A good gardener can start tomato seedlings in old yogurt tubs — or anything else that will hold soil mix. But most gardeners buy plastic containers designed for starting seeds: each unit, or “six-pack ...

Soil blocking refers to blocks of soil that are used for starting seeds. Benefits of soil blocking include stronger roots, ...

Many gardeners can’t wait to start growing their own plants from seeds indoors. If this sounds like something that may be in your forecast, you are likely aware that seeds can be successfully started ...

Although the practice of making solid blocks of soil for growing seeds isn’t new (it may go back over 2000 years), soil blocking has gained popularity in the last few years. It’s not a complicated ...

Learn how to use a soil blocker and get the perfect soil block recipe to ditch plastic in your seed starting supplies. If you already have a soil blocker, skip to the soil block recipe below. As I dig ...

I’ve been a regenerative farmer for nearly two decades, currently operating Blue Ridge Farm in a remote corner of northeastern Washington State. One of my four key farm values is a commitment to ...

A technique lets seeds grow freely and cuts down on the pileup of leftover plastic cell packs. Ron DiGravio of Johnny’s Selected Seeds came to soil blocking when he began farming about 15 years ago, ...

Soil blocks can be made in several different sizes for use with a variety of seed sizes. Small seeds can be started in tiny soil blocks and then moved up into the dibbled holes of larger blocks once ...

LET’S TALK ABOUT plastic in the garden. Nursery pots and trays, plant markers, bagged goods and tarps, plastic netting, protective row-covers and even some tools — our green industry practically runs ...

You are probably familiar with plastic trays that greenhouses use for starting plants, but soil blocks are different. They are literally a block of soil. The blocks are formed using special molds such ...

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...