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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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top casing layer....
#4398906 - 07/13/05 06:07 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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i'm on my second attempt at successfully casing some pf jars. i'm using vermiculite and soil to case, the first try i think i made the top casing layer too thick. also had overlay and comtamination... so i was wondering just how thick the top layer should be? should i use soil or just the verm? what do you think is the best method of sterilizing the soil/verm???? got two very small mushies from the first casing (very disapointing)
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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CLUTCH
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4398914 - 07/13/05 06:22 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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I've read anywhere from 1-2 inches. Don't go over two though.
How thick were you doing yours before?
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FooMan
Registered: 02/02/05
Posts: 8,957
Loc: Earth
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4398922 - 07/13/05 06:29 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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I have used vermiculite by itself and have gotten fairly good results although there are much better casings out there. If you can find Jiffy Mix, which is pretty much 50/50+, buy some to use for casing instead. You can usually find it at WalMart, KMart or hardware store garden dept. If you don't want to do that, just use the verm. To sterilize it, I just wet it and microwave it in a tupperware container with a lid for a while. Put a little more water than you normally would to account for the evaporation. Leave one of the corners of the lid open to let the steam out. When it's finished, open the microwave and close the lid quickly. Then close the microwave with the tupperware container still inside. The steam inside the tupperware will create a vacuum effect and suck in some air, so make sure the microwave is clean and that you let the container cool completely before taking it out of the microwave to avoid any potential contaminants from getting sucked in. Once cool, you can spread the casing over your cakes. If your having overlay and contam problems, make sure you aren't misting the casing too much, in fact, I would just not mist until after each flush. Make sure you are getting good air exchange and remember, the RH doesn't need to be 100% with casings like it does for cakes. GL Dude.
-------------------- Quick WBS Prep
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IGnosticAbhorI
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: FooMan]
#4398928 - 07/13/05 06:36 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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Ya could probably made a hole in the plastic lid and fill with polyfil
That way it'd be Filtered air that got sucked in..
Water would get in it tho...but i doubt it'd matter if you used the casing material w/in a day (whens it cooled down)
-Gnostic
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hyphae
born to grow
Registered: 12/13/02
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Casing layers should be anywhere from 1/4" minimum to 1" max. generally 3/8-5/8" is best IME.
-------------------- Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy. Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal Not what is overlay but rather what overlay is Gas Exchange vs. FAE "We all have priorities. I used a closet once setup a nice little lab trouble was all the shit that was in there ended up in the bedroom that pissed off the GF then I ended up dumping her as she was getting in the way of my sterile culture technique! Ya I got priorities too!!!"
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IGnosticAbhorI
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: hyphae]
#4398983 - 07/13/05 07:28 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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What was the rule of thumb?
I forgot...some ratio...lol...I never used it but I saw it a couple of times....lol..
-Gnostic
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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: hyphae]
#4398989 - 07/13/05 07:31 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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my first casing layer was about 1", i think i over misted them and they definatley didn't get good air exchange... but at least now i know what NOT to do. i didn't dunk them either, i want to try that this time around too. is jiffy 50-50 soil/verm? cause i have both ingredients at my house. is vermiculite less likley to become contaminated? one more question, do you prefer crumbling the cakes, cutting them in half or leaving them whole?
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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FooMan
Registered: 02/02/05
Posts: 8,957
Loc: Earth
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4399009 - 07/13/05 07:41 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
diabla said: is jiffy 50-50 soil/verm? cause i have both ingredients at my house. is vermiculite less likley to become contaminated? one more question, do you prefer crumbling the cakes, cutting them in half or leaving them whole?
50/50 peat/verm + lime buffer. Verm seems to avoid contams IME, but the flushes don't seem as good when I use it compared to other casings, such as Jiffy Mix. If you crumble the cakes you get more inoculation points. You can do it however you like, but make sure that the cakes are spread as evenly as possible. Patch the first signs of Myc you see growing through the casing layer with a little more casing so that all of the myc grows evenly. This will help you get more even flushes.
-------------------- Quick WBS Prep
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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: FooMan]
#4399047 - 07/13/05 08:11 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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i'll porbably try all vermiculite this time since i have a huge bag of it. have you tried dunking? the thought of leaving my cakes in water for 12 hours kind of makes me kind of aprehensive. but if it works like they say it does i will do it.
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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myndreach
philosopher
Registered: 08/07/04
Posts: 2,368
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4399055 - 07/13/05 08:18 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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so jiffy mix has a buffer in it already?
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ultralight
fury 762 where are you?
Registered: 03/20/05
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: myndreach]
#4399069 - 07/13/05 08:30 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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I believe the rule of thumb is your casing should be 1/4 the thikness of your sub depth. IMO I agree the casing should never be more than one inch. (exampe.. 2in sub gets 1/2in casing.)
Take care n be safe...
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IGnosticAbhorI
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: myndreach]
#4399071 - 07/13/05 08:31 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
50/50 peat/verm + lime buffer. Verm seems to avoid contams IME, but the flushes don't seem as good when I use it compared to other casings, such as Jiffy Mix
Verm. isn't as aerated and "fluffy"...So I'm sure it'd be harder to get flushes out of it like you'd see from from more peat based...
-Gnostic
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dalorean
member
Registered: 04/06/02
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Don't think so deeply about it man. All mixtures mentioned work fine. The main factors to focus on is moisture content and how you lay the layer. Too wet you drown the myc. Too dry, it drys out. Too compact, the more stress on the myc resulting damaged, slowed growth or halted growth. Too fluffy.....hmmm...never heard of too fluffy...(hint).
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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: dalorean]
#4402591 - 07/14/05 06:46 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated! i'm still debating on weather to use all vermiculite or a mix of verm/soil again. whatever i do, i know it will probably be a huge improvement from my first attempt. .. i have some south american, palenque, and huatulas fully colonized right now. (about 10 jars) i really want to dunk them but i have to say i'm kinda nervous about messing up my mycelium. is submerging the cakes in water the only (or best) way to cold shock my cakes? what if i put the colonized jars in water in the fridge? would it work the same? sorry for all the questions, i want to make sure i'm doing all of this correctly.
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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thegaruda
Stranger
Registered: 07/13/05
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Last seen: 18 years, 7 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4402758 - 07/14/05 08:38 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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i agree i thought it should be about 25% of your total thickness no more then 1.5" however
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hyphae
born to grow
Registered: 12/13/02
Posts: 6,228
Loc: the rain forests
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: thegaruda]
#4403324 - 07/14/05 11:40 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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1.5 is too thick and can lead too unnecessarily wasting the myc energy on running the casing instead of fruiting and may also lead to anerobic bacterial contams. IME it doesn't matter how thick the substrate 1/2" (+/- 1/8") works great and is most efficient. If your laying a thin substrate you don't want too much energy going into the casing run you'll want it going into getting as much fruits (yield) as possible given the limited nature of the substrates nutrients. Hope this gives you a little better understanding of the process. GL
-------------------- Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy. Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal Not what is overlay but rather what overlay is Gas Exchange vs. FAE "We all have priorities. I used a closet once setup a nice little lab trouble was all the shit that was in there ended up in the bedroom that pissed off the GF then I ended up dumping her as she was getting in the way of my sterile culture technique! Ya I got priorities too!!!"
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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: hyphae]
#4403343 - 07/14/05 11:45 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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do i even need a top layer? i want to use vermiculite only, i was planning on doing a top layer of less than 1/2", as thin as possible. should i even use the soil i have? there are no nutrients in it or anything but it contaminated pretty quickly on top of the soil last time...
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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thegaruda
Stranger
Registered: 07/13/05
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: diabla]
#4403355 - 07/14/05 11:48 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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i would stay away from soil and stick with a verm mix blend, if you use no top layer to the casing, would it really be a casing?
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hyphae
born to grow
Registered: 12/13/02
Posts: 6,228
Loc: the rain forests
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: thegaruda]
#4403372 - 07/14/05 11:52 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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Always use a casing layer, hell you go to all that trouble up to that point why not get the bang for the buck sterilize that casing whatever you use (even verm). GL and Welcome
-------------------- Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy. Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal Not what is overlay but rather what overlay is Gas Exchange vs. FAE "We all have priorities. I used a closet once setup a nice little lab trouble was all the shit that was in there ended up in the bedroom that pissed off the GF then I ended up dumping her as she was getting in the way of my sterile culture technique! Ya I got priorities too!!!"
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thegaruda
Stranger
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Last seen: 18 years, 7 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: hyphae]
#4403380 - 07/14/05 11:55 AM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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steriliaze every is the best practice. what kinda soil did you use neways?
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rhet
Stranger
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: thegaruda]
#4403861 - 07/14/05 01:35 PM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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1" of 60/40 verm and green moss works pretty well...looks neat too.
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diabla
THE DAY ISCOMING
Registered: 06/28/05
Posts: 412
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: top casing layer.... [Re: rhet]
#4404018 - 07/14/05 02:10 PM (18 years, 9 months ago) |
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the first time i used some stuff called general purpose potting soil. we did not give them very good air exchange plus it was like 90 degrees and very humid for a week. the green got it bad within a couple days, the only thing i got was like 1 good sized mushi and a few really small ones. (i mean really small) lol anyhow thanks again everyone for the info. i'll keep ya posted.
-------------------- "..the thing is, people are getting hurt and the one thing the meteor shower didn't grace this town with was a superhero. So, in his absense, you're left with me. One girl, on a mission, determined to leave no rock - especially those from outerspace - unturned. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'm here to bring you the truth."
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