Back to: Propagating Seedstring from Gametophytes
Before seeding, your biomass needs to be prepared. First start by weighing out the right amount of gametophyte mix. We use 0.1g of biomass per 100ft of seedstring, removing as much culture media as practical prior to weighing. Seeding spools with a mixture of gametophytes that has a lot of large clumps will result in uneven sporophyte coverage; you should grind the biomass with a blender or tissue grinder before seeding to avoid this.
Weighing gametophytes is often inaccurate because they hold so much water. Each mL of excess water held by the biomass increases the weight by 1 gram. Follow these guidelines for the best results:
Pick one culture to use to test your consistency and calculate a margin of error. Weigh that culture and then resuspend it and weigh it again. Repeat this process 5-10 times with the same biomass so you get a feel for the exact “dryness” you are shooting for.
This person will form a baseline of their own for how dry the biomass looks before weighing and be able to use that baseline to keep the process as consistent as possible.
Weighing too much biomass at once makes it difficult to know if the dabbing technique is working properly because the clump of gametophytes is too thick. Weighing too little biomass at once can result in the gametophytes being too dry because the layer of them on the sieve is so thin. For seeding you need to separate out small amounts of biomass that are less than 1 gram. It is best to weigh biomass within the above range and then separate it volumetrically after resuspending it.
You should note how many kimwipes you use for dabbing and the amount of biomass you were measuring. If a culture looks like a similar amount of biomass to a culture you used 3 kimwipes for, then use 3 wipes again.