This post is about how I sow the spores I have received from the BPS Spore Exchange using a method decribed to me by Steve Munyard
To this end I bought 50 small square pots from ebay . They are rugged and microwave proof
I fill 20 of these with cheap compost from Wilkinsons and place them in a large propagator
I fill the propagator with water to about 1cm
I replace the lid and and leave for 24 hours for the compost to become fully wet
After 24 hours I put each pot singly into my (dirty) microwave and cook on full power for 2 minutes
I take the pot out and cover with cardboard and replace in the propagator
Again I replace the lid and leave for 24 hours to cool down
I sort out my spores and create labels using the Dymo label printer
The spore packets that arrive from the BPS are beautifully wrapped in aluminium foil
I unpack them carefully using a scalpel
Eventually you will find the spores inside
I keep the propagator in my conservatory and I take one pot, one at time, into the kitchen where I unwrap a spore package and place it carefully into the pot and then replace the cardboard and replace it in the propagator
Eventually the propgator has all 20 pots and the lid is replaced
Both the cardboard and the aluminium can be removed in 24-48 hours
Steve tells me that the only additional thing he does is to have artificial LED light on top of the propagator as this seems to speed things up. The lights are on for 10 to 12 hours a day
My propogator is in my conservatory which has quite a lot of light