This topic contains 33 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by Rhys 7 years, 11 months ago.
-
Posts
-
I wonder of you mean blocks of compost? as soil would not have enough nutrients.
In the eighties I used blocks of peat-based compost and they held together well but were quite a job to make, with a special device.
Its an option for sure.
Though take care watering as they have more surfaces to dry out.Hi Martin
They are a very good way to grow seedlings. There are plenty of videos on you tube to show how to use them. Eliot Coleman is a big advocate of them. http://soilblockers.com/ this is the site of the manufacturers of the soil blockersMartin
I found them very good last year for radishes – I actually used the soil blocks direct in a no-dig bed (you just make a narrow trench the depth of the block and line them up next to each other). The radishes all grew very uniformly in terms of size and quality. I used two seeds per one-inch soil block.
I also tried using them for beetroots and it was OK – I then transplanted them into a few patches not used for anything else and got reasonable crops.
Whether they are actually superior to plastic trays with modules in them, I don’t know. I’ve not done any formal experiments.
These are not a new tool. They have been around for many years and I started using them over 25 years ago. They have a lot of advantages over plug trays. Even before the blocker came out growers used to cut grass sods into squares, turn them over and sow and plant into them.
I’m using soil blocks this year. I already had excellent germination of tomato seeds in small blocks made with Ladbrooke’s Micro-20 block maker and have transplanted them all into 2 inch square blocks made with the Mini-4 (the one that Monty Don demonstrated). I also have lettuce, beetroot and spinach germinated directly in 2 inch blocks. As Eliot Coleman points out, there is a lot more growing medium in a square block, compared to the upside-down cone shape of a typical plug tray. It seems to me that for most plants the narrowest part of the root is at the top, where it joins on to the stalk of the plant, not the bottom, as provided by an upside-down cone. So, in theory, the square block provides more root space, which should lead to stronger seedlings. I know that Charles recommends that each person should do their own experimenting and observation. This is certainly something worth experimenting with.
Peter
My challenges with the soil blockers was actually getting uniform blocks out – no doubt due to getting the moisture content slightly wrong: the 4 blocker was reasonably OK, but I simply couldn’t get the 20 block mini-blocker to work effectively.
The other question is finding suitable trays to store them in: I started out putting them in tupperware boxes ax that is what I had to hand, but they were a bit of a pain to get out of those. If I were Blackberry Lane, I would be trying to find good soil block trays as well as a tray for mixing the mix on and pressing the block down on. Yes, some will knock their own up, but I would certainly buy a reliable set of 4 trays on which you could store 40 – 60 two inch blocks each, not to mention a suitable tray to mix the block mix on and make the blocks from.
Like all these things, some hit on perfection immediately, whilst others of us have to fail a bit first before we find a way which works.
Rhys
Like you, I found something in the kitchen to store the 20 small blocks from the mini-blocker. I use aluminium foil food trays, from Asda, which are just big enough to take 20 blocks and put on the windowsill. 20 seems to be enough for me of any one seed type. I’m leaving a lot of seeds in the packet! The growing medium needs to be very wet to get good blocks. I think the water makes it slippery, so that it easily fills all the corners of the the blocker.
To set out the 2-inch blocks, which are much bigger, I use Stewart 100cm Growbag Trays, which are watertight for flood watering the blocks from the base. These trays have a flat bottom, so can also be used for mixing the medium and pressing down the blocker into when filling. They are available online from Crowders.
Peter
Funny you should mention the Stewart Growbag Trays – I was looking at them at a Garden Centre today and thinking about buying a couple. They’d be useful for other things apart from soil blocks too, which is a good thing.
Peter
My bag of Klassmann compost has now arrived, so I was thinking about having a go making some soil blocks with it, amongst other things.
As you seem to be successful with blocks, are you using Eliot Coleman’s recipe or something else? I’d really appreciate knowing what mix you use, as it clearly works well for you…….
Rhys
I didn’t follow Eliot Coleman’s recipe but just used what I had to hand. I was influenced by a Youtube video from somebody who makes a lot of soil blocks. He said that Eliot Coleman was good to read but hard to follow and that it is in fact possible to use quite simple mixes for soil blocks.
So, for germinating in the smallest blocks I used Westland John Innes Seed Compost, a couple of year old, mixed with a few hands full of vermiculite. I had to Google “Klassmann compost” just now, to find out what it is. It looks as though it would be ideal and the tiny blocks won’t use much, so well worth trying.
For moving on into the bigger 2 inch blocks I used 50% garden compost (to provide microbes) and 50% mulit-purpose compost. The multi-purpose compost came from the allotment shop; I don’t remember what brand it is. To this mix I added a few trowels full of allotment sticky clay soil, to bind it all together when blocked.
I gave some of my early finished blocks a light sprinkling of “NutriMate”, which is rich in humic and fulvic acids and said to benefit soil microbes. Plants in those blocks do seem to be doing well. It will be interesting to see whether my later blocks where I forgot to add the NutriMate will be as good.
Sounds like me Peter. I used a mixture of MPC, a bit of moss peat and a bit of perlite when I made blocks. It gave very high quality radishes, uniform size of roots across the whole row, when I tried it last year.
So I’ll give it a go as you describe and see how we get on. I have some Sweetcorn seeds to sow at the weekend, so that will be a fine place to start – if the blocks still won’t come out right, I can always use modules as a back-up..
It’s possible to add microbes and mycorrhizal fungi in powder/pellet form and I have some Nutrimate to hand also. That will save on the home compost which isn’t ready at the moment as all the over-wintered stuff went on beds before March was out.
I just tried a mixture of: 6 scoops moss peat, 6 scoops JI Number One, 2 scoops perlite and a smidgen of fungi, friendly microbes and Nutrimate for modules and already have 108/120 peas germinated in 6 days, with hopefully the rest emerging before Saturday when I wish to plant them out. A similarly high frequency was obtained for single seed Bedfordshire Champion onions in 84 wells and Sturon onions in modules with 6 seeds per module.
This time I’ll try the Klasmann compost with a bit of Perlite and goodies and see how it goes.
Hi All,
Having read through this thread I have to say that I fail to see why you would go to so much trouble to use these things as opposed to using module trays with seed or multipurpose composts.
I understand the point regarding root disturbance but there is little or no root disturbance when using module trays either, if used correctly.Don.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.