The following method is very simple and can be used to transform a colonised
PF style
jar into a casing. We used a ½ pint jar and a coir/vermiculite/lime
casing layer. Using two ½ pint jars will produce a bigger flush.
Supplies:
Fully colonised PF style jars (at least one ½ pint jar)
Plastic sandwich bag
Foil baking tray
Fork or spoon
Pre-sterilised casing
mix
Vermiculite
Spray bottle
A little ingenuity
Remember to practice sterility
at all points in this procedure.
Step 1:
Remove lid and band from jar. Place plastic bag over jar opening
and hold tight. Turn your jar upside down and spank it. The objective is to
loosen the cake from the jar. As soon as the cake loosens it should plop into
the plastic bag.
After the cake is in the bag, remove the jar from the bag opening. Be sure to
close the sandwich bag as you are removing the jar.
Step 2:
Insert a fork or spoon into the bag through the bag opening.
You will use it to break the cake up into manageable sizes. Be careful in this
step. Sharp objects such as forks can cause injury (as Azurepower found out
while taking this shot). You will want to split the cake up 4-5 times into cross-sections
if you can.
Step 3:
Once the cake is in smaller sections it is time to have some
fun. While keeping the bag closed break up the cake from the outside of the
bag. Try to break the cake into pieces the size of Whopper candies.
Once the pieces are all broken up they should look similar
to this:
Step 4:
Wipe the inside and outside of the aluminum baking tray with alcohol. Place
a layer of dry vermiculite in the bottom of the tray to ½ inch deep.
Spray water onto the vermiculite until wet. A mixture of water/peroxide can
be used also (5-10% by volume of the 3% peroxide solution is what I think most
cultivators use).
Step 5
Pour the broken substrate directly onto the vermiculite layer. Try to spread
it as you pour. Make sure to spread the substrate evenly across the bottom of
the pan.
Step 6:
Now pour your pre-sterilised casing mix over the substrate layer. As a general
rule I believe
a 1:4 ratio of casing to substrate depth is used. After pouring your casing
layer to the desired depth, lightly pat down and smooth out the casing
layer (some people do leave the casing layer with a rough surface, that is fine
also).
The final product!!!
Now cover the casing container with some aluminium foil and leave it in a warm
(75-85°F) place for 3 - 5 days. When the mycelium begins to pop through
the casing layer, uncover the casing and put into the fruiting chamber.
I would like to thank Azurepower for his help in making this a pictorial tek.
Keep in mind that this is a general outline of one procedure to produce a casing.
I encourage modifications and use of ingenuity to improve this procedure.
More general casing info
h e r e.
by Joshua and Azurepower
