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A Mom's Guide to Soil Blocking

First off, let me introduce myself!


Hi, I’m Rachel! Owner/Operator of Freshcoln Farms, Mom of 3, and a 2nd year flower farmer.


After scaling our farm fresh egg side of the business for the past 4 years, I knew I wanted to add to our offerings (while being able to produce an income as a stay-at-home-mom). Farming while raising 3 kids - two that are 4 and under - is not for the faint of heart, but it is SO rewarding in many ways!



Rachel Anne, Owner/Operator of Freshcoln Farms, LLC + Her 3 Children
Rachel Anne, Owner/Operator of Freshcoln Farms, LLC + Her 3 Children

In mid to late 2023, I soaked up as much information that I could find about starting seeds, growing vegetables, growing flowers for market, organizing my growing season, and the like - oftentime I’d listen to podcasts during nap times and take notes so the information would really stick. 


As a passionate learner, creative, and entrepreneurial risk-taker, after a short period of learning (and going down many rabbit holes), I dove right in and started my first seeds. Now, having grown vegetables in the past, I kind of sort of knew what to do, but because I was raising our youngest two (breastfeeding, changing, etc.), I felt stressed out and like I had zero time for anything else. But this time was different.


This time, I analyzed, learned, then applied what I had learned to starting seeds that would later be transplanted to our raised beds (built during my 2nd pregnancy in 2020) as well as a single row next to our garage. I had no idea that everything I learned about soil blocking would actually work - and the confidence I gained came at a much needed time during my postpartum journey. 





Fast forward to January 2024, I was hooked. I knew that I could grow beautiful flowers. I could make magic happen when I got my mindset right and rolled my sleeves up. I could find myself and a newfound sense of purpose through the therapeutic properties of growing and harvesting flowers.


So, the planning began on my wall calendar, my spreadsheets, and my drawing pad. I increased our growing space, created a small sunflower patch, and utilized intensive planning and tight-spacing when figuring out how many seeds to start and how many flowers I’d like to produce.


To keep it simple, and start small, the first flower seeds I started were:

  • Sunflowers

  • Zinnias

  • Cosmos

  • Dahlias

  • Celosia 

  • Strawflower

  • Calendula


All of these are warm season annuals. They are the low-risk, high-reward crops that bloom from late Spring through late Fall in our area - Zone 7A in Franklinville, New Jersey 08322.


All of these were started using a ¾” Soil Blocker, and started about mid-March for blooms as early as Mother’s Day (mid-May). 


Guess what? Not only did I have great germination rates, but the amount of space I space was minimal - and in our garage to start. If you’re running short on space, the great thing about soil-blocking on small trays is the fact that you can put them just about anywhere - a windowsill, a shelf in your pantry, a greenhouse, or even a countertop with a little grow light. 


But, enough talking! Let me show you, from a busy mom’s perspective, how I start thousands of seeds on a minimal budget using minimal space, with minimal time involved.


 

Materials + Supply List:

Affiliate Disclaimer: It is important to note that I may receive a small commission for purchases made using the links I provide to the materials and tools used.



 

Let’s Get Started!


Step 1: Organize all your materials. Go through your supply list and organize your work space - whether that’s your kitchen table, picnic table, workbench, whatever you’ve got. 

Quick Tip: ** Set up your Grow Lights, your Sticky Traps, get your Heat Mat

ready, and program/plug-in your Surge Protector. Being prepared ahead of

time is key to getting into a rhythm. Your future self will thank you. **


Step 2: Gather 1-3 seed packets you’d like to start with. Think of your favorite, warm-season flower. I’ve found that if you enjoy the flower and the end result, the tedious process of babying seeds will feel much more enjoyable. 


Step 3: Grab your Soil Blocking Mix and your Mixing Tub. You can use ready-mix, like the Fort Vee Organic Mix, or make your own. I started all our seeds with our own mix. Here’s the recipe: 

  • 16 Qts of Coco Coir Fiber / 1, Coco Coir Brick 

  • 8 qts / 4 cups of Living Compost (Worm Castings, Mushroom Compost, or a mix of Aged Horse/Chicken Manure)

  • 2 cups Vermiculite


Step 4: Mix up your soil blocking medium into the mixing tub with approximately 1-2 gallons of water. I didn’t use any special or filtered water here - just our well water. Set this aside.

Quick Tip: The key to getting a good soil blocking mixture is making sure it’s wet enough that it acts like a sponge to hold the water, but not so much that it loses shape. To test your mixture and see if you need to add more water, grab a handful and give it a squeeze. If it holds its shape, you’re good to go! If it feels too dry and falls apart easily, add more water. If it is soaking in water, add more medium. Remember, you can always add more water, but not necessarily the soil blocking medium you’ve purchased.


Step 5: Grab whichever sized tray you prefer (mine is the 9” x 11”), your first seed packet and your prep dish and stick that next to the mixing tub. 

Quick Tip: Your ¾” Soil Blocker will create 20 blocks of soil for you to start and successfully transplant 20 individual plants. The footprint of the soil blocker itself is approximately 4” inches x 3” inches. This means, on a 4 ½” x 8 ¼” Foam Tray you can grow 40 seedlings! On a 9” x 11” Foam Tray you can grow 120 seedlings! Talk about space-saving and being eco-friendly and budget conscious! You just now eliminated using those flimsy, plastic starter trays and needing a large greenhouse off your list of “must-haves” to grow flowers - or any seed really.


Here comes the fun part!


Step 6: Grab your ¾” Soil Blocker and get ready to be amazed. Push your soil blocker down into the medium to fill the cells. While holding the top portion of your blocker, give it a little twist to ensure you’ve got a good amount of mix and contact, then lift. 


Step 7: Scrape off any excess medium off the bottom of the soil blocker and place it on your tray. You can use your opposite hand, a spackle knife, potato masher, or anything flat really. 


Step 8: Eject the soil blocks onto the tray by engaging the plunger. Gently push down with your palm and pull the spring-loaded handle with your fingers. Voilà! You now have 20 little spaces to plant the flower seeds of your dreams. 


Step 9:  Grab that first seed packet and empty out the contents into the small glass dish. Don’t throw away the packet just yet! You may need to save it for later - it is loaded with extra info and you may not use all the seeds. 


Step 10: Pick up your seeds, one at a time. Using a small toothpick, take one end of the toothpick and either dip it in a small dish of water, or use good ole-fashioned saliva to wet the end of the toothpick. Touch one seed with the wet end of the toothpick and then take that seed and sow it directly into/on one of the depression marks of a soil block. 

Quick Tip: On the back of the seed packet, you will find how deep to sow the seed, if it needs light to germinate, temperatures to germinate, days to germinate, etc. This is very important to know before sowing your seeds. For your seeds that need light to germinate (which typically say “surface sown” on the back of the packet), place them firmly on the surface of the soil block, while ensuring good contact. For your seeds that need darkness to germinate, push the seed down into the block at the recommended depth (also noted on the seed packet).


Step 11: Label your tray. Trust me, whether you’re using a waterproof Garden Marker or a Portable, Bluetooth Label Maker (like I do), you’re going to want to have all your trays labeled. When those baby seedlings start to pop, it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s a Zinnia and what’s a sunflower - during the first week or so at least.


Step 12: Repeat the process! Continue on until you have the desired amount of soil blocks created, seeds sown, and trays filled.

Quick Tip: I have, personally, had great results with prepping my trays of soil blocks in advance of the seed starting date. As I said earlier, I am oftentime short on time or working in between nap times (which rarely happens anymore), so preparing trays of soil that I can re-hydrate later when I’m ready saves a ton of time and effort on those days where my family needs me more.


Step 13: Move your trays of soil blocks onto your Heat Mat. A seedling heat mat helps to keep the soil temperature a consistent 20ºF degrees warmer than the ambient air temperature, and warm soil for warm season annuals is key to good germination.


Step 14: Water your trays daily. Your seeds need water daily. This only takes me a few minutes each day - and it’s a nice pattern to get into every day at the same time of day. 

Quick Tip: When watering your soil blocks, use a pitcher or something with a spout to direct the flow of the water into the “channels” in between your groups of blocks. If you direct the water towards the blocks, they could dissolve or get disrupted.  


Step 15: Move your trays off the Heat Mat and place them under Lights. Once about 50% of your tray of seedlings have germinated, move your tray off the heat mat and underneath your grow lights. During the few weeks, it is important that your lights stay about 2” - 3” from the soil blocks and baby seedlings - to prevent them from getting “leggy”. 

Quick Tip: ** This is where your Surge Protector with the Built-in Timer comes in super handy. Your seedlings need at least 16 hours of light per day, and setting up your programmable surge protector to go on and off automatically at certain times of day (and even days of the week) is a game-changer. It’s truly a “set it and forget it” - and as a mom who often gets “mom-brain”, you don’t need one more thing to have to remember. Trust me.


Step 16: Take care of your seedling daily until it’s time to transplant. This varies depending on many things - the weather, the outdoor temperature, the flower variety and the size of your seedling (3” - 5” inches tall). As a good rule of thumb, for seeds I start in mid-March, I transplant my warm season hardy annuals outside after the danger of frost has passed (typically mid-April), for blooms as early as mid-May!


And that’s it!


Our first sunflowers, grown in 3/4" Soil Blocks.
Our first sunflowers, grown in 3/4" Soil Blocks.

From a busy mom of three who had little to no gardening experience prior to 2023, let me just say “YOU’VE GOT THIS”!


I’d be happy to answer any questions, schedule a 1-on-1 consult call, or even come out to meet you in-person and map out your 2025 garden space together. 


Feel free to send an email over to freshcolnfarms@gmail.com and let’s grow together!


Yours truly,

Rachel

Freshcoln Farms, LLC

FB & IG: @freshcolnfarms












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