A basic very effective way of starting fern spores.
Take a 2:1 mix of peat and pearlite. Place this in a pan and add water to
cover. Boil for five minutes. Drain off the excess water while
still hot. This is the substrate.
Now clean several jars and their lids very well. Don't towel dry. You can
sterilize them in a dishwasher or sanitize with a 10% bleach and water mix.
Rinse well after washing with bleach. Alternatively you can pour boiling
hot water over clean jars to sanitize them.
Caution, Most jars are designed to hold a vacuum and not pressure. If you
fill them with boiling water, replace the lids and invert them,
they may spray you with scalding water.
Now add the boiled and drained substrate to the jars to about one inch
depth. Smash down smooth with a sanitized spoon. Replace the lids and allow
to completely cool.
Note: It has been advocated to add spores when the medium is slightly warm.
The hot convection (updraft) keeps any foreign material out of the jar. I feel
that damage to the spores may occure if inoculated while the substrate is still hot.
When cool, add the fern spores sparingly. About one half a pinhead is
plenty of spore. The trick is to evenly disperse the spore. I first pour the
spore in a folded sheet of typing paper. I hold this over the jar and tap
until all of the spore is scattered over the bottom of the jar. I usually turn
the paper around 180 degrees after scattering the first half of the spore
then complete the job. I do this to ensure that all of the spore doesn't end up
on half the jar bottom. Others advocate adding the spore to water first then
apply using a sprayer.
Cover the jars and wait. Some spores may not sprout for 6 weeks.
Jars in a southern window
in the Northern Hemisphere.
Young sporelings, courtesy of Scott Ridges
Miniature greenhouse, courtesy of Scott Ridges.