An Incubator is a nice thing to have when growing mushrooms. It can significantly speed up the entire process.
A lot of materials here can be improvised, this is just a general idea.
To make an incubator you will need:
1. A Styrofoam cooler - these can be purchased at almost any store. They are cheap and you will want to get one that is tall to make sure it holds the water heater
2. A fish water heater - these can be purchased at Walmart, or a pet supply store.
3. A large jar that can hold water, and the water heater
4. A digital outside/inside thermometer.
Note1: The water heater may not get to a hot enough temperature, this can be remedied by taking off the control, and then placing it in a position which allows you to turn it to a hotter temperature.
Once you have the water heater in the jar full of water in your cooler, you will need to cut a small hole in the bottom side of the lid, or top side of cooler to allow for the heaters cord to come out, but still allowing the coolers lid to close completely. This will make it easier to regulate the temperature.
Now, take your thermometers outside end, and put it in the incubator. wait until it reads your ideal temperature for several hours. The temperature can be adjusted by adjusting the heaters setting.
Now that you have your incubator set up, you can begin to stock it with PF cakes, or your liquid m mycelium culture (LMC).
At the bottom of this post, I have attached a picture of my incubator with its lid off, a mason jar with a LMC in it, and an an improvised magnetic stirrer stirring another LMC to help break up the clumps that form.
A lot of materials here can be improvised, this is just a general idea.
To make an incubator you will need:
1. A Styrofoam cooler - these can be purchased at almost any store. They are cheap and you will want to get one that is tall to make sure it holds the water heater
2. A fish water heater - these can be purchased at Walmart, or a pet supply store.
3. A large jar that can hold water, and the water heater
4. A digital outside/inside thermometer.
Note1: The water heater may not get to a hot enough temperature, this can be remedied by taking off the control, and then placing it in a position which allows you to turn it to a hotter temperature.
Once you have the water heater in the jar full of water in your cooler, you will need to cut a small hole in the bottom side of the lid, or top side of cooler to allow for the heaters cord to come out, but still allowing the coolers lid to close completely. This will make it easier to regulate the temperature.
Now, take your thermometers outside end, and put it in the incubator. wait until it reads your ideal temperature for several hours. The temperature can be adjusted by adjusting the heaters setting.
Now that you have your incubator set up, you can begin to stock it with PF cakes, or your liquid m mycelium culture (LMC).
At the bottom of this post, I have attached a picture of my incubator with its lid off, a mason jar with a LMC in it, and an an improvised magnetic stirrer stirring another LMC to help break up the clumps that form.
