Welcome to OrchidsForum.com. We are a friendly online community for Orchid Growers all over the world. If you haven't joined yet we invite you to register and join our community. Hope to see you on our forums!

Update on my flasking operation

Discussion in 'Growing Areas' started by Marni, Dec 22, 2010.

  1. Alexey

    Alexey Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,066
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    Vancouver Island, BC
    Quote: Are you flasking too?

    I am at the beginning of pollination/hybridization and seed propagation (at he next step of addiction). Recently searched Propagation archives on the forums. If I not messed something, using dali containers is quite unique method.

    How do you seal lids? Do you use vented flasks?

    Thanks
     
  2. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    I think others use them too. I found them while trying to find polypropylene jars. I don't do anything special to seal the lids. You just have to be careful to get a brand that has a tight lid. For a while I was sealing them in bags, but the rate of contamination was the same. So far, I haven't used vented flasks.
     
  3. Ray

    Ray Orchid Iconoclast Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,805
    Likes Received:
    579
    Location:
    Oak Island NC
    I have heard of folks putting a hole in the lid, then putting a round, medicated band-aid over it, but I'm not certain what venting accomplishes, or should I say, if it's worth doing.
     
  4. Alexey

    Alexey Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,066
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    Vancouver Island, BC
    Thanks Marni, your info us very helpful.

    Ray: they claim, that vented lids allow seedlings transfer metabolism from consuming readily available sugars of the flask media to producing hydrocarbons using atmosphere CO2 on earliest stages due to gas exchange. As a result, more vigorous growth and less stressful adaptation after deflasking.
     
  5. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Alexey, do you have experience with vented flasks? When I started, everyone I talked to said not to worry about them with mothers but were less certain about the benefits of vented flasks on replates. As I got beyond mothers, I never went back and examined this.
     
  6. xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,744
    Likes Received:
    588
    Location:
    Saskatoon, SK
    I used vented flasks for replates, but was getting too much dessication (I didn't have my flasks in a humid environment) so I ended up using parafilm to cover the lids to keep in moisture. The plants didn't mind at all!
     
  7. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Calvin, is parafilm airtight? Are you saying you had vents but covered them up? Are you still flasking?
     
  8. Alexey

    Alexey Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,066
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    Vancouver Island, BC
    Marni,
    My personal experience not significant enough to tell something for sure.
     
  9. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Thanks, Alexey. There are so many variables to work on that I think I'll wait on venting until I run into a problem that I can't figure out.
     
  10. xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,744
    Likes Received:
    588
    Location:
    Saskatoon, SK
    Hi Marni - I'm not flasking anymore...I had my little adventure back in 2007, just playing around and experimenting, so I'm far from experienced. I was advantaged with a functioning autoclave and tissue culture hood, so I had it easy. The parafilm is air-tight...I used it when I saw the agar cracking and drying. I completely covered the top of the flask (if you haven't touched it before, the film stretches over things and seals them). I covered all my flasks and of the three or four species I did it for, there was no real negative impact. They were uncovered for about a month or two, and then covered for the rest of the duration until deflasking.
     
  11. Uluwehi

    Uluwehi angraecoids, dendrobiums and more Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,973
    Likes Received:
    124
    Marni, we are using the parafilm on our Angraecopsis parviflora flasks too. It's great stuff!
     
  12. Magnus A

    Magnus A Ph.D.

    Messages:
    250
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden, Europe, Earth
    A comment, parafilm is not air tight but waterproof. Gases like oxygen and nitrogen diffuses through parafilm over time.
     
  13. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Thanks, Magnus, do you know if it stops mites from getting in?
     
  14. Magnus A

    Magnus A Ph.D.

    Messages:
    250
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden, Europe, Earth
    Yes Marni, parafilm is a "plastic paraffin film" and mites should not be able to "get in".

    Though it is possibly that the film breaks down with time...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parafilm

    /Magnus
     
  15. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,728
    Likes Received:
    3,528
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Thank you. Good to know.