Common Mushroom Abbreviations and Terms

Master the language of the lab. Every craft has its own secret language.

Fresh Air Exchange: Replacing CO2-heavy air with fresh oxygen to signal mushrooms it's time to grow.

Still Air Box: A simple, unventilated container used to create a pocket of calm, clean air for sterile work.

Technique: A specific method or recipe for a mycological task.

Fuck Around Find Out: The experimental heart of the mushroom lab. Discovery through doing.

Spawn to Bulk: The process of mixing colonized grain spawn into a larger volume of substrate.

Polypropylene: Heat-resistant plastic (recycling code 5) that can withstand high-temperature sterilization.

Light Malt Extract: A sugar source derived from barley, used in both beer-making and mycology.

Self-Healing Injection Port: A silicone port that allows syringe access and reseals itself automatically.

Fan Filter Unit: A device used to provide a stream of HEPA-filtered air for sterile lab work.

PC: Pressure Cooker (15 PSI). ISO: Isopropyl Alcohol (70% is what you want. Have 99%? make 70% with an online calculator).

Break and Shake: a process of redistributing the mycelium in a container to speed up colonization times in grain
Monokaryon: A single-spore culture with only one set of genetic instructions.
Dikaryon: A mated culture capable of producing fruit.
Karyogamy: The final alchemical fusion of two monokaryons into a fruiting monoculture.
Inoculate: To implant microorganisms or infectious material into a culture medium.
KISS (keep it simple stupid): Dont overthink things. Fungi want to grow do your best to keep away competition until it is healthy enough and it will excel in almost any environment.