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Monotub: Easy, Efficient, and Effective method of cultivating mushrooms

If you are trying out DIY mushrooms, there is no question you have heard of Monotub.  Monotubes really embody ease, efficiency, and effectiveness in mushroom cultivation.

A monotube is a modified plastic tub that is commonly used for storing or moving items. Monotub is used as a fruiting chamber in the context of magic mushroom cultivation.

You might find monotube referred to as monotube tek and the casing that is used as casing tek. The word tek is slang for technique in the mushroom growing community. Monotube has been perfect for many years and is generally recommended because they work.

Monotube has holes, typically four to six, two on the longer sides and one on the shorter. The number of holes depends on the size of the tub, but usually, one every eight inches is fine. 

These holes allow air to enter the monotub since mushrooms need fresh air. These holes should be about an inch and a half in diameter; large enough for air to pass through, but not so large that they cannot be adequately filtered.

This is another part of a monotub that needs to be customized: the fresh air holes need to be filled with breathable material to remove airborne contaminants and particles. The materials used must be thick enough to prevent the airborne contaminants to be introduced into the chamber, but permeable enough to allow air to pass through. Normally, polyfill is used. 

The monotub must have a lid. They are included in most plastic tubs, but it is a good idea to use lids that can be latched on or have a clip firmly on the tub. This is to prevent contamination from entering the tub. 

Finally, the monotube should be black or blacked out at the bottom. If you have never grown mushrooms before, the reason may surprise you: mushrooms are incredibly enterprising creatures and will grow wherever they want. 

Since clear plastic tubs are not very plentiful in nature, mushrooms are not used to them and they grow towards the sunlight. However, in the case of a clear tub, the light will hit the sides, so mushrooms try to grow on the side of the tub. Ultimately, this leads to ruin, because these mushrooms will never reach full maturity.

In any case, some people prefer black paint outside of the tub with spray paint or something similar. However, an easy and effective way is to tape a black bag onto the tub. As long as you can block the light from the bottom of the monotub, it will work fine.

This is a preferred method as it does not involve any additional painting or preparation on the part of the user.

If you are a first-time mushroom grower, protect yourself from headaches and do not try to grow outdoors. You can do this later, once you have a little deeper understanding of the fungus, its needs, and how it all works. 

Learn how to grow mushrooms at home, first with a monotub, then go out and give it a try. Monotub is a tried and trusted method.