Liquid Culture Starter Pack – Build Your Kit & Save Up to 20%
Liquid Culture Starter Pack – Build Your Kit & Save Up to 20% is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
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Description
Description
Everything you need to make liquid culture at home, built around Myco Labs Culture Blend Liquid Culture Premix (Formula 15), the dry version of the broth our own lab has used and refined for 15 years. Pick the gear you need, skip what you already own, and the more you keep, the more you save. Requires a pressure cooker (not included) to sterilize the broth.
- Up to 20%off the kit
- 6 itemspick what you need
- 3+ gallonsof LC per pouch
- 6 jarslids and stir bars included
- 4,000 RPMmagnetic stir plate
How the savings work
Use the selector above to add items. Already have a stir plate or a box of syringes? Leave it out. Your discount is based on how many items are in the kit:
| Items in your kit | You save |
|---|---|
| 3 items | 10% off |
| 4–5 items | 15% off |
| All 6 items | 20% off |
What's in the kit
- Culture Blend LC Premix, 250 g: a pre-measured mix of extra light malt extract, dextrose, soy peptone and our nutrient and mineral blend. One pouch makes over 3 US gallons of liquid culture broth.
- Magnetic Stir Plate, 4,000 RPM: keeps your culture moving so mycelium breaks up and grows evenly. Comes with 2 stir bars.
- Magnetic Stir Rods, 5-pack: 1.2" smooth PTFE bars. With the 2 that come with the plate, you have one for every jar.
- Wide Mouth Jar Lids with Injection Port, 6-pack: self-healing injection ports let you inoculate and draw culture without opening the jar.
- 10cc Luer Lock Syringes, 5-pack: sterile syringes for drawing finished culture and inoculating grain.
- 1.5" 16G Sterile Needles, 5-pack: fit the Luer lock syringes for injecting through ports and into grain jars or spawn bags.
A pressure cooker. Liquid culture broth must be sterilized at 15 PSI for 30 minutes before you inoculate it. Boiling or baking will not sterilize it, and unsterilized broth will contaminate. The Presto 23 Quart is our go-to starter cooker, and the Bonsai 25Q electric sterilizer runs the cycle automatically.
Wide-mouth mason jars. The lids fit any standard wide-mouth jar. Quart jars filled about halfway are the most common choice.
From pouch to finished culture
- Weigh 19.4 g of Culture Blend per US quart of water (9.7 g per pint) and dissolve it in hot water.
- Let the broth cool, fill your jars about halfway, drop in a stir bar, and screw on the injection-port lids.
- Sterilize the jars in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes at 15 PSI, then let them cool completely to room temperature.
- Inoculate through the port with 3–5 cc of spore solution or liquid culture, or add a clean agar wedge.
- Incubate at 76–82°F out of direct light, and run each jar on the stir plate regularly to keep growth even.
- Once the culture is established, draw it into a sterile syringe and inoculate your grain jars or spawn bags.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to buy all six items?
No. Choose only what you need. Add 3 items to save 10%, 4 or 5 items to save 15%, or all 6 to save 20%.
How much liquid culture can I make with this kit?
One 250 g pouch of Culture Blend makes over 3 US gallons of broth, about 12 quart batches or 25 pint batches. The kit includes lids and stir bars for 6 jars running at once.
Do I need a pressure cooker?
Yes. The broth has to be sterilized in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes at 15 PSI before you inoculate it. Boiling it on the stove or heating it in the oven does not get hot enough to sterilize, and contamination will take over the jar. A pressure cooker is not included in this kit.
Are mason jars included?
No. The lids fit any standard wide-mouth mason jar, so you can use jars you already have.
Why use a stir plate for liquid culture?
Stirring breaks mycelium into small fragments and spreads oxygen and nutrients through the broth, so the culture grows faster and more evenly. It also makes the finished culture easier to draw through a needle.
What color should the finished broth be?
Yellow to light amber. Culture Blend is malt-based, so the broth will not be water-clear. That is normal, and it stays clear enough to see mycelium growing.
