Seed-Starting Blocks

Another big project that’s been ongoing at my farm is the construction of a new greenhouse.  Unlike my original greenhouse where plants are grown in containers, this new building has been designed with a dirt floor where plants are grown directly in the ground in rich, composted soil.  This means I can have beautiful homegrown produce all year round!  The greenhouse is nearly ready for planting and in preparation, my gardeners have been busy sprouting all the new crops. 

Their efforts have become easier because they are now making their own seed-starting blocks using an efficient tool called a soil block maker, purchased from Johnny’s Seeds.  www.johnnyseeds.com The growing medium we prefer using comes from Vermont Compost Company. www.vermontcompost.com It’s a beautiful soil mix that’s all organic.   The clever block-making gadget is pushed down into moistened soil mix and then placed onto a growing tray.  When the release is pressed, out pop four perfect little cubes with an indentation in each for a seed.  You simply fill up the tray with as many blocks as you need.   It’s a real time saver and the seeds grow into especially healthy plants having strong root systems.

A bag of Vermont Compost

Soil block maker

Erika is demonstrating the process

Soil block maker filled with moistened compost mix

Filling a growing tray with soil blocks

Planting radicchio seeds.  Erika likes to place 2 seeds in each hole and then allows the strongest of the 2 seedlings to grow.

A tray of very happy seedlings

 

Comments

[nika]

We too are gearing up for the new growing season. We have not yet built our 4 season greenhouse (will in time with money) but we plan on doing early plantings in our raise beds with the use of row covers and such.

We blog about our garden at http://humblegarden.com

Ours is indeed humble, especially compared to your bounty!

We love ours dearly tho because we eat organic backyard food all summer long and there is nothing better than that, other than doing it year round :-) (We live in MA so the greenhouse will have to be substantial .. all those details are at the blog).

One of my missions is to encourage everyone to garden, no matter how humble their space is! Container gardening in the city can be surprisingly productive!

Nika
------
http://humblegarden.com
http://nikas-culinaria.com

[Mary Ellen Barnatt]

Dear Martha,

My Jung Seed Catalog and my Burpee Seed Catalog both came the day after Christmas! The instant I saw the covers I went into gardening mode, even though my tiny garden is covered with at least 14 inches of snow here in Eastern, MA! Reading your blog is making me even more anxious to start my garden plans for 2008! Thanks for the inspiration and motivation, I can smell spring in the air. Love the photos and news of your beautiful place in Bedford. I do so miss Turkey Hill and will never forget it, or stop enjoying watching old segments filmed there, but Bedford is finding a place in my heart as well.

Happy New Year and Happy Gardening!

Mary Ellen Barnatt
Milford, MA

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, What a great blog! I, too, am thinking about spring planting and building a green house. In your new greenhouses, are the new plants transplanted directly into the ground? How is the ground heated so that the plants will grow in the cold weather? You just opened Pandora's Box! Hope we hear more on this subject soon. Thanks for sharing. Jan

[bpfster]

I just received my d landreth seed catalog, I can't wait to order my seeds and start thinking about my container garden for this spring. I still have to dream for a little while yet. But I can order my seeds and be ready to go.

[amy j rabuffo]

Martha, I heard you were boat hopping in the sunny Caribbean? I love doing that. We have a Swan and it is really a blast. How about some vacation pictures to perk up the terrible New England weather? Thanks and I hope you are having a great time. Amy J. Rabuffo

[Kathy]

Martha,
Your new greenhouse with plants grown directly in the ground sounds amazing!
I have been looking at seed catalogs and choosing what I will plant in the spring. Thanks for the introduction to the block-making gadget, Johnny's Seeds, and Vermont Compost. I will try them as soon as possible.

Kathy

[PAULINE MUCCIACCIO]

Hi Martha,
This new greenhouse you mentioned is it the one Barbara Damrosch uses on her farm in Maine that you are constructing? When she was on your show she called it their mobile greenhouse, since the whole greenhouse slides open along the frame.
I have Eliot's book for years, & since I'm moving to a rural area was thinking of making a scaled down version of the one they use.
Can you post pictures of your new greenhouse, would be interested in seeing it.
Thanks,
Pauline Mucciaccio

[Tania P.]

1st of all i must say what a great fan of yours i am. I love your crafts, food, and how you reach to every type of person. I wish you all best things for this new 2008!
Your greenhouse and homes and friends, the tiny pieces of your life that you share with us, it's amazing!
Thank You!

Tania P. - Portugal

[LaurieAnna]

Hi Martha,

I just love the seed starting blocks, what an ingenious design! Can't wait to purchase and try my own for this planting season.

Your new greenhouse sounds fabulous! We have 18 acres and hope to build a greenhouse sometime over the next few years....thank you for the inspiration.

Always love to visit your blog, you can visit mine at http://laurieannas.blogspot.com

Happy New Year and thanks so much for generously sharing your thoughts and ideas!

LaurieAnna

http://laurieannas.com/

[Jill Gross-LaFaye]

I just found your blog! I love it..I have the link posted on my blog, so I can visit daily. I hope you had a very merry *Christmas*..and best wishes for a happy *New Year*!

BTW the chandelier is absolutely breath-taking:)

{Hugs} from Tennessee

[Catherine Scanlon]

I love the idea of the sead blocks, now I can't wait for my catalog to arrive from Johny Seeds! I saw a cool instructional that showed you to make your own containers out of newspaper....

http://www.geocities.com/newspaperpots/

Great for the recycler.

[Wicked Good Dinner]

Every year, we have a seed starting party with some of my daughter's grammar school friends and their moms, but using newspaper as the seed starting containers.

While I like the recycling idea of using newspaper, I LOVE the idea of sending them home with a soil block instead.

Thanks so much for the link and information. I can't wait to see images of your new greenhouse.

Happy New Year and Best Wishes!
-Dawn

[mpaustralia]

hello from australia

thanku and all your staff 4 all your inspiring ideas and good things in 2007 all the best in 2008 i will be watching

mp australia

[Sharon Bryant]

I just found your blog! Yaaay! Thanks for all that you do! I love your show! I would love to send you some St. Francis Pet Medals for your puppies, kitties, donkey's and horses. Where would I send them? I hope you have a New Year filled with peace and joy! Sharon

[Darrell Marullo (Ms.)]

Dear Martha,

I have been a viewer of your shows for years.

Many years ago, you visited a bakery and the baker used a "natural" yeast for his breads. He explained how to get yeast started from several sources, including grapes and red cabbage. He told us that the powder on the outside of the grapes and cabbaage were actually natural yeast. He spoke to the process of getting the yeast from the grapes into a bread starter.

I began my yeast starter at that time from grapes, but have since let it go. Can you possibly tell me the process of getting my bread starter from grapes or red cabbage?

Thank you so much for your help.

p.s. I admire you so much. You are a outstanding woman with extrodinary strength and grace. Thank you for being there to show women that anything is possible, even under adverse situations.

[Diane Cummings]

Wow another great idea from you. I am a great fan of yours. An independent successful woman with great style. I was upset about the gaol thing but knew you would handle it with all the dignity and strength that you exude. Thanks for just being you. You inspire and motivate me and I thank you for just being on the planet. If there is one person in the world I would love to meet it is you.

[Emily]

I wish I had a greenhouse! The first of my seed catalogues arrived today....soon it will be green again!

[linda]

hi there martha, i think i am your biggest fan of all time. i have been watching all your programs for years. maybe some day i could come and work for you. that would be awesome. i am a plant grower, but since i have moved, i have a limited place to plant. my garden is pretty full now, so i have been doing some in pots on my porch, but the bee's are such a problem. last year i couldn't even go out there at times. i really can't enjoy them when the bee's are so bad too. please email some info. on what to do about this. i would love to see your new greenhouse in person one day. that would be awesome. i love all that you do. sometimes my boyfriend calls me little martha stewart. i guess i get my inspiration from you mainly. my mom never was like me, as far as cooking, baking and gardening goes, but each of us is special in our own way. i hope to accomplish a lot like you in my lifetime. i am 36 years old, but am limited physically a bit. you have taught me an aweful lot. i just can't get enough of your creativity, i guess. thank god for martha-love ya. linda

[Farmgirl Susan]

I've been wondering how those soil block makers worked for years. Thanks for writing about yours. I definitely plan to order one now!

[Enthusia]

I used those at a farm I interned at a few summers ago. I loved them so much that, even with my limited budget, I had to buy a set. Fantastic investment--anything that keeps those annoying little plastic containers out of the garden is thumbs-up in my book!

[Jean Lavoo]

Dear Martha:

I enjoyed reading all the comments on your blog about gardening, reusing things we normally toss out and how we can all do our share to save our environment. Using a glass jar and glue stick, I roll strips of newspaper into paper pots for my seedlings, use paper half-gallon milk cartons to start my seeds in, (5 cartons will fill one plastic seed flat), popsicle sticks or the slats from old vinyl blinds make good markers when used with a grease pencil or China marker. Using the top half of soda, tea or water bottles makes a good cover for used plastic or styrofoam coffee cups used to start seeds in. Save your empty seed packets or used envelopes and gather seeds from your garden to plant again the following year.

[Potting Block Guru]

Thanks Martha for moving soil blockers into the American spotlight. I am eternally grateful for all you've done for me and my little "website that could". Readers, if you want to check the most comprehensive information on soil blockers on the planet, check out http://www.pottingblocks.com, The World's Resource for Soil Block Gardening.