Your preferred method for sterilising bark?

[greengarden]

I am contemplating the best way to sterilise the 8mm bark I plan to use for my next deflask. Any reccs?

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

Also if I want to use a live media for deflasking such as live moss is there a way I can sterilise it without killing it? I have peroxide if that is of any use... Also can I boil or otherwise sterilise mounts like treefern or cork slabs?

[Gage]

You can always do it in the oven. That's what I have done for terrarium media. Just put the damp media in a large casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for a couple of hours, and that's it.

[Adrian]

I microwaved my bark/perlite mix for about 10 min on my last deflasking. not sure if I did it for long enough though. Might try the oven.
good luck!

[greengarden]

Thanks guys. In the end I boiled it, figured that way I wouldn't dry it out. I've put the seedlings in(paphs) so hopefully they do OK.

[Adrian]

Originally Posted by greengarden

Thanks guys. In the end I boiled it, figured that way I wouldn't dry it out. I've put the seedlings in(paphs) so hopefully they do OK.

Just forgot - I don't have an oven at the moment. will do the boiling trick when my next lot of flasks come in

[shadytrake]

I just got a pressure cooker and sterilized my first batch of sphag moss.

[orchidsarefun]

has anyone tried NOT sterilising ? What happened ?
I have never sterilised bark or sphag out the packet and have successfully raised seedlings and used one or the other for mature plants.
I figure that the seedlings get sprayed with a fungicide soon enough after compotting and the bark/moss must contain beneficial organisms. On another thread its even mentioned that deflasked seedlings shouldn't have the agar washed off and are basically just "plopped" on the seedling mix, agar and all, straight out the flask.

[shadytrake]

I've done both and discovered that my success rate goes up tremendously with sterile media.

Plus it isn't too hard to do either chemically or physically.

Losing whole flasks to fungus gets expensive and irritating.

[Brooke]

I've never sterilized my sphag and do not lose any to fungus. The only time I have lost a couple to fungus, probably damp off, was in January and the flask was contaminated before opening.

I used Physan to disinfect them and then put the compots on a heating mat. I had the white fuzzy growth at the base of the seedling and used cinnamon to stop it. I think I caused the damp off by leaving the lid on too tight and the increased heat.

I've never used bark when deflasking.

Brooke

[omega_z]

why do you want to sterilize them? isn't it better to let it natural, regarding the natural microbes on the substrate which has a symbiotic relation with the orchids? just my opinion. I never sterilize moss and bark and fern slab used.