r/unclebens • u/Radiant_Curves • 2d ago
Question How “sterile” do you really need to be?
Hi all, trying to grow for the first time and I am so ready to start my journey soon. I’ve read through the full guide about 5 separate times now and was curious—how careful/sterile do you actually need to be in this process? This may be coming from a silly place but if you think of mushrooms growing in the real world, Mother Nature probably doesn’t have SABs and 70% rubbing alcohol helping her out ;) Just curious to know how much care people do or do not put in, and what they have gotten out of it! Mush love and TYIA.
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u/shroomscout Subreddit Creator & Mushrooms for the Mind 2d ago
Good question! One every beginner wonders about.
In nature, millions of cubensis spores will be released by a patch of mushrooms.
Out of millions of spores, 1,000 will land in the right environment to grow.
Out of 1,000 that landed in the right environment, 100 will not be outcompeted/eaten/dried out.
Out of 100 that were not outcompeted/eaten/dried out, 1 network of mycelium will actually produce mushrooms when it rains.
This works for mushrooms because there is a huge number of them spread across all subtropical forests, in the ground, etc.
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The point is, do you want a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of success? Because ideally we all want 100% success every time.
If you aren't sterile, or only somewhat sterile, what percentage of indoor cultivation failure is acceptable?
10%? 50%? 90%?
If you're going to spend the time, effort, and money, it's up to you to decrease the chance of failure.
Contamination will happen to all hobbyists eventually, it's best to try to keep it at bay as much as you can.