Fleece cultivation

The Ambrosia Society was created by Don Teeter as a result of his research into Amanita Muscaria. They came to some very interesting conclusions although some of their work related to what they called 'the fleece' was later shown to be erroneous.
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Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:31 pm

The ambrosia society may be dead, but the fleece is immortal! See for yourself! Read Teeter's findings and try for yourself! Sounds easy enough, but what I found was that I had to learn what was the fleece, and what wasn't the fleece before I could even begin to work with it. I'd like for this to be the place where I share what I've learned, and continue to learn as I work with the fleece. Please feel free to ask questions or offer suggestions! I'm just a guy, playing with something most have written off! Working with the fleece was Don Teeter's great work, and having worked with it myself I can easily see why. After Don's death the Ambrosia Society slowed way down. There is still some activity there but for someone like me who is actively involved in working with it, I prefer working with an active community.

I suppose for disclaimer's sake I should say if you are the adventurous type and want to experiment for yourself, just know that you're dealing with what is essentially a psychoactive MOLD. It's super fast growing and releases tons of tiny black spores. It hasn't had adequate scientific investigation except to classify it as in the mucor family, and likely in the Rhizopus genus. Mucors are generally feared because of both its being an environmental contamination and for the possibility of getting mucormycosis. Rhizopus mucor is used extensively in the world today specifically in the production of tempeh, which is a widely used food product of Indonesian origin and is a high protein soy (and other legumes) ferment, similar in it's use to tofu. It is a staple in many vegan diets and I think it's important to say that it is edible both cooked and raw. Now the fleece is NOT tempeh, but I believe it is similar, which is why I have been growing it most successfully on beans. I've eaten it mostly cooked, but also raw and I haven't had any bad experiences as of yet. I don't know if Don Teeter ever ate the fleece raw, and I don't know if he ever grew it on beans, and I have no idea if he had ever even heard of tempeh. Lately psychoactive Tempeh is my favorite thing! So anyways, if you have a suppressed immune system for any reason you may be at greater risk for some form of mucor infection. As far as I know, no one has been hurt in any way by the fleece, but for safety's sake, Just be smart, and be careful.
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Thu Nov 14, 2019 5:44 pm

If you want the fleece, you gotta get it from it's source. The Amanita Muscaria mushroom! 🍄 (side note, you can apparently also grow variants of the fleece from other amanitas such as the Pantherina, but its a little bit different. Idk i haven't grown it yet. Supposedly its more silvery colored, more potent, and makes your organs feel weird. Panther mushroom did that to me too though, so I think its probably still safe.) (Also note: I'm not making instructions, they're in Teeter's book. I'm adding my own insights here.)

I bought all my amanitas online. I spent hundreds of dollars on useless (for my purposes) caps until I finally got really lucky, and found one cap that "resurrected". All my current projects are based on that one lucky find. The reason I say lucky is because virtually all online Muscaria caps are heat dried, which kills the fleece spores. If you want to fast track your actually getting the fleece, find your own wild amanita and air dry it with a fan or in the fridge over a few weeks or something. Idk if low low heat setting on a dehydrator would work? Probably. Just do it yourself because otherwise you'll experience a lot of repeated disappointment!

If you're starting with cool dried caps you'll likely have success right away. Growth will be explosive! 3 days and your fleece will be there! Likely there will be other molds in there too! Greens, reds, yellows, (its possible that some yellow is indicative of alkaloid presence and not necessarily bad mold),and even possibly the WRONG MUCOR! If that happens you'll know it because it isn't psychoactive, then you can try again! Anyhow, the fleece grows above them all, sometimes swallowing them up, its kinda cool! (That's the trait of the mucor! I thought I had the fleece once when the white mucor towered above the rest, which I cultivated! It was just an inactive wild tempeh. It wasn't psychoactive at all, but not having had the true fleece yet I wasn't sure? So I kept at it thinking maybe there were effects? Ultimately I concluded I should try again because if that WAS the fleece it wasn't worth it, being so weak and all. Also note, the true fleece is subtly different than other mucors, it produces a few black spores at it's base, but mostly high at its peak. That inactive strain was ALL sporulated at the tips. Cobweb mold sporulates almost entirely at its base and makes the subrstrate smell and look like dirt. Yeah, I singlehandedly discovered the source of dirt, lol!) Take some spores growing above them all, and start a fresh substrate from those spores! You may need to do this a few times before you get a more clean source of spores.

I live in a small apartment with little room so I'm not able to practice sterile conditions very easily, also I'm not experienced with that. I'm more of a "wild fermentation" type (anyone else inspired by that book? Lol try finding wild tempeh! Even the author doesn't do that!) And luckily the fleece mucor grows faster than most other baddies and even suppresses them with the vinegar-like ibotenic acid production. So you can use jars with tyvek or something, but lately my best success is with a simple dollar store glass plate and a simple plastic microwave cover with small holes to cover it. Simple and effective!
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:00 pm

Magic beans anyone?
Magic beans anyone?
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Just look at this plate of mouth-watering MOLD! This was made from a can of low sodium black beans that I just rinsed a bit with of tap water and and plopped on plate! For growth I used a sliver of my previous batch. This batch is a little dryer than the last, but I think it'll probably be just as potent. I'm gonna give it one more day to see what happens. Its currently 2 days old. So, I'm still working on making it taste as yummy as possible. Mostly playing with marinades. Apparently steaming it first and then marinating makes it even better, but I'm a little worried it'll lose potency.
How potent you ask? 3 days ago I ate my last batch after marinading it and baking it in my 325° F oven for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Its very filling, and it was my most potent batch yet. I began to notice effects about 10-15 minutrs after eating. I got really sweaty, followed by giddiness. After about 30 minutes I noticed I was having a more difficult time walking in a coordinated way. Unfortunately an hour after consuming, I went to bed because I had to go to work in the morning. That night the effects continued getting stronger even though I slept through a lot of it. I slept heavier than usual, while simultaneously moving a lot more because I just couldn't quite get comfortable. I felt very "stoned". Usually i don't move so much at night. The next day I could feel a lingering body load that continued throughout the whole day. This was similar but less sluggish compared with how I would feel the day after smoking cannabis. (I used to be a once a week cannabis vaper, but not for several months now.) To me it felt like a dose that was close to the mind expanding dose I'd like to have, but just below it. So a sub-threshold dose. I dont know how that translates to amanita caps, but once I ate a half oz of caps and got very clear headed. This felt the same but not yet clear headed
More experimentation will have to be done, and eventually I will need to experiment with the difference between an ibotenic acid trip vs a muscimol trip, and then a combined trip. (In the ambrosia forums one user claims to have discovered the recipe for soma is 1/3 muscimol, 2/3rds ibotenic acid. The correct balance is claimed to both eliminate sweating and nausea, as well as potentiate what either can do alone. I'll find out for myself soon enough and unless forbidden by god or something I'll let you all know! 😉)
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Sat Nov 16, 2019 12:02 am

Well that was fast!
Well that was fast!
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I'm glad I decided to wait, because the hyphae of my mucor really shot up! I was planning on eating it today but the other half still needs time to catch up to this side. Seeing this today was a pleasant surprise! And it made me realize I processed my last batch a day or two early, which is exciting because I thought it was one of the strongest batches yet!
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by T36 » Sat Nov 16, 2019 12:22 am

Here goes nothin :D
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Wish me luck 8-)
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:47 am

Nice! Is that ground amanita powder I see on top? So beans MAY go bad sooner than say, barley, BUT, watch for wrong colors and smells, and perhaps most importantly just get some black spores going. If you do that, your next batch mixed thoroughly with those collected spores will grow very quickly! You can use tweezers and pluck them into a plastic bag for later use. In the jar, too much moisture, or not enough airflow will be your biggest concerns. If this happens you'll notice the growth slowing way down or stopping. Keep us updated!
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by T36 » Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:27 am

Yeah that's AM powder on top of em))) i put a bit on the bottom as well. The powder was made from Amanita's that i picked this year, and dried in my homemade dehydrator on very low heat settings so the spores should be fine...

but im really worried about contamination coz my house in the woods is old and we have a lot of mushrooms and molds growing there... Thats is why i never tried growing the fleece/mucor :) before even tho ive been a member of the Ambrosia forum for 4 or 5 years now...

Also i got to say that those beans where canned with some kind of preserving liquid, ive mixed that with water and put that in the jar! But you say that moisture will be a problem? So should i remove it and only leave the beans?
How long does it usually take you to produce a batch?
And as i understand you never had a full blown breakthrough (seeing the void...) experience with the fleece?
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Sat Nov 16, 2019 6:39 pm

Yep @T36 , you gotta embrace the contam! At least at first! Think of it this way, between your environment and the Amanitas themselves you're using as an innoculant, (which WHO KNOWS what they picked up while growing out in the wild, right?) You're DEFINITELY going to be growing a smorgasbord of yummies and yuckies on those beans! What you want, is for the fleece to be in the mix! If its there, it'll grow taller than the other things, eventually sporulate, covering the top with black. Even if it's gross in that jar by then, try to get at least a couple grabs with a set of tweezers (maybe burn the tips with a lighter for a second before to sterilize? Or wash hands and use fingers, i dont think it matters that much.) of just the black wooly spores. Put 'em in a clean ziplock until ready to repeat what you did here, only using the fleece spores instead of Amanita powder! So don't expect to eat these beans at this point... But you can? I did! My first bean experiment stalled (due to using too much bean in too little of a jar, so not enough airflow) and grew a little of some unknown things... There were a few extremely umami bites... (That I WISH i would have isolated for future experiements!) That ALMOST made me gag, and a few other more unpleasant bites, but I still had the psychoactive effects, even if I ended up being able to finish it in its entirety! Lol

Yeah idk what they used on your beans, mine were lightly salted which I just tried to rinse away (btw, does ANYONE know why Teeter recommended not using salt at all with the fleece????) But it didnt stop our voracious mucor in the slightest!

How long before a batch is ready? Well I'm planning on eating those beans i posted yesterday, probably tonight! I think they're 4 days old today? But I'm saving on time because I didn't innoculate these beans with fleece spores, I used a piece of my previous living batch! I probably sped it up by a day is all...

That is correct, i haven't had a full blown experience with the fleece yet, just decent drunken like states have been achieved. I've been informed by @Splinters and Shards to try drinking a lot of water with it this time! Apparently it'll alter the experience, and I'm excited to see if it does! Thanks once again Nick!
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Mcpato » Sat Nov 16, 2019 9:44 pm

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Ok its looking pretty ok, not the best specimen ever, but it will still serve its purpose! Ideally it would be pretty uniform growth all around. Notice the fleece has been growing more fully in the center? The fleece is done with the edges, probably because it dried out. When the fleece encounters hardship it sporulates. In this case the central fleece will sporulate when its done eating the beans! I could probably encourage uniformity by misting the edges with water at day 2 or something? Idk, this will require more EXPERIMENTATION! Hey at least I'm not struggling with unwanted yeasts/molds/bacteria/etc! I COULD wait another day for it to finish... But I'm eager to eat it! So that's what I will do!
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Re: Fleece cultivation

Post by Splinters and Shards » Sat Nov 16, 2019 10:00 pm

@Mcpato I definitely have to try the beans! I've had some success with barley but it's a lot of prep work when following D. Teeter's instructions for growing the bread. I wonder how soybeans would work? Would not be far from tempeh.

I am so glad I found this forum!

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