you can buy agar online or in asian food shops, but usually after all the hassle of mixing the ingredients it's best just to buy a bottle of premixed nutrient agar. some(most) agar for food purposes contain preservatives, anti bacterial and antifungals so if you buy your own powdered agar i would recommend Now Foods brand it has no additives. it takes a week to ten days for them to get across the agar usually if they aren't contaminated, the azul in the jar above was inoculated on 4/1 and had finished the jar about three days ago.
a liquid culture can be done in a few days if you use enough inoculant and shake it daily. agitation will make the mycelium break up and each new piece will grow more mycelium which you can then break up and grow more mycelium
thanks BCG i plan to keep it updated often!