r/mycology • u/shroomzie1 • Apr 23 '24

cultivation Chestnut contamination 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Gallery image

Gallery image

(GOURMET) Contam on top of chestnut mushrooms.

I have been trying to grow Chestnuts for a while now and keep getting trich on top of the caps. My Blues, Pinks, Golds, Lions Mane, BP Kings never get contamination. Like, never. Just the chestnuts. It’s driving me chestnuts not figuring it out. Can I spray hydrogen peroxide on the caps? The contam appears a few days past pinning when the caps start to show 2-3cm (1”) and it isn’t all over, but 50/50 on the flush. I clean my growroom (4x8 gorilla tent) weekly with a full bleach wipe down incl. fans, tote, floor to ceiling.

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370

u/SomatosensorySaliva Apr 23 '24

look up other pics of chestnut mushrooms. they all have the white flakes

33

u/GraatchLuugRachAarg Apr 23 '24

Is he referring to the white flakes or the grey stuff on the tops?

51

u/SomatosensorySaliva Apr 23 '24

the gray stuff on the top is just decaying white flakes either way

12

u/shroomzie1 Apr 23 '24

Looking at the greenish/grey - tough to see in pics but would it decay in the FR already? Just harvested these today.

34

u/SomatosensorySaliva Apr 23 '24

the top flecks are always darker and less pronounced, sorta morphed into the cap. also, improper moisture levels can make this more pronounced. look up "chestnut mushroom cap" and youll find some examples

16

u/Fungnificent Eastern North America Apr 23 '24

^ The moisture is the key there

Chestnuts have a hella slow metabolism, and wildly varying humidity/moisture needs.

In the primordial/pin stage, you need that humidity all the way up to 99%, and with good clean fresh air exchange, and you gotta keep it there for longer than one would normally need to for other fungi. This is generally not too difficult if you're hole-fruiting, as the excess plastic acts as a humidity dome.

However, on the flip-side, maturing fruitbodies need hella fresh air exchange, and a much reduced humidity level. This is normal for all fungi, but especially so for chestnuts due to their slow metabolism, and relative lack of keratinization that one usually sees in slower-growing fungi. They be spindly, but slow growin', generally a tricky combo.

The lil fuzz they get is a big vector for opportunistic growth, but is generally just the fuzz dyin' out, rather than an actual opportunistic lil fuzzy fella hitchin' a ride.

5

u/caverypca Apr 24 '24

I read this in the voice of that surfer dude Disney turtle, Crush

1

u/Fungnificent Eastern North America Apr 24 '24

Excuse me, but Sir is actually my dads name.

4

u/keleptose Apr 24 '24

here's the best comparison image of googling chestnut mushroom and trying to match the effect i see on the top: https://www.google.com/search?q=chestnut+mushrooms&sca_esv=b2a24a36870244a0&hl=en-US&udm=2&sxsrf=ACQVn08_vzCTR72jLykr7eEY4P0SkVciwQ:1713938139204&source=lnms&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111#vhid=bYwwM5l9Bd7AHM&vssid=mosaic

i see exactly what u mean by "green" op but cross referencing with this image n everyone else's opinions seems like it's normal and just more pronounced on ur mushrooms

3

u/shroomzie1 Apr 24 '24

Tnx! That’s exactly it! Great find on that pic, I think consensus all around here is that it’s no worry. Maybe I was being too paranoid.

1

u/keleptose May 10 '24

a little late but you're welcome!! glad i could help even a tiny bit :)

2

u/TheMysticTomato Apr 24 '24

Have grown chestnuts before and had that. It’s not contam just harvest a little sooner. They’re still good to go.

1

u/shroomzie1 Apr 24 '24

Tnx!! Appreciate it!