Planting Rush

Last week I spent every moment in the greenhouse trying to catch up on my seeding. Every year a seed order arrives a little later than expected and it becomes a rush to catch up on the missing weeks. Luckily I have some wiggle room in my seeding schedule. I felt so relieved last Saturday when I realised that I had finally caught up again!

This week has been spent transplanting those seedlings into bigger soil blocks, while keep this week’s seeding on track. The soil blocks that I started using last year have really lived up to the hype. The blocks are made using a metal form that squeezes excess water and air out of the soil, creating a cube with a divet for a seed or seedling. It’s just like making a snowball or snowcastle, but with potting soil. The blocks encourage strong root growth and promote air pruning, which avoids them becoming root bound in pots. It is easy to see the moisture content of the soil, which leads to less over and underwatering.

 I have just moved my earliest plants into 4” pots, they will be ready for sale in a few weeks.