Worm Farm, Mini Cold Frames, Homemade Soil Blockers

One good thing arising from January's short days, brisk temperatures, and inhospitable planting conditions is a surplus of free time to plan for the season ahead.  For me this is a chance to launch the first attack in preparation for the March 15th initial seed sowing. I've been reading various articles about a new(to mainstream) method of seed starting called soil blocks. It is the same premise as peat pots with the mesh around a compressed expandable pill of peat moss and nutrients. I have three problems with peat pots:

1. Poor/inconsistent results due to damping off or to lack of nutrients.
2. The environmental cost of using peat moss. Peat moss is not a sustainable resource (Read here if you want to know more).
3. That stupid mesh around the outside of the peat pot is still in tact in the soil 3 years later. 

A soil block is a chunk of the soil of your choice packed into a mold, then ejected to stand freely in a tray. The compressed soil is packed just tight enough so it will hold it's shape until the roots begin to fill it, and hold it together even tighter. As the roots reach the air surrounding the blocks, they gently prune themselves rather than hitting a wall(like  potted seedlings). The roots of potted seedlings wrap around the container until they become root-bound which stunts the growth of the plants later in life.

Poor choice of soil for the blocks, too Grainy.

Several companies offer products that make soil blocks at home. To start a typical garden, one would need at least two sizes. A smaller sized blocker would be needed for smaller seeds such as carrots, brassicas, etc. Larger blocks would be needed for larger seeds such as beans or corn, and for plants with long tap roots, like peas. I decided I wasn't going to spend $60 to $70 for these soil blockers, so I began the usual Google search with strings such as "home made soil blocker". I found a few sites that had exactly what I wanted (here, here, and here).

The first blocker I made was simple. I took an old unused grease syringe and cut the tip end off. I affixed a portion of the syringe nozzle to the piston for the seed pit on the soil block. The process took five minutes. This blocker is fine for the smaller seeds, but I needed a bigger one. I scavenged around the house and could not find suitable materials. I decided to use PVC from Lowes for the larger device. All in all, my cost was $17.00. 

The tip is for the seed pit

The pit is for seeds and fits the smaller sized soil blocks too!

It is made from 3" PVC

Last week I took advantage of some free time and built two quick cold frames to warm up the garden soil. The 3D cold frame was built from panels leftover from my late grandfather's blizzard-collapsed greenhouse. The 2D frame is simply plastic draped over the walls of one of the raised bed gardens. These protected beds will now stay warmer and will begin growing Spring greens a few weeks before the uncovered beds.

The worm farm is here!  The worms are still a week away. The company may do so to make sure you have the farm all set up before the worms arrive. It's like a hotel setting up the room before you arrive for your stay. You must prep the beds for the worms and make sure the right amount of food will be available for them within the first few days.