SHROOMFOLK

ALL-IN-ONE GROW BAG: DUNG LOVERS (BAG ONLY)

Pioppino and other dung-loving species

Your Bag Only Kit Contains

✓ All-in-One Grow Bag     Sterile rye grain (bottom layer)     CVG substrate (top layer) ✓ Agar Tester

✘ Alcohol wipes (you supply) ✘ Nitrile gloves (you supply) ✘ Spray mister (you supply) ✘ Culture syringe (sold separately)

What You Will Need

•  70% isopropyl alcohol and clean wipes •  Nitrile gloves •  A face mask  if you have one •  A liquid culture or spore syringe

•  A spray mister •  Distilled water  never tap water •  Clean scissors  only if you cut the bag •  A clear plastic tote  only if you cut the bag

This is the bag on its own. Have the list above to hand before you cut anything open, because once the bag is unsealed you do not want to be hunting for gloves. The last two are only needed if you go with Method 2 at fruiting.

 

 

 

 

Your bag has two layers. Inject ONLY into the lower grain layer through the bottom injection port.

⚠  CRITICAL WARNINGS •  Not for oyster, lion’s mane or reishi. These are wood lovers and will not fruit properly on this CVG substrate. Use our Wood Lovers AIO kit for those. •  Never inject into the substrate layer. Only the rye grain layer accepts liquid culture •  Always wear PPE. Re-sanitize gloves before handling •  Never open the bag during colonization. This introduces contamination •  Use only sterile or distilled water. Tap water contains contaminants

1

PRE-INOCULATION PREP

 

•     Clean your work surface thoroughly with 70% isopropyl alcohol.

•     Put on nitrile gloves. Wear a face mask if available.

•     Wipe the injection port on the bag with an alcohol wipe.

•     Have your culture syringe, agar tester, alcohol, gloves and bag ready before proceeding.

Work in a still, draft-free room. Turn off fans and close windows.

2	AGAR TESTING (MANDATORY)

 

Test your culture BEFORE injecting into your kit. This protects your investment.

 

•     Shake your liquid culture syringe vigorously for 30 seconds.

•     Inject exactly 0.5ml (about 3 drops) onto the agar tester surface.

•     Seal the agar tester and store at 75-80°F for 3-5 days.

 

✔  HEALTHY: Proceed Pure white, fluffy growth radiating from the drop points. No discoloration.		✘  CONTAMINATED: Discard Any green, black, pink, or yellow colors. Sour smell. Slimy or wet patches.
⚠️	If your agar test shows contamination, DO NOT inject into your kit. Contact your culture supplier for a replacement.

A healthy plate is a live culture, not a throwaway test. Keep it. You can use it to inoculate grain tubs or grain bags and expand it into as much spawn as you want. Refills are at shroomfolk.com.

 

3	INOCULATION

 

•     Shake the liquid culture syringe vigorously for 30 seconds to break up and distribute the mycelium.

•     Wipe the injection port closest to the BOTTOM of the bag with a fresh alcohol wipe.

•     Insert the syringe needle through the bottom injection port.

 

⚠️	INJECT INTO THE GRAIN LAYER ONLY. The needle should reach into the rye grain at the bottom of the bag. Never inject into the substrate layer on top.

 

•     Slowly inject 5-10ml of liquid culture, moving the needle as you go so the culture lands in several places rather than one puddle. With a spore syringe, use the high end of that range and spread it over as many points as you can reach.

The volume is deliberate. Dung-loving species are slower to take hold than wood lovers, so a heavy, well-spread inoculation gets ahead faster and leaves contamination a much smaller window. It is also your best protection against a culture that stalls.

4	COLONIZATION

 

•     Place the bag in a dark environment such as a closet or cabinet.

•     Store in complete darkness at 70-75°F (21-24°C).

•     DO NOT OPEN the bag during colonization. The filter patch handles gas exchange.

•     Check progress every few days by looking through the bag. Do not open it.

 

LIQUID CULTURE 3-5 weeks to break and shake

SPORE SYRINGE 5-7 weeks to break and shake

These are the times to reach break and shake, not to finish. Go by what you see through the bag rather than by the calendar. Spore takes longest on grain, and a slow culture can add a couple of weeks without anything being wrong.

 

5	BREAK & SHAKE

 

This is the step that makes the kit fast. Left alone, the grain colonizes the substrate slowly, creeping out from one contact surface. Breaking it up and mixing it through puts hundreds of growth points into the substrate at once, and the bag finishes in a fraction of the time.

 

When to do it: Once 50-70% of the grain layer has gone white. This is a visual call, not a calendar one. Roughly 3-5 weeks with liquid culture and 5-7 weeks with a spore syringe, but if the grain is visibly mostly colonized, it is ready.

 

How to do it: Work through the sealed bag and never open it. Knead the substrate layer first, until it breaks loose and moves freely. Then keep kneading, working the grain up into the loosened substrate so the two begin to blend. Once everything is moving, shake the bag to finish distributing the grain through the substrate.

Do not skip the kneading and go straight to shaking. A packed substrate will not take the grain, and all you will do is compress it against the block.

 

 

•     After mixing, lay the bag flat and spread the contents evenly.

•     Return the bag to darkness at 70-75°F.

•     Allow the bag to fully colonize. The entire contents should appear bright white with no uncolonized patches.

 

⚠️	Do NOT open the bag during this process. All mixing happens through the sealed bag.

 

6	FRUITING & HARVESTING

 

Once the bag is 100% colonized (all white, no brown patches visible), it is time to trigger fruiting.

 

  METHOD 1: LEAVE IT SEALED  (recommended)

The bag is never opened. It fruits inside the sealed bag, breathing through the filter patch.

 

A. Move the bag: Move the fully colonized bag somewhere at 70-74°F (21-23°C) with indirect light on a 12-hour on and off cycle.

B. Let it grow: Simply lower the temperature, provide the light cycle, and let the mushrooms grow naturally. The filter patch provides adequate air exchange.

Advantage: Nothing from your room ever touches the substrate. No cutting, no daily misting, no humidity vessel, and nothing you can do wrong. This is the lowest-risk way to fruit the kit.

Trade-off: CO2 builds up behind the filter patch, so pinning can be slow or may not happen at all. Stems can stretch. You may wait two weeks to find out.

 

If nothing has pinned after about two weeks, move to Method 2. You can always cut a sealed bag later. You cannot uncut one.

 

  METHOD 2: CUT THE TOP  (faster, but the risk moves to you)

Cutting the bag open floods it with fresh air, which is what dung lovers need to pin properly.

 

A. Cut the top: Using clean scissors, cut the top seal off the bag to make a large opening. Do this in a still room with the fans off and the windows closed. From the moment you cut, your room air is in contact with the substrate, and that is the single biggest risk in the whole process.

B. Mist daily: Mist the inside of the bag at least once a day with a spray mister, filled with distilled water. Mist the walls and the bag interior, not the mushrooms themselves. Water sitting on pins makes them abort.

C. Maintain humidity: You will most likely want a humidity vessel. A clear plastic tote works well: set the whole bag inside it. If you would rather not, fold the cut opening loosely to make a tent. Without one of the two, an open bag dries out fast.

Advantage: A large jump in fresh air exchange. Pinning is usually faster, more even, and the mushrooms come out better formed.

Trade-off: The bag is open to your room from here on. It commits you to daily misting and, in most homes, to a humidity vessel. Every contamination risk from this point is one you control.

 

⚠️	Once you cut the bag open, daily misting is mandatory. An open bag dries out fast.

 

Conditions to Maintain

TEMPERATURE 70-74°F

HUMIDITY 85-95%

LIGHT 12hr/day (indirect)

 

When to Harvest

•     Caps have fully uncurled and opened but have NOT yet dropped spores (dark powder on the surface).

•     Stems feel firm and solid, not mushy.

•     Harvest by gently twisting and pulling the mushroom at the base. Do not cut.

Multiple Flushes

After harvesting, soak the substrate by carefully pouring distilled water into the bag until the substrate is submerged. Let it sit for 6-12 hours, then carefully drain off the excess water by tilting the bag. Resume fruiting conditions. Most kits produce 2-4 flushes.

 

 

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

 

WHAT YOU SEE	WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT TO DO
The filter patch is wet or damp	Move the bag somewhere clean and still and let the patch dry on its own. It works again once it is dry. Do not wipe it and do not tape over it.
Mushrooms pinning down the sides of the bag instead of the top	Wrap rubber bands around the bag at the sides to close that space off. It pushes the fruiting up onto the top surface, where you want it.
Green, blue-green or black patches anywhere in the bag	Mold. Bag it unopened, put it straight in the outside bin, and wash your hands. Do not open it indoors and do not try to cut the patch out.
A sour or wet-sock smell, or grain that looks grey and slimy	Bacterial contamination, usually from a warm storage spot or too much liquid sitting in one place. Discard it.
Nothing at all two to three weeks after injecting	Usually a weak culture, or a room colder than you think. Check the temperature where the bag actually sits rather than the thermostat. This is exactly what the agar test is there to catch.
Fully colonized, but no pins after about two weeks sealed	CO2 has built up behind the filter patch. Move to Method 2 and cut the top.
Pins form, then shrivel or turn brown	Aborts, from drying out or from being misted directly. Mist the walls, keep the humidity up, and do not let the surface dry out between mistings.
The bag arrived puffed up, or the substrate looks dark and wet before you have done anything	Do not inoculate it. Send a photo to support@shroomfolk.com and we will replace it. That one is on us, not on you.

Not sure which one you are looking at? Photograph it through the bag without opening it and email the picture to support@shroomfolk.com. A bag that is only suspect is worth checking. A bag you have opened is not.

Questions? Email support@shroomfolk.com