Soil blocks and other forms of blasphemy.

Today I gathered 4 soil samples for testing, 1 each from 3 of my containers and 1 from the latest "cooked" compost I have. After gathering the samples, I headed down to the County Ag Extension office off Conway Rd. First guy was very friendly, performed the tests, told me all samples were neutral and subjectively added that the compost looked really good! Yes, getting compliments on my compost is like getting a high five for knocking a few milliseconds off some SQL query, its all good. I was about to walk out when I decided to ask one more seemingly simple question, "any recommendations on soil block recipes?"

I should have quit while I was ahead.


To understand how I got to this point, you have to understand where I came from. I recently sent an email out to folks at work (techy geeks like me) asking if anyone had any old containers they were willing to let go, preferably 4" containers for planting seeds for transplant. One response I got was "Have you looked into soil blocks?" and suddenly I'm on a quest to figure out what soil blocks are.


First off, soil blocks are actually an old school European method, they've been around for many years. The concept is simple enough, if you compress some planting medium it will hold together without the need for a container. You make an indention in the top of the block, place a seed there, cover the seed and keep it watered. They have some advantages over using a small container, primarily less shock when you move the plant to it's spot in the garden. Google soil blocks and you'll see there are some avid supporters of soil blocks. I liked the idea because it doesn't rely on gathering and storing containers or tray packs, plus I got to buy a new tool from Amazon.


A soil block recipe is what you mix together to compress and make into the blocks. Dirt, especially sandy soil like we have here, won't hold together well. Most recipes call for some combination of peat, perlite, lime, compost, and some form of fertilizer. The idea is to have a medium that holds water, provides nutrients, and keeps it shape. I could use a good potting mix, but I thought it might be fun to try making my own mix.


Back to our story about the county extension. When I asked the guy if he had any recommendation on soil block recipes, he looked at me as if I was from another planet, another planet with really good compost I suppose. I was quickly passed off to another guy where I had to explain again what a soil block was. Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to learn something, he started getting really rude with me, basically questioning why would anyone want to make soil blocks and why would anyone want to mix their own planting medium. I'll skip the details but at one point I actually had to point out that I wasn't harming anyone or building a bomb, I was just trying a different method of starting seeds. Lesson learned, stick with basics and stick with the stuff in the approved publications any time you deal with the county extension. Actually, the approved publications are even questionable so just stick with the basics.


In the middle of this, the guy referenced some book that might help someone with my affliction, this whole soil block problem of mine. I asked him to repeat the name of the book and he gruffly pointed out that it was "impossible to find now because it was printed in the 70's". He almost blew a gasket when 15 seconds later, I asked if the new edition was better because I had found this "impossible to find" book on Amazon using my smart phone. Geeks 1, Old guy at the county ag center 0, not that I'm keeping score. For those playing along with the home edition the book was The New Seed Starters by Nancy Bubel. It's as low as $5.45.


The final moments of the visit involved a short discussion on when to start sowing celery and brocolli. At this point there were three of them since people like me from other planets with good compost attract crowds. They said it was too early to plant celery and brocolli. I pointed out that their publication contradicted what they were saying, they looked it up and found that I was right. They eventually agreed that even though their publication said it was ok to plant both now, it's probably best to wait a few more weeks. For now, I'm going to hold off. Time to transport back to my home planet and tend the compost. Next blog will be about my first attempt at soil blocks. Later.