Two pounds of hydrated whole oats, sterilized and sealed in a bag with a self-healing injection port and a 0.2-micron filter patch. No soaking, no simmering, no pressure cooker. Inject through the port and let it run.

Inoculated with about 3 ml of liquid culture and kept at 68 to 75 °F, a bag fully colonizes in about 2 to 3 weeks.

Why oats

I've run oats and rye side by side for three months across four species, under identical conditions. I tracked colonization time, inoculation efficiency, time to pin, time to first harvest, and harvest weight. Oats came out slightly ahead. They're also forgiving: whole oats hold up to handling and small moisture swings without breaking down, which makes for resilient spawn.

Why 2 lb

Every bag is 2 lb on purpose. It colonizes quickly and never packs so tight that the center goes anaerobic. Need more spawn? Run more bags, not bigger ones.

Good for

• Spawning bulk substrate: one bag inoculates about 10 lb of prepared bulk substrate, or about 4 to 5 bags of 5 lb supplemented sawdust

• Inoculating with liquid culture or colonized grain

• Most species of fungi

• Keeping a few bags on the shelf so you're ready when a culture is

What you get

• 2 lb hydrated whole oats

• Self-healing injection port

• 0.2-micron filter patch for gas exchange

• Made to order, ships within 48 hours

How to use

1. When it arrives, set the bag on a shelf for 24 hours and look it over.

2. Inoculate through the port with about 3 ml of liquid culture.

3. Keep it at 68 to 75 °F, out of direct light, until fully colonized.

Storage

Unopened, at 68 to 75 °F and out of direct light, a bag stays hydrated and ready to inoculate for at least 3 months. That's why most growers keep a few on hand: multi-packs are the better value per bag, and orders over $35 ship free.

Prepped by one set of hands

I grow on the same bags I sell. Every one is made to order in my lab and held to the standard I use for my own grows.

My guarantee

If a bag shows contamination before you inoculate it, send me a photo. You choose: a free replacement or a refund. Once a bag is inoculated, what goes into it is out of my hands, so the guarantee covers the bag as it arrives. If something goes wrong after that, email me anyway. I'll help you work out what happened.