Recently, I have become interested in growing spirulina at home, so I’ve been doing some internet reading on the subject. But while there is a lot of information out there, none of it is very complete. So I’ve been stuck with a number of questions, including where to source the culture and culture medium in Thailand.

Well, a friend of ours who is a professor at Praew’s university offered to introduced us to another professor doing research on spirulina. What better way to get started than to ask questions of an expert? 🙂

So yesterday, we took a tour of the Algal Biotechnology Lab at King Mongkut University of Technology (KMUTT) Bangkhuntien campus, with Asst Professor Marasri Ruengjitchatchawalya as our guide.

Here is a picture of Aj. Peung, Praew and Asst Professor Marasri Ruengjitchatchawalya:

They are standing in front of an agitator that swishes a bunch of beakers around and around all day.

The best part was being able to explore a spirulina sample in the microscope to get a sense what a good culture should look like.

I decided to order a cheap USB microscope so I can compare to our own test cultures to look for contamination before we consider eating any of it.

They were extremely helpful in offering advice and answering questions and even were able to help me figure out where to source the culture and culture medium.

So I’ve ordered everything I need now and once it arrives I’m going to try to grow my own spirulina.