PF Tek - Simple Technique
What is PF Tek?
PF Tek, also known as the Psilocybe Fanaticus method - originating from Robert McPherson - thank you btw!
PF Tek is a method of mushroom cultivation. This technique (Tek) originally utilized organic rye berries, but later included brown rice flour and vermiculite. The substrate is sterilized in a 3/4 leveled pint wide mouthed canning jars by boiling or pressure cooking, with a layer of dry vermiculite as a filter agent to keep out competing bacteria and fungus. The sterilized "PF jar" is then injected with a solution containing spores and water from a syringe, creating a one step procedure for reliably growing mushrooms indoors.
So let's cultivate - PF Tek style...
Hygiene Supplies
Surgical Spirits
Lighter/ Source of flame
Air sanitizer (optional)
Sterilized latex gloves (optional)
Surgical mask (optional)
Still air or glove box (optional)
Equipment:
Mason/ Glass Jars
Pressure Cooker
Foil
Ingredients:
Spore Syringe
Vermiculite
Brown Rice Flour
Water (still or fresh water)
The first thing you'll need to decide is what species or strain to cultivate. You may find that cultivating mushrooms may be a tricky practice, but with the minimal know-how and patience you will easily make home growing a fun and intriguing hobby.
Let's get started. Steps 1 and 2 will outline the preparation of jars and sterilisation. You can find the remaining steps 3 to 6 at the following link - steps 3 to 6 link
Step 1. Preparing the Jars The substrate is made of vermiculite, brown rice flour, and purified water.
The ratio as dry volume is approximately:
2 parts of Vermiculite, i.e. 2 cups of vermiculite
1 part of Rice Flour, i.e. 1 cup of rice flour
1 part of Water, i.e. 1 cup of water
Keep in mind you do NOT want to fill the jars completely with substrate, but leave some space for dry verm to fill the top.
You'll want to mix the vermiculite and water first. Make sure that the vermiculite has soaked up all of the water it can before adding the brown rice. Then add the brown rice flour to the hydrated vermiculite. The flour should stick to the outside surface of the vermiculite. There should be no water in the bottom of your mixing bowl after thoroughly stirring.
Fill the jars up to 10-15mm (about half-inch) below the rim. Do not compress the mixture into the jars. We want there to be air spaces through which the mushroom mycelium will be able to grow.
Wipe the top of the jars clean (inside and out) with a clean paper towel in order to ensure there is no substrate sticking on the edges. We want nothing nutritious to be left behind
Fill the remaining space inside the jar with dry vermiculite. This will serve as a contamination barrier.
Close with the lids. The lids should have 4 holes near the edges and cover the holes with masking-tape or micro-pore tape. The holes will be used to inoculate the jars with spore syringe.
Cover the jars with aluminium foil so that condensation in the pressure cooker won't drip on the lids and through the holes. That might cause too much water to enter the jars.
If you have correctly done all of this, you should have jars that look similar to these...
Step 2. Sterilization With brown rice flour as our substrate, we have two options for sterilization, a pressure cooker or steaming.
IMPORTANT: put a steaming rack, or a cloth in the cooking pot or pressure cooker before putting the jars. This will avoid direct contact of the glass jars with the bottom of the cooking pot, which might otherwise cause the jars to crack.
Sterilizing with Steam This method works with brown rice flour because it sterilizes more easily at lower temperatures than other spawn substrates.
Boil 300-600ml (half-pint to a pint) jars for 60-75 minutes. Shorter times might work with smaller jars. Keep the water simmering. A vigorous boil is unnecessary as water does not heat above 100ºC (212ºF), and will risk overflow or splashing.
When you are done sterilizing let your jars cool in the cooking pot as it will protect them from contaminants. Some growers recommend to wrap the pot in a cloth soaked in sterilizing alcohol to filter the ambient air that enters the pot as it cools down, but others find this step unnecessary.
Sterilizing with a Pressure Cooker The temperature in pressure cooker can reach up to 120ºC (250ºF) when the pressure reaches 15psi. Pressure cookers working at a lower pressure will reach lower temperatures.
Pressure cooking is recommended over boiling to sterilize the substrate.
With 300-600ml (1/2 pint to 1 pint) jars, 50-65 minutes at 15 psi is perfect. User longer times for bigger jars.
Once the pressure cooker has reached the maximum pressure keep the lowest flame possible to keep it at regime. This mimimize the risk of burning the substrate, internal splashing, etc.
Before starting consult the instructions provided by the pressure cooker manufacturer for safe use.
Jars inside pressure cooker just before closing lid to sterilise...
To read more, check out the full PF Tek instructions at >> steps 3 to 6 link...
PF Tek - Pros
PF Tek is a popular method for home cultivation because it is easy, simple, inexpensive and reliable. The materials needed are cheap and widely available. Jars can be sterilized by boiling or with a pressure cooker. Although sterile technique is required when inoculating, risk of contamination from airborne spores or bacteria is small because air exposure is minimal and the layer of vermiculite which acts as a filter.
PF Tek - Cons More experienced growers may not use PF Tek due to its low yield, and high labor input required when compared to other methods, like monotubs. The use of a spore syringe also has its drawbacks. Because spores are a mix of genotypes, it is impossible to select mycelium that colonizes fast and produces high yield.
PF Tekkie