Yesterday, during my daily scouting of the back porch, I noticed that one of the seed pods (on a Phalaenopsis-type Dendrobium hybrid) had started to split open in several places. The species seed time chart says 120-150 days for a green pod, it has been about 105-110 days...so it's a little early. I pulled it anyway, figuring I should do so to avoid losing it to algae or fungus. I followed the dry seed method, and added an ultraviolet light to my homemade box, so hopefully everything will be okay. I haven't got a pressure cooker yet, so I had to use the oven to sterilize. After transferring everything to the box and spraying down with bleach solution, I put the seed pod in solution and covered it. Then I turned on the UV light, for about twenty minutes. My questions are: 1)Was it to early to flask the seed, or should it be okay? 2)Will the addition of the UV light help make up for the absence of the pressure cooker? 3)How long is media good for, if it has been prepared...but not used? I prepared four flasks, and only had to use two. Thanks in advance for any advice, I've got my fingers crossed.....this was my first time!
