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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE
    #5380495 -

Sadly,
there is no MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE.

Here is why.

Peat from differing sources have differing Ph.

Verm from differing sources have differing Ph.

Coir from differing sources have differing Ph.

Water from differing sources have differing pH.

How can one add a specific amount of buffering agent, to something so variable that will result in an optimal casing mix Ph (7.5)?

You cannot.

Unless you use a Ph meter, or litmus strips to test it.




I use these two things to adjust Ph.
I use a ph meter, or litmus strips to test the ph.

That is how (amongst other things), you get a healthy pin-set.


A packet of litmus strips is inexpensive & easy to find.
Why not get & use some.
If so, you will know EXACTLY what the resulting casing mix pH is.

Then, get results - as above. :grin:


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: agar]
    #5380552 -

Beautiful man, thanks for the tip.

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: ixitwistedixi]
    #5380575 -

yep hes right,  my first grow went gr8, ph stips are inexpensive and get u in the rite PH  zone. good advice :smile:


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: FractalXplora]
    #5380615 -

no,thansk for the strip :smile:


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GOTTA LOVE POO CAKES!!!

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: bongtoke]
    #5380656 -

agar,
where did you get the ph meter from? How much?

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: sivad02487]
    #5381376 -

You can get pH gauges at garden supply stores. Check online if you can't find them at your local garden store.

~Cappa.


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Their are 10 types of people. Those that understand binary, and those who don't.
~Cappa.

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: sivad02487]
    #5381453 -

Those meters are expensive bro. The best thing for the price is litmus paper that can be bought at laboratory/scientific supply-type stores or online. (thanks again Agar! :thumbup:)

I bought some cheesy looking pH meter at the garden store. It was the kind with the green meter and long aluminum stick. IT SUCKED! The meter NEVER moved up or down even when I stuck it directly into very acidic or alkaline solutions. Avoid these if you can.

Litmus paper is dirt cheap and accurate, so an expensive gauge isn't neccessary IMO.


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Quick WBS Prep

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: FooMan]
    #5381630 -

Very true...

In certain parts of FL you dont even have to use any lime in your casing, just a long term buffer... (if ya use the well water)

happy trails


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weretheshit.com is the shit!

:-D

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: FooMan]
    #5381734 -

FooManShroom said:
Litmus paper is dirt cheap and accurate, so an expensive gauge isn't neccessary IMO.


Not so accurate if you're color blind!  :smile:


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Their are 10 types of people. Those that understand binary, and those who don't.
~Cappa.

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: cappa]
    #5381784 -

great post :wink:


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At times I get consumed by my everyday life and will leave the Shroomery. Yet, every time drugs come falling into my life for fun.....I always think about the Shroomery and then I'm back!

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: RemainRandom50]
    #5381816 -

just outa curiousity, but how do u use the strips? You just bury it in the mix and sprinkle some water over it or something?

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: shroomr4life]
    #5382933 -

Hydrated lime for the longterm buffer, calcium carbonate for the fast acting buffer, right? Is there a specific ratio that should be used? I understand you need to test the pH to determine how much it needs to be buffered, but how do you know how much of each to add?


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: tiny_rabid_birds]
    #5383017 -

tiny_rabid_birds said:
Hydrated lime for the longterm buffer, calcium carbonate for the fast acting buffer, right?


You got that backwards. Hydrated lime for fast buffering and calcium carbonate for long term. :cool:

As for getting the ph right, add small amounts of hydrated lime and keep checking the ph until its right. Then add a handful of oyster shells (calcium carbonate).

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: MrMaddHatter]
    #5383030 -

Ahhh... thanks for clearing that up.

So I want to acheive 7.5 using the hydrated lime alone, then just add the handful of calcium carbonate..? Would the calcium carbonate not continue to basify the substrate since the optimal pH was already acheived via hydrated lime?


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: tiny_rabid_birds]
    #5383658 -

1. Hydrated lime is fast acting, but short term.
2. Oyster shell flour is slow acting, but long term.

1, gets it there.
2, keeps it there


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: agar]
    #5383754 -

agar man, so whens the mushroom cultivation olympics???

u gonna take the gold home for the USA no doubt.

ill be your compost mixer and pressure cooker.

come on who else is on the team???    :mushroom2:

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: agar]
    #5383816 -

agar hits the nail right on the head again! Yup, a good pH probe is absolutely essential if you are using hydrated lime, and it's a good idea if you use calcium carbonate but not as important. I use a probe myself every time I mix up a casing and my pin sets show it.


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: Blue Helix]
    #5383903 -

BlueHelix, you got it DOWN - PAT.
(much applause for those pin-sets)

The intent of this thread was to point out a simple fact.

Some casing mix recipes call for:

X amount of THIS & X amount of THAT.

Trouble is, the pH of everyones THIS & THAT differs.
(simply because it comes from differing souses - worldwide)

So, unless you TEST the pH of this & that.
You can never know if you are even in the ball-park.

As, your untested mix may look PERFECT.
When, in fact it is not even IN THE BALL-PARK.

It is CERTAINLY disgruntling to have:
Gone to all the trouble of colonizing wbs/grain spawn.
Then spawning that to a bulk substrate.
Then, incubating the bulk substrate to 100% colonization.
(assuming - everything is near optimal, so far).

Then, adding a casing mix:
That has a pH so far outside the desired range.

That, mycelium will not colonize it.

Resulting in little or no pins/fruits.
(except possibly some that side pin, where there is no bunko casing mix).

Then, the cultivator is starts shouting posts about WTF went wrong. :mad2:

What did go WRONG, was the pH of the casing mix.
Because they failed to TEST & ADJUST prior to application.
Simple as that.


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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: agar]
    #5383953 -

I agree. But I want to add that if you DON'T have a pH probe or litmus paper (which really doesn't work that well I have to tell you), then you are best using calcium carbonate flour and should NEVER use hydrated lime. Why? Because calcium carbonate, unlike hydrated lime, stops dissolving in the lower 8s.

Let me try to explain this. If I take a glass of reverse osmosis pure water with absolutely no ability to influence pH and add FULL TABLESPOON of the most ultra pure finest mesh (and so most reactive) calcium carbonate flour you can find--and I have actually DONE this to prove it to myself--guess what the resulting pH is? It is about 8.3 or about the same pH as the ocean. That's pretty high for mushrooms, but keep in mind that this is the WORST CASE SCENARIO of adding too much. And even at that high pH of 8.3, which you probably wouldn't get unless you went nuts with the stuff, the MUSHROOMS WILL PIN in that casing soil - maybe not too well but they'll do it.

Now, let's talk about hydrated lime. If I take a glass of water and add a speck of hydrated lime about the size of a period on a piece of paper, what do you think the pH becomes? It'll be 12.5! That's high enough to burn the hell out of mycelium! The worst case scenario of hydrated lime is total destruction of all life in the casing soil and not a single pin forming. That's why I don't recommend using it unless you have a pH probe to make sure you didn't go overboard, which is super easy to do when you are shooting in the dark without a probe because, as agar said, all peat mosses vary in pH, all coco coirs vary in pH, all tap waters vary in pH, and so on. You just can't predict it well enough to use something as dangerous as hydrated lime.

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Re: MAGIC CASING MIXTURE RECIPE [Re: Blue Helix]
    #5384019 -

Agar, i'd LOVE to ask you... since i just cased my first poo/spawn casings yesterday...

what do you recommend as far as casing layer depth (i used hydrated coir and a mix of fine AND chunky verm)?

i realize this is a BIT REMEDIAL for y'all, but the search engine gives varying advice here, and i'd rather ask one who KNOWS.

and, for the record, my casing layers were between (ballpark) 3/4"-1"

i know itsa dumb Q, but i OBSESS to say the LEAST.


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"DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MIND.  IT IS REALITY THAT IS MALFUNCTIONING." - Robert Anton Wilson

NO LEFT TURN UN-STONED

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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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