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KevsaNewb
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Adding perlite to PF-style jars??
#7455572 - 09/26/07 12:19 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Ok..I got everything I needed to make my jars, but I wasnt able to find any med sized verm when i was hunting supplies, just this stuff called "sta-green", which is ground really finely, and clumps up real bad. Would it hurt anything if i added perlite to the mix to help with aeration?
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juris1
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455582 - 09/26/07 12:23 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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what substrate are you using? I'm assuming it's brf/verm since you can't find the verm. But, I wouldn't recommend using the perlite to mix in your substrate. The only time I've seen perlite used is for humidity purposes in terrariums. I would keep looking or maybe find it online and order it. It's pretty inexpensive too, like $3-4 bag. Also, I'm not familiar with the Stay Green stuff you mentioned. My advice is, if this is your first grow, then follow one of the Teks to the T! A good one to watch is RR's pf tek on Youtube. Search for "let's grow mushrooms". It's a four part series and isn't long at all. That's what I did for my first grow. Good luck
-------------------- "In Vino Veritas" Mycology (from the Greek μύκης, meaning "fungus") is the study of fungi, their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy, and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals (e.g., penicillin), food (e.g., beer, wine, cheese, edible mushrooms) and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection.
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bmy
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455597 - 09/26/07 12:27 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Bump for this!
This is something I've wanted to know too, verm seems to be used for adding volume (more air) as I understand it. And perlite for holding and evaporating water. However they are both airy materials, so I thought it might be possible to just switch the verm in PF-cakes (BRF) for perlite. However I didn't dare to ask since it's probably explain somewhere :P
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KevsaNewb
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: juris1]
#7455612 - 09/26/07 12:30 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Heh....I've already done that and watched those...Sta-green >is< vermiculite, its just really powdery and fine. I'm posting this a month and a half after makin my first jars, which didnt really turn out well at all. They looked all shriveled and, well, dead when i birthed em. I know PF cakes are supposed to shrink slightly as they're colonzing but they reduced to nearly half of their original size by the time they were done. I just thought that maybe perlite would >somewhat< help to make it airy enough for the myc to more easily colonize?
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KevsaNewb
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: bmy]
#7455621 - 09/26/07 12:34 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
bmy said: so I thought it might be possible to just switch the verm in PF-cakes (BRF) for perlite.
i wasnt thinking bout switching one for the other, but maybe 75%verm to 15% perlite...since perlite only holds water on its surface...the verm is like a sponge and actually absorbs water...i think
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juris1
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455627 - 09/26/07 12:36 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I didn't realize stay green was fine verm, thanks for clearing that up. Well, i'm not gonna say using the perlite won't work or help you out, i've just never heard of it. And, i'm still relatively new to all this. You could always try it on one or two and see what ya get. That's how great ideas are born...someone thinks of something, trys it, and if it works, then great. If not, then oh well. Might try doing a search for "substitutes for vermiculite/verm" and see what ya get. Someone may have already asked this and figured it out for ya! GL
-------------------- "In Vino Veritas" Mycology (from the Greek μύκης, meaning "fungus") is the study of fungi, their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy, and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals (e.g., penicillin), food (e.g., beer, wine, cheese, edible mushrooms) and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection.
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almostacontam
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455630 - 09/26/07 12:37 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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well, i too couldnt find verm. so i used perlite for my first jars.
for me, they took about 3.5 weeks to get 90% colonized. i dont think they would ever get 100%.
I used them to spawn to coir. i suggest you do this too. i doubt they would have enough water left in them to fruit by themselves.
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bmy
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455635 - 09/26/07 12:39 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Isn't verm a shifted lava rock? I can't see how a rock could absorb anything 
edit:
Guessing, by above post, that perlite doesn't hold water as well as verm, and that is the reason for not using perlite in a BRF substrate.
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Edited by bmy (09/26/07 12:40 PM)
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KevsaNewb
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: bmy]
#7455643 - 09/26/07 12:45 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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but what about a spongy rock? that squishes? like verm
edit: or, the spores i got might not have been all too great, i ordered them from a non-vendor, before i knew this site even existed ...wont order from em again tho
Edited by KevsaNewb (09/26/07 01:07 PM)
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bmy
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455688 - 09/26/07 01:03 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I'll guess I'll just have to test it out! *runs to kitchen and puts some verm in water*
You are correct. The verm is actually kind of spongy. I'm guessing the water gets in between the layers which makes them expand, and then when you put pressure on it, it pushes the water out from between these layers and you get the feeling of sponginess.
wikipedia says "Vermiculite is a 2:1 clay, meaning it has 2 tetrahedral sheets for every one octahedral sheet. It has a medium shrink-swell capacity and is considered a limited-expansion clay."
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xaxphaanes
Mycologist



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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7455692 - 09/26/07 01:05 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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ummm verm isnt a rock it is a clay mineral.
-------------------- "Anything i say is fictional" what you should look for in manure
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Chi Ro
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Re: Adding perlite to PF-style jars?? [Re: KevsaNewb]
#7456100 - 09/26/07 03:22 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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There is no problem adding a little perlite to your PF cakes for a bit of aeration. Don't always listen to the general consensus, try it and figure it out for yourself. Make one jar with Perlite and see if it helps with aeration. If it does, good.
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