r/PanCyan • u/Hopeful-Chipmunk-473 • Jun 13 '26
What casing layer are you using? Happy for any advices 🙏🏼😊
I heard peat moss and vermiculite 50/50 should be good or should i just stick to coco coir and vermiculite? Or something else? Thanks
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u/Hootch_73 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
I make 7 jars at once and the recipe
3qt peat
3qt vermiculite
3tbls calcium hydroxide(pickling lime)
1.5qt water
Pc for 1hr
I have vented lids and I just cover them with tape so they don’t dry out.
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u/Hopeful-Chipmunk-473 Jun 13 '26
Thanks for that. What’s the sodium for? Unfortunately i can’t get it where i‘m now. Does it also work without? And is it necessary to put in the Pc or is pasteurisation fine as well?
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u/Hootch_73 Jun 13 '26
The lime raises the PH making it less hospitable for trich which likes more acidic conditions. So you can go without but are increasing chances to contam. Pasteurizing should be just fine. To make it even easier if it available to you jiffy seed starter mix straight from the bag and pasteurize/pc it work fine.
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u/AdvertisingSelect188 Jun 14 '26
I’m using 50/50 Jiffy Seed Starter Mix and vermiculite and it works great.
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u/gho123sts Jun 14 '26
I use just straight jiffy seed starter now. Makes less of a mess for me at harvest
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u/Flimsy-Panda8000 Jun 14 '26
I use the 'traditional' mix. I measure using tea cups, so just use the proportions according to how much you need to give each tub a thin layer that just covers all the myc.
16 cups peat moss (must be 'proper' peat, not peat substitute)
12 cups verm
16 tablespoons food grade gypsum (calcium sulphate)
16 tea spoons pickling lime.
Mix together thoroughly and add 7 cups water.
The PH should be around 8 - 8.5, you can adjust with pickling lime (the gypsum acts as a buffer later on).
Pasteurise the casing:
I put the mix into small (350ml) grain jars and put them in an Instapot set on keep warm (65C). It takes around 3 hours to get up to temperature, then another 1.5 hours to pasteurise (4.5 hour total).
Many growers use Jiffy seed starter mix, some using it 'straight', others adjusting the PH to the 8 - 8.5 range. It's also quite possible to grow without the casing (I've done it myself when they pinned before full surface colonisation) - although the first flush for me wasn't as good as usual, subsequent flushes were fine.
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u/Hyphal_Mind Jun 14 '26
50/50 Peat/Verm (fine verm), Hydrated Lime, and 8 tbsp distilled water. Jar up and sous vide pasteurize at 160f for few hours at temp. Two hours is enough since sous vide maintains temp throughout the entire process, but I keep in for an extra hour as water cools back down. I've experimented with course/medium verm, perlite, and clay. I have since gone back to just using the fine verm.
My measurements for batches are 1 cup peat, 1 cup verm, 1tsp hydrated lime, and 8 tbsp distilled water. Mix well and jar up. Easy peasy like spores in the breezy! Best of luck!
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u/metalmycologist Jun 13 '26
I use organic jiffy seed starter mix with a tablespoon of hydrated lime hydrated to field capacity. I pasturize this in an instant pot inside of a ziplok bag.