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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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Re: Casing Q's - PH Levels , Oyster Flour vs Calci Sand and Ground Lime? [Re: Blue Helix]
    #5392137 -

My recommendations have served me well (1tsp. hydrated/1-2tbs. long term buffer per qt. of mix) and since we do know peat based casings are initially low on the pH scale adding a small amount of hydrated lime as well as a long term buffer won't hurt a thing. There are recommendations out there Paul Stamets even has them! Generally we're not trying to peg an exact pH just sweeten the welcome mat a little more.


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Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy.
Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal :wink:
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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Re: Casing Q's - PH Levels , Oyster Flour vs Calci Sand and Ground Lime? [Re: hyphae] * 1
    #5392673 -

Hyphae is right. Paul Stamets does have recommendations, so let's talk about those recommendations.

In the book The Mushroom Cultivator Paul Stamets recommends 25% agricultural lime with relation to peat by volume. This type of lime typically does not contain hydrated lime in it unless it is labeled hydrated lime. Agricultural lime a low-grade of calcium carbonate derived from limestone or oyster shells. Avoid those varieties with dolomite in them. It looks like gray powder and has a consistency between flour and corn meal. A good example is Bandini AG Lime from Oyster Shells.

In the book Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms Paul writes of another casing recipe that contains 10% (per volume peat) of "chalk". When someone says chalk, they probably mean a different higher grade of calcium carbonate derived from a very porous type of limestone that is called "chalk". This type is whiter and finer mesh than the normal AG lime. It has more the consistency of flour but isn't quite as white. It's about two or three times as reactive as your typical gray agricultural lime which is why he recommends less in that recipe.

I fully agree with those recipes that Paul Stamets outlines in those two books. The key here, though, is this: Notice that Paul Stamets does not use hydrated lime and never even mentions it. I do not recommend using hydrated lime without the aid of a pH probe because it's impossible to know how much to use otherwise. If you cannot find a lime that is not dolomite-based or is hydrated lime, then order a tech grade of calcium carbonate online. What's that?

The most pure and predictable type of calcium carbonate lime to use is the grades used in wine making (aka "tech" grade). This is an ultra-pure, extremely fine grade that is relatively reactive when compared to the other grades. It has the consistency of flour and is as white as bleached flour. Of the calcium carbonates commonly out there, this is the highest quality, and you need to use the least of it in your casing to achieve a pH in the mid 7s (where you want it). Use it at about 1/2 cup per 15 cups of peat moss. You can find it on Ebay for about $12 per five pounds of tech grade (search for "calcium carbonate"). Five pounds is probably enough for a lifetime unless you are producing many dry pounds a year in which case you wouldn't be reading this thread. Although I have used hydrated lime in my casings with a pH probe to guide me, I usually do not use it, but I always use the tech grade of calcium carbonate from the same bag I bought about five years ago. Here are the type of results I got using that stuff:


Edited by Blue Helix (03/12/06 05:49 PM)

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Re: Casing Q's - PH Levels , Oyster Flour vs Calci Sand and Ground Lime? [Re: Blue Helix]
    #5392824 -

Beer & wine making supply stores have the "food" grade calcium carbonate, for around $2 a pound. As you say, it looks like bleached white flour & is that fine. Good stuff. :thumbup:


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Re: Casing Q's - PH Levels , Oyster Flour vs Calci Sand and Ground Lime? [Re: agar]
    #5394723 -

A good general rule for 50/50 casing I read once and have followed for years: 1Tbsp of oyster shells for every quart casing mix and 1 teaspoon hydrated lime per quart.

I have a bale of sunshine also... Here is my mix pH tested USING PH PAPER around 7.5 maybe 7.3 depending on how you perceive the colour LOL.

I do this mix- basically Agar's, 6t's, etc....
4qt - Peat (Sunshine Brand)
4qt - Verm (Course)
1qt - Coir
9Tbsp - Oyster Shell Flour (1/2 ground, 1/2 crushed - to prolong coffee grinder life)
9tsp - Hoffmans Hydrated Garden Line.
Mix with well water... usually around ph of 7 (in my locale)

I think Litmus papers are really the cheap, effective solution for casing mixes for the basic home cultivator interested in doing casing mixes requiring peat or other ph adjustment. For the serious cultivator (for profit/science cultivator), a pH probe is probably the way to go.

Also to correct your misinformation BlueHelix : 5-8% of male population has SOME sort of colorblindness (not completely) and .5% of female population. Your 20% figure was WAY HIGH. Source: http://colorvisiontesting.com/color2.htm

Send me a PM with a ship address and I'll send over a sample of Hoffmans Garden Lime for your studies.

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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Mushroom Cultivation
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