I’m starting to run low on 1020 trays and inserts for starting my seeds and was shocked at the price increase. I’m wondering if I should buy more or just start Soil Blocking. Looks like soil blocking tools are around $35-40 each and I could abandon the 1020 tray inserts. What’s the best source for 1020 trays & inserts (I don’t mind buying in commercial amounts)? Has anyone switched to Soil Blocking, are you happy with it, and what potting medium are you using for Soil Blocking?
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Do some of these work for you Trays & Flats – Greenhouse Megastore . Everything is more expensive.
I would take a chance and buy these in quantity 100+ 1020 Greenhouse Trays (No Holes) - Volume Pricing Available - Grower's Solution
If your really feeling like saving money and living dangerously i would buy these 1020 Trays For Soil Blocking & Seedlig Growth - Alibaba.com
Something like this is what your likely after Extra Strength Durable Wheatgrass Microgreen Hydroponic Tray 1020 Plant Growing Seedling Trays - Buy Seedling Trays,1020 Garden Nursery Wheatgrass Microgreen Rice Plant Growing Hydroponic Flat Seedling Tray Plastic,Agriculture Nursery Planting Sprouting Biodegradable Seed Starter Tray Hard Shallow Plant Germination Tray Product on Alibaba.com
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Ah, that first one I was looking for, couldn’t remember the name, thanks Clark!
I prefer the heavy duty trays as I move them in and out when hardening them off. I’m still awfully tempted to try soil blocking.
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@AndySmith, could you describe soil blocking? You peaked my curiosity and I did a search function on site. It did not really answer it. I am not familiar with it. Thank you upfront.
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I’m not AndySmith, but soil blocking is just what it sounds like. Instead of seed starting in cells in trays, you use a special tool to pack a soil mix into blocks that are separated from each other. You plant your seed in it and it grows just like it would in a cell in a tray. With blocking you have to have your mix dialed in. Too loose and your blocks crumble. Too dense and the roots can’t penetrate and growth is inhibited. Some people absolutely swear by blocking. Some people get frustrated with it and go back to plastic trays.
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That makes sense. Thanks for elaborating. I appreciate it.
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Nolts Supply is where I get ours normally, they dont have an on-line catalog though.
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I used soil blocking before, then I got tired of doing it, I now just throw my seeds down, cover lightly.
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I direct sow as much as I can, but here in Z4a I need to get some veggies started in advance in order to have a harvest before frost.
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I got interested in it from YouTube video’s from “Flower Hill Farm” (she’s only about 20 miles away from our location). If you search that channel and look for Nicole’s videos on starting seed you’ll see her preparing a lot of soil blocks and sewing seed. I’m interested because it would eliminate the need for tray / cell inserts and disposal of that plastic after planting out, but I can see where it could become cumbersome.
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I tried blocking and couldn’t get the mix not to crumble
went to sowing rows in one big tray instead, and separate gently by hand to transplant. a lot easier
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Good point, if I decide to soil block I’ll have to also invest in Pro-Mix or Vermont Compost and that stuff ain’t cheap.
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I wonder if spraying lightly with a starch in forming of one’s blocks would help with stability? Like rice water pour offs or potatoes boiling water. I don’t know why I find this so intriguing.
It would also help with growing microbes after inoculation like in KNF or just from a bag.
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I picked up a blocker when it was on sale at A. M. Leonard - got it for about $29. I’ve done some test runs with ProMix BX and it seems to work pretty well although I do feel like I have to compress the soil more than I might like to get them to stick together. I think it might work better with a little compost mixed in.
I’ll be giving it a try this spring with some of my seed starts. I like the idea of not using so much single use plastic and I also like the idea that if you separate the blocks with air between them you get air pruning and should get a better root system that in plastic cells where the roots can circle, etc. We’ll see.
There are a lot of recipes out there for different mixes to use in blocking, but it seemed over-complicated to me. I’m trying straight ProMix and then will see where I go from there.
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I think I’m going to try this with flowers this spring. Do you have trouble with overwatering? I’m a little spooked Im going to drown them out if I’m not careful.
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I bought some seed starting pellets at Job Lot yesterday. They also have trays. Also check Ebay for large quantities.
https://www.oceanstatejoblot.com/searchresults?Ntt=seed%20starting&Rdm=380&searchType=simple&type=search
I’m very skeptical of soil blocking. Root oxygenation is a major goal of the growing setup for most young plant production, and I would think intentionally compressing the soil for blocks must produce a less oxygenated growing medium. I know that you can grow plants in soil blocks, but I would expect less success (higher failure rates and less vigor) compared to using a loose mixture in containers.
However, I’m just making logical inferences based on what I know about soil compression. If someone has empirical evidence to the contrary, I’m certainly willing to learn I’m wrong!
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It works, I never had any problem with it. It’s just time consuming, and I already got rid of my wheelbarrow.
I got the idea from pathtofreedom garden in Pasadena since 2001. I used it for a long time. Then it got rusted. The big soil block is better than the tiny one.
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Hello Andy,
I use these for starting seeds outdoors (?) w/o pots, however below are various sizes Anderson Band Pots. I have always started in 2.88 x 5.5’s and then shifted to what I wanted from there but there are many types to choose from. I wouldn’t use a 2.88 x 5.5" for a Tomato. I’d start those in something wider.
I like soil. I add 100 pecans or whatever to a flat with Promix from Menards. I decided against the little feet. You don’t need them.
Greenhouse megastore’s Heavy Duty 1020’s are my other flats.
Dax
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Holy cow, lots of good stuff there! Thanks Dax. I found a bale of ProMix BX at Ace Hardware for a reasonable price (less than what they had it listed for online). Are you using the BX or HP? I ended up ordering a bunch of stuff from 'Megastore, I’ll hold off on soil blocking for now. My seed starts will be for the veggie garden and I’m trying to revive my ornamental beds that I’ve ignored the past few years.