Terms & Abbreviations

HWFP - Hardwood fuel pellets. Available at most hardware stores or feed stores,
used in pellet stoves for heating. One of the easiest and most basic fruiting
substrates that still yields good results.
SBH - Soybean hull (usually pellets.) As above. Frequently used as livestock feed.
Part of many popular fruiting substrate formulations in conjunction with
hardwood fuel pellets.
Lime - Usually when people talk about lime they mean hydrated lime (calcium
hydroxide.) As long as it’s calcium hydroxide AND has low magnesium, you’re
good!
Lipa - Refers to a technique of pasteurizing fuel pellets with boiling water and
keeping them insulated so they retain their heat long enough to be pasteurized.
PC - Pressure cooker / pressure canner. A pressure vessel, usually used on a
stovetop, that can reach and maintain 15 PSI. Many electric “Instant Pot” style
appliances can’t reach 15 PSI (and are also generally pretty small.)
PDYA/PDA/MEA/MEYA/etc - These mostly refer to agar recipes. PDA is potato
dextrose agar, PDYA is potato dextrose yeast agar, MEA is malt extract agar, and
so on. Agar recipes generally consist of the agar agar itself, to which are added
nutrients and other substances to encourage mycelium growth.
LME - Light malt extract. Used for making agar formulations and often also used
for liquid culture broth.
GE - Gas exchange. Refers to the slow diffusion of gases through a filter medium
of some kind (filter patch, tightly stuffed poly filling, etc.) while mycelium is
colonizing. Not to be confused with...
FAE - Fresh air exchange. Much more than gas exchange, this refers to the
frequent exchanges of fresh air into the growing space to keep CO2 levels down
and prevent stunted mushroom growth.
LC - Liquid culture. Living mushroom mycelium in a liquid nutrient solution. Not
to be confused with spore syringes. Liquid culture can be used to directly
inoculate grain spawn or agar, but is generally not effective inoculating wood or
sawdust.
G2G - Grain to grain. Refers to inoculating a large amount of grain with a smaller
amount of grain to produce more grain spawn.
“Grow bags” - Unless talking about straw, this typically refers to gusseted
polypropylene bags with a patch of filter material near the top to provide gas
exchange. The filter is generally either 0.5 or 0.2 microns. Various sizes are
available, Unicorn is a popular manufacturer.
Straw log - A section of plastic tubing, usually from a roll, stuffed with straw
(mixed with spawn) and sealed. Regularly spaces holes are poked for ventilation.
Martha - A generic 4-tier mini greenhouse. Many brands exist and almost all of
them will work suitably.
Bucket fogger - A humidity-generating system that usually involves a large (5
gallon) bucket, an ultrasonic mist maker, a fan, and some plumbing to move the
fog to where it’s needed.
Plugs/plug spawn/dowel spawn - 5/16” x 1” dowel pins inoculated with
mushroom mycelium. They are generally pounded into holes drilled in suitable
logs and sealed over with wax for log-style growing.
Grain spawn - Hydrated, sterilized grains (often rye but others are used), fully
colonized with mycelium. Useful to inoculate fruiting substrates such as sawdust
or straw. Not suitable to inoculate logs.
WBS - Wild bird seed. A mixture of millet, wheat, sunflower seeds, and others
depending on formulation. Corn is generally avoided due to becoming sticky after
hydration. Sometimes used for grain spawn.
Sawdust spawn - Generally a grow bag (see above) full of colonized sawdust. Can
be used to inoculate outdoor beds, plug logs (a special tool is required), or many
species can be fruited directly from sawdust.
Flow hood - In this case specifically refers to a horizontal-style laminar flow
hood. Both pre-fabricated and DIY units generally consist of a filter module (very
high quality HEPA module, ideally 99.99% at 0.3 microns) inside a plenum
(wooden box) with a furnace-style blower fan flowing into the box. This is used to
produce a stream of sterile air to work in front of to prevent contamination,
especially when doing agar work or tissue culturing.
SAB - Still-air box. A clear plastic tote (or other constructed enclosure) with two
holes for arms but otherwise enclosed to reduce air movement and thereby
reduce contamination. Not to be confused with a glove box, which has
permanently attached gloves at the arm holes, which can actually worsen air
currents inside the box.