You’ll need a sterilized whisk and metal stirring rod, too, so it’s fine to sterilize them at the same time as the flasks. You’ll be making enough growing medium to use in up to a dozen flasks, so prepare as many as you’d like to use. Keep in mind that you’ll be storing your flasks with orchid seeds for at least 1 year so consider how much space you have. Unfortunately, you can’t simply disinfect the flasks with bleach since it won’t kill spores. Wipe down as much of your workspace with 70% isopropyl alcohol. You may want to keep some in a spray bottle so you can frequently wipe down work areas.
You can buy agar medium for orchids at specialized gardening supply stores or online. Read the label to ensure you’re using starter medium and not maintenance medium.
Heating the medium completely dissolves the agar and sugars in it. It’s this medium that sets and gives your orchid seeds the nutrients they need to grow!
Fill as many flasks as you’d like to use. You probably won’t need all of the agar media so feel free to use it for another project like growing lab cultures for a science experiment.
Always be cautious when you work around hot flasks and steam.
If you have space in the pressure cooker when you’re processing the flasks with agar, go ahead and put the flask with distilled water into it, too.
A laminar flow hood is like a cabinet that prevents contamination within the space. You may be able to use one if you have access to a community science lab.
Wear gloves when you handle the seeds so you don’t contaminate them. There are 25,000 to 30,000 types of orchids so you have a lot of options for choosing seeds! Check what varieties are available at your local gardening center. They probably have common types like phalaenopsis and cattleya, for instance.
To prevent contamination, spray the outside of the flasks with your 20% bleach solution before you handle them and after you finish touching them. Don’t have a syringe? You can use a large eye dropper or medicine dropper instead.
These can be tricky conditions for a lot of people to create, which is why orchids grow best in hot, tropical locations or in a lab setting.
Buy long 10 in (25 cm) tweezers online or from a specialty gardening store.
You can use rainwater to water the orchids. It nourishes the plants. [18] X Expert Source Monique CapanelliPlant Specialist Expert Interview. 22 September 2020. Orchids need different amounts of light depending on what varietal you’re growing. Research to find if your orchid needs low-, medium-, or high-intensity light. Most orchid plants need to be repotted every few years so the roots have room to grow.
