Adventures in Soil Blocking

[flowerbug]

or one of those square thin metal spatulas for flipping pancakes or serving desserts? i use a small mason trowel for some weeding tasks as it has a sharp point but that would possibly also work for some block moving once you had the edge blocks moved.

 

[GottaGo]

What a great gift idea! I have long 1/2" wide plastic tongs that are very useful for plucking 3/4" blocks from the middle of a tray; a butter knife works too, but only if the blocks are along the outside edge. Each of these items were sourced from thrift stores for about a dollar. The larger blocks I tend to lift with a butter knife and/or a small metal spatula. Sometimes you have to cut along the side of the block before you move it, if the roots have grown in to adjacent blocks. Do not try to move it if the soil is moist, or the block will disintegrate. As long as the soil blocks are fairly dry they hold together well, and you can often just pick them up with your hands.

What kind of seeds are you hoping to start in soil blocks?

I have a number of tongs that might work, I just didn't know if one type was better than another. The spatula sounds like a good idea. I would have thought that the blocks being slightly moist, not wet, would be better for staying together? It applies for removing from cell packs...

Hopefully crop seeds, tomato, squash and yes bush type beans. Since things warm up quickly here, I try to get a jump on the growing season. I stagger my seed starting, so annual flowers and melons are usually second round.