How to Make a Spore Syringe
Propagating your own mushrooms is as simple as taking a syringe full of spore samples and placing them on a growing medium. How you get the spore samples is the tricky part, however. Gathering mushroom spores isn't too difficult --- keeping them sterile is. Extreme care must be taken to keep the spores in a sterile environment so they don't try to grow in the storage syringe. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Paper towel
- 3-by-5 notecard
- Latex gloves
- Mushroom caps
- Butter knife
- Distilled water
- Lighter
- Shot glass
- Sterile syringe
Instructions
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1
Sterilize a 3-by-5 notecard by wiping it with a paper towel dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
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2
Put on a pair of latex gloves and set a mushroom cap, gill side down, on the notecard. Let this card sit for at least 24 hours so the cap deposits spores on the sterile card.
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3
Sterilize a shot glass and butter knife with isopropyl alcohol.
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4
Put on a pair of latex gloves and scrape the spores from the index card into the shot glass with a butter knife.
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5
Fill the shot glass with distilled water. This will create a suspension for the spores to float in so they can be sucked up into the syringe.
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6
Distill the syringe by pulling isopropyl alcohol into it and then ejecting it. Follow this by filling and ejecting the syringe with distilled water twice.
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7
Sterilize the end of the syringe with a lighter by holding it in the flame for at least 3 seconds.
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8
Insert the syringe into the suspension in the shot glass and pull back the plunger on the syringe to pull the spores in.
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Tips & Warnings
Let the spores float in the suspension inside of the syringe for at least 24 hours before trying to deposit them on a growing medium. This will give the spores time to rehydrate.
References
- Photo Credit Blue Jean Images/Photodisc/Getty Images
