Nutrient Agar in Tamworth?

[RosalieM]

Hi This is for labbies in Tamworth... Do any of you have some Nutrient Agar I can replace when my next lot of supplies come in? I must have ordered the wrong one - have plenty of plain agar! I need it for Thurs, just enough to make 1L (so 26g). If you can rescue me please email me murrayr@carinya.nsw.edu.au or reply here. Thanks heaps!! I'm happy to come pick it up.

[fibreweb]

In 10 years I have only ever used normal agar and made it up with peptone, sugar and vegemite to add the nutrients.

has always worked with no complaints.

So sorry i have no nutreint agar.
I just figured I make over 500 Agar plates Each year!!!!!!!!!

[RosalieM]

I have only every used nutrient agar for plates and plain agar for phenolphthalien blocks which is why I'm hesitant to try to make it any other way. If I can't get hold of any I will have to give it a try!

[Rowyrow]

10g beef extract (Bonox) or vegemite
10g peptone
5g sodium chloride
1 Litre of distilled water and 15g or agar powder
dissolve all ingredience in small amout of the water, add the reat and heat/ treat like commercial nutrient agar

[RosalieM]

Wow I have just looked at the current prices for plain agar vs nutrient agar. I am sure it wasn't that big a difference last time I ordered it! I remember thinking it was worth the extra money for not having to muck around too much with adding extra stuff to it... Not this time around!! $250 for 500g!!!! Looks like I will be trying out the other recipe...

[matchstick]

I have always made my agar the same as rowyrow....works everytime

[RosalieM]

I confess - I've been spoilt all this time having access to nutrient agar!! The Peptone was extremely difficult to dissolve - it took FOREVER!! Or so it felt... and then as it was all coming to the boil (which I am sure took longer than the other, but perhaps it was my imagination) it filled up my prep room with the terrible smell of cooked vegemite :( I could hear the kids in the lab next door complaining about the odour (I considered taking it in to them to tell them to get over it, it's not as bad in their room as mine!). It looks very dark, too. Not the clear brown of the nutrient agar, but I guess that's the vegemite's fault. Perhaps next time I will try the bonox. As I walked away from delivering it to the room I am sure I heard one student ask "is that diarrhoea?". They really don't think before they speak. Had I been closer and not worried about setting the whole class off for the entire period I may have replied "yes and I had to take a whole packet of laxatives to provide you with that much so please use it sparingly"...

PS I do hope I misheard the student's question... but given the class I don't hold those hopes too high...

[Labbie]

We put in a little beef stock/cubes, works very well. A school near by uses chicken stock?