ansr said:

Yeah I'm not getting 10 kg of that :/

Why the f is all this shit so hard to get in northern Europe? About to give up Pans

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I have no idea, the smallest amount I found was 1,5kg so that's probably going to last a lifetime And don't you have garden stores around, I mean they should have cactus(or other low nutrient) soil.

thirdeyewild said:

For pans I like to mix the spawn and bulk in freezer bags. Sort of a liner.

Once mixed I put it in the FC and cut the top off. Then case when colonized. I do this with Semps too.

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ansr said:

I checked a supplier that have both the seeding soil that says low nutrient, that is 14-5-17, and a potting soil that is higher nutrient but also 14-5-17 so I asked ChatGPT and it says it only tells the ratio and not how much of the total amount is in it?

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ansr said:

Says this on the 11-5-18 I got: "The soil has only been enriched with mild nutrients, which is well-suited for young plants that can easily receive too much nourishment. The soil therefore ensures a steady, limited supply of nutrients that is perfect for both seed sowing and cuttings. It is also suitable for repotting cacti and succulents."

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ansr said:

Oh wait I'm fucking stupid..

Raw materials: white sphagnum peat H2-H7, sand, limestone flour, lithocalcite, and mineral fertilizer NPK 11-5-18.

Electrical conductivity (+/- 25%): 17 mS/m.

pH value: 5.5-6.5.

Added nutrients per m³:
limestone flour: 4 kg
lithocalcite: 1 kg
mineral fertilizer: 0.5 kg



So it's not 11-5-18 in that but 0.5 kg of 11-5-18 per m³ of this
  Oops

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No man you ain't stupid, it's the way they label they're shit that's stupid, but that is great news. It's very similar to what I use and all my pans, semps and zapo's get this casing and work great for me

Now you just have to find a way to adjust pH and you're all set

tree frog said:

ansr said:

Says this on the 11-5-18 I got: "The soil has only been enriched with mild nutrients, which is well-suited for young plants that can easily receive too much nourishment. The soil therefore ensures a steady, limited supply of nutrients that is perfect for both seed sowing and cuttings. It is also suitable for repotting cacti and succulents."

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That should be mostly insoluble.  Which is good, the ratios are still very high.

You can also top dress with your substrate.  Add extra calcium carbonate to bring the pH up if you want.

I'd add grass seed for the microclimate and microbes, personally, they help pinning.  But I understand that's odd for a lot of folks.

In parts of the world where peat is hard to come by, top soil is sometimes used as a casing too.

This paper discusses a lot of other alternatives too

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354710894_Revisiting_the_casing_layer_Casing_materials_and_management_in_Agaricus_mushroom_cultivation

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I've seen the pictures with grass and it looks so nice but making it more complicated is not good for me

ansr said:

Does it matter if you use calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide when there's already calcium carbonate in it?

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Yes, I don't know how much calcium carbonate(CaCO3) you would need, but I know Asura uses 10g/L. And if you could get it easily, I would think it's better then nothing and it will increase your pH.

I just read that baking soda could be used to increase soil pH, but I have no idea about amount or how it would effect mushrooms

ansr said:

No I mean, it already contains calcium carbonate (the limestone flour) so do I have to use calcium carbonate or can you use either calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide? Is it ok to mix?

I know it can react and heat up and that it's dangerous to get on your skin and breathe in...

What does the higher pH do for the casing layer btw?

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