Adventures in Soil Blocking

Some people have an easy time of growing sweet peas, but for me it has been really hit or miss. This tray of 2" tall soil blocks have been sitting in our friend's unheated hoop house for about six weeks, since the end of January. They have developed LOTS of white fuzzies. I have been resisting watering them as they still have some moisture, and now the seeds are finally sprouting and pushing up through the top of the blocks. Yay! Hopefully the fuzziness will diminish as the block fills with roots. A second tray that was placed under cover on our sundeck shows no signs of germination; hopefully those ones will sprout soon too. They are spending a couple of hours on an upside down nursery tray, over the forced air heat register. Maybe a few extra degrees of warmth will be enough to convince them that it's time to grow.

If you have some seeds left, use a milk jug and start about 8 of them in it next to your house, south facing. Then, you can plant them outside when they grow over 6 inches tall.

ducks4you said:

If you have some seeds left, use a milk jug and start about 8 of them in it next to your house, south facing. Then, you can plant them outside when they grow over 6 inches tall.

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A milk jug could perhaps work-- but I kind of like to keep the roots of each plant separate, to make for easy transplanting. One year I tried cardboard rolls, but the cardboard stayed too wet in our rainy climate. With a little luck the soil blocks will keep the sweet peas happy enough until it's dry enough to pop them in the ground. I also find that the milk jugs shatter after a while; the plastic doesn't seem to be UV safe.

When and if it ever stops raining all of these cute little 1 1/2" blocks of lettuce will get planted out in the garden. Frilly 'Green Reef' is a new one for me this year, as well as Red Mist and Alkindus. The bright yellowish green ones are an old favourite, Tom Thumb-- and it looks like there may be an off-type in the mix, as one seedling has reddish leaves. A Tom Thumb cross would be very cool! I will be sure to mark that one for seed saving.

This Vibrant Joy bok choy was started in 1 1/2" soil blocks in late August, and planted out close to the house in September. We harvested it lightly a couple of times during the winter, and now that it's spring the plants have burst into growth. it's hard to capture the colours adequately; the purple tones are spectacular.

Branching Out said:

... I also find that the milk jugs shatter after a while; the plastic doesn't seem to be UV safe.

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not many are unless they are specificly made for exposure to the elements. after many years of picking up pieces of this and that plastics outside i no longer want them in any gardens at all.

I started three seeds of 'Mideast Peace' cucumber on March 12th, and two out of three germinated really quickly under a damp paper towel on a heat mat. Their root development after just a few days was really impressive. This morning I poked them into 3" soil blocks, made using damp peat moss packed into an empty container. This particular cuke was developed by Alan Kapuler in Corvallis, Oregon, and it's noted for being early and prolific-- even in cool weather. I started a couple more of these seeds today so I can fill the third soil block on the tray. My plan is to start cucumbers every two weeks or so going forward, trying different varieties each week.

10" of rain so far in March, so there are lots and lots of trays of soil blocks keeping me company indoors. Thought it would be good to capture the moment in photos. To start things off, here are early bush beans at various stages of development. The nice looking seedlings in the second photo are an out-cross of Purple Dove, selected from plants that I grew last summer. Those beans were started on March 1st in 1 1/2" blocks. I rinse the seeds for a couple of days so they can imbibe, and then I poke them quite deep in the blocks before topping them with dry coarse vermiculite. The peat blocks stay damp for quite a long time, so I try not to water them again until they sprout. With these ones the 'hooks' were pushing up through the top of the blocks on day 11.

Next up is a glimpse of tomatoes. I found the perfect white plastic basket to place over my seedlings when I want to cover them with row cover. I use the white spun fabric outdoors a lot-- and sometimes indoors too. The fabric keeps the seedlings warmer, and they don't dry out as fast either (handy if no one is around to tend them for a few days.). Believe it or not the two dwarf tomatoes 'Alenka' on the orange tray were started on December 7th, and pricked out to 2" peat blocks on December 22nd. They each have blossoms ready to open up. The soil blocks are deteriorating now, so I will have to get them bumped up to larger containers as soon as possible.

Peppers plants with their waxy leaves can be so beautiful. When I move them outdoors I often place them inside white fabric row cover bags, to temper the sun, wind, and cold. The peppers seem to like it in there-- but if they are too wet they can rot. So a little on the dry side can be helpful. The large tray with lots of seedlings looks rather jaundiced. I'm gradually fertilizing them for now, and tomorrow the weather will be warm (19C/66F) so they will get to go outside for some natural light. I think that will help get them on track to green up again.