Preparing the mycelium

Seeds overgrown with mycelium and ready for spawning
The most important goal of a technologist on the next stage is to control the quality of mycelium. The seeds' growth rate, their color, smell, the bags' integrity and the presence of areas infected by various diseases – are the parameters that help determine if the mycelium is suited for spawning. If any defects are found in a bag of mycelium that is ready for spawning like sour smell, the presence of green mold, a change in color, and various mechanical damages of the bag – then it is risky to use this mycelium. Usually, the quality of mycelium produced on specialized farms is pretty high and that relaxes the technologists. As a result, they don't always carefully check the mycelium before spawning. Mycelium coming form the manufacturers is rarely defected, but it could easily get ruined at storage time. This could happen when the mycelium is stored by the dealer before it is sold, or in the mushroom production industry itself.

It's rather unadvisable to use low-quality mycelium for spawning, even if you have to reduce the spawning standard of the remaining good mycelium. Especially when the mycelium arrives defected, the manufacturers eagerly replace the low-quality batch with a new one.

Mycelium that has been stored for a long period of time overgrows forming a pretty thick mass. Before spawning this mycelium it should be shook until it's friable, and breaking the lumps of mycelium not damaging the bag and to injure the seeds as little as possible.