The reason large scale mushroom farmers mostly use disposable plastic bags is because they take up less storage space, you don't need to spend any time cleaning, and you don't need extra storage space for cleaning chemicals. Remember that for the people doing it as a business time and space costs money. For a hobbyist at home this could be an option, but I don't see any large scale mushroom farms bothering with it.
Absolutely, which is why I brought up the biodegradable bags as an alternate for commercial use. GroCycle already employs this technique on a large scale, but their means of obtaining them is having them custom manufactured. They mention that they are still just traditional biodegradable material just a little thicker. So if this could become an accessible product on the large scale it could help reduce the reliance on plastic. Plastic is extremely convenient and cheap, which just lends to the problem at hand. Definitely something that'll need thought, but I do think that we can ultimately achieve a better solution.
I refuse to use disposable bags. I use silicone sheets for tempeh and make koji using cloth and silicone mesh. So this is what I’ve been trying to figure out- because so many of the food containers I try to reuse are just problematic or annoying! Thanks so much for this!
I love to hear that you're finding sustainable alternatives in other parts of your life too! It’s something I’ve thought about a lot since getting into this hobby. It’s pretty wild to me how so many of the materials or techniques we use for our farming don’t really align with the sustainability goals many of us have, whether it’s growing healthy food, enjoying the process, or just trying to reduce waste/be more sustainable. That being said, things are going well so far with the blue oyster Ziploc silicone bags, they’re about to pin, and I just sent the Enoki into fruiting conditions. It’s exciting to see how the silicone bags are colonizing so nicely, even the unmodified ones. I’m still phasing out my bins slowly, but for now, if I use a monotub or shoebox, I’ve been lining them with aluminum foil as a compromise. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for being part of this community. 🍄
I've first discovered this by EzMushroom, but your iteration with the little grommet is genius! Would love to try how many you can put on each side for side fruiting and how close before problems arise loss of strength, mycelium growing through etc. regarding the need for a filter for air exchange: on the Wikipedia for Silicone and Silicone Rubber it does state that is way way more gas permeable than butyl rubber, even explicitly mentioning Oxygen. That might also explain why your Ziplock Blue Oyster was doing quite well, although maybe I'd want to still put on some filters of some sort because maybe the silicone isn't breathable enough. With the grommets, I even think a kind of little HEPA filter could be put on these or bigger grommets, making the filter not be replaced sooner than later. One further Idea I had in my mind for those long and big side fruiters like turkey tail or other shelf fungi, might a sewed on zipper, though I am not sure if sewing and silicone mix well, but then think again about the zip seal of the Ziploc bag. I hope someday a dedicated bag for fruiting blocks becomes available. Ideally based on the Ziploc one, because both the zip seal and the square-ish shape make it more comparable and similar to traditional fruiting block bags, while the dough bag ones are round and pretty much open.
I was wondering the same thing! I'm thinking I can fit 4-6 easily with these ones - maybe up to a dozen. The issue is that these bags are incredibly thin; and those Ziploc bags are a very nice thickness. The seal that those Ziploc have is very convenient, like you were saying for side fruiters or shelf fungi I think that something like this can be really useful. Even if you just filled that Ziploc essentially all the way to the zipper, then that might suffice. Maybe staggering them lower and higher may be an option. Having a bunch though would be convenient for grows like lions mane, you could just plug the first harvest and open the next. I'm also wondering what bigger grommets would do. If they'd be better or worse. I have some bags that mistakes were made on learning, so I'll be using them to experiment further with other design ideas. I'm thinking even the filter patch is over kill for these, I'm sure you could do some kind of longer lasting filter, but I think it's just as good as a solution as using paper tape. I'll run it a few different ways to start getting a better understanding. This will definitely come from a little experience using these in my operation. The grommets have worked great so far, I made another three bags earlier today. I'm thinking I'll start to play around with difference sizes for the grommets and positioning lower and higher on the neck. I think when I start to feel comfortable with future design ideas; I'd like to see about getting a custom bag produced specifically for this purpose. I think that it's not that far fetched to make this a really good item for any grower to have. I mean waste, and leeching aside, I think its important for us to understand how to do these things ourselves. If these were sold in lieu of polypropylene all in one bags, after someone's first grow, they'll have the tools to learn to sterilize their own substrate and continue to use that bag. I think it's important to instill that curiosity, deepening your connection with your mushrooms, and learning in the process. I have yet to have ever used unicorn bags though. I've only ever grown out of standard Ziploc and tubs. I think that moving straight into these silicone bags will help me understand and work through the issues that might arise much better. With your shaped bag idea too - I was discussing earlier with a friend; What about a cylinder bag? You could have these colonized compressed hardwood logs that you've made yourself. You could remove the log entirely or just roll the bag down to expose one area of it for fruiting. Regardless I'm really excited. I think that this is a good next step and will, at least for me, make me feel better about my operation and the waste coming from it. I hope that this can start to catch on though, and we can move away from being so wasteful as a community, especially when it comes to something like this. I feel like we have such a good answer right within reach. Thank you for your input and support! 🍄
@@baronbullshyster2996 I was thinking about that. I've got a few thoughts for this process though and since this is the only containers I'm using aside from monos or shoeboxes, it'll force me to figure out what works.
@@whygamingwhy2404 induction sterilizer! There's tons out there but this one is made by MycoCoil! You can buy the circuit yourself and build them for sub 20 bucks though.
The reason large scale mushroom farmers mostly use disposable plastic bags is because they take up less storage space, you don't need to spend any time cleaning, and you don't need extra storage space for cleaning chemicals. Remember that for the people doing it as a business time and space costs money. For a hobbyist at home this could be an option, but I don't see any large scale mushroom farms bothering with it.
Absolutely, which is why I brought up the biodegradable bags as an alternate for commercial use. GroCycle already employs this technique on a large scale, but their means of obtaining them is having them custom manufactured. They mention that they are still just traditional biodegradable material just a little thicker.
So if this could become an accessible product on the large scale it could help reduce the reliance on plastic. Plastic is extremely convenient and cheap, which just lends to the problem at hand.
Definitely something that'll need thought, but I do think that we can ultimately achieve a better solution.
Always appreciate folks looking for more sustainable solutions 👌 looking forward to seeing how this goes
@@SporeLuckUK Me too! Incredibly excited! 🍄
I refuse to use disposable bags. I use silicone sheets for tempeh and make koji using cloth and silicone mesh. So this is what I’ve been trying to figure out- because so many of the food containers I try to reuse are just problematic or annoying! Thanks so much for this!
I love to hear that you're finding sustainable alternatives in other parts of your life too! It’s something I’ve thought about a lot since getting into this hobby. It’s pretty wild to me how so many of the materials or techniques we use for our farming don’t really align with the sustainability goals many of us have, whether it’s growing healthy food, enjoying the process, or just trying to reduce waste/be more sustainable.
That being said, things are going well so far with the blue oyster Ziploc silicone bags, they’re about to pin, and I just sent the Enoki into fruiting conditions. It’s exciting to see how the silicone bags are colonizing so nicely, even the unmodified ones. I’m still phasing out my bins slowly, but for now, if I use a monotub or shoebox, I’ve been lining them with aluminum foil as a compromise.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for being part of this community. 🍄
Having your cat give you pointers was the highlight of my morning 😅
@@baldknobfarmstead5167 They are always there to lend a paw lol 🍄
I've first discovered this by EzMushroom, but your iteration with the little grommet is genius! Would love to try how many you can put on each side for side fruiting and how close before problems arise loss of strength, mycelium growing through etc.
regarding the need for a filter for air exchange: on the Wikipedia for Silicone and Silicone Rubber it does state that is way way more gas permeable than butyl rubber, even explicitly mentioning Oxygen. That might also explain why your Ziplock Blue Oyster was doing quite well, although maybe I'd want to still put on some filters of some sort because maybe the silicone isn't breathable enough.
With the grommets, I even think a kind of little HEPA filter could be put on these or bigger grommets, making the filter not be replaced sooner than later.
One further Idea I had in my mind for those long and big side fruiters like turkey tail or other shelf fungi, might a sewed on zipper, though I am not sure if sewing and silicone mix well, but then think again about the zip seal of the Ziploc bag.
I hope someday a dedicated bag for fruiting blocks becomes available. Ideally based on the Ziploc one, because both the zip seal and the square-ish shape make it more comparable and similar to traditional fruiting block bags, while the dough bag ones are round and pretty much open.
I was wondering the same thing! I'm thinking I can fit 4-6 easily with these ones - maybe up to a dozen. The issue is that these bags are incredibly thin; and those Ziploc bags are a very nice thickness. The seal that those Ziploc have is very convenient, like you were saying for side fruiters or shelf fungi I think that something like this can be really useful. Even if you just filled that Ziploc essentially all the way to the zipper, then that might suffice. Maybe staggering them lower and higher may be an option. Having a bunch though would be convenient for grows like lions mane, you could just plug the first harvest and open the next.
I'm also wondering what bigger grommets would do. If they'd be better or worse. I have some bags that mistakes were made on learning, so I'll be using them to experiment further with other design ideas.
I'm thinking even the filter patch is over kill for these, I'm sure you could do some kind of longer lasting filter, but I think it's just as good as a solution as using paper tape. I'll run it a few different ways to start getting a better understanding. This will definitely come from a little experience using these in my operation.
The grommets have worked great so far, I made another three bags earlier today. I'm thinking I'll start to play around with difference sizes for the grommets and positioning lower and higher on the neck.
I think when I start to feel comfortable with future design ideas; I'd like to see about getting a custom bag produced specifically for this purpose. I think that it's not that far fetched to make this a really good item for any grower to have.
I mean waste, and leeching aside, I think its important for us to understand how to do these things ourselves. If these were sold in lieu of polypropylene all in one bags, after someone's first grow, they'll have the tools to learn to sterilize their own substrate and continue to use that bag. I think it's important to instill that curiosity, deepening your connection with your mushrooms, and learning in the process.
I have yet to have ever used unicorn bags though. I've only ever grown out of standard Ziploc and tubs. I think that moving straight into these silicone bags will help me understand and work through the issues that might arise much better.
With your shaped bag idea too - I was discussing earlier with a friend; What about a cylinder bag? You could have these colonized compressed hardwood logs that you've made yourself. You could remove the log entirely or just roll the bag down to expose one area of it for fruiting.
Regardless I'm really excited. I think that this is a good next step and will, at least for me, make me feel better about my operation and the waste coming from it. I hope that this can start to catch on though, and we can move away from being so wasteful as a community, especially when it comes to something like this. I feel like we have such a good answer right within reach.
Thank you for your input and support! 🍄
You need a bag with several zips on it. So you can just un zip one of the smaller zips on the side. Maybe
@@baronbullshyster2996 I was thinking about that. I've got a few thoughts for this process though and since this is the only containers I'm using aside from monos or shoeboxes, it'll force me to figure out what works.
What is that little heater you have ?
@@whygamingwhy2404 induction sterilizer! There's tons out there but this one is made by MycoCoil! You can buy the circuit yourself and build them for sub 20 bucks though.
@@TheFungiFilesSC Oh damn! I'll definitely have to look into that, love a bit of DIY, thank you!
@whygamingwhy2404 Of course! I was going to make one myself but ended up getting this as a gift. It's nice to not have to mess with a flame.
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