Great video! I’ve done this in the past and it resulted in really healthy plants but two cons I had was 1) it does take a lot of soil and 2) keeping the bigger blocks hydrated enough can be a bit edgy.

I have the small soil blocker, but right from the start, I used the larger soil blocker. That way, they typically go right into the garden. It's made a huge difference in time since my little plantlings have little to no transplant shock.

I’ve given up soil blocking. It just doesn’t work for me. Good luck and much success with yours.

I have both soil blockers . They are pretty nice. They work well together

Don’t you just love this part? 💚💚💚

Thank you Christina!! I'm in a suburb near Chicago and we got lots of snow. And a couple weeks ago I direct seeded some lettuce, radish and carrot. They are all under snow 😢 Doi g some potting up this weekend too. Thanks for your videos!!

Watching your video in the dark due to our snow storm in upstate NY! I thought it was spring! Thanks for keeping me entertained! Btw, I never thin my snapdragons and they do wonderfully.

@CityMouseInTheCountry

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing that- I have 2 per cell in a 72-cell try and was hoping I could just keep plant them out together in a few weeks.

@dreamorfear137

4 ай бұрын

@@CityMouseInTheCountry They will be absolutely fine! 🙂

I just got the mini soil blocker and was looking at all the attachments and couldn’t figure out what they were for so I’m so glad that I saw your video because now I can perfectly put them in my larger soil blocks.

Thank you Christina Happy Growing !!! 🪻💚🙃

I enjoyed this video! There's never enough time to do everything!

Awesome snaps. I gave up soil blocking for all the reasons you just gave. I sow in whatever I have...if I time it right...I don't opt to pot up alot. But, I just use bigger plug trays when I do. Also, we have very hard water and it forms a crust on the top of blocks. Wonderful method, and space saving. I wish it worked better for me...got tired of redoing seeds and having late plants. Safe trip, I think you got alot done!

I'm doing the same this morning! Happy growing to you!

I planted some of my lisianthus from their mini soil blockers and I ended up moving them to cell trays. They are doing much better. And I agree that they use more soil. I might try them for squash. You really have to keep them watered or they turn into hard soil blocks lol

Your seedling look like they could have gone right into the garden…hoop and cover if needed??? Good luck!!

I just used my 2 inch soil blocker for the first time and potted up some lisianthus. I feel like it takes a lot of soil and I’d almost rather just put them in larger plug trays. Thanks for another great video.

@SunshineFlora

4 ай бұрын

I think agree!

Can you start seed in big blocks ? Instead little blocks? . Then you don’t have to do doble work. 🤔

@SunshineFlora

4 ай бұрын

Probably! But they take up more room and if you don’t have good germination it could be a space waster

I’ve used cell trays in the last 4 years. This year I tried soil blocks. It does have its benefits, but I felt as though the germination rate is not as good, very spotty. I do water every day. I might try a bigger soil block than the 20 count.

@floweringevergreen3584

4 ай бұрын

I've noticed that the people who have the best luck with soil blocks (Bri from Blossom & Branch, Nicole from Flower Hill Farm, and Lisa from Gardeners Workshop) have them in high humidity environments like a greenhouse or dedicated grow space.

@Lynn-jk1qb

4 ай бұрын

Agree! I do have a dedicated room for growing, but the humidity isn’t at the right temp yet because it’s not full of plants. Maybe in the next week when the room is full I’ll see some improvement. Thank you.

@glendahill8806

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for this discussion, very helpful.

@floweringevergreen3584

4 ай бұрын

I have all 3 soil blockers (3/4", 1.5" and 2") but find myself using the GrowEase seed starter kits for snapdragons because they maintain moisture and humidity best and using Bootstrap Farmer's 72-cell air prune propagation trays for large numbers of one variety. I don't have a dedicated space for seed starting and don't have the best of luck getting nice blocks out of the 2" soil blocker.

@Lynn-jk1qb

4 ай бұрын

@@floweringevergreen3584 I’m going to try the propagation tray and see how that works. I have better germination using cells than soil blocks. No problem with the soil blocks itself. I did noticed that Flower hill Farm when up potting, she didn’t get 100% germinate as well.

If you let your surface of your soil dry out even Once while the seed is in the process of germinating, Once while the seed is in the process of germinating, it's going to die, it won't just continue to germinate once you water your trays again... And I've noticed in a lot of your videos.A lot of your trays seem to be very dry. Even the tray you held up @8:50 you said was dry, & not all of them had germinated... so it shouldn't have been dry... I would Definitely say that is why you have that bad of germination. Now, once they have fully germinated, then you want to let them dry out a little bit before watering again, but not until then. I love seed starting but That is one of the biggest headaches and most time consuming thing- is when I have several trays germinating, I'm in my grow room at least 3 times a day misting the tops of trays because I have a fan in there for the things that have been growing on for a while (so that they have stronger stems) and it causes my trays to dry put more quickly...

My dahlias that I started from seeds seem to be enjoying their time out in the sun as I harden them off. How many days should I harden them off before I plant them out? They seem so happy to be outside already that I’m tempted to just put them in the soil outside this weekend instead of waiting till next weekend.

@SunshineFlora

4 ай бұрын

I usually do 5 days, leaving them outside for a little longer each day. The plants do perk up with fresh air!

can you link the Vermont soil ? I can’t find your link Thank you

@SunshineFlora

4 ай бұрын

Sorry about that! www.amazon.com/dp/B07RBSMFM3/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_DFJFJT0VPNS1M1YGPKAN?linkCode=ml2&tag=sunshineandfl-20

You have to water the soil blocks everyday . Too much work .

Anything is better than fish emulsion!!!

@SunshineFlora

4 ай бұрын

🤣