Inoculating Jars of Prepared Grain

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Grain Spawn Inoculation

Here is a list of the items needed to carry out this procedure:

Jars of prepared substrate
Spore syringe(s)
Bottle of rubbing alcohol
Paper towel
Pen marker
A very hot flame! (an alcohol lamp, de-natured alcohol and a shotglass, a torch lighter, etc...)

You will need to create a hot enough flame to sterilize the needle tip between inoculations or jars. For this app, an alcohol lamp is considered ideal. However, if you don't have one handy then you can compromise by using a shotglass (or similar glass object that will prove to be highly-resiliant to heat). For the process captured in the movie below, I chose a glass lid belonging to a cooking pot.

However, I prefer to use the good ol' crack (torch) lighter since it's most convenient, efficient and safe to use. I have also noticed that it reaches a higher temperature in a shorter amount of time when compared to an alcohol burner. Here's a pic of the crack torch in action:

The procedure for inoculating a jar is as follows:

1) Shake the syringe very well to agitate the spore solution within the cylinder. Check to make sure that any air bubbles are worked out of the cylinder.

2) Flame or sterilize the tip of the needle.

3) Remove the tape covering the hole in the lid and carefully insert the tip of the needle into the hole. ( steps 2 and 3 are done at the same time so the needle is still sterile when it reaches the inside of the jar.)

4) Aiming for the sides of the glass (directly above the grain), squeeze the spore solution into the jar while rotating the syringe needle around the inner jar in a circular fashion making sure to spread the solution out around the whole circumference of the jar. You will need to pay close attention not to go over 2-3 cc's per jar. You can position the syringe in your hand so that you are able to read the markings better. It may help to draw markings on the cylinder with a pen to help serve as a guide. Eventually, you should be able to just go by "feel" and come suprisingly close to the mark every time

5) pull the syringe out of the jar and recover with the tape as rapidly as possible.

6) wipe the syringe clean with an alcohol-saturated towel and set aside.

7) Mark the jar with a pen to indicate the necessary information for your reference. I usually use the following format for my jars:


Strain/Variety: GT
How many in the batch: 1 of 5
date of inoculation: 12/02
transfer or syringe: SS (spore syringe)

Now, just repeat the process for each jar until you are done.

That's it! The jars are now ready for incubation.

To continue on to the incubation procedure, click on the following link:

Incubation Chamber

Edited by Mycotek on Dec. 26 2001,01:25

Nan's Nook Jar Incubation Info