What kind of budget would germination need?

[RiverbankMudlark]

I'd very much like to get into hybridizing orchids. Unfortunately, that would require certain equipment to establish sterile conditions, that probably costs a fair bit of money

I know that, with mushroom cultivation, which seems to share a lot of similarities with orchid germination, there are a lot of "cheap" setups involving pressure cooker "autoclaves", still air boxes (which as far as I can tell is basically a gloveless glovebox), relatively affordable miniature flow hoods (I think Lab Ratz is a popular one).

I figured it would be worth asking anyone here who germinates orchid seeds what kind of price ranger their equipment is.

Also, In this question, the OP mentions that asymbiotic germination developed in the 1920s by Bernard, Burgeff and Knudson. I don't remember exactly, but I think the laminar flow hood wasn't developed until the 1960s. Does anyone know what kind of methods they used? I wonder if a setup more like theirs might be more affordable.

[Ray]

Not many of us do our own flasking, as, in addition to getting the seed sown, one needs a lot of controlled growing space to keep the flasks for the time needed to germinate, differentiate, and grow to the point of being able to survive in pots. That often involves transferring the protocols from the “mother” flasks to a different media in multiple “daughter” flasks, and growth over several years’ time. A single capsule can result in thousands of seedlings…

Keeping the work area sterile is the key to avoiding contamination of the flasks, and there are many ways to accomplish that.

One of the simplest, after disinfecting all the components, is to sow the seed over a boiling pot/tray of water, so that the steam column precludes airborne contamination.

Another is to build your own glove box. I’ve seen them make from cardboard boxes with a sheet of glass over the top, from clear storage bins, all the way up to self-fabricated plexiglass units. Again, once everything is sterilized and placed inside, you spray everything down with a bleach solution before opening things up and getting down to work.

Then there’s the DIY “laminar flow” hood that draws outside air through a HEPA filter before maintaining a positive pressure of air that is pushed out through the opening(s) you work through.

[Louis_W]

There is a cattleya symposium talk about flashing that may or may not be valuable to you. Innit they mention that before the flow hood, they had a room that was so still the dust would settle. A person would enter the room and work very slowly to avoid stirring up spores and bacteria.

That said, I think it was also very hot or miss and the flow hood technique greatly improved success rates.

Pretty sure this is it:
https://youtu.be/MAOsYLLCLIM?si=mm217dQ7DFvXW_Xu

[Dorchid]

You're on the right track...use a sterilite flipped upsidedown with large armholes as a Still Air Box (SAB) and jars for plates/flasks (working over a steaming pot of water will likely result in contaminated work and/or burns). You can get sowing and replate media for as low as $10 bucks each (plus Shipping) from Phytotech or the like, so if you have a pressure cooker, you're pretty much good to go and can get started for under $50. You could also get better kit for $$$.