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avaldez314
Silent Bob



Registered: 04/26/10
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Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? 1
#14479276 - 05/19/11 03:33 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Hi there, in a few days I'll have my WBS jars fully colonized with B+, my plan is to do a monotub using a mix of coco coir and vermiculite as the substrate.
I could not find a local store to buy coco coir in a brick (compressed), instead I got coco coir in a bag (I mean NOT compressed).
I found that most of the teks about coir uses measures like '1 brick' of coir or '1/2 brick'.
So I'm looking for suggestions about the mix proportions (by volume?, by dry/wet weight?) of 'not compressed coir' and vermiculite...
Any ideas?
-------------------- Sclerotia producing print WANTED! P. Mexicana/A, P. galindoi/ATL#7 or P. tampanensis if you are interested in a trade please PM me!
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eatshrOOms88
jedi like cultivator in training



Registered: 05/16/11
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: avaldez314] 2
#14479290 - 05/19/11 03:36 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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never done it but i would look up the weight of a standard brick of coir and if you have a scale just measure out wiegh of the uncompressed coir to match. good luck
-------------------- The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



Registered: 06/09/10
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: eatshrOOms88] 1
#14479365 - 05/19/11 03:50 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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1 compressed brick of coir is roughly 9 qt. Uncompressed bags of coir are 8. I'd use the tek as is, maybe cut out 1/2 cup of water... or add another quart of verm instead of the coir.
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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Ajaxx
Amateur Mycologist



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: TranscendingLife] 1
#14479565 - 05/19/11 04:28 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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im in a similar situation. i have 2 5kg bricks of botanicare coco gro. my plan is chisel the brick up, and weigh out 500 grams and use that as my weight of coir per tub.
so what im going to do is chop the bricks up and weigh out 500 grams, put it in a five gallon buckets, boil 1 gallon of distilled water, pour it in with the coir and let it absorb the water completely, then while still really fucking hot, dump in 2 quarts of vermiculite and half a cup of gypsum. stir it up until thoroughly mixed, put the lid on the bucket, and let it sit for 24 hours, then put my tubs together exactly like i did last time, but using 5 quarts instead of 6
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Ajaxx
Amateur Mycologist



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Ajaxx] 1
#14479571 - 05/19/11 04:30 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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oh shit, nevermind, im high and didnt read your post.
so its uncompressed... id make sure its completely dry first, then weigh out 500-650 grams and then boil a gallon of distilled water on it and mix it up. then add your verm and gypsum. it makes it waaay easier. other wise it all clumps up in the bottom of the bucket and doesnt mix together.
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Doctor_Inoc
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: avaldez314] 1
#14479575 - 05/19/11 04:31 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
I could not find a local store to buy coco coir in a brick (compressed), instead I got coco coir in a bag (I mean NOT compressed).
Would you be able to post a picture of the bag and brand of coir you sourced?
The reason I ask is that often times, coir pre-bagged, is intended for plant growth and has been treated with trichoderma. Check the ingredients closely for the addition of tricoderma or anything special added for plant growth. If such is the case, you won't be able to use the coir as prescribed in various coir teks such as Large_Dose's, MonsterMitches', or Damion50505's coir teks.
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Ajaxx] 1
#14479590 - 05/19/11 04:33 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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ajaxx - compressed bricks are more around 600-650g per brick
I follow Damion5050's tek to the T...other than I had 1/4 cup gypsum to my boiling water.
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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Ajaxx
Amateur Mycologist



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: TranscendingLife] 1
#14480752 - 05/19/11 08:12 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
todlow said: ajaxx - compressed bricks are more around 600-650g per brick
I follow Damion5050's tek to the T...other than I had 1/4 cup gypsum to my boiling water.
ya i just looked up the weight some bricks. ive got 2 5kg bricks, so at 600 grams i can do 16 tubs with a little bit left over.
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Ajaxx] 1
#14481672 - 05/19/11 10:55 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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nice, but I like the simplicity of dumping in 1 brick + 2 quarts verm + 1 gallon boiling water + (whatever amount) gypsum...in a bucket, let sit for 30-60 minutes, stir. Done. Spawn when less than 95 F.
I just don't like the mess/hassle of cutting large bricks.
I have a local hydro store that sells the equivalent of 5 bricks in 1 compressed brick for pretty cheap, but I won't touch it due to the extra 30 minutes of labor.
I recommend going to your local pet store & asking if you can purchase coir in bulk. Don't go to major national stores, but local small town stuff. Tell them you have friend w/ a reptile breading set up & you're closer than him & he needs A LOT of coir...I can get bricks @ less than $2 per...
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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wygram
Myconaut

Registered: 01/28/07
Posts: 573
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: TranscendingLife] 2
#14481931 - 05/19/11 11:52 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Bulk substrates do not have to be mixed with strict adherence to any ratio. Eye balling amounts works well. You can go with 50/50 coir to verm or any ratio containing more coir, down to 20% verm works well. Get some gypsum and add 5-10% by volume, again eye balling the amounts is just fine. Chicken manure at 5% adds a nice boost, though you want to be careful with not going over this amount because chicken manure is potent.
Good bulk substrates are created not by holding to a strict ratio of ingredients, but rather providing a varied source of nutrition to the mushrooms.
Remember to pasteurize properly when using manure based substrates. Even with just coir/verm/gypsum the proper pasteurization method of bringing the substrate up to 140 degrees F for one hour should be followed, anything less is simply asking for trouble.
-------------------- Changing your mind is one of the best ways of finding out whether or not you still have one.
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Doctor_Inoc
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: wygram] 1
#14482846 - 05/20/11 05:17 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Good advice, wygram. I like to go as low as 3-5% when adding gypsum to my bulk substrates. When using chicken manure as an additive, I never go over 3% because like you said, chicken manure's some potent shit.
OP has still not gotten back and stated whether or not the coir they bought is "treated" for plant growth. This is very important because if the coir OP purchased is treated with trichoderma then you can throw out using the boiling water and bucket tek for the coir will need to be pasteurized, properly.
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scatmanrav
Brainy Smurf


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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Doctor_Inoc] 1
#14483665 - 05/20/11 10:22 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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30 minutes of labor? No way..the big bricks come apart easy in sheets..just stick a flat head screw driver in the side of the brick and pull. You can take a brick of coir off of a bale of coir in 1 minute.
The only disadvantage I find is exact measuring. Not really a problem for me, since I can eye it out, but if you want to tell others your method, its tough to say if I use exactly a brick at a time or more or less. I do know I get a bale for 19 bucks and its like 7 or 8 bricks. Bricks around here are alot more. I guess 2 bucks a brick isnt a bad price though.
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: scatmanrav] 1
#14483733 - 05/20/11 10:39 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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yea, I may have exaggerate a bit on the 30 minutes of labor, but I was adding in taking out my scale, weighing the shits...cleaning up my mess...yada-yada-yada...
I like the exact measurments & I'm closer to the bricks than the bales, which are more expensive anyways...
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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Doc_T
Random Dude




Registered: 03/06/09
Posts: 42,395
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: TranscendingLife] 1
#14483742 - 05/20/11 10:41 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
todlow said: I just don't like the mess/hassle of cutting large bricks.
I flake off pieces with a short sturdy knife, and then weigh it. So I can make the right amount of bulk material for any combo of tubs and jars.
-------------------- You make it all possible. Doesn't it feel good?
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scatmanrav
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Doc_T] 1
#14483772 - 05/20/11 10:50 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Weighing it seems unnecessary to me..just throw some coir verm and gypsum in a bucket with boiling water and your done.
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



Registered: 06/09/10
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: scatmanrav] 1
#14483781 - 05/20/11 10:52 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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you're probably right about weighing it, but I'm an anal mo' fo' & don't cut any corners. Measure twice, cut once...push my friend off the bridge into the water...push another...they both live, I go...
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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Doc_T
Random Dude




Registered: 03/06/09
Posts: 42,395
Loc: Colorado
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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: scatmanrav] 1
#14483817 - 05/20/11 11:02 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
scatmanrav said: Weighing it seems unnecessary to me..just throw some coir verm and gypsum in a bucket with boiling water and your done.
That's great if you always use the same size and number of tubs. Weighing gives the option for flexibility, something not available with single bricks.
-------------------- You make it all possible. Doesn't it feel good?
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TranscendingLife
I Don't Need a Life to Live



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Doc_T] 1
#14483826 - 05/20/11 11:04 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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unless you break the single break in half or section it...
I always use 1 brick for my substrate though.
KISS...right?
-------------------- AMU: We Quickly Answer Questions Here "One must accept the probability of failure to experience the elation of success." - TranscendingLife “A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - James Joyce
      How I Do EVERYTHING      "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."- Carl Jung "Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means."- William S. Burroughs "You are as dead now as you will ever be" - Seth
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scatmanrav
Brainy Smurf


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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: Doc_T] 1
#14483883 - 05/20/11 11:15 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Im not using single bricks and I never use the same size substrate or number of containers.
Break some off the bale and toss in a huge bucket, add boiling water till it expands. Pour some gypsum in and mix, then pour some verm in. Just add boiling water if it needs more water or verm, then add more verm until you have about half verm (a bunch) and the right moisture content.
Then in a new giant tub, dump all the jars your gonna use in, then add your bulk mix (once cooled) and just fill up bags or tubs as much as you want until you run out. I think this is the most flexible option. If you weigh it, theres figuring and making things fit into this size or that. Not that it doesnt work, I just dont think its easier.
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avaldez314
Silent Bob



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Re: Uncompressed coir and vermiculite mix proportions ? [Re: avaldez314] 1
#14484668 - 05/20/11 02:17 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thank you for all the replies, I'll give more details about the kind of coir I bought:
- I got it from a (cannabis) grow shop, the sales guy told me that this kind of coir is used for hydroponics.
- I asked to the sales guy if this coir have any kind of treatment, he told me that it hasn't any treatment.
- I haven't access to any other kind of coir, I live in a big city but in a country where coir seems to be very uncommon.
- I opened a bag and took some pictures (see below)




It seems that there is no way to know if this coir was treated with trichoderma or not...
Do you think that pasteurizing the coir with 150F for 1 hour will kill the trichoderma in case it's there?
-------------------- Sclerotia producing print WANTED! P. Mexicana/A, P. galindoi/ATL#7 or P. tampanensis if you are interested in a trade please PM me!
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