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compost_ph.jpg
Properly made homemade compost should come out pretty close to pH neutral...
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coco_coir_ph.jpg
6.5 pH is actually ideal for mycelium to colonize a substrate. Only raise the pH of your casing mixtures.
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compost_04.jpg
Field Capacity: Look closely at the underside of my fingers and you will see that water only trickles out when I squeeze the substrate very firmly...
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compost_03.jpg
Ready To Be Pasteurized: The compost is fully hydrated to field capacity and is ready to be used. I like to blend mine 50/50 with coco-coir, myself.
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compost_02.jpg
Here I've added 5% (by volume) Garden Gypsum and thoroughly mixed it in evenly. If the substrate was wet, this would be impossible and would clump.
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compost_01.jpg
fully dried over a week's time, the compost is dead dry and ready to be prepared.
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compost_substrate_02...
If you look closely you can make out the fact that this compost is only "half-composted" when it was harvested. Mycelium likes something to "chew"...
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compost_substrate_01...
This is our compost substrate drying in the sun for several days after being harvested from the pile. I always like to start with my substrates dry.
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vermiculite_02.jpg
Field Capacity for vermiculite is sometimes hard to judge so I often prepare it first and allow it to drip-dry in a colander until needed...
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vermiculite_01.jpg
Coarse Grained Vermiculite. Not the powdery fine-grade often sold in big-box stores.
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coco_coir_06.jpg
Ready To Be Pasteurized: The separately hydrated coco-coir and vermiculite are mixed thoroughly together and your substrate is ready to be used...
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coco_coir_05.jpg
Field Capacity: Look closely at the underside of my fingers and you will see that water only trickles out when I squeeze the substrate very firmly...
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coco_coir_04.jpg
Hydrate the coco-coir to field capacity before adding the (already hydrated) vermiculite to the coco-coir...
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coco_coir_03.jpg
Here I've added 30% Used Coffee Grounds (by volume) to the coco-coir & gypsum mix. Again, working with dry materials makes mixing it up so much easie...
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coco_coir_02.jpg
Here I've added 5% (by volume) Garden Gypsum and thoroughly mixed it in evenly. If the substrate was wet, this would be impossible and would clump.
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coco_coir_01.jpg
Coco coir, hydrated 24 hours prior and allowed to dry & drain as much as possible during that time. Remember, always start with dry substrates first!
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used_coffee_grounds....
Used Coffee Grounds provided free from the Starbucks "Grounds For Gardens" program and sun dried thoroughly before being used.
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garden_gypsum.jpg
Garden Gypsum: Used in substrates up to 5% by volume to act as a long term pH buffer as well as a micro-nutrient source for the mycelium.
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substrates_01.jpg
Gather all your pre-measured materials before you begin. The mud-tubs are invaluable in my humble opinion and are cheap at most hardware stores...
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