If you had a choice: In Flask or Out of Flask?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You don't need an overflow hood or autoclave (both very expensive for many hobbyists).

Home kitchen tissue culture techniques are a bare bones and inexpensive way to sow orchid seeds.

Through some trial and error (it won't usually take too long), you'll eventually figure out how to get things done right.

A simple large plastic tub made by Rubbermaid or something is suitable enough (I recommend a clear plastic tub so you can see better while you're working), and should be able to take the place of an overflow hood very affordably.

There are other basic home tissue culture supplies you'd need as well, but you'd have to shop around.

[trdyl]

A cheaper alteraitive for the autoclave is a pressure cooker.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

For those who don't have a pressure cooker or can't afford one (or not willing to afford one )...

Other alternatives for an autoclave are:

- oven
- microwave

Caution: Be careful of the temperature differential between the freshly cooked tc media and the flask (if the glass from the flask is cooler than the media, you risk cracking, or breaking the flask).

**The above is an important safety caution.**

[Royal]

Water can only be heated to boiling before releasing heat energy as it turns into steam. At 1 bar (atmospheric pressure at sea level) the boiling point of water is 212 F, so that's the hottest we can get it without increasing pressure. In order to achieve true sterilization temperatures you really need a pressure cooker. That's why the FDA recommends pressure canning for meats, fruits, and other non-acidic foods. Boiling doesn't kill everything.

That being said, I have made flasks in my oven. I was really expecting problems but they came out fine. I'm not saying it's impossible to get good results without a p-cooker, I'm just saying that it's not accepted as a trustworthy method of sterilization.