to deflask or not !!

[ample_C]

hey i was aiming to keep them warm throughout winter. i agree with what u said but what tempretures can flasks withhold or stay well utill e.g. 6 degrees?

[Andrew]

I didn't realise you were trying to grow them outside. I can see why you're doing it now. I imagine the lowest temperatures for a flask would be the same as the plant that's growing in it but realistically you want to avoid large temperature fluctuations. Not only does it give more stable conditions for the plants to grow but it maintains a stable air pressure within the flask so that air + microbes aren't drawn into the flask when the pressure drops.

I keep my flasks indoors in what's essentially a stripped out cupboard with a fluoro light. For small numbers of flask a south facing (southern hemisphere) or shaded window without additional lighting will give also good results.

[Undergrounder]

If the flasks are sealed you wouldn't think the environment would make much of a difference to whether they go mouldy or not... i feel for ya though, the last flask of phals i bought also was contaminated in the flask. I took them out, fungacided them, and still have lost about 1/4 so far to rot. In comparison my other Phal flasks have had 100% success so far.

if i can suggest though when you do deflask them that if you put them in an aquarium, put a small fan in there on a timer to keep the air flow up. A closed warm humid space will lead to mould in a lot of the seedlings.

This is my setup that i find works well:



Vermiculite in the bottom soaks up the water, keeps humidity up, light provides heat, fan provides air movement, fan on 15 mins every hour, light on 10 hours a day.