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How to Use Your Colonized Agar Wedge
Transfer Your Colonized Agar Wedge
To properly use your colonized agar edge we will first need to gather some supplies.
- Fully Colonized Agar Wedge
- Rubbing Alcohol or equivalent for cleaning. Most sanitizers will work.
- A sterilized mushroom substrate, blank master slant, liquid culture jar or blank agar plate to transfer the agar wedge to.
- A scalpel to retrieve the agar wedge with.
- A flame source to sterilize the scalpel blade with. You can use a spirit lamp with denatured alcohol or a propane torch. Do not use a lighter as it will leave carbon residue on your blade.
Now that we have gathered up our supplies it is time to begin. When you receive your colonized agar wedge it will be wrapped in para film. Simply remove the para film and wipe down the vial that the colonized agar wedge arrived in.
Sterilize Your Scalpel Blade
Heat sterilizes the scalpel blade.
Heat sterilizes the scalpel blade.
Heat sterilizes the scalpel blade.
Heat sterilize the blade of your scalpel blade until it glows red hot. This can be done with a spirit lamp or a propane torch. We prefer the latter.
Cool down your scalpel.
Heat sterilizes the scalpel blade.
Heat sterilizes the scalpel blade.
After cooling the flame-sterilized blade for 20–30 seconds, you can now inset the scalpel blade first into the vial to retrieve the wedge.
Open the Vial and Remove the Wedge
Gently pull out the wedge.
Put the wedge in the desired location.
Put the wedge in the desired location.
Once you have a secure hold on your colonized agar wedge, gently remove it from the vial. Make sure to stay in the flow of sterile air.
Put the wedge in the desired location.
Put the wedge in the desired location.
Put the wedge in the desired location.
Now that you have removed the colonized agar wedge, you can place it in a substrate of your choice.
Lets Finish Up
Replace the lid and clean up.
Transfer your colonized agar wedge to your substrate of choice. It is recommended that you expand the mycelium on another agar plate first. This way you can see if your transfer was successful and have more mycelium to work with in the future. If you wish to reuse the vial simple wash with soap and water and sterilize by boiling it for 10 minuets or place it in the sterilizer.
Either way will work and will help keep the plastic vial out of the landfill for as long as possible.
Purchasing and expanding a colonized agar wedge is a cost effective way to save money and still be able to enjoy the wonderful world of mycology.
Always make sure to clean up your work area when finished. This will help to ensure no accidents happen from having a messy and disorganized lab. Be sure to record the dates of your transfers so you can obtain the data on how fast your cultures grow.