Growing Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, or any mushrooms for that matter, requires a balance of several factors, and troubleshooting issues can sometimes feel like a puzzle. Here's an in-depth guide to help you identify and resolve problems if your P. cubensis mushrooms are not fruiting or are aborting:
1. Substrate Nutrition and Moisture Content
- Problem: Poor nutrition or incorrect moisture content can lead to a lack of fruiting. Mushrooms need a balanced and nutritious substrate to grow and fruit properly.
- Solution: Make sure your substrate is well-balanced and rich in nutrients. A typical substrate for P. cubensis might contain vermiculite, brown rice flour, and water, or coir, vermiculite, and gypsum for bulk grows. The substrate should be moist but not waterlogged.
2. Temperature
- Problem: Incorrect temperature can inhibit mycelial growth and fruiting.
- Solution: P. cubensis prefers a temperature range of about 75-81°F (24-27°C) for colonization and slightly lower, about 70-75°F (21-24°C) for fruiting. Make sure your grow area maintains these temperature ranges.
3. Humidity
- Problem: Inadequate humidity can prevent fruiting and cause young mushrooms to dry out and abort.
- Solution: Mushrooms require a high-humidity environment to fruit. For P. cubensis, the relative humidity should be around 90-95% during the fruiting stage. You can maintain humidity by misting and fanning or using a humidifier.
4. Fresh Air Exchange (FAE)
- Problem: Lack of fresh air and buildup of CO2 can inhibit fruiting.
- Solution: P. cubensis requires fresh air exchange to stimulate fruiting and reduce CO2 buildup. You can achieve this by fanning the grow chamber several times a day or setting up a system for passive or active air exchange.
5. Light
- Problem: Lack of light can prevent pinning and fruiting.
- Solution: While mushrooms aren't plants and don't require light for photosynthesis, they do need some light to trigger pinning and guide growth direction. Provide a few hours of light per day. Indirect sunlight or fluorescent lighting works fine.
6. Contamination
- Problem: Contamination can lead to poor growth and lack of fruiting.
- Solution: Ensure sterility throughout your process, from inoculation to incubation and fruiting. Any signs of contamination (off colors, smells, etc.) may require you to discard the batch and start anew.
7. Incorrect Fruiting Triggers
- Problem: Failure to introduce fruiting conditions can prevent pinning and fruiting.
- Solution: Once full colonization is achieved, you need to introduce fruiting conditions – a drop in temperature, introduction of light, increase in FAE, and maintaining high humidity.
8. Genetics
- Problem: Poor genetics or old spores can result in failure to fruit.
- Solution: Source your spores or mycelium from a reliable supplier. Remember that results can vary and sometimes, you may just have a batch with poor genetics.
9. Over-misting
- Problem: Over-misting can lead to waterlogged substrates and poor growth conditions.
- Solution: Be sure to mist the sides and lid of your fruiting chamber, rather than directly on your cakes or substrate. The goal is to create a humid environment, not to make the substrate wet.
Remember, patience is key in mushroom cultivation. Sometimes, a healthy mycelium can take a while to start fruiting. However, if
it's been weeks without any sign of growth, it may be time to consider these factors and troubleshoot as needed.