CAUTION always follow the MSDS and/or instructions of all chemicals and equipment that you use

the information below is to only be used as a reference at your own risk

store all chemical as per the MSDS

if you are not confident or do not understand any information on the labels do not proceed

History the way that orchid where sometimes produced before flasks

orchid seed do not have a nutrition pack to survive and grow like most other plants, orchid seed need a fungus to grow and this fungus is found laying upon the roots of orchids. So to propagate you would get a seed pod from a purple catterla and disperses seed around a white cattleya and vis-versa and when/if the seed grow when they flowered it was obvious to what plant was what. Today the mix/medium has chemicals that replicate the fungus needed by the seed to grow

 when flasking orchids everything must be 100% sterile the use of a glove box or laminar flow cabinet is preferred. Also if you are not going to use a air conditioner running 24/7 and grow lights for 12-14hrs a day then maybe this is not for you. you can expect a large power bill, when I started playing around trying flasking some advice to me was I should ether grow orchids and defalks or just flask orchids it is hard to find time to do both and they were right it is hard to do both, so I will pass this on to you!!!

setup

will need a dedicated room with a tap, sink, power and the room must be able to be keep as stable as possible approx deg 25c 24/7 in temperature. flour coverings should be tiles or vinyl as to keep clean and if you spill chemicals your wife/husband will not kill you. Need racks to hold bottles and lights timer switch for lighting, flow cabinet or glove box preferred, an old clean chair that can get washed if you spill things, lab coat/old tee shirt as bleach is not forgiving,

pressure cooker or autoclave to suit bottles and tools, a dedicated blender not for food afterwards

alcohol at 70%

bottles/flasks

I use jars there is heaps of different types of flasks as per picture below********

under the lids of the jars I use 2 x autoclave able glass fibber filters you can use coffee filter paper the same way as per picture bellow******

you can make your own mix/medium but I prefer to buy this in 1 litre pre mixed packs these are available form sigma, westernorchids, isolab, techbio here is a mix recipe but you will need a .001g scales/balance around $1000 that's a lot of mix

ph tester prefer digital around $200 against paper strips (some strips will very with charcoal in the mix)

some use a microscope to look at there seed to see if it is viable I have done this and have found it easier to just throw it down on a few bottles and see how it goes 

This is a orchid seed under the microscope you can clearly see the ovary

Lets Go

make up a batch of mix. I mix mine will boiling water as this helps to set the agar you need around 25mm deep mix in each bottle this can be a bit less for seed sow. Autoclave the bottles allow minimum 20-25min at 121c or just above for approx 12-24 bottles, this is something you will have to play with to much will burn the mix and not enough will not sterilize and contaminate the mix

when removing flasks use 2 clean cloths one to hold the bottom and one to tighten the lids as you pull them out of the autoclave, also be gentle and do not shake you do not want any of the mix to touch the filter other wise you will get contamination

allow to cool and write date times type of mix etc..... on lids. Move the flasks to your lab, these now need to be left aside ready for use in around 1-2 weeks, this it to allow time for any contamination to grow if something went wrong

Helpful Tip:- some mould can be visible within 2 days and some takes up to 2 weeks, if mould grows quick then its a good chance that the filters are not working with this the mould will normally grow on top of the mix, if mould seem to be coming out like liquid from the mix and timing some time to develop then this is normally that you have not autoclaved your mix well,

air conditioners :-this is needed until you have good growth in the bottle after this I find that I do not get as many contamination issues.

In the lab

you will need

• squirt bottle with 70% alcohol

• some good quality paper towels

• autoclave

• small bucket for bleach

• flow cabinet/hood or equivalent

• labels

• ready to use flasks with pre cooked mix

• seed and seed flask/bottles

• tweesers/iso loops/tools

• soap

• antiseptic wash

• clock

first autoclave your clean tools I do this for 20 - 25min this time depends on what mass/size volume is to be autoclaved.

you will need to start sterilizing, turn on your laminar flow cablet and clean inside and out with 70% alcohol when complete if you have a UV light turn this on remember you can get sunburnt and uv lights are not healthy. It is best practise to run this for approx 20min before use this allows time for purging and UV to tack affect.

Get your seed sterilizing under way see notes on sterilizing seed

make up a bleach solution in your bucket approx 5litres water to 800ml of white king bleach

bleach has a shelf life after 6 months if not used I dump it for a new one read the instructions on the label and always keep the lid on.

all movement around the area should be slow and gentle as to reduces air movement

turn off the UV light only when time expires

once your tools are ready take them out of the autoclave and place them in the flow cabinet.

Scrub your hands and arms with soap then with antiseptic wash then spray with alcohol, put gloves on and spray again with alcohol. This makes a sterile barrier for you to work. Remember to not touch anything unnecessary as “IT WILL BE CONTEMINATED”

if your tools drop out of your hand or touch something other then what there used for discard and use another as they may be contaminated

Dunk the flasks into the bleach solution one at a time making sure that all the outside surface of the flask/s are in contact with the solution and place them into the cabinet, and do the same with the seed flask/s and alcohol sprayer.

Spray the work area/surface of the cabinet now remove/open the lid of the seed flask and a mix flask

and place the seed onto the medium mix in the flask remember that tools, inside, rim and lid of flask and seed must be keep from being contaminated at all times I make up two flasks of seed with different tools as to reduce the chance of contamination to one flask

slowly place lids on flask and tighten when finished d remove all flasks and label with date, type of seed batch number etc.......

clean all tools and work areas and tune off cabinet

put under grow lights and hope for the best you may see the sometimes whitish seed turn sometimes green in a few weeks but can take up to 12 months to do anything

You will find that some seed will germinate and some will not that's normal for me to

once you have growth to replate do the same as above but remember to change or keep tools sterile as you go and do not over crowed your working area as this affects air flow from the HEP filter

Happy growing

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