Soil block maker

[mr_yan]

I just broke down and bought a soil block maker. I figured I was about to buy another $15 in one-time use peat pots for this season and a block maker was only $30. I got the small/mid size one 1.5" x 1.5" x 1.5"

I know I am not the only one on here with a block maker.

What has worked for people so far? By this I mean watering, mix recipe, trays, and the like.

Thanks

 

[Randy]

I had not heard of them before. I re-use my 4" plastic pots for plants and just repot using fresh potting soil. I only have 36 pots in the greenhouse though; peppers, tomatoes, basil, and cilantro.

 

[RonsGarden]

I keep reusing plastic pots for years, until they can no longer be used!

 

[lynpenny]

I haven't been planting seeds so I recycle the 4 inch pots at the wildflower center when I go buy some more.

 

[mr_yan]

My thinking is this will allow for better succession planting of my garden. I'm really hoping to increase the veg output of my garden this year. I can now start far more things out of the ground and drop them right in. Peat pots were getting expensive and newspaper pots were taking too long to make.

My 2.5 year old daughter and I just made and seeded 125 soil blocks in just over an hour.

The big problem I anticipate is keeping them labeled well. Sure somethings you can easily tell apart when tiny but others there's no chance.

I've transplanted some turnips and kale I started with this thing and they're doing great now.

 

[mr_yan]

This tool forms blocks of soil for germinating seeds. The soil is compressed enough to hold form but will allow seedling roots to grow through it. I bought my block maker from Johnny's Seeds in Maine for about $30 but there are several others that offer them. They seem expensive at first glance but then I started to think about how much I spend on peat pots year after year.

I'll post photos when seedlings emerge but right now they're rather boring looking.