The Pros And Cons That Come With Growing Penis Envy Mushrooms
Penis Envy Mushrooms are a magic mushroom growers dream due to the potency and weight of their fruiting bodies. However, there are still pros and cons that come with growing Penis Envy Mushrooms, as with anything really. The main downside or ‘con’ in learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms is that they are one of the most difficult P. Cubensis varieties to cultivate. One downside, most likely due to their physical characteristics, is that Penis Envy Mushrooms drop very few spores. Therefore, a home or commercial cultivator would need quite a few Penis Envy Mushrooms in order to collect enough spores to produce a viable spore print or syringe. Another con is the fact that this genetic line has been artificially selected, leaving Penis Envy Mushrooms less resistant to contamination. Most likely, this species would not have survived in nature, as they typically take about 25% longer to colonize and pin. Penis Envy Mushrooms have a pin rate that is around half of that of other magic mushroom varieties. They also need specialized conditions for the incubation stage. Such examples would be the addition of a casing layer, as well as a substrate with higher moisture-content.
On the other side of the coin though, a ‘pro’ to learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms is that they offer the benefit of getting the most out of your substrate. Penis Envy varieties tend to pull out of the substrate much easier than other strains. Therefore, preventing the grower from having to decimate the casing or substrate when pulling out a large flush. Although these types of mushrooms can be grown on birthing cakes (not well though), they are best suited using a bulk application. Growth Parameters are the same as any P. Cubensis, but harvesting can prove to be a little bit different. Unlike other strains, when the Penis Envy Mushroom caps break their veil, they are not yet ready to be harvested. After the veil is torn for mature mushrooms, a waiting period of 3 to 5 days is recommended.
Known Penis Envy Mushroom Strains That Can Be Grown
Even with their origin still a mystery, there are several known Penis Envy Mushroom strains that can be grown today. (Again, abiding in a legal manner and depending on the area in which you live.) There have been several mycologists and genetics vendors who have performed culture isolation/crossing on the Penis Envy strain, starting in the late 1970s with Stephen Pollock. This has resulted in several distinguishable sub-variants, such as; Albino Penis Envy (Albino PF x Penis Envy cross), Penis Envy #6 (a mutation), Texas Penis Envy (Texas Orange Caps x Penis Envy cross), Penis Envy Uncut (a mutation), and Trans Envy (Transkei x Penis Envy cross). Important to remember, potency among all Penis Envy Mushroom strain varieties is consistently higher than all other Psilocybe Cubensis varieties. Below is a brief description of each:
Albino Penis Envy Mushrooms: this particular mushroom has the milky white coloration of the Albino PF variety, and its caps are sometimes tinged dark blue. Albino Penis Envy mushrooms are also smaller than Penis Envy mushrooms on average.
Penis Envy Uncut Mushrooms: said to be the most potent of all of the Penis Envy varieties, this strain has a couple of unique characteristics. With a distinct physical feature, the Penis Envy Uncut Mushroom Strain has caps that do not open at all, even late in the fruiting bodies maturity. Additionally caps are distinctly darker than the regular Penis Envy strain.
Trans Envy Mushrooms – a variety that have been isolated by a mushroom spore vendor named ‘Spores Lab’. They appear closer to a Transkei Magic Mushroom in appearance, with slender yellow-white stems and medium sized caps. This variety is also slightly less potent than other Penis Envy varieties.
While each of these mutations have slightly different physical characteristics and potencies, the potency among all Penis Envy varieties is consistently higher than all other P. Cubensis varieties. Similar to Golden Teachers Mushrooms, Penis Envy varieties take longer to grow and mature than many other strains. Therefore leaving them with a higher psilocybin concentration than many other strains. In fact, some strains of Penis Envy are twice or three times as powerful as other strains, so be sure of which mushroom you are growing.
How Much Time It Takes To Grow Penis Envy Mushrooms
As with any growing process, enjoying each step without expectation of a perfect timeline is key in having a good experience. With proper preparation and research, however, you should be able to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms within two months. Although nothing is set in stone when it comes to Mother Nature, an approximate timeline in how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms is as follows:
Week 1- Spore inoculation to spore germination.
Week 2- Spore germination or inoculation to complete colonization of the substrate or cake. Week 2 to 4- The start of the fruiting cycle, which can then take about two more weeks.
Week 4 to 6- Once the substrate or cakes turn a blue color, the mushroom fruiting is complete.
All in all, the complete growing cycle for psilocybin mushroom spores takes 4 to 6 weeks from spore inoculation to fruiting harvest. Final mushroom quality and yield depends on how well a grower has monitored and controlled the temperature, humidity, and pests or contaminants. Growing experience and an intuitive feel for the biological rhythms of mushrooms being grown are some of the greatest determining factors for success. Once the basics of a mushrooms growth cycle and needs are understood, a timeline for learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms can be better calculated.
How To Grow Penis Envy Mushrooms Using Their Spores
In learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms, inoculation can be done with their spores using high quality spore prints. A spore print is the powdery deposit obtained by allowing spores of the Penis Envy Mushroom to fall onto a surface underneath. The tricky thing with Penis Envy varieties and their spores, is that their collection is quite more difficult. On average, less than five percent of the Penis Envy Mushrooms drop spores making their availability limited. Collection can be done, however, as an alternate method is used where the person must swab the gills with a sterile q-tip. Once spores are collected or bought, germinating them is the next step in learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms.
Paper Rubbing Penis Envy Mushroom Spores:
- Fold and rub together the Penis Envy Mushrooms spore printed paper so that spores drop onto nutrified agar media. (This method is not the best as concentrated populations of mushroom spores are usually grouped together giving less than desired results.)
Germinating the Penis Envy Mushrooms spores from a print is best done on nutrified agar plates in a glove box setup, as with tissue/agar cloning.
Scalpel And Streaking Penis Envy Mushroom Spores:
- Sterilize a scalpel by passing it through a burning flame, then cooling it in the nutrified agar. This way the scalpel gets covered with a moist and adhesive layer for better Penis Envy mushrooms spores attachment.
- Touch the spore print with the scalpel tip to collect the plentiful mushroom spores.
- Streak the tip into an “S” pattern across the surface of the petri dish.
- 5 to 15 days later, your spores (should) germinate according to the streaking pattern.
- Colonies of germinating spores can then be subcultured into more petri dishes.
Cultivators can also use Penis Envy Mushrooms spores stored in solutions suspended in syringes and vials for their growing desires as well. These are where the spores are re-hydrated using sterile water, and then used to inoculate the growing medium. The advantage of a Penis Envy Mushrooms spore syringe is that this spore water can be used to inoculate the substrate of your choice, giving a higher chance of the spores germinating.
Penis Envy Mushrooms Spores Syringe:
- Start out by sterilizing your water and glass beaker, cover with foil.
- Place the bottle in your pressure cooker and heat it until it reaches 15psi. Once it reaches the desired pressure, lower the temperature and maintain it for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes, turn off heat completely and allow the water to cool to room temperature. If the water is still hot, there is a huge risk of killing the spores. It is easiest to let the water sit overnight.
- Once the water is cool (usually a few hours if not left overnight), sterilize the tweezers and scalpel in a flame.
- Remove the foil, and with your tweezers, take the spore print from its storage and hold it over the opening of the beaker.
- With the scalpel in hand, carefully scrape some of the spores into the water.
- Fill the syringes instantly by placing the tip of the syringe in the water and pulling to fill it up. It is a good idea to empty the syringe back into the beaker, and repeat this process a couple of times. (This will ensure there is a good spread of spores throughout the water.)
- Now that you have a filled syringe you need to leave it at room temperature for 2-3 days so that the Penis Envy Mushrooms spores can fully hydrate.
Inoculation Is A Key Step In Learning How To Grow Penis Envy Mushrooms
Once you learn how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms using spores you have collected or purchased, the next step for your spores is inoculation. This process is the introduction of the Penis Envy spores to the desired substrate, in hopes of producing thriving mycelium. Penis Envy spores do not contain chlorophyll, they feed off substances other than light to gain the nourishment they need to germinate. The variety of mushroom dictates the most suited material as different types of mushroom grow in different materials (the substrate). Suitable materials for a substrate range from sawdust, straw, wooden plugs, to whole grains. Although Penis Envy mushrooms can be grown on birthing cakes (not well though), they are best suited using a bulk application. Blending together the Penis Envy Mushrooms spores and the nutrients provided by the suited substance is known as the spawn. The spawn is key, as it allows the mycelium to develop. And the mycelium is the fungus from which mushrooms emerge during fruiting. When the spawn is mixed with a substrate fruiting tends to be more vigorous and mushrooms are more plentiful. Penis Envy mushrooms tend to grow more slowly than other members of their species, and take longer to fruit. But this unique characteristic also allows the Penis Envy fruiting bodies to develop more psilocybin than faster-growing strains. Plus, Penis Envy varieties tend to pull out of the substrate much easier than other strains. Therefore, preventing the grower from having to decimate the casing or substrate when pulling out a large flush. Growth Parameters are the same for Penis Envy Mushrooms as any P. Cubensis strain, but harvesting can prove to be a little bit different. Unlike other strains, when the Penis Envy Mushroom caps break their veil, they are not yet ready to be harvested. After the veil is torn for mature mushrooms, a waiting period of 3 to 5 days is recommended.
How To Grow Penis Envy Mushrooms From A Grow Kit
Using a psilocybin grow kit for cultivation basically cuts out all the options and steps listed above. In the purest sense, when learning how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms, you basically need a mycelium substrate and a hospitable environment for the mycelium to thrive. The mycelium is simply the underlying fungus that grows into your edible fruiting body mushrooms. Because growing kits include the mycelium and a grow box, it makes the growing process very easy and straightforward-they already include almost everything you need, and you can grow without spores. Typically, a Penis Envy Mushrooms grow kit will include: a substratum containing living mycelium, transparent grow bag with an air filter, and two paper clips. Using a psilocybin grow kit has benefits because the development of the mushroom spores into the mycelium has already been done in a sterile laboratory. The mushrooms have not yet grown inside the kit because the mycelium is in a hibernation stage due to the cold environment. However, when using growing kits there is a potential risk of contamination, lack of consistency, and even fake products. A trusted and reputable source of Penis Envy Mushrooms grow kits, such as FungusHead, is the best option for successful harvest results. Whichever you choose in how to grow Penis Envy Mushrooms, enjoy the magical process!
