Subject: Help regarding agar...

From: [email-masked] (PhilDale)
Date: 16 Apr 1995 13:17:44 -0400

Hi, all!

I have read that potato dextrose agar is the best for mushroom
cultivation, and I was wondering if lab agar would work, too?  It says
it's a blend of agar, gelatine, and beef nutrients...will this be
effective?

Thanks

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From: [email-masked] (KELVIN DUNCAN)
Date: 18 Apr 95 20:39:29 +1200

> it's a blend of agar, gelatine, and beef nutrients...will this be
Hi -
I use any old thing, much to my friends' disgust.  I have found that the
addition of a glucose sweet, chopped straw (or filter paper), and a dog 
food pellet or two to a standard agar preparation makes a fabulous medium
 on which oyster and shiitake species grow extremely well.  You have to watch 
it doesn't get too cloudy, but I have been able to lower our costs to 1/5th.
PDA is still a nice medium if you want a pretty see-through medium, but it
doesn't grow mushrooms as well as mine!  Like a lot of people I like to 
add a bit of lignocellulosic material to the medium so that the fungus 
still demonstrates its ability to digest these materials.  When subculturing
I select the bits of semidigested wood or straw with mycelium growing 
right over them.  

Cheers
Kelly Duncan