The Piopinno aka Black Poplar Mushroom
Agrocybe aegerita / Cyclocybe aegerita
Liquid Culture Syringe

~Harwood lover
~Easy to cultivate
~Commercially viable

A beloved, delicious, versatile edible species, piopinno is truly a crowd-pleaser. Fast growing and adapted to a wide variety of wood types, it is a must-have for both hobbyists and commercial mushroom farms. It produces consistently large flushes within a 3-4 weeks of inoculation into wood-based substrates. The subtle, nutty flavor compliments nearly any dish, and the classic morphology and crunchy texture make it appealing even to the least adventurous dinner guests.

A delightfully responsive, graceful culture, this strain readily fruits from agar plates and produces large clusters of mushrooms on cased, supplemented sawdust blocks. This strain is my favorite isolation from spore prints gathered from fruitbodies that grew outside of my lab's exhaust air vent. It shows a preference for alder, which is my preference also, but has had no trouble finding a good time with many other woods, including birch, willow, cottonwood and maple. It is such a fun and rewarding experience to work with this species that I am working on some simple, self-contained grow-at-home kits I hope to have listed here soon.

This item is a 10cc syringe of fresh, vigorous liquid culture. It comes with a sterile needle, an alcohol swab, a brief instruction guide and a free Fungaia button!

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Liquid culture is the most affordable, consistent, convenient and efficient way to produce mushroom spawn at home, without any specialized equipment. We have developed our own unique fermentation process, and our liquid cultures contain 10x more mycelium than with usual methods. With a wide array of nutrients, this live culture has remarkable long-term stability. We brew fresh batches constantly and maintain a small inventory for the fastest possible fulfillment.

Liquid culture is a slurry of pure mushroom mycelium in water. It is made by vigorously fermenting a mushroom culture in a nutritious broth with constant agitation, which induces a frenzy of new growth. The result is pure leading-edge mycelium with thousands of tiny, free-floating cellular clusters per gram. (The leading edge of mycelium contains the highest number of hyphal tips, which are the locus of growth, where all the magic happens.)

Liquid culture syringes are most often used to inoculate sterilized grain in jars or bags fitted with injection ports, which can be purchased or easily made at home. (Include a DIY grow bag kit with your liquid culture for just $1!) A single 10cc syringe can inoculate about 6 quart jars (about 5 lbs. / 2 kg) of grain spawn, which can then be expanded by several orders of magnitude, ultimately to produce hundreds of pounds of mushrooms. It can also be used to start petri dishes, cardboard spawn or more liquid culture.

We verify every batch redundantly before and after packaging to ensure that it is pure, healthy and free of contaminants. While liquid culture is best used fresh, it can be stored for months under refrigeration with little decline in vigor.

For more flexible pricing, check out our completely donation-based online store:

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HTTPS://WWW.FUNGAIA.LIFE/SHOP

Cultures, kits, grain spawn, plug spawn, agar plates, custom orders and more!

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Fungaia is a small, donation-based mushroom company in Walla Walla, Washington. With a focus on cloning wild, native and localized edible and medicinal species, our goal is to make mushroom cultivation accessible to first-time and experienced mycophiles alike. All cultures and spawn are grown with utmost care and love.

Instagram: @FUNGAIA.LIFE

Some great resources for mushroom cultivation:

~ Free guides by Fungaia: https://www.fungaia.life/guides

~ Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy

~ Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation by Tradd Cotter

Cover photo courtesy of the Creative Commons.

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GET A FREEBIE

Order any 3 liquid cultures, and get a 4th one free! Tell us which one you'd like in the special instructions when you place your order, or let us surprise you with something we think you'd like.

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS

Fungaia is global! We love to send mushroom mycelium across borders.

Different countries have different rules about importing microorganisms. It can't hurt to check with your country's customs agency to see what species are allowed. We use cold packs to help protect the cultures from extreme temperatures during transit, and purchase insurance on all international shipments. During long-distance travel they may fall dormant, but almost always arrive intact and grow quickly once awakened. We will send a replacement or a refund if there are any problems.

Up to four liquid culture syringes fit in the small package for the best combined shipping rate. If you overpay for Etsy shipping, we will gladly refund the difference.

GUARANTEE

We guarantee all of our products. Thankfully, few things in this world are truly sterile. But when it comes to mushroom cultivation, uninvited guests can easily ruin a good time. We follow strict protocols to ensure that our cultures are vigorous, healthy and free of contaminants, but occasional problems are inevitable. If you find, with reasonable assurance, that any of our products arrived contaminated, punctured, broken or otherwise compromised, we'll promptly replace of refund them.

Fungaia is more than just a job, it is our passion and our dream. We care deeply about the quality and integrity of our work, and are invested in your success. We pride ourselves on our unparalleled customer service, and will do everything we can to help further your pursuits in mushroom cultivation.