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Entry for August 18, 2008 Environmentally Sound Ingredients for Soil Blocks
Many of our readers are sharing their concerns about the enviromental impact of horticulture grade potting soil materials, not to mention the possible irritants of mined products. So, PottingBlocks.com has made a new commitment to provide detailed information about new environmentally sound and healthy-minded potting soil ingredients. But first, a clarification: Potting soil contains soil or compost or living ingredients. But, then it could be sterilized and become inert. Always know what has been done to your potting soil. Then, you have potting mix. Potting mix or potting soil mix is always inert, and always free of soil, or known as soil-less. For the most applications, your blocking soil is a potting soil, or, full of soil, compost and never sterilized. Now, back to the point...Peat moss has come under attack, as of late, because of environmental degradation of peat bog ecologies. PottingBlocks.com has responded with test runs of coir fiber from some companies that are milling it just right for soil block making. Suprisingly, most coco peats will not work for soil blocks without half peat moss. We are almost ready for release of the first and only soil block recipe with only coir. In the past, I have always recommended peat or coco peat mixed half and half. That is because soil blocks must knit together and yet still be friable. Peat moss has been our only medium. But, with certain techniques, coir can be washed, aged, composted and milled exactly like peat moss, so hope for the future is here! We will be updating everyone when we have the coco peat moss line available. If you have access to straw, like wheat, barley or rice straw, the kind with the hollow stem, you can shred it by hand, or leaf shredder, and sift it with a 1/4" soil sifter. Use it as the same ratio as peat moss. The key here is to use soil and compost in your block mix to bind it all together. It will be friable enough for seed germination. As, far as human health is concerned, perlite has been known to cause certain irritation in some people's throats and lungs. Perlite lets off a lot of dust when dumped and mixed, so ALWAYS WEAR A DUST MASK! Mining products are still a key component to horticulture, so at the present, the next best alternative is PUMICE STONE. Pumice stone is mined from abandoned, open field, lava and volcanic ash wastelands, so it's impact is minimal. I can find it for less than $50 a ton, and is a very suitable replacement for perlite, with no toxic dust! This is a miracle product that I wish I was using years ago! You might be able to find it by the bag, but, maybe you should call or go to a nursery and see if they can bag you up some. The next concern is vermiculite, which is a known carrier of asbestoes, IF IT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED! Always buy "tested for no asbestoes" vermiculite. The best suitable replacement for sand would be large, coarse, washed horticulture grade sand. It may not help moisture retention, as water usually drains freely in sand. But it does work, if you keep your blocks well watered. You must, however, use the coarsest sand possible so your blocks do not fall apart. Sand harvesting, as you might expect, does minimal damage to the environment. We will keep you updated as soon as our test results are complete to which materials we should all be using to save our beautiful, abundant planet. Also, we will be releasing our line of Vegan Composts, Vegan Worm Castings, and Vegan Fertilizers and Amendments, as well as our commercial line of ready to use blocking mix called Old Farm Boy. Stick with the guru, I promise to protect the environment!
Entry for August 10, 2008 New! Soil Block Recipe For Cuttings.
It has come to our attention here at PottingBlocks.com that the current recipes listed on our website may not be the best blocking mix for cuttings. Earlier this summer, we have been taking more and more cuttings of our favorite strains of basil, tomatoes, flowers, herbs and even peach trees! Gleaning some info from old text books about flower propagation, we decided to use some vermiculite and make a cutting or propagation recipe specifically for soil blocks. Remember, soil blocks are compacted into small cubes and must have a specific ratio of ingredients to succeed. This is not an opinion, but a fact. You may make blocks with any potting soil or mix, but will they come out to perfection like our site talks about? As the leading authority on the web for soil block gardening, we like consistency, trials, proof, and finally, recommendations. We are now recommending that you use this soil block recipe for propagation by cuttings:
1 gallon garden soil 1 gallon + 3 cups peat moss (screened 1/4") 1 gallon coarse or medium vermiculite 5 teaspoons of dolomite or horticulture grade limestone
Remember, good garden soil is a heavy silt loam, free of weed seeds and insects and diseases. How to tell what type of soil you have? Try rubbing it in your hands when it is dry. If it has a gritty feeling between you fingers, it is sandy; if it is floury, it is silty; if the lumpy particles are harsh to the touch, it is clay. A silt loam becomes somewhat lumpy as it dries, but these lumps break up easily between the fingers. The higher the clay content of the soil, the more difficult it is to break up the lumps. In looking for a soil, choose one that, when completely dry, varies in shade from light tan to brownish-black. The color may vary depending on the amount of humus (organic matter) in the soil. The slight amount of moisture will greatly change the color tone and make your sample tests worthless. Avoid red soils and black soils, as red is clay and black will contain too much organic matter and will not work for cuttings. A heavy silt loam will more than likely be found anywhere water has deposited it, like a creek bank or a river bed. Readers will notice the new addition of vermiculite into our recipes. Please be advised to choose an "asbestos free" vermiculite. We do sell a 3.5 cubic foot bag of vermiculite that has been tested "no asbestos was detected". It sells for $24.99 plus shipping and handling. Click here for more details. Let's propagate on the block! And, don't forget your 1" dowel pins for cuttings!
Entry for August 3, 2008 Sowing Schedule For Weekly Lettuce Harvest
Building on our fundamental soil block making and fall planting lessons covered earlier, lettuce (pun intended) look at a sowing schedule and how it compares to a harvest schedule during the shorter days of fall and winter. These results are accurate for 36 degrees parallel and up. Lower parallels will be similiar, but have shorter harvest times due to longer winter sun hours. Gauging the harvest time from sowing is crucial for fall cropping. With cold frames, greenhouses, cloches, etc., climate is not as big of factor as sunlight. Lettuce harvests will take so much longer due to the shorter days, but production, or number of days to harvest, will return at a better rate in January. This Dutch data chart has the horizontal axis representing sowing dates from August through April. The vertical axis gives the number of days to harvest. Written along the curve of the graph are average harvest dates corresponding to the planting date directly below. Notice how a sowing in October 5 will take 2 and a half months to harvest(February 5). Lettuce planted in April should really only take 30-40 days to mature. But, by using this chart you can actually time the harvest of lettuce to meet your family's demand for fresh greens. This lettuce chart can be used for just about any salad greens, baby greens, or spinach. Keep track of your results and expect a learning curve. Plant extra seeds for this experimental stage. Weather can be a factor: Cloudy days will most certainly slow your chart down a bit, but sunny days can easily speed it up. Soil blocks are very important in this procedure. A 2" block gets a better start and can easily outgrow and outpace a 1.5" block. Eliminating transplant shock is critical to good growth in the winter. Soil blocks make this harvest a reality. Understand the length of day will have the biggest effect on crop timing. With that understanding, a day to day harvest is the goal.
Entry for July 27, 2008 Starting Cole Crops In Soil Blocks.
It's the end of July, and tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchinis fill your plates. It's hot outside, so you're not thinking "cool weather" crops like the brassicas or cole crops. But NOW is the time to think about sowing them in some soil blocks and letting the heat of the day germinate them while you make basil pesto. All your favorites are harvestable through the fall and kales and brussel sprouts are harvestable through the winter. Go ahead and try it. If you have some blocking mix left over from spring, great! Now, round up some eggshells, hopefully well dried, and crush them up and add about a cup to the bushel of potting soil. Brassicas LOVE slow release calcium. After you made your blocks and seeded, ONE SEED PER BLOCK, as thinning if boring and time consuming, cover them with a sprinkling of potting soil slightly pressed down on the seed. Brassicas take better to this soil covering. Place them in the sun for germination. Keep an eye on moisture levels in the sun and try bottom watering. Once they have sprouted, place them in a partly shaded area, preferably a west or east exposure, but not southerly exposure unless a tree dapples shade across the blocks. Give them a chance to grow for a bout 2-3 weeks in the blocks, fertilizing after 10 days if your potting soil didn't have a slow release nitrogen meal in it. Now, transplant using the info found at www.pottingblocks.com/transplanting.html . Finish enjoying your melons, peppers, and eggplants and patiently wait for the summer heat to pass and your brassicas to flourish. Soil Blocks beats the heat everytime by keeping the roots cool, air pruned, and oxygenated while plastic pots in the sun will burn the roots, the roots will coil and then be broken up by transplanting. This will severly stunt your crop. So, avoid the "six pack syndrome" and use soil blocks, each and every time you sow. Know the facts, Sow the packs, Harvest the stacks o' broccoli racks!
Entry for June 22, 2008 Summer Lettuce with 2" Soil Blocks.
Many gardeners stop planting lettuce after spring thinking it's just too hot for them to grow well. NOT SO! Change up your seeds, your location, and your soil block strategy and all's well with wonderful baby greens all summer long. First, pick out a place in the hot sun for your 2" blocks to germinate. Second, research some lettuce varieties that can tolerate heat or cold and buy them. I use the heirloom varieties red and green deer tongue along with barcarole romaine and some red cos romaine. I get my seeds from Seeds of Change. Their seeds are grown out in a micro climate in southern New Mexico, which consists of all climates possible in the U.S., so their seeds grow well no matter where I am. Third, you'll need a nice shady garden spot under a leafy tree, preferably a fruit tree, but not a walnut. Fourth, sprout your lettuce in the hot, sunny spot and let it get an inch or two and then transplant it under the shade. Fifth, pick your lettuce when they're young, the heads about the size of your hands. Keep replanting in soil blocks every week, about 4-8 blocks. You'll have fresh salad all summer long with this method. Remember soil blocks eliminate transplant shock, so summer's got nothin' on a lettuce transplant who will welcome the cool of some shade.
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