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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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"Casing Layer" vs "Mulch Layer"
#22016211 - 07/29/15 05:42 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I fucking hate the term casing. Its been years since it was introduced by old-school edible farmers, but god damnit does it constantly confuse more growers than probably anything else! Because this term does not share any similar qualities to other common industry terms, its not in the common vernacular. The term really communicates a minimal amount of information about what it actually means. It is also thoroughly misused by many, many growers who have incorrectly used it to label things like monotubs and trays.
I propose we do away with using the term casing! and replace it with mulch.
What is mulch? Well that is probably a really stupid question to ask because most everybody knows what mulch is (as compared to a casing!).
Webster's defines mulch....
Quote:
a material (such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost) spread around or over a plant to enrich or insulate the soil.
Webster's defines casing....
Quote:
a cover or shell that protects or encloses something.
To me, mulch just seems more applicable and more digestible at face value.
Please Discuss!
- Should we replace case with mulch? Casing layer with mulch layer?
- Would the change have a enough impact to justify the switch?
- Could both terms be used?
- Is the term mulch really that self-explanatory, or does this landscape designer have an insider viewpoint?
- Am I a stoner who should just shut up and stop my bitchin'?
Edited by Munchauzen (07/29/15 07:10 PM)
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taGyo
Strainiac/AMU



Registered: 10/16/14
Posts: 18,802
Loc: Journal Land
Last seen: 5 years, 3 months
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016223 - 07/29/15 05:43 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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-------------------- Gyo's Better Grows TNF Q&A AMU Q&A Dominus fortunae meae sum
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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: taGyo]
#22016256 - 07/29/15 05:49 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Tag's in. Case CLOSED.
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taGyo
Strainiac/AMU



Registered: 10/16/14
Posts: 18,802
Loc: Journal Land
Last seen: 5 years, 3 months
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016261 - 07/29/15 05:51 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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-------------------- Gyo's Better Grows TNF Q&A AMU Q&A Dominus fortunae meae sum
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AkEnthusiast
Fungi Hobbyist


Registered: 03/12/12
Posts: 331
Loc:
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: taGyo]
#22016330 - 07/29/15 06:09 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I agree the term "Casing" could be some what confusing when you're first getting into the hobby. "Mulch" could work, but then you might have people literally going out and purchasing landscaping mulch. Maybe "Cover" or "Top Dressing"?
-------------------- "There are no apt words to characterise one's state when one is, shall we say, 'beshroomed'". - R. Gordon Wasson
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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: AkEnthusiast]
#22016374 - 07/29/15 06:16 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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good point. landscaping mulch, however, is available as rocks, shredded bark, needles (pine straw), rubber, etc... so maybe when ppl say "what kind of mulch should I get" then they get the proper low-dow
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: AkEnthusiast]
#22016394 - 07/29/15 06:20 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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 I agree...I read for hours about "casing"... And I still picked the wrong material...live and learn I guess
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Darkhome]
#22016404 - 07/29/15 06:22 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I think one of the biggest problems is people learn what the casing layer consists of, how to properly use it in context... but still don't know why they are using it. I feel like simply calling it a mulch layer does a much better job of communicating its intention and purpose.
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016426 - 07/29/15 06:26 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I agree...I am obsessive, so I never just "do" something... I research the hell out of it, find out the "why"... Do an experiment, then adapt it to my needs...Mulch sounds more common sense to me
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
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AkEnthusiast
Fungi Hobbyist


Registered: 03/12/12
Posts: 331
Loc:
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Darkhome]
#22016437 - 07/29/15 06:29 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Darkhome said:
 I agree...I read for hours about "casing"... And I still picked the wrong material...live and learn I guess
"When you're in a fix, just grab the Jiffy mix" 
-------------------- "There are no apt words to characterise one's state when one is, shall we say, 'beshroomed'". - R. Gordon Wasson
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: AkEnthusiast]
#22016454 - 07/29/15 06:32 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
AkEnthusiast said:
Quote:
Darkhome said:
 I agree...I read for hours about "casing"... And I still picked the wrong material...live and learn I guess
"When you're in a fix, just grab the Jiffy mix"  
Yep thanx bro...that's my next experiment...taGyo sent me a link where Frank pasteurizes jiffy mix for casing Sounds like a plan
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
Edited by Darkhome (07/29/15 06:33 PM)
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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Darkhome]
#22016458 - 07/29/15 06:33 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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jiffy mix is great stuff. no need to worry about a recipe. works everytime.
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Munchauzen


Registered: 06/22/11
Posts: 14,342
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016468 - 07/29/15 06:35 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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another thing that bugs me...
for those species that require a "casing" to even form a pinset, it just seems like still calling it a casing layer in that situation falls short of accurarately describing what it does. for those species, its doing much more than simply being "a cover or shell that protects or encloses something." however, you could definitaly say a mulch layer enriches as well as insulates the soil in this instance.
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016475 - 07/29/15 06:38 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Thanks guys for the info...I am still inexperienced and making mistakes...learned alot from several PF grows...but mini-monos and monotubs are definitely a different animal. I'm going to run two tubs side by side soon if I can get a good clone to take to agar from this tub... One tub cased with jiffy mix...the other uncased
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
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Toadstool5
A Registered Mycophile



Registered: 01/22/15
Posts: 1,359
Loc: The Golden State
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: AkEnthusiast]
#22016482 - 07/29/15 06:41 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
a material (such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost) spread around or over a plant to enrich or insulate the soil.
A lot of times a mulch layer is nutritious and decomposition occurs. Casings (not to be confused with pseudo-casings) are non-nutritous, inert materials used to cover or shell a substrate to protect it from drying out.
Quote:
a cover or shell that protects or encloses something.
Sounds like a perfect term to denote what it actually does. People need to simply learn the difference between bulk, casing, and psuedo-casings made from bulk. 
Quote:
enriches as well as insulates the soil in this instance.
A true casing will not leach nutrients into the substrate and does not actually enrich it. It definitely insulates it but doesnt enrich it with more nutrients. A mulch layer is a casing but a casing layer in mycology is not a mulch.
-------------------- If you do not know where the mushroom products you are consuming are grown, think twice before eating them. - Paul Stamets AMU Teks Stro's Write Ups
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Machiavelliavore
Vermiculite Hater



Registered: 12/08/14
Posts: 3,038
Loc: The Sporetorn States
Last seen: 3 months, 20 days
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Darkhome]
#22016491 - 07/29/15 06:42 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I think there are only two reasons for confusion about casing layers:
Coir Verm is both a casing a bulk substrate.
I believe trays of cased straight grains or cased PF cakes were referred to as "casings" in the past.
The problem with mulch is that it has a specific connotation with ground up degrading plant matter. While peat sort of fits this definition, coir and vermiculite don't really. Certainly not wax paper/bubble wrap.
By the two definition you put up there, casing sounds more accurate to me. It protects the mycellium from drying out, protects the substrate from damage during harvest. Sure it does more than that.
Saying something like fruiting layer or top layer might be more clear. Perhaps what we really need is a more prominently posted dictionary of basic mush cult terms.
------ Re Jiffy Mix. I've had great luck microwave pasteurizing 50/50+, which as I understand it is the about the same as Jiffy. I just nuke 2 minutes after I smell delicious microwaved peat.
Full blown pasteurization of something that has so little nutritional value seems a bit overboard to me. If I recall it was something like 4-5 mins for the first quart, 3 mins each additional quart in my microwave. Leave it in there loosely covered to cool.
--------------------
I spawned some popcorn casings and had double-overlay cause I didn't put enough hydrogen peroxide in my automated aquarium mister. I only got one mushroom so I cut off the head part where the seeds fall from and put it in a jar of LC and sprayed it all over a tin of PF cakes I made with gravel, cardboard, and bisquick in my microwave. I think it will be good cause B+ is so potent. Triggered yet? Only a square would say "a cube is a cube."
No, this does not look right...
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Munchauzen]
#22016498 - 07/29/15 06:43 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Munchauzen said: another thing that bugs me...
for those species that require a "casing" to even form a pinset, it just seems like still calling it a casing layer in that situation falls short of accurarately describing what it does. for those species, its doing much more than simply being "a cover or shell that protects or encloses something." however, you could definitaly say a mulch layer enriches as well as insulates the soil in this instance.
What threw me off was that the "casing" had nutrients in it (Coir/Verm) So it was consumed...instead of doing what it was there for... I think you are right...the term definitely doesn't describe what's going on with types like APE and PE varieties...I hate the word "strain" too
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
Edited by Darkhome (07/29/15 06:44 PM)
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Darkhome
•Shaman•N•Training•



Registered: 07/10/15
Posts: 517
Loc: United States
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
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I have always been afraid of using the microwave... Contams..probably unfounded and paranoid... I may give it a try if you have had success though
-------------------- “The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” ~Terence McKenna~ "NOTHING"...I post or say is "TRUE"...Any pictures are taken from the Web and any conversation is just research for a fictional character. That being said; He is constantly seeking knowledge and evolving.
Edited by Darkhome (07/29/15 06:47 PM)
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Toadstool5
A Registered Mycophile



Registered: 01/22/15
Posts: 1,359
Loc: The Golden State
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Darkhome]
#22016519 - 07/29/15 06:48 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Coir/verm is not a casing layer! It is a fake casing of more bulk substrate! Peat/verm is a casing but coir/verm is nutritious 
This is why RR used to ban people for calling coir/verm a casing and not substrate it spreads like wildfire and confuses rookies.
Nutrition is the only difference between a casing and a psuedo-casing.
-------------------- If you do not know where the mushroom products you are consuming are grown, think twice before eating them. - Paul Stamets AMU Teks Stro's Write Ups
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taGyo
Strainiac/AMU



Registered: 10/16/14
Posts: 18,802
Loc: Journal Land
Last seen: 5 years, 3 months
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Re: "Casing Layer" and "Mulch Layer" [Re: Toadstool5]
#22016535 - 07/29/15 06:50 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I'm not debating whether it's called a casing or not but C/V does work for what it's intended, creating a micro-climate.
-------------------- Gyo's Better Grows TNF Q&A AMU Q&A Dominus fortunae meae sum
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