Seed Talk #76 - Soil Blocking Mix FAQs

[@cbak1819]

Sifting was a game changer for germination!! Thanks to listening to you Lisa. I am using sterile seed starting mix that I add micoryzole , please mind the spelling😊. I can not have fungus gnats in my home.. I had them before and it was horrible. Also my home is cold where I grow and produces algae easily even with a mimi split system right near, also I used to have dampening off so I need something that dries out quickly. I make my own leaf compost and would love to use it, I just can't take the chance. This is my second year.. everything is holding up fine. I fertilize ever Friday. The mix I use has a bunch of ingredients that may be favorable for blocking. I hesitated buying soil blocks because I thought I had no other option.. but took the chance and I am soo glad I did. Saves money, water, time, energy. I love soil blocks!

[@LayneAngelo]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with soil mixes! I agree - sifting makes such a difference ☺ Love that you are tailoring your mix to suit your needs and growing conditions! Thanks again for sharing, and have a lovely day 💚🤗💚

[@Riti_Roots]

Do you use liquid, powder, or granular Mycorrhizae?

[@chrisinzone5]

I can't wait to start soil blocking this year! I have never tried it but I have watching and learning all winter! I dont have a good set up for indoor lights but I have a mini green house that gets pretty warm and is in a bright sunny spot in my yard. I was able to grow so many things I never dreamed of growing before. This year I'm growing twice as much because soil blocking will save so much space, I think! Thank you for all the great information on this channel.

[@LayneAngelo]

How wonderful! So happy to hear that soil blocking is allowing you to double the amount of seedlings you are growing ☺ Best of luck in your soil blocking adventures, and please let me know if you have any lingering questions. Thanks so much for watching, and have a lovely day! 💚🤗💚

[@maxine.9348]

Loved watching this, I’ve asked for soil blockers for my birthday so I’m doing my homework on all the how too’s, I’m in the UK and it’s so hard to find information on soil blockers and ingredients, thanks ladies you’ve made life a lot easier with learning the how too 😊 take care

[@LayneAngelo]

Yay! So happy to hear you will be taking the "plunge" (pun intended 😉) into soil blocking ☺ Ladbrooke (the company who makes the 3/4" and 2" blockers we use) is actually located in the UK, so hopefully you will be able to secure your birthday gift with ease! Best of luck in your soil blocking adventures, and please let me know if you have any lingering questions. Thanks so much for watching and for the positive feedback! Have a wonderful day 💚🤗💚

[@maxine.9348]

@@LayneAngelo I got my pressie early🎉, and yes I got the Ladbrooke soil blockers, he got me the starter kit, so I’ve got the micro 20, mini 4, 4 dowel pins and 4 cube inserts🎉 so excited to start, happy blocking ladies x

[@carmenhall4749]

I just started soil blocking , thank you for all the grate information!!

[@LayneAngelo]

You are so welcome! Best of luck in your soil blocking adventures, and feel free to let me know if you have any lingering questions. Thanks so much for watching, and have a fabulous day! 💚🤗💚

[@tinaweaver5759]

thank you Lisa and Lain❤

[@LayneAngelo]

You are so welcome! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment 🥰 Have a wonderful day! 💚🤗💚

[@ivylll3397]

Thanks for this time-on episode! Layne always knows when & what to talk in these sees talks❤ I have been using seed starting mix for my soil blocks. Agree it’s prone to crumbling if not handled with a light hand😂 Can’t quite make up my mind if it’s worth the investment to buy greensand & phosphate powder for home gardening? Do these soil amendments ever expire?

[@LayneAngelo]

Oh, thanks so much for the kind words! 🥰 If you are doing fine without those additional ingredients, I would skip them 🙂 If you do purchase those amendments, they do not really expire as long as they are kept dry, since they are essentially ground-up rocks. Again, if your system is working for you, I would save your money and continue as is! Thanks so much for watching, and have a wonderful day 💚🤗💚

[@cbak1819]

you can make bread with yeast or with soda😊

[@Janet-bx4kf]

Great info as are all your podcasts! This is my first year soil blocking as a home gardener. One question I have is: What exactly do you mean by compost? I don’t make my own so would need to buy it. Would Bumper Crop Soil Builder work? For my first seeding, I just ended up using Johnny’s 512 and your fertilizer mix.

[@LayneAngelo]

Hello! Thanks so much for the positive feedback ☺ Any finished compost (including bagged products) will work 🙂 If the mix you have concocted is working, I would keep using that! Thanks so much for watching, and have a wonderful day 💚🤗💚

[@Magicflower013]

Sometimes The seeds that have sprouted don't push their roots deep and I get nervous that they will have some trouble later on. Any advice? Should I cover the seedlings a little or plant them deeper when I transplant?

[@LayneAngelo]

Hello! Yes, you could always plant the seedlings a little deeper when you go to transplant them, if necessary. I would also be sure to firmly seat the seeds in the blocks when you sow, and check to make sure your blocks do not feel too hard. Sometimes if the blocks are too hard / compressed, the seedlings will push upward at first, as you described. Hope that helps, and have a wonderful day! 💚🤗💚

[@cbak1819]

I could kick myself years and years ago a friend asked if I wanted his Mom's sifter collection made from brass or copper .. there were 3.. like this one and two grading down. I wasn't that deep into gardening at that time..

[@cbak1819]

What is so needed in the compost besides the microbes?

[@jillcorrea3580]

Hi Lisa and Lane ! I was wondering if you know how to get rid of aphids on your indoor seedlings? I also have the aphids with wings.

[@LayneAngelo]

Hello! Do you truly have aphids, or could they be fungus gnats? 🪰 I am planning on doing an episode on fungus gnats in the near future, FYI. Thanks so much for watching, and have a fantastic day! 💚🤗💚

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

What should you do if your seed has germinated but it doesn't seem to be shedding the seed coat? I have native hardy geranium that I really want, I've stratified it and scarified it and I have a couple finally germinating but they're taking forever for the cotyledons to come out. Is that just a thing with some flowers or does it mean they are dampening off?

[@LayneAngelo]

Hello! This is very common for some seedlings (snapdragons, for example). Sometimes misting the seedlings can help encourage the seed coats to fall off. Most of the time, the seedlings go on to grow normally, but I have seen some occasions where the seedlings stagnated and stopped growing. I would try misting them to see if that helps. Let me know how it goes! Best of luck with your geraniums, and have a lovely day 💚🤗💚

[@lorigoerling405]

Occasionally, I have seeds where the roots grow and don't move down into the soil. The seedling eventually falls off the block. Am I doing something wrong? What do you do with your soil blocks that don't sprout?

[@chambersjane50]

Please can I get some advice, first time seed blocking this year, having got interested watching your videos. However, , I'm getting very poor germination (5 seeds of the 20 sown) with different seeds from different well respected seed suppliers. I'm in the UK so I don't have access to yours, sadly. They are being sown over a heat mat, then under growlight. I tried delaying moving them off the heat mat as you suggested waiting until 50% showing, but I then ended up with very leggy seedlings 🤷🏻‍♀️🤔

[@user-ij8nz2sp3j]

If we buy your soil blocker mix online do we have to add the peat moss, rock phosphate, and greensand or is everything included already mixed into that bag and we just have to sift and add our water ??

[@lorigoerling405]

Are there any seedlings you pot up from the 3/4" blocks?

[@annestephens8974]

can I use coco blocks? I thought I read somewhere it wouldn't work as well?

[@bettyjocohagen7955]

Good morning from Kentucky. I heard of pouring boiling water on the soil to kill fungus knats?

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

In my experience it helps keep the mix initially clean but the blocks can still get colonized w/ gnats afterwards while they're indoors on the shelf. It's also really hard to evenly distribute the boiling water and thus the hot temps evenly throughout the mix if you're working with peat, I have to stir for a really long time to get all of the little bits wet so I wonder if I am really getting 100 % lethality throughout...

[@LayneAngelo]

Hello! I am planning on doing a fungus gnat episode and will make sure we address this question. Note that in a "living" soil, boiling water may also harm any microbes within. Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day! 🤗

[@LayneAngelo]

@@Hayley-sl9lm Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with this technique - very helpful! Have a wonderful day 💚🤗💚

[@sarahgood2719]

Hi Layne! This is my first year using soil blocks. I have an issue with watering. It seems that algae can form overnight from just one instance of overwatering. So frustrating! Also- I understand the “50% germination rule” as an indicator of when to move the blocks to light. But what if just a few of the 20 have germinated and are already stretching. Should I move them to light? I’ve been doing that AND putting a heat mat underneath to encourage the rest to germinate. My lights give off little to no heat. Do you see an issue with that?

[@Fred.pSonic]

This is also my first time soil blocking and I'm hooked thanks to Lisa and Layne. I've had near 100% germination, it's crazy. For algae problems you've got too much humidity in your seeding room, been there done that. Make sure there's good airflow, get a little oscillating fan going over the seedlings at low speed (helps build stronger plants) and keep a crack in the door or window to this room. Maybe sprinkle some vermiculite on top at seeding too. I plan to harden off in a small portable Amazon greenhouse underneath a translucent patio cover, it should work out. I moved my blocks to the light once a few sprouted, I didn't wait for 50% germination. They're ALL growing and quite healthy, so yeah don't wait till they get leggy otherwise it could be too late. I use a humidity dome (but skipped the heat mat) and a dark towel on top of the dome for seeds that prefer darkness to germinate, of course remove the dome once they get going. Big tip is to sift your mix VERY thoroughly, I removed every last piece of wood and got firm blocks. I tried Gary Pilarchik's method of using diluted 3% hydrogen peroxide to proactively kill fungus gnat eggs. Soaked the mix overnight and not one fungus gnat, wonderful channel (The Rusted Garden) if you haven't checked it out. Lastly I didn't have any phosphorus dust so I substituted a small amount of bone meal and the seedlings love it. Hope some of this works for you, have yourself a great grow season!