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Looking for the ultimate solution to elevate your mushroom-growing game? Look no further than Mycolabs Black Agar plates! This special blend of organic ingredients, including pure lab-grade carbon, provides the perfect contrast against white mycelium while protecting against harmful bacteria. Don't settle for pre-poured plates that have been sitting for weeks - These plates are made fresh daily and come in sets of 10, sealed for optimal protection and convenience. Elevate your mushroom cultivation with Mycolabs Black Agar plates today!
We are excited to announce starting in April 2023 all our agar plates are now machine poured in our new clean room. We measure out the ingredients and add them to the MediaPrep machine and it blends and mixes, then sterilizes it for 30 minutes at 18 PSI and cools it to 145 degrees. Then it is pumped over to the dispensing machine that measures out 25ml per plate. The MediaFill shakes each plate as it passes a UV-C light. Each plate is capped and then labeled by the laserjet printer. This machine will ensure every plate has the exact same level of agar and much less room for any human error.
Our 10 sterilized Black MEA Agar plates are the perfect choice for healthy mycelium colonies. Here's what makes them stand out:
Read our Blog about using Agar by clicking Here
Watch video on using Agar and Agar Slants Here!
What is Black Agar? How do I use it?
Black agar is a type of nutrient agar that contains activated charcoal or carbon black, which gives it a dark color. It is a popular medium used in mycology for the cultivation and isolation of different types of fungi.
Agar plates have been used for decades by mushroom growing enthusiasts and are becoming more popular again. You start by squirting a tiny amount of spore solution on the plate. Incubate for a few days and white mycelium patches begin to form. Agar lets you choose the fastest growing and most robust mycelium for use in your growing project while being able to isolate any mold without ruining your culture plate.
Isolating a culture is how the experts grow the biggest and best mushrooms, the ones you see in pictures on the many forums. After you choose your mycelium colony to use, create a still air box or use a flow hood and cut a piece of the agar out and place into a spawn bag, spawn jar or liquid culture to grow.
When properly used, black agar provides an ideal substrate for the growth of fungi and allows for the observation and characterization of the colony morphology and pigmentation of the fungus being studied. The dark color of the agar provides a good contrast to the white or light-colored mycelium, making it easier to observe the growth and morphology of the fungus. The carbon in the agar can also promote the growth of certain types of fungi while inhibiting the growth of bacteria, which can help to prevent contamination and promote the growth of pure fungal cultures.Overall, black agar is a valuable tool in mycology for the cultivation and study of fungi, and its proper use can lead to accurate and reliable observations and results in fungal research.
First time using agar and it's been fun learning. Love the contrast too.
Don't be afraid of the green color on your mycelium, I believe it's consuming the green dye in the agar. :)
Agar was extremely fresh. Mycelium cloned to it in 1 day. Z
Always love midwest's products. Got some rapid rhizo plates as well. Im new to agar but i have zero complaints once again with midwest.
These also were amazing and as soon as we put a piece of mushroom we're cloning in it we waited ONE DAY and looked and it was already starting to colonize!!! Truly Magnificent!!! We will definitely be purchasing more of these in the future for sure!!! Thank You Again.