Lab & agar 3 min read
Agar plates for beginners: isolating a clean mushroom culture
Agar is where luck stops being part of the method. One plate shows you what a culture really is before you spend three weeks finding out in a grain bag.
AMK Store Est. 2026
Sub & grain fit for a kingdom.
Sterilised grain and premium CVA substrate for gourmet and medicinal mushroom growers. All-in-one grow bags, pre-poured agar, cultures and grow kits are on the way.
- Sterilised
- Injection-port grain bags
- Filter-patch sub bags
The staples
EVERY GROW STARTS WITH THESES STEPS
STEP 01• CHOOSE WHAT CULTURE YOU WANT TO GROW
The range
Everything for the grow.
Build your grow
How much grain do you actually need?
Tell us how much substrate you are filling and the spawn ratio you like. We will work out the grain, pick the cheapest mix of bag sizes, and bag the lot in one click.
Substrate
Grow docketAMK Store
2.5kg grain
+
5kg substrate
Total$0
Bag mix is the cheapest combination of our bag sizes that covers what you need.
Grain guide
Pick your grain.
Four grains, one standard. Here is how they compare, in grower terms.
How it fits together
Plate to harvest in four moves.
-
01
Inoculate
Introduce your culture to a bag of sterilised grain through the injection port.
Sterilised grain -
02
Colonise
Let the mycelium run through every kernel until the bag turns white.
Agar for clean starts -
03
Spawn to sub
Break up the colonised grain and mix it through your substrate.
Premium CVA substrate -
04
Fruit
Give it fresh air, humidity and light, then harvest your flush.
All-in-ones do 01 to 03 in one bag
The culture library Coming soon
Gourmet & medicinal, on the bench.
The library is being catalogued now. Join the drop list and you will hear the moment it opens.
The kingdom standard
Made properly, bagged properly.
Sterilised
Grain and substrate both arrive sterilised and sealed, ready to use.
A refined recipe
Our CVA recipe has been refined over years of growing for consistent results.
Nutrient-enhanced grain
Prepared with proven methods and carefully selected nutrients for a strong start.
Proper bags
Grain bags carry an injection port. Substrate bags breathe through a filter patch.
Questions
Good to know.
Something not covered here? Ask us and we will add it.
What is the difference between grain and substrate?
Grain is what you inoculate first. Once the mycelium has colonised it, that grain becomes spawn, and you mix it through the substrate: the bulk material your mushrooms fruit from.
Which grain should I choose?
Wheat is the all-rounder. Oats and milo break apart easily, and milo gives you the most inoculation points per kilo. Corn has the biggest kernels. The grain guide compares all four.
How much grain do I need for my substrate?
It depends on your spawn ratio. At 1:2 you use one part grain to two parts substrate, so 5kg of substrate takes 2.5kg of grain. The grow builder does the maths and picks the bag sizes.
What is an all-in-one grow bag?
Sterilised grain and substrate layered in one bag with an injection port. You inoculate the grain, let it colonise, then mix it through the substrate without opening the bag. They are coming soon.
How should I store my bags?
Keep them sealed, somewhere cool, clean and out of direct sunlight, and use them soon after they arrive.
When do cultures, agar and grow kits land?
They are being prepared now. Join the drop list and you will hear first.
Shop all
Sterilised grain, premium substrate and everything coming next.
Pre-Poured Agar Plates
Pre-Poured Agar Plates Low Nutrition
$205 plates bag
Poured, set and ready for clean culture work: isolating, cleaning up and expanding.
1
- Agar
- Pre poured agar
About
Our low-nutrient agar plates are ideal for spore germination, liquid culture testing, isolating monokaryons, and working with exotic mushroom species.
Carefully formulated and extensively tested by experienced mycologists, our recipe consistently delivers clean, reliable results—making it an excellent choice for precise and demanding mycology work.
The isolation plate
Low-nutrition agar does the opposite job to a rich plate: it slows everything down. On a lean medium, mushroom mycelium and any competing bacteria or mould grow apart from each other instead of racing into one mess, so you can see what you have and cut a clean sector away from it. That makes it the plate for germinating, for isolating a single clean strain, for testing a liquid culture before it goes into grain, and for the slow, fussy exotic species that bolt on a rich plate.
Sizes and prices: 5 plates for $20, 10 plates for $35, 20 plates for $65, 30 plates for $80 and 50 plates for $110. Prices in AUD, GST inclusive where it applies, shipped tracked Australia-wide.
When to reach for it
- Testing a liquid culture. A few drops on a lean plate will show bacteria within two or three days, long before a grain bag would.
- Isolating. Germinate or plate a mixed sample, then transfer the cleanest, strongest sector to a fresh plate. Repeat until it is clean, then move to high-nutrition agar to expand.
- Exotic and slow species. Lean plates keep sensitive strains from overgrowing into unusable, stringy mats.
Technique
The same clean habits as any agar work: still air box or flow hood, 70% alcohol on everything, flamed and cooled tools, small transfers from the leading edge, plates sealed, labelled and dated. The agar guide walks through a first isolation step by step, and high vs low nutrition agar explains when to switch plates.
Questions
About this product
What is low-nutrition agar used for?
Isolating clean cultures, germinating, testing liquid culture for contamination and growing slow or exotic species. The lean medium separates competitors so you can pick a clean sector.
Why does my culture grow slowly on it?
That is the point. Slower growth gives bacteria and mould time to show themselves away from the mycelium, so you can cut around them.
Can I expand a culture on low-nutrition plates?
You can, but it is slow. Once a culture is clean, move it to high-nutrition agar to build stock quickly.
How do I test a liquid culture?
Put two or three drops on a lean plate, seal it and watch for three to five days. Clean white growth with no slime, colour or off smell means the syringe is good to go into grain.
Guides for this product
All guidesCheckout
A few details, then you pay on a secure page.
The drop list
Join the kingdom.
Restocks, new cultures and first dibs on grow kits. One email when something lands, nothing more.