ORCHID FLASKING (SEED SOWING) PART 2: THE GROWTH MEDIA

Orchid seeds don't have the nutritive seed coat that the seeds of other plant families have, so we have to provide a that nutrient rich environment. Orchid growers use agar with added nutrients, prepared in a sterile container. 

I'm using a large "National" brand pressure cooker that my mom passed to me and that I use regularly for canning vegetables and jams. I started out by boiling my jars in the pressure cooker. I'm using wide mouth pint sized canning jars. This is probably not necessary, but when canning it helps ensure sterility and a good seal on the jars, so I figured it wouldn't hurt. 

I'm using Phytotech P723 Orchid Sowing Media.

Today I decided to make 8 pint jars, 4 for each of the two seed pods I intend to sow. This is what I added:

--17 grams of P723 Seed Sowing Media

--500 ml Reverse Osmosis water (you could also use distilled water)

--25 ml of Coconut water

The quantity of P723 is the amount suggested on the container, divided in half (roughly). Coconut water was suggested in the online directions on the Phytotech website and by other orchid flaskers who have written online. 

These ingredients are placed in a saucepan and heated to almost boiling.

Pour the medium into the jars trying to get about a quarter to 1/2 an inch in each jar. Cover with the flat lids, then screw the outer rings on loosely. 

Put the jars back in the canner. The canner could have a couple inches of water on the bottom, no more than that, or your jars will float and all fall over. As me how I know 😂.  (And when they all fall over, one of them might not be sealed properly and extra water will get in, and then you might attempt to salvage it by boiling off the excess water and hoping that the seeds won't be able to tell the difference). 

Vent the canner until you get a steady stream of steam, then let the pressure increase to 15 PSI and hold it there for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before opening (overnight). 

Since I was ready to sow seeds right away, I opened the canner and put the jars directly into the sterilized glove box. It probably would also be fine to store the jars for a period of time before using them-- technically, they should be sterile and sealed if you used new canning lids on canning jars. 

Okay, we are ready to sow some orchid seeds now!