The first thing you have to do is gather some basic supplies. These are the things you must acquire, the number of each will vary depending on how much you want to invest. The recommended amount is in parentheses, you don't have to start with that many.
Baby Food Jars ( 10-20 )
Baby Food Autoclave Caps ( 10-30 )
Quart Jars (at least one) ( 2 )
Pint Jars ( 2-3 )
Pint and Quart Autoclave caps are interchangeable, you must have at least one.
A razor blade of some kind ( scalpel is best. Use new blades each sitting whatever you use )
An enclosed work area(sterile area) for transfer of material ( see bellow )
Forceps or some kind of long tweezer you can reach the bottom of a pint jar with.
A Pipette capable of measuring .25 ml for PPM and other chemicals. ( 2 - 6 )
Pyrex round shallow Glass Pan ( 1 )
90% Isopropanol Alcohol put in a spray bottle
Bleach
Liquid Dish Soap
Fluorescent Lighting on a timer
Florists tape or medical tape
Smidgen measuring spoon to dispense agar
Something to read PH
Food Coloring (optional)
A Spray Bottle or Nozzel
A Microwave
Other than the stuff needed for the media, which we will cover in the next section, that should get you started. Get the glass baby food jars from the grocery store, not the short jars. You can find the caps and pipettes you need in our store under tissue culture supplies. The quart/pint jars and food coloring can be found at most grocery stores. You should be able to find a razor blade/scalpel and forceps at a hardware store. The work area is easily made by turning a large plastic tub on its side and working within it. They can be found at WalMart, most dollar stores, etc for around $10.
The quart/pint autoclave lids are used to sterilize pints of water and should be used on the bleach jar. That is why I recommend 2. If you use the metal lids on the bleach they will rust very fast. The bleach can be made in a quart or pint jar, I make mine in a quart then pour some into a pint.
