Organic Jiffy Seed Starting Mix

I grew mushrooms an had no means of compiling materials for a casing (laziness) . So i went to Walmart an picked of some Organic Jiffy Seed Starting mix and without measuring i added distilled water to the material an microwaved for 10 minutes. let cool too room temperature an then applied to casing an covered my tray. within 7 days i uncovered my casing an to my surprise the mycelium colonized it. I waited 10 days an just spotted sight of pinning mushrooms. is this unheard of? it seems to be working fine... but if there are things i need to worry about the people of this forum should please cast forth their knowledge and let me know

People use jiffy mix for casings pretty often.... Some add lime to them, or gypsum. I am but a beginner in mycology so I honestly have no clue why. I made a small casing during my current grow with some jiffy mix on top, verm on bottom and I didnt sterilize the jiffy mix and i didnt get any contams.... Although for some reason the mycellium never really colonized the casing layer, it just poked through in spots.

Anyway I'm nowhere near experienced enough to give you any worthwhile advice. Just thought i'd throw in my 2 cents.

mine has established networks all threw the soil. an it appears to have colonized. I'm am minutely experienced too but have the mushroom cultivator. but the guys on here persuaded me in that way. an like you said i haven't spotted contam's once. pins firmly established everywhere. thank you for your comment asdf1. commenting appreciated

a casing layer should not be nutritious to the shrooms...its there to help keep the sub moist and helps in an even pinset...hth


mojo

that is unless its pasteurized... that is if i was doing a bulk procedure with Hpoo an wheat straw preferably. but it doesn't have to be nutritious for mycelium to colonize it. thank you for your comment though..

asdf1 said:

People use jiffy mix for casings pretty often.... Some add lime to them, or gypsum. I am but a beginner in mycology so I honestly have no clue why.

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Jiffy Mix contains peat moss, and peat moss is acidic. Adding lime or gypsum (which has a higher Ph) will balance the soil out, making it a better environment for the mushrooms to survive.