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poof
Stranger
Registered: 08/07/07
Posts: 209
Last seen: 15 years, 4 months
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Impellers to replace casings
#7764878 - 12/16/07 10:33 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Ive been growing bulk hpoo with peat/verm/perlite/calcium casing's for a year now, and 60% of the time the casing will contam with trich after the first flush. Theres no carpets, the air is hepa filtered, everythings clean, the chamber even has its own damn room! I pasteurize the casing material (150F for 2 hours the night before casing) and it is always the first thing to get contaminated (i know this because when i get rid of it the substrate is never contaminated, it always starts with the casing). The casing is aerated with a impeller humidifier that has a hepa filter on its intake and gets its water changed every 5 days.
My point is, peat casings suck, there are a magnet for contamination, way too much work, always push the flush time back at least a week, and with my current humidifying setup which pushes plenty of moist air into the tub, i fail to see the purpose of them.
So i wanted to know how prone to contamination vermiculite is as a casing material. Or if all casing's are prone to contams i might as well just not even case at all, god knows my humidifier pushes more than enough moisture than the mycellium will ever need. Either way peat has got to go.
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Nibin
Getting there



Registered: 11/29/05
Posts: 4,480
Last seen: 10 years, 8 months
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: poof]
#7764998 - 12/16/07 11:07 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Your problem is that you are not correcting the casing pH with hydrated lime.
Peat is acid and contaminants love acid media. You need to increase the pH using hydrated lime. That makes the casing inhospitable for the contaminants but the cube mycelium can tolerate it fine.
-------------------- Newcomers guide-----> For all things shroomy
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somebody041
bud tester


Registered: 06/04/07
Posts: 476
Loc: California
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: Nibin]
#7765063 - 12/16/07 11:25 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Yup, exactly what Nibin said. crushed oyster shell and lime are what you need to adjust the pH. look up the 50/50+ tek.
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Nibin
Getting there



Registered: 11/29/05
Posts: 4,480
Last seen: 10 years, 8 months
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: somebody041]
#7765094 - 12/16/07 11:33 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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He said he is using calcium, which I suppose (making an assumption here) is calcium carbonate which is the same as crushed oyster shell and oyster shell flour.
Calcium carbonate will adjust the pH too slowly, you need to use Hydrated lime to increase the pH nearly instantly. Calcium carbonate (or oyster shell flour) can then be added as a long term corrector.
Crushed oyster shell on the other hand will basically have no effect on pH as the pieces are too large, but it does improve the texture of your mix.
-------------------- Newcomers guide-----> For all things shroomy
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poof
Stranger
Registered: 08/07/07
Posts: 209
Last seen: 15 years, 4 months
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: Nibin]
#7868627 - 01/12/08 10:41 AM (16 years, 20 days ago) |
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Thanks, i never knew i needed both hydrated lime and regular lime, no wonder ive been failing so much.
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DJYoshaBYD


Registered: 04/07/07
Posts: 2,405
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: poof]
#7868677 - 01/12/08 11:08 AM (16 years, 20 days ago) |
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very true, but I case with straight verm, never get overlay, never get contams.. maybe thats just me though...
I soak the verm in water, strain it well, bake at 350 for 30 min, case, mist slightly, then incubate till you are ready to fruit...
also, add a hydrogen peroxide to the water in the humidifier... it helps
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SheikCorp
Stranger

Registered: 01/09/08
Posts: 2,274
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: poof]
#7868960 - 01/12/08 12:49 PM (16 years, 20 days ago) |
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Pasteurize at 160ish.
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creamcorn
mad scientist



Registered: 03/13/06
Posts: 2,962
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Re: Impellers to replace casings [Re: poof]
#7869143 - 01/12/08 01:48 PM (16 years, 20 days ago) |
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Quote:
poof said: So i wanted to know how prone to contamination vermiculite is as a casing material. Or if all casing's are prone to contams i might as well just not even case at all, god knows my humidifier pushes more than enough moisture than the mycellium will ever need. Either way peat has got to go.
Vermiculite is "inert" as far as your concerns go. It will make things no more or less likely to contaminate than an uncased substrate. Plain vermiculite does a fine job for casing cubensis.
Uncased works as well, though results vary a lot. If you have tip-top environmental conditions (namely high humidity with plenty of fresh air), you'll do good uncased. Even in situations where you get less than stellar pinning, you can still re-assure yourself you've saved time, materials, money, and don't have to clean bits of casing material off your stems when you harvest.
Casings do serve a purpose - they serve several purposes, and the importance differs with species. The short answer though... cubensis is a hearty species with a wide tolerance for fruiting; they pin easily with or without casing. A well maintained casing layer gives you a better chance of an abundant pinset, but that's not an automatic - especially if you're struggling with casing contamination!
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