swim is, most definatly.
Thing is with birdseed, is that the seeds have that thick, hard shell- ya gotta get the shell soaked, so that moisture can peirce through it, and thus make it so that the insides are exposed to the moisture so that when its pressurecooked/sterilized, the insides get hit properly. Too much moisture, and the seed becomes mush making it clumpy and hard to airate, also making it more prone to bacterial contams. Too little moisture, the inside stays dry and doesnt get sterilized. Throughout the whole process, its vitally important to make sure theres an even distribution of moisture for said reasons, that means bee anal mixing. Swim stopped his mycology experiments a while back, and no longer has his notes regarding amounts used- but from what he remembers, he used pennin#$@n brand finch seed from wallys whacky fun place, he didnt feel the need to remove the sunflowerseeds, although they could bee skimmed off the top during the presoak (remember to stir). He initially got his seed, did a presoak, keeping track of how much water was used for the presoak (simmering ~45min to an hour keeping the seeds covered in simmering water) swiy will probably have to add h2o as it soaks- the seeds will expand quite a bit- strained the seed, and rinsed it with cold water (or else itd bee too sticky with sugar all over it and itd bee more likely to clump up- also added a small amount of crushed gypsum, about two table spoons to 9L of substrate as a pH buffer and to help clumpyness) then he p.cooked ~1 hour 15 min to 1 hour 30 min. He then took 100 or 1000 grams of this, and baked it in the oven until absolute dryness. He subtracted the weight and got the moisture content. He used the moisture content required that was listed in stamets book- and then added coarse vermic to adjust and achieve proper moisture levels. Then, when he went back to start making up the substrate for real, hed add a little less water to the pot for the presoak, and add that quantity to the vermic so that it wouldnt bee dry when it went through the p.cooker- just a small amount is needed for this. Bee careful when pre-soaking, if swiy sees exploded kernals, its a good indication that he isnt stirring enough, remove them if swiy sees them as these make for clumpyness and bacterial contams. Remember not to pack the substrate.
and thats all I have to say about that...
"All that we are is the result of all that we have thought."
-Buddha