Growing Setnatur's Golden Teacher mushrooms
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Among Alchimiaweb's magic mushrooms offer, we have the mushroom grow kits by Setnatur, a brand specialized in the production of mycelium (mycological seeds). Several years of hard work have allowed Setnatur to obtain high-quality magic mushrooms mycelia, and their catalogue currently offers up to 10 strains of pure mycelium.
Within these 10 strains, there are some magic mushrooms as popular as the famous Mexican, Thai or Colombian. You can also find highly powerful strains such as MC Kennaii, only suitable for experienced psychonauts. Today we are going to examine in more detail the cultivation, drying, and preservation of one of the most interesting and popular strains, Golden Teacher.
How to use Setnatur Golden Teacher magic mushrooms Grow Kit
For the cultivation and successful harvest of Golden Teacher magic mushrooms, you'll need to create a favourable environment for them to grow: high humidity of around 80%, and a constant temperature of approximately 23 degrees Celsius.
To achieve this optimum environment, the Golden Teacher mushrooms grow kit comes with all the necessary accessories besides the mushroom substrate: a plastic grow bag with micro-perforations for breathing, and a couple of metal clips to close the bag.
The preparation is very simple: first, open the container and remove the lid (save it, do not throw it away). It's very important to leave the substrate inside the plastic container during the entire crop. Once opened, moisten the substrate with mineral water. It's advisable to hydrate it abundantly by spraying the mineral water over the mycelium.
Once hydrated, get the special grow bag and pour a couple of glasses of mineral water into in. Place the plastic container inside the bag. The water shouldn't reach the top of the container, as it mustn't come into contact with the substrate. In the case of high environmental humidity, you can forego this step and just place mycelium inside the bag.
The next step consists in folding the opening of the bag a couple of times, and placing both clips, one on each side, to secure the bag. The grow bag's micro-perforations shouldn't be obstructed when doing this.
Lay the bag with the mushrooms substrate on a horizontal and stable spot, so everything is firm and settled. The mushrooms substrate needs to get some daylight, but not directly. Ideally, the bag should be located in a corner or behind a window. The location of the bag needs to have a stable temperature of around 23ºC.
Once everything is in place, you just have to wait for the mycelium to fructify, and ventilate the bag daily by opening it for a few minutes, so the substrate can breathe and the air gets exchanged. Depending on the environmental conditions, the first mushroom could take between 7 and 20 days to sprout. Low temperatures and a lack of humidity are the main factors that usually delay the formation of the first mushrooms.
Once the fruiting is underway, you will have some mushrooms ready to harvest after just a few days (2-4 days, depending on the strain and the growing environment). The Setnatur Golden Teacher mushrooms took 9 days to start fruiting, and after three more days, there were more than 25 mushrooms ready to harvest.
Growing Setnatur Golden Teacher magic mushrooms in a plastic propagator
The process and outcome of mushrooms cultivation in a plant propagator is basically the same as with the grow kit we've just seen; a small enclosed space with high humidity (80%) and a stable temperature of around 23ºC, fruiting after 5-10 days, and being harvested around 2-4 days after fruiting.
Let's start the set up with the installation of the small plastic propagator. If it's equipped with a thermostat, set this at a temperature between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius. If you have a thermo-hygrometer with probe, this will be very convenient to control and adjust the temperature and the humidity.
Remove the lid of the propagator and pour 3-4cm of mineral water on the tray. Then, take the mycelium container and remove the lid (do not throw it away), place the substrate inside the propagator, and moisten it by using a sprayer with mineral water.
If the plastic lid has some ventilation slots, you'll need to adjust the opening until there's a stable humidity of around 80%. Open the lid every day for a few minutes to renew the air within.
Harvest and further fructification
The optimal time for harvesting the mushrooms is right before the opening of the veil that covers the hymenium, which is located inside the cap and contains the spores.
Once the veil is open, the spores will be released, an action easily recognized because the mycelium turns black as a consequence. This won't affect much the harvest in regards to its effects, but it could contaminate the substrate by preventing further fructification.
Larger mushrooms don't have a more powerful effect. On the contrary, small and medium-sized mushrooms have a higher concentration of psilocybin. Therefore, it's best to harvest them as they reach a height of 5-7cm. provided that their veil is broken and the spores released.
To pick the mushrooms, give the stems a gentle tug to separate the volva (the base of the mushroom) from the substrate. Never cut them or leave traces of mushrooms in the substrate, as this could contaminate the mycelium. When it stops or slows down its fruition of new mushrooms, you will need to hydrate it once again, but this time, in a different way:
Remove the substrate from the grow bag or propagator and clean its surface to get rid of any impurities that might have remained after the first fruiting. Fill the container with water without allowing it to overflow; do this very slowly and use mineral water, and stop when it's about to overflow.
Cover the container with its lid and place it in the fridge (4-7ºC) for a minimum of 12 hours. After this period, lift the corner of the lid and drain the water that hasn't been absorbed, remove the lid, and place the container inside the bag or the propagator.
Once rehydrated, the substrate will be ready for a new batch, and you probably will be able to perform the same operation once more, obtaining a third harvest!
Drying and storing Golden Teacher mushrooms.
In order to preserve the mushrooms, first you'll need to dry them. To begin with, you have to find a place suitable for this process: dark, with a temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius, airy (if this is not the case, you can use a small fan), and with low humidity.
Once you have the right place to dry your mushrooms, get a tray or a large plate to place them evenly spread. It is important that the mushrooms are not touching each other nor piled up. You can place a napkin or paper towel between the tray and the mushrooms, to help absorb moisture.
Under the right conditions, your magic mushrooms will be dry and ready to be stored in a week or 10 days. The best way to store them is inside tightly closed mason jars. Once you have the mushrooms in the jars, store them in a cool and dark place, such as the refrigerator.
In optimal conditions, the mushrooms can last for several years while retaining the psychoactive effects of psilocybin. The best way to consume them is in a natural open space, without uneven or rugged terrain, and always accompanied by someone with experience in this type of trips.
We leave you with this interesting video tutorial on Setnatur mushroom cultivation (notice you have English subtitles available in the config menu):
