First successful harvest — what I learned and what I'd do differently
67 replies · Cultivation
I just harvested my first successful flush after 3 failed attempts. The difference was almost entirely in substrate preparation and contamination prevention. I want to document what I learned for others starting out — because the mistakes I made are very predictable.
The most common beginner mistake: impatience with sterilization. I cut my pressure cooking time short in attempts 1 and 2 — 'it's probably fine after 60 minutes.' It wasn't. Grain spawn that's understerilized looks clean initially, then develops Trichoderma at 30-40% colonization. The full 90 minutes is not conservative advice — it's the minimum.
What changed in my successful attempt: 1. Full 90 min PC at 15 PSI 2. Full 24-hour cool before inoculation (previously I rushed at 6 hours) 3. Built a still air box — previously I had been inoculating on a clean table. Huge difference. 4. Swabbed everything with IPA more thoroughly Contamination rate dropped from 80% to 0% across 8 jars.
Fruiting trigger: I didn't know that after full colonization, I needed to change conditions to trigger pinning. Moved the colonized tub from 78°F incubation area to 70°F room, increased FAE, maintained 90% humidity. First pins appeared within 5 days. Without the environmental shift, my second attempt sat fully colonized for 3 weeks with nothing happening.
Harvesting timing: I harvested too late on my first flush. The veil should be just beginning to tear — not fully open caps. Late harvesting allows spores to drop (makes everything black), reduces potency (psilocybin content peaks pre-veil tear), and can trigger aborts on subsequent pins. Harvest when the veil between the cap edge and stem is just beginning to separate.
63 more replies — forum posting coming soon.