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[edit]
2. Too much moisture on the grains[edit]
3. Too much moisture in the substrate[edit]
4. Leaving spawn jars for too long before transferring them[edit]
This starves the organism and cuts contam some slack.
5. Leaving petris in the fridge for long before using them[edit]
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[edit]
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.
