AGAR TO AGAR TRANSFER

Fungus Fanaticus Sterile Agar dishes are a specially formulated mixture of agar and light malt extract designed for fast healthy mycelial growth. The ingredients in the agar mix are food grade, vegan, halal and kosher. 

These dishes are great for birthing spores, culture transfers and tissue cultures for use or for long term storage.

Each container is sealed with parafilm to ensure your dishes stay closed during shipping and for an added barrier against outside contamination. We have also added 12 inches of parafilm to each package of dishes for you to reseal your containers after inoculation.
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During shipping (because of the differences in temperature) your agar might build up some condensation. You might wish to pour this water out during the process of inoculation.

WARNING: Your containers are sterile. Do not open your containers until you are ready to inoculate.

Many steps require disinfectant, I recommend Lysol or a 50/50 solution of water and Rubbing (Isopropal) Alcohol in a spray bottle.
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1. Pressure cook your transfer tools wrapped in foil before use (recommended) or soak your transfer tools in alcohol or other appropriate disinfectant.
2. Wash your hands and arms thoroughly. Wash your hands and arms with disinfectant immediately before doing any spore or culture transfers in to your containers.
3. Clean your work area and the surrounding air with disinfectant.
4. Have a torch, torch lighter or alcohol lamp to flame sterilize tool between spore or culture transfers for each dish.
5. Spray disinfectant up into the air around the room and your work area and wipe it down. The liquid molecules absorb contamination and fall to the floor.  WARNING: Disinfectant can be highly flammable.
6. Wipe your agar dishes with disinfectant.
7. move your spores, mushroom culture, mushroom or syringe you are making your agar culture from into your work area. If it is in a package wipe that with disinfectant.
8. Carefully open your spores or culture.
9. Open one of your agar dishes (there should be an edge sticking up on the parafilm tape to make this easier.) 
10. Flame sterilize your transfer tool (scalpel, hobby knife, inoculation loop or syringe tip) and then touch your agar to cool the tool.
11. For a culture transfer, use your knife to cut some of the living fungus and transfer to your agar dish. For spores, after cooling tool on agar touch your spore print and wipe it on the agar in an S pattern.
12. Close that dish and repeat from step 9 until all desired dishes are innoculated.
13. When finished inoculating all the dishes cut 1 inch strips off your parafilm separate from paper, hold one edge of the tape with thumb and stretch around lid seal.

You have now successfully inoculated your agar dishes. Place your dishes in the proper temperature range for your mushroom and wait. You should see mushroom fungus growing within 2 weeks of inoculation.

Tip: the more agar containers you inoculate the more of a chance you will have a successful, uncontaminated mushroom culture to work from.