Soil Blocking 101

Happy March, gardening friends!  

Here in central NJ (zone 6b), signs of life are popping up everywhere...

especially in my dining room!

The majority of cold hardy annuals I planted in September/October
have been decimated by voles/moles...a problem I've never had before!
So, needless to say, I'm playing catch up and trying to crank out
a few thousand new baby plants.

The method that works best for me is called soil blocking.

If you've never heard of it...here's a quick How-To:

 You'll need a good seed starting mix, a soil block form, 

and some sort of tray that houses the seedlings and can hold water.
I use these styrofoam (meat) trays that friends recycle for me.  

They work great!

 Add water to potting mix until it's evenly moist but not too soggy!  

The form is then pressed firmly into the mix to fill in the 3/4" block molds.  

This model makes 20 mini 3/4" soil blocks per press.

 Position in place and pump the handle to release the blocks.  

These small trays will hold 40 seedlings. 

 I tend to seed 80/120 of each variety so that'll give me plenty of blooms to harvest.  

Succession seeding every two/three weeks throughout the season is a must

unless I'm buying in plugs from a nursery.  

You can't harvest flowers if you don't plant them!

 Plant names and dates are written right on the tray.  

The trays are then placed on heat mats.
Keeping the potting mix moist is key to good germination. 

 And always use freshest seeds possible.

Once I see germination, the tray then go under grow lights. 

Some seeds germinate in 2 days, others take a week or longer!

This is my 4th season of flower farming so

I've learned much through trial and error. 

 My grow room (read dining room) set up is just
a 6ft. tall/4ft. wide/5-shelf  rack from Home Depot 

with a few hanging shop lights....easy peasy, right?!

It's super important to water daily and not let the soil blocks dry out.
Weekly dose of fertilizer keeps these babies healthy and happy.

Amazingly, what you see above is about 1,800 seedlings 

in various stages of growth from the past 2 weeks.
The two bottom shelves hold 4ft heat mats and I actually have room

to add a 3rd light rack.

These more mature plants (that I bumped up into #50 trays) are hardening

 off on the deck.   They will be planted in their permanent home soon.  

Because they are winter hardy annuals, they'll be fine if

night temps dip in the low 30's.  

This bumping up step isn't necessary...I must've been bored..ha!

 

If you want to try soil blocking yourself, find info and products here!
https://www.thegardenersworkshop.com/ 

Lisa has been a great mentor since I started this flower farming journey

and if I can do it, you can too!  Have a great weekend!