What if you baked your bark media in the oven - low temps, for a long time (like dehydrating fruit/foods) - (with any brand - Orichata, or any other bark brand), so it would be dried out, cooled, & then stored in a plastic container, that is not completely airtight, but seals fairly well (like those clear plastic boxes, those 'Sterilite' type (right brand name?) storage boxes you find at big box stores)... Would that work? I figure that the baking would kill any spores/bacteria, and would also thoroughly dry out the bark enough, so as to not welcome any new nasties, allowing you to store it (for say, up to 6 months - tops +/-?), in a plastic storage box... Then when you want to use it, pour boiling water on it, so that the pores in the bark will open up again...? I'd like others opinions on this idea, please
....If that situation were too airtight, maybe drilling holes in the plastic container would alleviate the issue??
I like the idea of using these boxes/containers, b/c they will stack nicely... As opposed to stacking bags of media on top of each other, only to open the cabinet, after they have shifted (& somehow they always do!
)... and have them all fall out on you...
I learned quickly to use chip clips/clothespins to close my bags, but the whole bags still fall out!
Lol