

Yes, they do! But the environment is well balanced to accommodate their growth. But if we will cultivate mushrooms ourselves, we must do that right and in a clean environment. This is so that other things won't compete with the mushroom and outgrow them. The cleanliness of the environment is so important!

HOW TO CREATE A STERILE ENVIRONMENT

While we can not get a 100% sterile environment, many mushroom cultivators look for ways to get a close to perfect environment to keep mold spores away. To also ensure that contamination doesn't come from our tools, hands, breath, and clothes. Sources of contamination abound, and we will see what we can do to mitigate their effects on our cultures.

1. AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS

The air is full of contaminants, even invisible ones that can spoil your project.

LAMINAR FLOW HOOD

A laminar flow hood is the best choice to go for if you prevent airborne contamination. It is a clean environment that allows a neat stream of air to do mycological work.

You can buy a laminar flow hood or construct one yourself. It will make all your agar work and inoculations simpler.

STILL AIRBOX

Another choice you can opt for is the still air box or SAB method. It is used for small-scale agar work. It involves a sizeable clear tote with armholes drilled into the sides. Use alcohol to clean the inside of the tote.

2. CONTAMINATION FROM SUBSTRATES

Another thing that causes contamination is when the bulk substrate is not well sterilized and pasteurized before insulating with mushroom culture. There are contending organisms and dormant spores that will naturally play against the mushrooms in the bulk substrates and grains.

STERILIZATION

Before inoculation, make sure you totally sterilize supplemented sawdust fruiting blocks and mushroom grain spawn. You can do that by treating the substrate or grain to high pressure and temperature for a long time.

A professional way of doing this is to use a stovetop pressure canner that is sufficiently large to contain the material and can reach 15 PSI. The supplemented sawdust fruiting blocks can be treated for two and half hours, while the grain spawn can be sterilized entirely in 90 minutes.

PASTEURIZATION

Boil water with a large drum bath to pasteurize utilizing straw as a bulk substrate. The pasteurization can be done between 65-82 °C for one and half hours. Please do it well and thoroughly.

3. CONTAMINATION FROM THE CULTIVATOR

The cultivator can also contaminate the whole process. Dirt can come from his clothes, hands, hair, skin, and breath, which can cause contamination to your project. Take your bath, clean your hands with hand sanitizers, wear a protective dress like latex gloves and surgical masks, and wear scrubs and head covering before doing any lab work. These will wade off potential contaminants to your plates, jars, or blocks.

USE PROPER TECHNIQUE

To get the results you need in your lab-style work, you must follow the appropriate sterile techniques. For a cultivator to attain perfection with the techniques, they must do it the right way repeatedly. He must understand where contamination comes from, how it affects them, and avoid contamination. He must also know the proper process to follow.

The cultivator must be careful of what they touch so that contaminants are not introduced to the project.

As much as possible, don't expose the sterile grain jars, fruiting blocks, and agar dishes for an extended amount of time. Therefore, add speed to your skill.

4. CONTAMINATION FROM YOUR TOOLS

If you don't correctly sterilize your land tools, especially your scalper or blade, it will contaminate your cultures. So, make sure your tools are always clean and free of contaminants.

FLAMING YOUR SCALPEL

Put your scalpel or blade under a flame for  20 to 30 seconds until it's red hot to properly sterilize. Do that for every transfer. The scalpel automatically cools off when you place it back to the agar. Using an alcohol lamp is preferable.

USING ALCOHOL

Before you start, rub alcohol on the outside or surfaces of your lab tools to make them clean.

The best thing to use is an excellent lab-style alcohol bottle. You can squirt just the right amount of alcohol where you want on the surfaces.

SUPPLIES TO MAKE IT EASIER

To make your work easier and cleaner, get the number of lab supplies below to help you with a contaminant-free project.

ALCOHOL LAMP

It is a jar full of alcohol with a wick that can provide a constant flame to do your lab work.

ALTERNATIVE: In the absence of an Alcohol lamp, you can use a lighter, but it is not as effective as an alcohol lamp and can also be a source of contamination. The best option you can use is a shot glass ¾ full of Isopropyl Alcohol. Be careful of fire accidents, though.

PARAFILM

To cover agar dishes, you can use Parafilm. It is an elastic absorbent material that can allow a certain amount of air to pass but cleans the agar dishes by preventing other things from coming in.

ALTERNATIVE: In the absence of parafilm, you can use masking tape. It is not as effective as Parafim, but it is cheaper.

ALCOHOL BOTTLE

An alcohol bottle can come in handy to sterilize the surfaces of your lab tools to prevent contamination. It is a plastic bottle that allows the squeezing out of isopropyl easily.

ALTERNATIVE: if you don't have an alcohol bottle, you could always have the original bottle. Just pour the alcohol out of it, but it will lead to the wastage of the alcohol.

SCALPEL

You also need a clean scalpel to handle culture transfers, clones, and other agar work. ALTERNATIVE: you can use your kitchen knife, but it might not get the result you want.

CONCLUSION

Truth be told, we can't get a spotless environment for mycological works; we can only try to get a near-perfect one. But with every extra step, you take the chance of achieving what is possible.

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