Reishi in shotgun fruiting chamber?

Questions
#1

Has anyone trying fruiting reishi, from a grain jar, or from a bag, in a shotgun fruiting chamber?

I’m trying to come up with fun, easy, rewarding ways to grow to get people started and having good results.

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#2

Yes, I have done this (fruiting reishi from bags in a monotub with a bottom layer of moist perlite). You can also grow it in (mini-)monotubs using a bulk substrate.

Here’s a reishi monotub thread from Shroomery.

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#3

@glyph when you say fruiting reishi from bags in a monotub with a bottom layer of moist perlite – by ‘monotub’ do you mean a plastic tub with the six large holes in it? is this preferable to a shotgun fruiting chamber (tiny holes) with perlite at the bottom?

I also found this shroomery poster who also +1 to putting reishing jars directly into an FC and taking the lids off Reishi tek - Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms - Shroomery Message Board

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#4

Yup! That’s the approach I used. I would say that a shotgun fruiting chamber is preferable from the perspective that it doesn’t require any filler / filter for the large holes (ie. polyfill or micropore tape).

You could also take the approach mentioned in the link you shared: use a standard tub without any holes and keep the lid closed. This is a viable option for reishi because it has lower fresh-air exchange requirements than other species. It produces elongated, antler-shaped fruitbodies when the CO2 level is high. I understand this behaviour in terms of the fungus wanting to grow out to the open air before forming the spore-bearing surfaces on the mushrooms. When the CO2 level drops, the growing tip of the mushrooms flatten out (aka the conk form).

I haven’t revisited the literature lately but I believe that high CO2 environments lead to greater concentrations of ganoderic acid being produced in the resulting mushrooms.

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