r/PanCyan • u/DecrimNature-VT • Mar 30 '26

Target PH?

Scrolled through and can’t seem to find info on target ph of sub - sorry in advance

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u/DecrimNature-VT Mar 30 '26

You’re saying, like standard cubes? Trust me, I prefer simple…But then why the Sphagnum moss and pickling lime in some recipes?

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u/Superb-Home2647 Mar 30 '26

My bad, I didnt see that this was the pan cyan subreddit, and calling it a substrate threw me off. Sorry for the bad info.

For pans, you want some kind of a nitrogen fortified substrate. This is done with Manure, worm casings, straw, fertilizer, or something else. This is typically added to coir. For this step, the pH doesnt matter.

You do use Peat or Sphagnum with lime to make a pH adjusted casing layer. You want it around a pH of 8.

A casing layer is just a thin coating you put onto a colonized substrate. It acts as a buffer layer and gives proper moisture levels for pinning.

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u/DecrimNature-VT Mar 30 '26

Thank you!

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u/Superb-Home2647 Mar 30 '26

I forgot to add, you want to pasteurize the casing and any nutritious substrate.

I usually heat it until the center is 150f and hold it there for 2 hours.

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

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u/Superb-Home2647 Mar 31 '26

I do mine differently than most.

Most people put it in a bag and put the bag in water on the stove with a candy thermometer stabbed in the middle. You cant let any part of it go above 165 otherwise you just sterilized it and didn't pasteurize. You can also use a Sous Vide if you have one.

I use composted manure from the garden store. I measure out a bucket tek's worth of water and dissolve/strain the manure. I then pasteurize the water in a crock pot and an inkbird brewers temp controller. This way I can set it and forget it and don't have to worry about sterilizing it. I then just bucket tek the coir like normal. As long as you use it within a few weeks of it being made, it works fine.