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Sunday, July 20, 2008 (reprinted from The Soil Blocker)

10 Reasons Why People Don't Use Soil Blocker by Jason Beam

Sometimes dismayed at the fact that Americans have not caught on to the Soil Block Revolution, I wanted
to understand why they don't use them. So, I put down the blocking banner and walked a mile in other
gardeners' clogs for a while. Here is what I noticed, and how we can change.
1.) Most gardeners have never even heard of Soil Blockers.
More articles and TV shows will be written by leading experts of gardening extolling the virtues of Potting
Blockers. Martha Stewart's article will be circulating for years spreading the word. It will become an
environmental fad to not use cheap plastic. And, PottingBlocks.com's parent company, American Badger
Tools, will be manufacturing and distributing "Made in the U.S.A." soil blockers with the Ladbrooke
trademark. Look for soil blockers to be cheaper in price, higher in quality, and on the shelves of Walmart.
2.) Americans have been convinced that plastic is the only way to start seeds, and transplants.
I wonder what they did 100 years ago? Oh yeah, they used home made soil blocks! Plastic is wonderful,
don't get me wrong. I love it! But the cheap plastic pots always seem to break, crack, fade, and
disintegrate over time. So many different sizes and shapes and storage. Once people realize the
advantages of a lifetime warranty on a hand held steel potting blocker, plastic will no longer be king.
Economics will soon reign champion again: A one time investment, or a life time commitment to a costly
garbage pile?
3.) Soil Blockers are too expensive!
This is the number one reason why the people who've heard about soil blockers won't get them. I feel like
I've done the math before, but the entry level Micro 20, costs only 29.99 + shipping and handling from any
dealer who sells them. It will last forever. The 3/4" block contains three times the soil as a 3/4" tapered
plug! Our research farm has started every seed smaller than a cucumber seed in the 3/4" and shipped
them around the country. The holding trays can be found from recycled food containers to home made
wood flats, to simple sheets of plastic rimmed with wood sticks. The potting soil is sifted peat moss with
a quarter compost blended in it. This is all so cheap, I am amazed that people don't buy more of these.
But, they think that they also have to have the Mini 2" maker. Well, for an additional 34.99 you can have that
too! One lifetime investment will replace your plastic pots FOREVER! You can easily get by with just the 2"
blocker, as it will sprout everything! Do gardeners really think that this is too expensive? It saves money in
the long haul, it saves space, it comes with a lifetime warranty, it has seed hole options, it is rated to
produce 10,000 container less pots in a year, it has the some volume of soil as a 4" pot, and plastic
prices are going up, up, and away. This is real "fuzzy" math to not get the blocker.
4.) Soil Blockers are too much work!
O.K. Americans, "too much work" is a slogan we've abused for a few decades now. But alright, it does
require more effort than filling up dilapidated plastic pots with store bought Miracle Grow potting soil.
You've got me there! But I'll only give a little here. In business, we say, "cheap, fast, easy; pick two". If
you've done your math, it is cheaper to make soil blocks. It is also a very fast process once your mix is
made and ready to go. So maybe it's not easy, at first. But if you were to break out of your shell and just try
it, once, twice, by the third press your beginning to get the feel for it. It becomes fun! It is relaxing, it is
empowering! Here you are making a completely self contained container less pot; it's strong and sturdy,
able to hold a transplant three times as long as your plastic pot of the same dimension, air pruned roots,
no chance for transplant shock. Aren't you just so proud of yourself that you can pot like the pros? Aren't
you liberated that one piece of metal will replace hundreds, thousands, millions of dumpster bound
plastic pots? Aren't you happy that that little extra effort is producing the world's finest transplants? Aren't
you just so worthy of being admired for your ingenuity and craftiness? Aren't you doing your part for the
environment? I think all that glory should come with just a touch more "effort", not WORK, than the quick
plastic fix of modern day laziness, don't you?
5.) You have to be a rocket scientist to make the potting soil.
Actually, you only have to be able to follow directions at www.pottingblocks.com/recipes.html. Or, choose
readily available Pro Mix at a nursery. Or, buy a bale of Sunshine Peat Moss and mix it with aged compost
at 4 to 1, with a hint of ag lime. Or, buy the smallest bag of your favorite potting soils and test them out and
see if they work for you! I don't have a degree in neurological chemistry, but I can make a perfect block out
of anything, as long as it has: fiber, air, drainage, and muffin batter consistency. Actually, it is more like
being a good cook than a noble prize winner.
6.) Change is the hardest thing about being a human.
We are all so stuck in our habits, our ways, our thoughts, that we find it very difficult to try new things, or
change old patterns. I can only think great thoughts about the future of gardening for our planet, and think
about how everyone is gardening with soil blockers and growing more of their own food, fiber,
farmaceuticals, and fun!
7.) Soil blockers use up too much precious potting soil.
It has been documented that one rye plant contains over 30,000 miles of plant roots in one cubic foot of
soil. Plant roots use up every grain of soil in their container to feed them. Wouldn't you want to have the
most soil volume possible to grow your transplants? If it's about the price, it is expensive running down to
the garden center to pick up a bag of potting soil, isn't it? Try buying the large bags of peat and perlite and
splitting them up with the neighbors. Than, buy bulk bags of fertilizer and amendments. Try making your
own potting soil using our farm favorite blocking mix. Ask your husband to mix you up a batch, hire the kid
next door, or have a "block party", and make batches and split them up to all the potters on the block.
8.) They look like they would hurt my hands to use them.
Try using only the 3/4" maker and using two hands with just the thumb and pointer finger. Layer your mix
up on a flat board, chest high, and easily work the blocker into the mix, over and over.  The 2" blocker is
metal, and might be uncomfortable for some.
9.) I've tried them and I just don't use them. They're in the garage or in storage.
Put them on ebay and sell them. They'll be snapped up faster than it took you to find them. Just because a
few of you didn't like them doesn't mean we should all run away from them. How many of us bought a
juicer and never ended up using it? It doesn't mean it won't make the best tasting orange/pineapple fresh
squeezed juice in the world, it just means we aren't going to be the ones that make it.
10.) They're only for commercial farmers, or they are a gimmick.
Tell that to Martha Stewart! Anyone, anywhere can enjoy the benefits of a soil blocker. After all, scientific
studies in Europe have concluded that soil blockers make the best transplants than any other way
possible. Plastic is still relatively cheap and abundant in America for any study like that to take place here.
But, isn't four awesome plants better than twelve mediocre plants? Isn't superior growth better than
volume? Aren't results and plant happiness the only measure of success?
As far as being criticized as a garden product gimmick, soil blockers seek so few constituents. Really,
aren't all garden products gimmicks? Couldn't everything be found on our abundant planet without cost?
Compost, soil, the ground, leaves, sticks for hoeing, rocks for digging, branches for trellises, woven grass
baskets for transplants, all being free from our Mother Earth. Thank you. We are a blessed people, but
Hey!, sometimes I want what I want and I want the last seed starting equipment I will ever buy! And then, I
will pass them on to my children as a family heirloom. Anyone who would condemn the soil blocker as a
gimmick, either has never seen or tried one, or is not open minded enough for change. Don't be like that.
Try them, they are well worth the added up front cost for the long term paying dividends. Besides,
www.PottingBlocks.com sells them with a money back guarantee: If, in 30 days, you decide soil blockers
are not for you, you can email your explanation and expect a full money back return while keeping the
blocker to give away to someone who will use it. This is known as the Potting Block Promise, and it is the
best way to overcome skepticism, and that challenging aspect of life: CHANGE.

Sunday, July 6, 2008 (reprinted from The Soil Blocker)

Bottom Watering for Soil Blocks by Jason Beam

Many people are convinced the only way to raise soil blocks is by bottom watering. This is also known as manual ebb and flow, static
evaporation, and water wicking. It is not the only way to water soil blocks, but it is the best way to water if you have very little time to monitor
your seedling garden. Let's explain bottom watering and explore the variety of methods used with advantages and disadvantages, and
instructions on creating them.

Bottom watering is the manual watering technique that fills a shallow, water tight tray with water up to a predetermined height of water at
specific intervals to hydrate the roots of seedlings, transplants, or cuttings. The rate at which water is supplied is determined by the rate of
evaporation of the environment, and root wicking caused by plant growth. The amount of water supplied is determined by the size of the
plant container (or soil block) and the depth of the holding tray or water reservoir. Bottom watering can be done manually by watering cans,
or automated by timers outfitted with drip irrigation, or with timers on pumps which fill and empty the reservoir, known in the hydroponic
industry as ebb and flow (E&F).
You should ask yourself, "Do I need to bottom water?". "Am I at work for 4-8 hours a day, every day?" "Am I new to soil blocks and
gardening?". "Do I have A LOT going on in my life and tend to forget little things?". "Am I going on vacation, or away for the weekend?". "Do I
live in the desert?". "Do I want to grow baby greens?". If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then you are a bottom watering
candidate!
After viewing a brief discourse on soil block making at my website: http://www.pottingblocks.com/, you'll want to have your system of
watering prepared in advance of making blocks, since they will need somewhere to go right away. Big Tip Here: If you are bottom watering,
you need to make absolute sure that your blocks are very firm. Make sure and charge the blocker 3-4 times and watch for water oozing out
the tops. If not, your blocks could just melt away.
The fastest and easiest way to start bottom watering is to reuse some of your recyclable containers. Look for aseptic packs, or rice dream
and soy milk containers, Styrofoam take out trays, salad bar trays with clear lids, plastic bottle bottoms, old cake pans, salad green tubs,
etc. Make your blocks and discharge them into the container with about 1/8" spacing between the blocks. After you seed or place cuttings,
you won't have to water for about three days, as the newly wet blocks contain enough moisture in them for that time. Cover your seeds with
black plastic to make absolute sure they won't dry out. After about three days, you'll want to water your blocks by gently pouring in water on
the side of the container, never directly on the block, to a maximum of 2/3's of the height of your chosen block, be it micro, mini, or maxi.
You'll have to watch and keep track of how fast it is evaporating and how fast your plant uptakes the water in order to gauge how often you'll
be filling your trays up to the 2/3's mark. Never go over that line or you could drown your seedling. Better to have too little water at this stage
then too much as the block itself contains a lot of water pores for emergency use. Only when the plant is well established in the block could
it be over watered and pose no threat to growth. If your block is made from a potting soil that DOES NOT CONTAIN FERTILIZER OR
AMENDMENTS, make sure to begin an organic fertilizer program in 10-14 days until your blocks are transplanted into your garden bed.
Consult my web site for fertilizers to use, or my past blogs at www.pottingblocks.com/blog.html for free ideas.
The next best way to begin bottom watering is to cut the bottom out of an old Rubbermaid tub, provided at least 2" of the bottom is
salvageable. A jig saw is easiest! Try cutting the bottoms out of any old plastic junk lying around. This works well for a larger blocking
system.
The best way for larger scale growing is to make a custom tray out of plywood for the bottom, and 1x3's or 1x2's nailed or screwed around
the sides to make a lip. Then, take a spare or old piece of greenhouse plastic (4-6mm) and line the tray and make it water tight. Be sure
and sand any sharp edges and wrap it completely and staple, duct tape, or lathe it to the bottom of the plywood. If you decide to staple, use
some kind of a tab on top of the plastic to prevent it from tearing, as the water will stretch out the plastic and make it loose if you don't
secure it firmly. This method takes a little longer to construct, about a half an hour to an hour, depending on your size, and if you have to rip
your lumber down to size, but creates a solid tray that can be used for a few years. Build shelves for them in a greenhouse, or create a
potting block bench top with the option to cover with wire hoops (9 gauge) and plastic for a hoop-bench propagation station! Add a large
heat mat with a thermostatically controlled switch and you got yourself a mini greenhouse.
Now, you can take the last option and create a hydroponic system known as the ebb and flow with a pump and timer. For this you will need:
a timer(capable of multi-settings), a little fountain pump, a water reservoir or Rubbermaid tub, silicone, some plastic tubing that fits your
pump, and whatever fittings secures the pump with the tubing with couplings. Now, build your plywood trays deeper, at least 2" for the
micros or minis, or 4" for the maxis. Drill a hole the same size as your tubing at a corner of the tray and then cover with plastic. That hole
will be your drain and fill hole. As you position your tray make sure it is slightly slanted towards the hole for proper drainage. Position the
tray on a bench over the reservoir and secure the pump in the reservoir, silicon the tubing to the hole in the plastic lined tray. Check for
proper water drainage and tilt. Hook up the pump to a timer, fill the reservoir with water, and manually test to see how long it takes to fill up
the tray to the 2/3's rule on whatever block you choose. This amount of time will be programmed into your timer to come on once every
three times a day. Next, fill with soil blocks, and seed or transplant or fill with cuttings and wait three days and turn your timer on. The water
should fill through the pump and drain through the same hole. Mix fertilizer in your water at the 10-14 day mark and watch for rapid growth
in order to transplant before the roots spread out too far. You can transplant or pot on the next block and replace them back in the tray, or
get them out in the garden. Make sure to harden plants off properly to prevent stunting of growth.  You could, however, keep them in the
blocks until harvest, depending on the plant size and length of time until harvest.  Lettuce, spinach, baby greens, micro salad mixes,
mesclun, basil, herbs, scallions, flowering broccoli, baby kales, nasturtiums, flowers, and spices work wonderful.
Experiment and create for yourself the wonderful options of bottom watering. Be sure to check out timeless, in-depth and hot information at
my website to steer you clear of soil stumbling blocks. And, be sure to stay focused on blogspot to receive the three part series on
hydroponic soil block gardening. I'm sure it will please those who want to go hydro, but need to stay with organic soil systems.