How do you make your own psilocybin mushroom spore syringe?

If you want to inoculate a substrate yourself to grow mushrooms, there are several ways to do this, but a mushroom spore syringe is one of the easiest. Growing your own mushrooms is fascinating and yields a lot, but it can also be complicated. In this blog you can read how to make a mushroom spore syringe yourself.

What is a mushroom spore syringe?

A spore syringe contains mushroom spores in a sterile solution. These are the single-celled bodies with which a mushroom reproduces. If you want to grow mushrooms on substrate yourself, without using a handy grow kit, you need a way to inoculate the spores into a substrate. This can be done with a mushroom spore syringe.

Why would you choose this method? When working with mushrooms and substrate, working hygienically is extremely important. A small contamination with other bacteria, fungi or viruses can have a disastrous effect, which endangers your cultivation. Spore syringes make it easy to work hygienically. There are also other methods of inoculation, such as a liquid culture, but by using a spore syringe you can add spores directly to a substrate, while keeping the risk of contamination small.

Make your own spore syringe

To make a spore syringe, you of course need spores from a mushroom. You can do this by buying a spore print, for example, in our webshop. To make a spore syringe, you need a clean working environment. This does not mean just wiping down your counter. It is best to create a separate workspace, which you clean with bleach. A glove box is even better. Also wear gloves and a mask. If you want to buy everything you need for your mushroom cultivation at once, purchase the Magic Mushroom Start kit. This also contains a heating mat and a scalpel.

It may seem like a lot of effort to be so careful about contamination, but growing mushrooms is a fairly complicated and sensitive project. It would be a shame if you put a lot of energy and time into it and end up with a moldy substrate. That's why it's best to proceed with caution from the start.

What do you need?

To get started, you'll need several materials, which you can purchase online or in a regular store. This is what you need to make your own mushroom spore syringe:

• Sterile syringe of 10 or 20 ml
• Sterile water
• Dish or small glass
• Pressure cooker
• Spore print
• Tweezers
• Scalpel
• Resealable bag
• Gas stove
  
  

Step-by-step plan to make your own mushroom spore syringe

Step 1

Sterilize the water by placing it in the glass or bowl in the pressure cooker. Heat the pan to 15 psi and then lower the temperature. Boil for 30 minutes. You can also add the syringes if you still need to sterilize them.

Step 2

Let the pan and the water cool down. This is an important step, because you cannot use hot water, this could kill the spores. Take your time to cool down, this can take several hours. Do not remove the lid from the pan either, as this will risk contamination.

Step 3

Once the water has cooled, sterilize your tweezers and scalpel using a flame from the gas stove (or a blowtorch if you have one).

Step 4

Remove the glass or dish of water from the pan. Use the tweezers to remove the spore print from the packaging. Do not touch it with your fingers.

Step 5

Take the scalpel in your other hand and now hold the spore print above the water. Gently scrape the spores so that they end up in the water.

Step 6

Now it's time to fill the syringe. Place the tip of your syringe in the water and suck up the water with the spores. To properly distribute the spores through the water, you can suck a few times with the syringe and squirt it back into the dish. Now suck the syringe full (and if you have more, repeat this last step).

Step 7

Now store the homemade mushroom spore syringe at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. This is necessary to ensure that the spores are well hydrated.

Step 8

If you don't need all the spore syringes yet, store them in an airtight container after the previous step in the refrigerator. You can store them for up to 12 months.

Now you have one or more homemade mushroom spore syringes. The amazing thing is that each of these syringes contains millions of spores. If you are going to use them, you will only need very little liquid: no more than 2 or 3 drops per liter of substrate. How you can now inoculate a substrate, you can read below.

Using a spore syringe

If you are now going to inoculate a substrate, it is important to proceed cautiously and hygienically. A substrate that you bought ready-made has a lid with holes. These holes are probably covered with tape or a plug. The idea is to poke through them or remove the plug.

Then spray a small amount of solution onto the substrate. The amount you need to use depends on the size of the pot. When you are done, cover the hole again with a new piece of porous tape. Place the pot in a dark and warm place. Now it gets exciting. Has your spore syringe done its job? After a week you should be able to see the first spots where the mycelium is going to colonize the substrate. It looks like small cotton balls.

Let the mycelium do its thing. After a few weeks, it will grow until it fills the entire pot. Stay patient, you don't have to do anything until the substrate is completely colonized. Also check your culture for any contamination. After this step, you continue with the next one. The fruiting bodies will now start to form. To help them grow, you need to submerge the substrate in water and place it in a light spot. Here, too, hygienic working is very important.

Easily grow your own mushrooms

You can also make it easier for yourself and inoculate a ready-made grow bag instead of a substrate. That is less complicated. But hopefully this blog has given you enough information to get started with your own homemade mushroom spore syringe. And if you still don't feel like doing it all yourself? Then of course there are also ready-made spore syringes or even handy mushroom grow kits, with which you can grow your own mushrooms in an easier way!