Soil Blocking
Where to begin? Where does anyone start? I guess we just start. This was my way of learning about gardening and how to go about it the way that best benefitted my lifestyle.
I began by buying all my plants at the big box stores, lovingly putting them in the ground at the community beds when I didn’t have my own yet and checking on them incessantly. For the most part everything grew well and looked healthy. There were some duds that showed disease, but the yield for the first year was good. The next few years I began seed starting on shelves in my basement. First year didn’t go well… Forgot the heat mats and humidity domes so the germination rate was poor. After that I looked into a more sophisticated set up.
Heat mats, mini outdoor green house that I set up in my basement, framing for the grow lights so I could adjust them as my seedlings grew and lastly a little Walmart fan to keep air flow on the seedlings to strengthen the stems of each plant as they grew. That year I focused on Tomatoes and Peppers. By this time, I had two of my own 4X8 garden beds. The fencing was the stakes and plastic junky kind but it kept the deer out.
This past year I visited Lisa Mason Zieglers Flower Farm in Newport, News Virginia and got to see first hand how she grew her flowers. I had heard of Soil Blocking in the past but already spent a decent amount of money on all the materials I felt worked best. Once I saw that volume I could grow more efficiently and minimize thinning out I was in. The soil mix is very specific and requires some trial and error but once you get the hang of it the blocks are easy to work with. The best aspect of the block is that you individually sow each seed (tedious but worth it) for individual seedlings. I just acquired the kit this year and will be sowing my fall starts when they are big enough. The goal will be to get them in the ground long enough before the first for root development. The first frost will kill off the top and Ideally the plant will come right back in early spring for early flowers before Mothers Day.
Soil Blocking Instructions
Step 1: Aquire Soil block mold in desired size that fits your needs.
Step 2: Soil can be purchased pre mixed or made with recipe (SEE BELOW).
Step 3: Mix soil and add moistrue until conssitency is similar to wet sand.
Step 4: Press the blocker into the soil mix, twisting and rocking it a bit, and pushing down several times. You can also pack the soil by hand to remove air pockets.
Step 5: Use your palm to flatten the mixture and remove excess water. Then, scrape off any extra soil from the sides with your finger. Place the soil blocker on a tray and squeeze to release the blocks. You can use your hand, a butter knife, or the edge of your container to create a flat base for the blocks
Step 6: Individually sow selected seed in each block. Some can be very small and will require a toothpick and water to apply to the soil block.
Stepe 7: Cover soil block with thin burlap on a heat mat until germination.
Step 8: Remove burlap and water once a day to one side of the tray paying attention that the block absorbs the water.
-If there is standing water after 10 minutes discard excess into sink.
Step 9: As seedlings grow adjust the grow light height to avoid spindling of the seedlings. Lights must remain on for 16 hours a day. Using a timer is very helpful and allows consistency.
SOIL BLOCK INGREDIENTS
A standard 10-quart bucket is the unit of measurement for the bulk ingredients. A standard 1 cup measure is used for the supplementary ingredients. The following recipe makes approximately 2 bushels of mix.
3 buckets brown peat (standard peat moss).
½ cup lime. Mix ingredients together thoroughly.
2 buckets coarse sand or perlite.
3 cups base fertilizer (equal parts blood meal, colloidal phosphate, and greensand). Mix thoroughly.
1 bucket garden soil.
2 buckets well-decomposed compost. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Moisten the mix thoroughly using 1 part tepid water for every 3 parts blocking mix.
