I will direct you towards the original patent filed by A. Stoll et. al, as it was written in 1956 and the methods are much more reproducible than other techniques in use in labs today.

Process for the Preparation of Ergotamine and Ergonometrine Ergotaminine and Ergonometrine by Saprophytic Culture of Ergot (Claviceps Purpurea[fr]tul)in vitro and isolation of the alkaloids thus pruduced.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2809920.html

I know the spores would keep for a long time in the fridge, you would imagine the mycelium would also keep for some time. You could use some sterile technique to take some tissue cultures to multiply the amount you have and therefore the chances of success. A good project would be taking a tissue culture followed by fruiting that culture on rye in a small terrarium and collecting the spores! (then send me some! ).

Hmmm, interesting.

Especially the part about a colorimetric test using vanillin, I guess in a modification of the van urk reagent in place of 4-DMAB ?

That would be a lot more available and not to mention useful, given that fresh van urk reagent would be needed any time one wishes to do the test, and only a small amount of vanillin would be needed, and we ALL know what else vanillin is useful for....

There is some funky stuff going into the growth medium in that first patent link, Naf1, Be, Ti, Ni, Co..
What the heck is beryllium doing in there?

I'm sure it isn't actually nescessary, although perhaps it may play a role as an active site in some enzyme or other, after all, some elements we twolegs use.

Although, perhaps it has a connection with the fact that it inhibits alkaline phosphatase enzymes, and to do with some or other variable of phosphate availability, as whilst essential to the mycelium bulking phase, high phosphate levels in culture inhibit alkaloid formation, in fact, I have a paper somewhere where they use arsenite salts as a metabolic poison to interfere with inorganic phosphate absorbtion and this apparently increases ergot alkaloid production by 100%.

Rather not have to use it though, although if one is buggering about with arsenic compounds, disdaining use of an element due to potential toxicity seems redundant and/or ironic really.