Growing shrooms with the PF-Tek method is one of the easiest ways to grow shrooms. Especially if you want high yields. Today, we will explain what it takes to grow shrooms with the PF-Tek method. We do note that it will take a bit of time and that it is way more than growing your shrooms with a growkit.

How does PF-Tek work and what is it?

The PF-Tek method in short means the Psylocybe Fanaticus Technique and has been developed in 1991 by Robert McPherson. This method makes it possible to grow shrooms with at least equipment as possible. This means that you can easily grow shrooms at home as a beginning shroom grower, or as an advanced psychonaut. When you want to grow with the PF-Tek method then you will need different products as you need to colonize the medium. In most cases, this is vermiculite and brown rice flour. This type of rice doesn’t have any spores and makes it easier for the mycelium to colonize the medium. As soon as it is colonized you will call it the cake. This cake is then placed in the fruiting chamber (a filter jar with a filter bag), and now is it time to play the waiting game to grow shrooms.

What do I need with the PF-Tek method?

To grow shrooms with the PF-Tek method you will need the following items:

• Filter bag
• Filter jar 1200cc (fruiting chamber)
• Small plastic jars made from Polypropylene
• A liquid culture of your choosing
• Vermiculite
• Brown rice flour
• Water
• Aluminum foil
• A mouth mask
• Clean hand shoes

As always make sure that you work clean as you don’t want contamination during the whole process. Work therefore always with a mouth mask and hand shoes. With this method, you can make up to 4 jars.

The preparation of the PF-Tek method

Fill a bowl with vermiculite (600ml) and rice flour (160ml) in a bowl and mix carefully with a spoon. Pour in a bit of water and mix. Make sure that you don’t use too much otherwise, it will be too wet and will ruin the growing process in later stages. Mix it, so the vermiculite is covered with rice flour. Fill the small plastic jars with the medium (about 1 to 1,5cm) under the lid and make sure that the edges are clean. Fill the upper 1cm with dry vermiculite. Cover the jar with a lid and make some holes in the lid so the mycelium will be able to breathe. Cover the lid with some aluminum foil as you are preparing the jars for sterilization. Now is it time to sterilize the jars. You can do this in a pan and fill it with a little bit of water. Heat this slowly as you don’t want to melt the jars during this process. Cook them for about 45 minutes and let them cool down.

The colonization

Now are the jars ready to be colonized by the shrooms. Shake the liquid culture

for a bit and start to add the spores to the jars. Recover the jars with aluminum and write down when you injected the medium. Now is it time to wait and make sure that there is a constant temperature between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius. This can take up to three weeks.