The Art of Soil Blocking: Beginner's Guide + A Recipe for Success

New To Soil Blocking? Start Here! | Fast Seed Starting Soil Block Tips Introduction to Soil Blocking: The Basics In this video, we'll be taking you through the process of soil blocking. Soil blocking is a technique used by gardeners to make soil blocks that are used to start seedlings. The process of soil blocking involves mixing various ingredients like peat moss, compost, Pearlite, and potting soil to create a mix that will hold together when compressed into blocks. This method of starting seedlings is more sustainable than using plastic pots, as it reduces waste and is more cost-effective in the long run. In this video, you'll learn how to make your own soil blocks and how to use them to start seedlings.

Sifting the Peat Moss The first step in soil blocking is to sift the peat moss. When you buy peat moss from a store, it often comes with sticks and other debris that you don't want in your soil blocks. To remove these unwanted materials, you'll need to pass the peat moss through a sieve. This will help you to separate the usable peat moss from the sticks and twigs. Once you have sifted the peat moss, you'll have a nice fine product that's ready to be mixed with the other ingredients to make soil blocks.

Adding Compost and Pearlite Once you have sifted the peat moss, you'll need to add compost and Pearlite to the mix. Compost is a key ingredient in soil blocking as it provides important nutrients for seedlings. The compost used in this video is from a local business called Green Cow and is of high quality. Pearlite is a lightweight material that helps to improve soil structure and drainage. In this video, half a bucket of Pearlite is added to the mix. The reason for adding half a bucket is that some potting soil already contains Pearlite, and adding too much of it can cause the soil blocks to fall apart.

Adding Amendments and Water Once you have added the peat moss, compost, and Pearlite to the mix, you'll need to add some amendments and water. In this video, the amendments used include blood meal, bone meal, and Azomite. Blood meal is high in nitrogen and helps with green plant growth, while bone meal provides phosphorus and calcium. Azomite is a powdered rock dust that adds minerals to the soil. To mix everything together, water is added to the mix. The water helps to make the soil blocks easier to work with and ensures that the blocks hold together when compressed.

Soil Blocking: The Process The final step in soil blocking is to make the blocks. To make the blocks, you'll need a masonry tub with 35 one-inch holes. When you fill the tray with the soil mix, you'll be able to make 105 blocks. To make the blocks, you'll need to press the soil mix down into the holes and give it a twist until it reaches the bottom of the tray. Then, you'll need to give it some weight and pull up, which will create 35 soil blocks. To ensure that your blocks are full, it's important to give them a rinse every once in a while and to add more soil if necessary. Once you have made the soil blocks, you're ready to start seedlings.

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