Myco Labs Premium Quick Colonizing 32oz 5-Grain Mushroom Spawn Jars (3-Pack)

January 18 Update: So, as expected the "break and shake" took a bit of rigor, but I was able to distribute the agar slices and the colonized grains throughout the jar. And both jars ultimately colonized fully and nicely. At this point both jars have been transferred to substrate, and there is still no contamination (so far...no whammies!) in either batch...and the unused third jar still appears clean. So despite my concerns below...all's well that ends well. ...and I recently ordered another set of jars. I just received them, but they also appear free of contamination. Bumping the star rating to a well-deserved fiver. Recommend. Dec 18 (Orig): I ordered these, basically to use while I work to get my own jar/bag sterilization equipment and technique operational. And not a bad price for (reusable) quart-size sterile jars with grain. (A 4 quart option would have been nice though, and maybe some pint-size options, but minor gripe). I grew some mycelium from spore on agar (or rather, it grew). When I went to transfer the agar slices to these jars (two of three jars used so far, half plate to each), I realized that Myco Labs filled the jars a little too full, causing two issues. 1. There was dried grain on the outside “shoulders and neck” of the jar, and opening the lids was a little “gritty”. These jars sat at for a month after delivery, without apparent contamination, covered by the “autoclave foil” and bubble wrap…so that’s promising. I tightened the lids after transfer well, but if there is grain on the outside/neck of the jar, with a gritty twist, I question the lid seal. Time will tell. 2. There is little to no room for a “break and shake”. The listing pictures show a fill to a ~1/2 inch below the jar “shoulders”, and even then I’d fill a little lower. I still have to remove the cover and foil on the third jar, but two of them were almost filled to the lid. It even took some rigor to get the agar slices “submerged” in the grain, and I can’t be sure of that on one of them. I suppose I could have dumped some grain out, but at the time of transfer, I did not want the jars open for a second longer than necessary....let alone fiddling with dumping. Again, I’ll see how this plays out, but even with a syringe inoculation, the “break and shake” would be tight. I can’t rationalize grain on the outside jar necks…but I somewhat understand (assumingly saturated) grain expanding (a little) during sterilization…but Myco Labs need to work that out to a full but "headspaced" level. I'll add pictures later, but I also see overfilled jars in pictures from other reviewers.

Works as advertised colonizes relatively quickly, depending on how aggressive your culture is. I haven’t had any contamination issues with them and have used several times. It’s worth the $10 a jar instead of me having to sterilize plus comes in jar just inject and wait to colonize

All 3 was perfectly sterile. I had no contamination, and 2/3 already in 3 flushes. Last one was sent to S2B (since it was a MSS it took longer). It inoculated fast. 2 jars were big enough for my inflatable tub. Easy to work with. Very sturdy, recommend breaking it up with a bottom of a shoe when needed.

Awesome product with be buying again

Never had an issue using bags. I use a full syringe when I innoculate my grain. Always fast and healthy mycellium. Never once had contam. I'm very clean and careful when handling. These jars took 1 month to show any sign of population. After another week they all were contaminated. Waste of time. Gonna stick with north spore spawn bags.

My first time trying these and I don't think I'll be getting them again. I inoculated two of the jars at the same time using the same method and strain for each jar. I would've preferred less grain in each jar as it was right at the top and didn't leave any room for movement. When it was time to transfer the grain I noticed one of the jars was contaminated at the top which was a bummer. When I got these jars I could tell these were assembled in someone's kitchen which is okay I guess but I was under the impression these were made in a more professional setting with constant sterilization protocols. Stuff like this has to be perfect and when I saw the actual jars, I was questioning whether to use them or not. I can get a grain bag and know that it's sterile because it looks sterile. Not foil wrapped haphazardly around the jars, rust on the lids and overpacked. I'll probably use the last jar at some point but for now, it's back to the grain bags.

Works great

I’ve been making my own spawn for a while now, but decided to give pre-made a go. It does what it’s supposed to, but idk about the whole quick colonization part. I actually made my own spawn jars to test along side of these “quick” jars. I use honey soaked whole grain brown rice (kinda my version of drippy corn). I used three different strains of LC, with three quick jars (32oz), and six honey rice jars (16oz). I inoculated all the jars at the same time - 5cc in each quick jar and 2.5cc in the honey jars. After a few days all the honey jars had mycel growth starting around the top, and the bottom. Two of the quick jars had slight growth scattered throughout, however, one jar showed absolutely no growth. I’m pretty sure the jar was contam because the two other honey jars that got the same LC was already about 10% colonized. Luckily the LC vender I use is top-tier so the genetics ate right through the contam, and about another week later the jar finally showed signs of growth. All in all, these quick jars are decent for the price, size, and convenience. It’s a good option for beginners, but advanced growers should definitely stick with making their own. There’s nothing worse than your research being derailed by someone else’s mistake.