My First Mushroom Kit: Psilocybe cubensis | EDABEA SL

Psilocybe cubensis

I have been a user of psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin or 4-PO-DMT) for over fifteen years. During my teenage years, I took them quite frequently, and over time I have spaced out my consumption to limit it to four or five times a year.

From my perspective, psilocybin is one of the most magical substances that nature has gifted us. While some psychonauts consider psilocybes to be a "lightweight" entheogen compared to mescaline or synthetic psychedelics like LSD, I don’t entirely agree.

First, as with any substance, it highly depends on the dose and the type of mushroom you consume. In this case, I will focus on psilocybe cubensis, as it is the one I know most thoroughly.

Although this table cannot be extrapolated to others, it can serve as a reference. I always talk about dried psilocybes cubensis. I am approximately 1.78 m tall and weigh 70 kg:

• 1.5 g: a gentle and pleasant trip, full of laughter and slight distortions. Ideal for people who have never tried them before.
• 2.5 g: we start playing in another league. Visual distortions increase significantly, as do auditory ones. Compulsive, erratic, or nonsensical behaviors may occur. It is crucial not to lose calm and go with the flow.
• 3.5 g or more: only for experienced psychonauts. You may experience a loss of the "self". That which some psychonauts call "ego". The user may "disconnect" for periods that vary considerably from person to person and lose contact with reality. Personally, I haven’t taken these amounts for a long time.

Secondly, it will depend greatly on the individual, their state of mind, the context, the people accompanying them on the journey, etc.

So, after all these years, I finally decided to grow a kit of my wonderful cubensis, and the result was excellent.

PROCESS

I will now briefly explain the process I followed:

• I hydrated the cultivation kit with mineral water. (100% mycelium kits do not need to be hydrated before fruiting the first time)
• I took the substrate container out.
• I opened the lid of the container.
• I covered the top layer completely with water.
• I let it absorb.
• I uncovered the container from one corner and drained the excess water until nothing remained.
• I closed it, and everything was ready for fruiting.

Later, I discovered that there is not just one way to carry out the fruiting, so I propose two:

Fruiting in a bag:

• I opened the bag and placed the container inside.
• I uncovered the container and kept the lid.
• I folded the bag at the tip and secured it with clips.

Fruiting in a mini greenhouse (like cannabis cloners):

• I needed: mineral water, a thermohygrometer, a mini greenhouse with ventilation holes, and the substrate container.
• I filled the greenhouse with water.
• I took the already hydrated substrate container out.
• I uncovered the container and kept the lid.
• I placed the greenhouse lid with the ventilation open and introduced the thermohygrometer cable inside the greenhouse.
• Suitable conditions: 16 hours of direct light, 23 to 28°C, and 70 to 90% humidity.

Next, I will summarize what happened during the following days:

• On the ninth day, the primordia started to sprout (although I was told it could have taken longer).
• When the mushrooms covered practically the entire surface of the kit, I made the first harvest, about two weeks after starting the process (it is essential that the caps do not open and release spores in the cultivation if you want to refruit):
• I needed: a sprayer with water, a container to place the chopped mushrooms in, and a pair of sterilized latex gloves.
• I uncovered the greenhouse and placed the container where we should put the harvested mushrooms.
• I held the mushrooms by the base and twisted to detach them from the substrate.
• I did the same for the whole kit.
• To refruit, once the kit is clean, I rehydrated with the sprayer and repeated the whole process (the harvest or upcoming harvests were less abundant).

Before finishing, I would like to clarify that in this article I only recount my personal experience and in no moment encourage the reader to carry out these practices.

What is essential is to conduct a risk control regarding these substances and bear in mind what they are, how they work, and the dangers they entail. Some scientists have warned that, even though there is no direct connection between different psychiatric disorders and entheogens, these substances can act as a trigger for a latent pathology. The substance does not cause schizophrenia, for example, but may act as a trigger, just like traumatic experiences do.

There is no doubt that when a person decides to take an entheogen, whatever it may be, the best thing they can do is get informed.

Article by Germán Carrera