Selfing to achieve 4N breeders

[zxyqu]

And somehow I've been excluded from the PM madness...

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

And somehow I've been excluded from the PM madness...

feel free to send me a pm! I'd love to talk to you some more!

[DavidCampen]

Do you have the microscope?

Here is Rob's list (this must be the Rob who has been mentioned in this thread) of materials need. It doesn't look too onerous but I agree that buying chemicals can be difficult. Have you looked into sources other than Sigma?
Chromosome Counting - Root Tip Squash Technique | ORCHID VAULT

Originally Posted by zxyqu

Rob is also probabaly still finishing up his brand new schnazy looking greenhouse. Looks amazing. I'd say total cost to get started counting is around 2000 bucks. 500-1500 for a good scope, depending on what you can find. You need a 100x oil immersion lens. You'll need about 200 bucks for a camera for the scope (either an eyepeice camera or a camera for a trinocular port). Then it's all the supplies, glassware and stuff. And somewhere along the line you have to get access to someone who can purchase from Sigma. They will not ship to a residence, only a business address with a business that has set up with them. This is where I got stifled.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

And somehow I've been excluded from the PM madness...

We talk on Facebook, so. . .

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

We talk on Facebook, so. . .

someone needs to friend me on facebook! ehum, Dr. Jarad

[zxyqu]

Yup, I have everything, but finding the 8-HQ is really sigma restricted. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else. However, a lot of the other supplies you can find on ebay. I forget the store that does chem supplies, but they had it all.

[GirlGoneWild]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

And somewhere along the line you have to get access to someone who can purchase from Sigma. They will not ship to a residence, only a business address with a business that has set up with them. This is where I got stifled.

I don't think this would be a problem for me. My father-in-law owns a rapid prototyping business and deals with all sorts of chemicals. I'm sure he wouldn't mind having some items shipped to his work.

I'm guessing I probably wouldn't be allowed to buy the restricted chemicals, then send them to you since you have the other equipment. That's probably a serious no-no in the eyes of the postal service, huh?

[GirlGoneWild]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

And somehow I've been excluded from the PM madness...

I don't think the pm "madness" has officially started yet, and I'm pretty sure there's room for all of us on this crazy train, so please join in!

Perhaps we could all exchange emails so we could communicate in a more organized manner. I don't know if I'm allowed to post my email in a thread (and I'm not sure I want to, for fear of it getting read by a spam bot).

PM me with your emails if you like, and I'll send you mine! I can start a group email list for our little rogue band of dreamers, and then we can just hit "reply all" when we message each other and everyone will be in on it. If we pool our resources, I think we can all help each other tremendously!

This is too cool for words, by the way. You guys are awesome.

[Jayfar]

GGW, you probably also want to join the Big Leaf discussion forum, if you're not already there (several of the other posters in this thread are regulars, as is the aforementioned Rob). A lot of good Phal breeding knowledge on that forum.

[TxRobNLa]

ROFL, as the "aforementioned Rob" I guess I need to start making it to a few more forums. I've been knee deep in moving, greenhouse construction and starting a new job for the better part of the year and I'm just now poking my head up to see what's going on in the orchid world. The new greenhouse was a complete nightmare. It's mostly done now but I probably have a new set of gray hair after everything we went through. That's a whole other story!

I think I need to start writing some more detailed articles on ploidy, polyploid conversion, chromosome counting, etc. Most of the info currently posted on Orchid Vault really assumed to previous knowledge on the topic and I also think a lot of Dr. Stock's articles are getting harder to find. So some of that general information is starting to be less available.

I'm not sure where the idea of selfing to achieve tetraploids (4n) came about, that's definitely not correct. 99.9% of the time any 2n X 2n will result in other 2ns. Definitely if there is something on one of my sites that is causing confusion, please point it out and I'll add additional clarification. It's possible that you were reading about chance tetraploids that can happen in the lab. But that is rare event and one that you can't predict or plan for.

Learning to count chromosomes is a whole other endeavor that really should not be taken lightly. You need to make sure you are really committed to doing it before you start making any investment in it as it really is a lot of work to get to the point that you are effectively counting chromosomes.

I'll try to drop in over here at Orchid Board off and on. Feel free to poke me if there is something anyone would like me to chime in on.

All the best,

Rob