Follow these instructions and hopefully you will never have to buy a spore syringe again for that specific mushroom strain. 

Creating a liquid culture of spores is a great way to ensure a consistent and high-quality supply of mycelium for inoculating your grow bags.

At Mentis, we want to make growing mushrooms easy. So, we have pulled together the simplest method to create your own liquid culture.

 

Materials Needed:

• Spore syringe. Buy this from a top rated vendor on the EU Spore Hub (r/EUSporeHub). You only need 2ml of spore solution. If you buy a larger syringe then still only use 2ml. Store the syringe in the fridge. This can be used as a back-up if Mother Nature is not on your side the first time.
• Clear glass jar. Any normal jar larger than 100ml will do. You don’t need a lot of liquid culture for each grow bag that you are inoculating. 5ml is more than enough.
• Water. The more sterile the better, to reduce the risk of contamination. But truth be told, any type of water - bottled, tap, filtered, distilled - usually works.
• Honey. Admittedly, there are better sources of liquid culture nutrition e.g. light malt extract that is used for making beers or corn syrup. We choose honey because you probably already have this in your cupboard at home. And if not then hopefully it’s just a short walk to your local corner shop or supermarket.
• Micropore tape. You might have come across this stuff when taping up bandages. Micropore tape lets air pass through it but blocks any microbes or other potential contaminants. Buy it from your local pharmacy. 
• Tin foil. You just need a tiny bit to loosely cover the top of the jar.
• Screwdriver and hammer. Or any other tool that will allow you to carefully puncture a hole in the lid of your jar.
• Cooking pan with a lid. One that is deep enough to hold the jar.
• Alcohol wipes. Hopefully one came with the spore syringe that you bought.  You can also buy these from your local pharmacy or online.
• Empty sterile syringes. You probably won’t have these. You can buy them on Amazon or Google "5ml Sterile Syringe". Something like this will do: Example 5ml Syringe). Keep these for when you want to inject a new grow bag. You could buy some alcohol wipes or 70% isopropyl spray if you fancy it. These always come in handy at some point!

 

 

Step 1: Prepare the Liquid Culture Jar

• Clean the jar thoroughly using washing up liquid.
• Create a hole in the centre of the jar’s lid. Do this by using the screwdriver and hammer to carefully puncture it (see photo below).
• Place two layers of micropore tape in a cross pattern over this hole. This is your basic DIY injection port (see photo below).

 Step 2: Prepare the Liquid Culture Medium

• Mix 4ml of honey per 100ml of water. A teaspoon is normally about 5ml. 
• Pour the mixture into your jar. Fill it about halfway to allow enough space for shaking the jar later.
• Secure the lid on the jar (don’t overtighten). Loosely wrap the top of the jar with tin foil.

Step 3: Sterilize the Medium and Jar

• Place the jar in the pan. 

• Fill the pan with tap water such that the water level reaches ⅓ the height of the jar. 
• Make sure the jar is standing upright to prevent spilling (see photo below).
• Bring the water to boil. When boiling, start the timer for 60 minutes. Leave simmering for 60 minutes. 

• Remove the jar and allow the jar to cool down completely to room temperature before moving to the next step.

Step 4: Inoculate the Liquid Culture

• Try to work in as sterile an environment as possible. Disinfect and clean the surface that you are using. Wash your hands. If you have 70% isopropyl alcohol spray, use this on the surfaces that you are working on. 
• Remove the foil on the jar. Be careful that the lid doesn't come off. Tighten the lid fully.
• Wipe the spore syringe and injection port on the jar with an alcohol wipe to ensure sterility.
• Shake the spore syringe to evenly distribute the spores inside.
• Insert the needle through the injection port. Inject 2ml of the spore syringe (see photo below).
• SUPER IMPORTANT: Quickly cover the hole again with another layer of micropore tape. You need to do this every time you get liquid culture from the jar. If you don't, you are leaving an open hole in your jar where contaminants will enter.

Step 5: Incubate the Liquid Culture

• Place the jar in a dark, warm place (between 24°C to 28°C). A cupboard or a closet works well.
• Or even better if you already have a Mentis Toolbox. Place the jar in the Toolbox and set the Thermal Sleeve to 28°C. Close the lid of the Toolbox.
• Every day, shake the jar gently to help disperse the spores throughout the liquid and to aerate the culture.

Step 6: Wait for Mycelium Growth

• Over the next 7 days, you should start to see mycelium growth in the liquid culture. The liquid will become cloudy, and you may see wispy strands of white mycelium floating in the liquid.
• SUPER IMPORTANT: If you see any other colour than white (green, black, red), this indicates contamination, and you'll need to discard the culture and start again.

Step 7: Store the Mature Liquid Culture

• Once the mycelium has grown sufficiently (the liquid will be cloudy and filled with mycelium strands), it's ready to be used for inoculating the Grow Bag.
• If you are not ready to inject the Grow Bag then store the mature liquid culture in the fridge. This can keep for more than 12 months.
• If you want to prolong your liquid culture, you can use the same culture to create a new jar of liquid culture.
• Whenever you want to use it, just check that you can only see clear liquid or white mycelium. 

Step 8: Use the Liquid Culture

• To use, shake the jar and withdraw 5ml of the liquid culture using a sterile syringe.
• SUPER IMPORTANT Remember to cover the injection port with micropore tape as soon as you have withdrawn the liquid culture into the syringe.
• Use this syringe to inject your Grow Bag.

By following these steps, you'll have a reliable liquid culture ready for use in your mushroom cultivation projects.

Any questions? Please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.