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waylitjim, the process you describe, soaking and then pasteurizing, probably converts the vast majority of the hydrated lime to calcium carbonate. Heat and exposure to carbon dioxide quickly convert all the lime to calcium carbonate given a weak solution to begin with. There is a technique to pasteurize straw using calcium hydroxide where one makes a warm to hot bath of saturated calcium hydroxide (1 teaspoon per gallon is all that is needed for saturation), soaks the straw for a bit, and then lays it out to drain and dry. This technique is covered in detail in "Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms" among others.
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