Know the enemy: Contam
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Here are some of the ways contam kicked my ass this year:
Contents
1. Too much liquid introduced from an LC
2. Too much moisture on the grains
3. Too much moisture in the substrate
4. Leaving spawn jars for too long before transferring them
This starves the organism and cuts contam some slack.
5. Leaving petris in the fridge for long before using them
Especially when I keep opening the bag to remove 1/2 petris at at time or carrying the bag between the SAB and the fridge.
6. Innoculating a sterile LC with too little mycelium
Innoculating an LC with a largish agar wedge ensures the organism recovers quickly. I find more contamination when doing innoculations with biopsies or tiny agar wedges. Especially with biopsies where I think tiny contams on the mycelium are then on a more equal footing with your own organism.
