The cultures themselves don't really go bad. It's the media that either gets used up, dries up, or gets moldy.
To start a new culture you just mix up some new media (purchased or home recipe), put an inch or two in a new container (or cleaned container), add a sprinkle of activated yeast, push something for them to climb on into the media (I use excelsior or index cards folded into 1/2 inch creases), and add about 30-50 F.F.'s. To put the ff's in I just tap the full container down to knock them to the bottom, quickly open the container and tap some into the new container, then even MORE quickly close them both. To make that a little easier you can put the existing culture in the refrigerator for a minute to slow them down.
Two things to keep in mind......1) always start at least two cultures at the same time ( sometimes they'll crash for no reason). This way you'll have a backup. 2) never leave your containers open (if one flying FF gets in when you're not looking you'll soon have a whole colony of flying FF's that will shock the heck out of you when you open it)
I start new cultures once a week.
Here are two homemade recipes:
This is the one I use.........I think it's the easiest.
3 oz jar of Gerber fruit baby food (the mushy stuff without any chunks)
2-3 oz of apple cider vinegar
1.5-2 cups of Gerber oats cereal or banana and oats cereal
sprinkle of activated bakers yeast
Mix the baby food and apple cider vinegar in a bowl then add 1.5 cups of cereal. Mix thouroughly. Keep adding cereal until the mix is somewhere between a paste and a dough (kind of hard to explain but you don't want it to run when you go to dump out FF's later)
Put the mixture into your containers this much usually makes 2 or 3 containers, push your cards or excelsior into the media, sprinkle a small pinch of yeast on top (only 10-20 granules), add your FF's and wait a week or two.
The second mix is more of a pain.
Dry mix:
8 cups Potato flakes
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup brewers yeast
Liquid mix:
half water / half apple cider vinegar
Extras:
Activated bakes yeast
Recipe:
Microwave 1/2 cup of liquid
Add 1/2 cup of dry mix
Stir thouroughly
Adjust mixture to proper consistency
Put in containers and sprinkle activated yeast on top.
I think that covers it.
If you have any more questions just ask.
Kevin
To start a new culture you just mix up some new media (purchased or home recipe), put an inch or two in a new container (or cleaned container), add a sprinkle of activated yeast, push something for them to climb on into the media (I use excelsior or index cards folded into 1/2 inch creases), and add about 30-50 F.F.'s. To put the ff's in I just tap the full container down to knock them to the bottom, quickly open the container and tap some into the new container, then even MORE quickly close them both. To make that a little easier you can put the existing culture in the refrigerator for a minute to slow them down.
Two things to keep in mind......1) always start at least two cultures at the same time ( sometimes they'll crash for no reason). This way you'll have a backup. 2) never leave your containers open (if one flying FF gets in when you're not looking you'll soon have a whole colony of flying FF's that will shock the heck out of you when you open it)
I start new cultures once a week.
Here are two homemade recipes:
This is the one I use.........I think it's the easiest.
3 oz jar of Gerber fruit baby food (the mushy stuff without any chunks)
2-3 oz of apple cider vinegar
1.5-2 cups of Gerber oats cereal or banana and oats cereal
sprinkle of activated bakers yeast
Mix the baby food and apple cider vinegar in a bowl then add 1.5 cups of cereal. Mix thouroughly. Keep adding cereal until the mix is somewhere between a paste and a dough (kind of hard to explain but you don't want it to run when you go to dump out FF's later)
Put the mixture into your containers this much usually makes 2 or 3 containers, push your cards or excelsior into the media, sprinkle a small pinch of yeast on top (only 10-20 granules), add your FF's and wait a week or two.
The second mix is more of a pain.
Dry mix:
8 cups Potato flakes
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup brewers yeast
Liquid mix:
half water / half apple cider vinegar
Extras:
Activated bakes yeast
Recipe:
Microwave 1/2 cup of liquid
Add 1/2 cup of dry mix
Stir thouroughly
Adjust mixture to proper consistency
Put in containers and sprinkle activated yeast on top.
I think that covers it.
If you have any more questions just ask.
Kevin
