The first thing is to make sure you know what you are growing.

If an insect has come along and pollinated your plant, it could be crossed with the pollen of another orchid you do not want to grow. To avoid such surprises, you will need to hand pollinate your plants. If you do not know how to do this, there are many books available that cover pollination procedures for orchids such as HOME ORCHID GROWING by Rebecca Northern.

Considering the large investment in time it takes to grow an orchid from seed, you do not want to spend all those years growing something that is not of good quality.
I would strongly suggest that you know the parentage of the plants you will be crossing and recommend only crossing pure species or award wining hybrids. This means you may have to make a significant investment in purchasing the parent plants from reputable orchidists or suppliers.

You do not want to start with plants obtained from your local discount super store. You also need to understand the plants you raise will not necessarily all have the same flowers as its parents. You can even end up with many different variations of flowers out of the same seed pod. Because of this unknown factor, professional hybridizers prefer to use stem propagation where ever possible to keep all new plants consistent in blossom characteristics.

For information about stem propagation, I suggest you read my article discussing that topic.

Many of the techniques and materials used for stem propagation are the same used for growing orchids from seed.

If you can not provide a sterile area to propagate the seeds, then don't even try to proceed. Fungus spores in the air will develop and attack the new growth as fast as it grows in a non-sterile environment. To create a sterile area, a glove box or flasking case like the one Gary Gorrange of Alta Canyon Orchid built works very well. A glove box is like a flasking case except it has rubber gloves sealed into the front of it.

Before you start, here is a list of items you will need to gather before starting the procedure.

ALL ITEMS used in the flasking case MUST BE STERILE!!!

TOOLS

1.  Spray bottle with 10% bleach and soap solution
2.  500ml Pyrex Bakeware (for the preparation of the growth media)
3.  Flasks with one hole rubber stoppers
4.  Synthetic cotton (used to fill in the hole in the stoppers)
5.  Labeling material ( used to note parentage of the cross)
6.  Pressure cooker or autoclave
7.  Razor blades (to cut the pod open)
8.  Toothbrush (for cleaning the seed pod)
9.  Small syringe (for introducing water into the flasks)
10.  Bamboo skewers or small sticks
11. Aluminum foil
12. A place to grow the seeds that has controlled light and temperatures. A growing room is  perfect if you have one or a greenhouse where you can control the environment.

MATERIALS

1. Liquid household bleach (such as Chlorox)
2. Dish washing detergent (such as Caldera)
3. Tray ( to wash seed pod in)
4. Distilled water (gallon bottle)
5. Growth media

The growth media are very important and can vary with the types of orchids you are growing. It must be mixed and prepared according to the directions. Try doing a search on the Internet for sources.

You can also make your own if you want to give it a try.

Seed pods can take from 3 to 6 months to ripen depending on the type of orchid you are growing.
When your seed pod is ready, have all your tools, materials, and equipment in place before you harvest your seeds.

Thoroughly clean the seed pod with the bleach and soap mixture using the toothbrush.

After cleansing, place the pod inside the STERILIZED case (wash the inside of the case with the bleach and soap mixture). Unless you are using a glove box, make sure your hands are sterile before using the flasking case.

Remember, there are fungus spores everywhere and it only takes one to ruin all your work. Once the flasks are prepared with the media, it is important to keep them in a horizontal position so to not to disturb the mixture.

Cut the pod open with the razor blade and expose the white cotton-like material inside the pod. Keep the pod on paper towels and avoid touching the seed with the bleach solution.

Using skewers, remove a small amount of seed from the cotton material and gently wipe the seeds on the surface of the media inside the flask.

Do not place too many seeds in the flask a light dusting of seed is plenty, the seeds are very tiny, this is a mistake that is often made. Always make more than one flask in case one of them becomes infected.

Add about 30 ml of distilled water per flask and replace the rubber stopper (the hole should be covered with the cotton). This allows filtered air to enter the flask. Cover the ends of the flasks with aluminum foil and identify each flask with the cross.

The flasks are now ready to be placed in the growth chamber or room.
After a few days check the flasks for contamination. If the flasks are contaminated, you will see clouding of the water and colored streaks in the media.

Discard any contaminated flasks. For some crosses, like Phalaenopsis, you may see tiny protocorms in a few weeks. It can take as long as a 6 months to a year before you see plants that look like real plants growing in the flasks.

Allow the seedlings grow in the flask as long as they can. When you feel they have outgrown their flask, remove and pot the seedlings into family trays or move the seedlings into another larger flask so they can continue to grow. From this point, it is just a matter of caring for your young plants - for years, until they mature ...

I hope this article has not discourage you into trying to grow your orchids from seed, but if you are just a beginner in this hobby, I would wait until you got the hang of growing your orchids from the seedling stage before trying the seed stage.

You might consider first ordering some seedlings and see how you do. If you can grow orchids from this stage then you should be ready to try the seeds. If you have a very special cross or species that you would like to grow there are companies that will flask your seed pods for you.

After all of this it's a miracle that orchids are able to propagate in the wild!