Thank you for answering my question about how to water seedlings using the capillary mat. I love how patient you both are. And what a great greenhouse you have! Such a nice, cozy atmosphere to sow seeds.

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words @jj😀

From what I have heard on other KZread sites is that the 3/4" mini blocks are only meant to hold the seedling for 1 week before you move it up to the 2" block. If you are trying to hold it longer than that, it would be expected to have problems. They do make bigger 2" stand up blockers that make multiple 2" at a time. That would be faster. I find transplanting from those 6 pack trays can slow me down and it is much easier to break stems while trying to separate the plants if they have been too friendly with each other or if they have fuzzy leaves that grab each other. I will be trying the soil blocks for the first time this year and can't wait to compare and which I prefer and find easier for me. I do flowers and vegetables so that may be a factor as well.

@BareMtnFarm

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment. Although there have been Folks who follow the good works of Lisa Ziegler, who advocates growing flower transplants in mini blocks only, we have never been very successful in any consistent way with her technique. Some flowers are more forgiving if they have been left longer than a week or so in the mini block such as zinnias, but others get stunted and really never recover such as celosia. We have used the 2" standing blocker and it does work faster but it requires much more potting mix than using a six pack system and takes longer to make the 2" blocks then quickly filling the six packs in a 1020 tray. We also found that the standard 1020 tray holds only 50 2" soil blocks where we can get 12 six packs or 72 plants in the same size tray. We do agree that plants grown too long in a six pack can grow into adjacent cells or the plants can become intertwined causing damage. What we did to limit this problem is to check for roots beginning to show at the bottom of the six pack. That has been the sign for us that they are good to transplant. This has worked for us. Everything in the seedling growing systems seem to have compromises attached to them, I guess the key is to find which processes work best for your context that give you the best shot at a successful transplant. Thanks for watching!

Ahhh! You answered my question about where you are putting all the trays. The greenhouse is a holding spot until they can go out to your propagation house. Thanks for the tour LOL it does help us visual people 🤗

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Yep @Melissa Schnieders we do move these on to an unheated hoophouse to grow on

You two are awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

This was really great!

Thanks for this video. I just do very small scale gardening to produce veggies for home use BUT keeping plants with enough and not too much water all day is a very real problem at this time of year with 30 or more different types of seeds all at different stages of growth. Lots of useful ideas.

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry so late in getting back to folks this year.

Great video guys! You have inspired me to start my own channel over here in the UK! I’m hoping to use soil blocks a lot more this year. I tried using the capillary matting method you use and made a video about it too! Thanks for sharing 💚

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Hi @Bloom & Gray so cool that folks from the UK are watching us. Saw your channel debut looks like a great start.😀

I learned so much today. This solves a lot of my problems.

I really, really appreciated this video! Thank you so much for making it. This is only my second year using soil blocks so I still had lots of questions. This video answered most of them. Last year I bumped my minis up to cell trays and I felt like I failed my babies but glad to know that others do so also. My main concern is the health of my seedlings! My greenhouse is smaller than yours so I know what you mean about things needing to move along. Thanks again!

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Hi @Heidi85 we were very frustrated too that we had trouble integrating the larger 2" blocks into system. Unfortunately the nut we could never crack was the time required to make the blocks so we had to find a least damaging compromise

Thank you.

Thank-you from England!

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

More than welcome! Apologies for being so tardy on getting back. Hope all is well!

@johncourtneidge

3 жыл бұрын

@@BareMtnFarm very many thanks: we are all overloaded!

Can you provide a link to where you buy capillary mats? Thank you 🙏

You have impressed upon me the value of capillary mats. Bottom watering my soil blocks can be a bit daunting to keep even moisture between watering. Your solution using the mats should do the trick.Thank you

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Definitely, @Winterliy10 •3- The capillary mats have kept the blocks evenly moist.

Thank you!

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome and thanks for watching!

Thank You so much for this video !!! I have so many seeds that I stated in 3/4’ blocks but then I get stuck. They are still so tiny I’m afraid to plant them outside yet I can see them beginning to decline in the tiny blocks This was a great help!!!! So if you start the larger seeds in six packs Diane just said as soon as they are showing the first set of leaves they are ready to bump up what do you bump them up into??

Another interesting video . I've used soil blocks on a small scale and found it useful to prepare the 2 x 2 blocks in advance and allow them to dry out which makes them very easy to handle without breaking up . You could try experimenting likewise .It takes a week or two to dry out blocks completely in hot weather or the airing cupboard . I am not sure how long it would take in colder conditions. In addition my block mix had a lot of peat in it and the blocks are hydrophobic once dry and need a good soaking before use which wasn't a problem as I was using a home made flood and drain watering system .

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting idea @ed jennings I would guess making these when cool and damp weather is about might present a challenge to drying but this idea might be worth noodling on further.

Good stuff! I've replaced a lot of my soil blocks with the Winstrip trays, and although they are expensive, they are phenomenal, super durable, and a huge time saver. Its just a painful initial investment to spend $150 on 10 trays

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

No doubt! The winstrip trays do speed things up. Luckily the last quite some time.

You are both so lovely and a wealth of information. If I were to use two inch soil blocks to bump up from the mini blocks as opposed to using the six cells, how would I water the bumped up seedlings in the two inch blocks. Could I overhead water with a wand? Thank you, Tim and Eileen, Tin shed flower farm , Suffolk UK.

Thank you for your wonderful videos; I've watched all your videos on the soil blocks and want to get the fine perlite. I can't seem to find it anywhere here in the pnw. My garden supply store had the horticultural grade but it was too big for mini blocks. I would love to know your source for the plug grade perlite. Can I use vermiculite instead?

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

Hi @Kathy Henry we get our fine perlite from Growers Nursery Supply in Salem Or. They have a website that I believe you can order from.

I too would like to know where you find the black capillary mat roll, please. I have found some white capillary mat roll at Gardners Supply but I the black has two layers or is thicker because I've had some small pieces of the black mat which has a white under side.

@BareMtnFarm

2 жыл бұрын

Hi @ghuffmanvt Here in the States we get our capillary mat from a company call Farmtek Here is a link to the product we have used: www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_seed_starting;pg106223_106223.html

Great info, thanks for answering questions. While soil blocking today I found that I have all these tray parts: 1020, bottom mesh tray, capillary mats. I thought I had the inside mesh tray too, but mine do not fit down inside the 1020 and I'm afraid the mat can't do its job. Would you share where you purchased the inside mesh trays? Or would putting two mats inside perhaps be my answer? Thanks again.

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Hi @Dianne Justin we got the trays from Johnny's Select Seeds in the USA. Yeah, anything to give a little more lift like double coating would work if it can get to contacting the bottom of the weave mesh tray.

I am new to soil blocks, (UK)and have found your videos very helpful, thank you. Do you use heat mats? I do for some seeds, but when some of the seeds germinate, but not all, I don’t know whether to take them off the heat, so the sprouted ones don’t get ‘leggy’, or leave them on the heat so all the seeds have a chance to germinate? And have you used grow lights? Thank you

Hi, Thanks for the great instruction in your soil blocking demo. You mentioned that you still use larger soil blocks in your veg business. I’m a beginning farmer and am interested to know which vegetables you start in 1” blocks (35 blocker) vs. 1.5” blocks vs. 2” blocks. I’ve used the handheld 2” blocker, but none of the other blocker sizes. I’d like to use more soil blocks and haven’t found much info about which sizes to use for specific crops. Also, do you avoid soil blocks for any particular crops? Any insight you could provide would be so appreciated.

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

Hi @Joe Smith The 1" blocker is quick transplants like lettuce, beet root, most brassicas. 1.5" for beans , peas, tomatoes before transplant to pots. The 2" block for curcubits, pumpkins, squash. For Veg we have found soil blocks work, but I believe that is because our volume is low. For our flower business we still start most everything in 3/4" mini blocks and bump to six packs like you'd find at a nursery for bedding plants. We use the sixpacks because of the time it takes to make 2" blocks in mass volume

Hi i hope you are geting throw this new "normal" and well. About your method of watering the soil block. I do not have that matt so i put the soil blocks in to a tray similar to that one you put the 6 pack and dipp into a inch or less of water for 2-3 minutes or until the blocks are shiny, (Like your lady sayed) i repeat every day and that work for me. Always fresh water, no wet matt, quick, and i can put fertilizer or tea on that inch of water and dipp all trays. Anyway just a idea that works for me. Stay safe.

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

Great idea and works well. Thanks for the tip!

What app were you speaking of to keep track of your planting?

One more question! 😅 Are there a time or any seeds that you grow using the soil block, that don’t need bumped up? Anything that can still make a fairly smooth transition directly into beds. I’m guessing timing and weather would be the biggest factors.

Where can I buy the wicking mats ??

What do you use for software to manage your seedling production?

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

Hi @Marc Agger we use google sheets spreadsheets with a mobile phone app using a app writing program called appsheet. Click below for a video we did on it kzread.info/dash/bejne/Zaef1tilqtzPnbg.html

Are yo0u still using your 35 blocker?

@BareMtnFarm

4 жыл бұрын

Hi @pete rout We still do use the standing blockers for our veggie starts its only on the Flower Farm side we went with the six packs. we still believe a soil block does yield a better transplant. Forgot to mention another alternative can be Winstrip trays. they are expensive but durable and last I heard Neversink Tools has been selling them.

Where can I get Pro-Mix B or BP.

@BareMtnFarm

3 жыл бұрын

You know b@Ronald Harris since the pandemic we haven't been able to get any of these in our area. So we bought fine grade Promoss peat moss and fine grade perlite and mix our own. Check with your distributor of Promix maybe you can get it in your area.

I wish it wouldn’t take a half hour for me to find out how to water and lift them out. Jibber jabber and I move on, sorry. I still don't know. Maybe you could say this is how we water them and this is when and how we lift them out right away, then go into the jibber jabber. All the auxiliary stuff and you lose a big part of your audience.

@BareMtnFarm

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment. If our style doesn't suit you, there are many others also explaining soil blocking. Thanks for watching.