For the love of Soil Blocks!

It’s time to talk soil blocking!!! I first found soil blocking last year when I started growing cut flowers, so this is my 2nd growing season using them… and I absolutely LOVE them!!!

They’ve just got a lot going for them in my opinion – I’ve found germination great using them and they save so much space! Which, when you’re growing between a sunny window sill and a small zippy greenhouse, is an absolute lifesaver!

This year I’ve increased my seed starting set up to include grow lights and a heat mat after being totally influenced by a lovely friend on Insta who had set one up in her home… that’s a whole other story which I’ll take some pics of and post up for you soon. Last year I had one sunny windowsill! And on that one sill, I had 200 seedlings starting!!! Then they would get potted on into the larger blocks, migrate into the zippy greenhouse and more seedlings could start on the windowsill!

Let’s get into it…

I use the ¾ inch micro blocker to start 95% of all my seeds. They come with pins that make a small impression in the top of the soil for the seeds to sit in.

Next for the ‘recipe’ – when I first started, I did a LOT of research on this and in all honestly got quite overwhelmed quite quickly. Then I found one that just used compost, perlite and water – and I thought that was the one for me! To date, I’ve had great success with it so I haven’t changed anything this year – apart from I’ve switched to peat-free compost. What I’d say is give it a go and find what works for you. Some people add coco coir, and some put other additives in there, I went for the simple route and it worked really well so I was happy.

When I first started, I used 4 parts Jacks Magic compost to 1 part perlite. Then I add water and mix in. It’s hard to give exact measurements but to give you an idea – I use a 1 litre jug as my measure and filled 12 jugs of compost, 3 scoops perlite and then added around 1 to 1.25 litres of water and mixed in. The water element is tricky to put a number to as it really will depend on the kind of compost you use as to how it absorbs the water, but this will give you a rough idea of how I did.

Add the water a little bit at a time as it’s easier to add more than try and bring it back from being too wet.

One thing I would say is definitely keep extra of your dry mix, in case you do add too much water and then you’ve got dry mix ready on hand to add in.

I use a big plastic square storage container that I already had for my soil blocking mix. It’s easy to mix in and it’s easy to use the blocker in too. If you did have any mix leftover, you could pop the lid on and it would see you to the next day.

The dry mix will keep no problem at all, so I often mix a big batch up of that and then just have it ready to add my water to when I’m ready to sow.

In terms of how I make the blocks, I put the micro blocker in the mix, rock it from side to side and front to back, pressing down firmly against the bottom of the container. I then scrape off any excess from the bottom and repeat.

Then this gets pressed out into whatever container you’re using to hold your blocks. I repurpose takeaway containers, I can fit 40 of the micro blocks in there and when you pop their lid on – it’s like their very own mini greenhouse!!! Perfect for popping on the window sill or heat mat.

Sow your seeds and depending on whether they need light or not to germinate, you can sprinkle with a layer of compost. I also add a dusting of vermiculite over the top – it helps prevent the green algae growth on the surface.

Don’t forget to add a label – I now stick these on the side of the container, first time I did it… I put the label on the lids. Made sense as I could see it easy… didn’t make sense when I took the lids off after they’d germinated and then totally lost track of what lid belonged to what container!!! Lesson learnt and now they go on the sides!

I’ve got full videos over on Instagram on the kit I use and how I do it, all collated in a handy guide.

I hope this little look at how I soil block is helpful. I absolutely love soil blocking and could talk about it for hours. Drop me a comment / email / or msg me on Instagram and if I can, I’ll be happy to help with any questions you have. Happy growing!