Liquid culture vs spore syringe — when should you use which?

Spore syringes: easier to acquire legally (spores don't contain psilocybin), no culture maintenance required, appropriate for initial germination from wild or vendor genetics. Downsides: longer colonization time because spores first have to germinate before mycelial growth begins; higher contamination risk during the germination window; no way to verify what you're inoculating from.

Liquid culture: mycelium is already germinated and growing in sterile liquid medium, so inoculation time is dramatically shorter; you can visually verify mycelial growth in the LC before inoculating your substrate; a single well-made LC can inoculate many jars cheaply. Downsides: requires sterile preparation or purchasing from a vendor; culture can crash if contaminated; requires a pressure cooker for DIY.

My workflow: use spore syringes to make agar plates, clone the best growth from plates to LC, then use LC for all substrate inoculations. One initial spore syringe can theoretically supply unlimited LC inoculations from quality genetics. Once you've made this switch you won't go back to direct syringe inoculation of grain.