MB>Please tell me what soil blocks are? I haven't heard of those
MB>before.
  Basically, Marilyn,blockmakers are little metal stamping tools in the
  shape of cubes (blocks) with a spring compression arrangement. The
  empty cubes are positioned over several inches of special soil-peat
  moss mixtures that are very wet, then pressed firmly into the mixture,
  lifted up, and ejected onto a level board or plastic flat. The result,
  depending on what size blocker is used, is a clump of 20 perfect 1/2
  inch cubes, 4 2x2 inch cubes, or even a single 4x4 cube.
  Single seeds are dropped (I use a damp pencil tip to pick up seeds
  singly -they adhere to the wetter block with just a touch) into tiny
  depressions in the centre of the 1/2 inch blocks and then they are
  placed in a warm area to germinate. I cover mine with a plastic film
  to prevent excessive drying out and the resulting fall in temperature.
  Plastic cubes can be inserted into the 4 block size to make blocks
  with a 1/2 inch depression. (Ordered as an optional item.)
  The germinated seedlings can be plopped directly into the bigger
  blocks as soon as they appear, and for most plantings, your
  transplanting indoors is finished. Grow them on until ready to
  transplant outdoors, whether you use windowsills or coldframes or
  greenhouses.
  One of the appealing things about homemade soil blocks is their cost -
  very cheap and ecologically friendly. Moreover, their cube form gives
  seedlings maximum root room. A 2-inch cube can handle up to a 6 week
  tomato transplant. (But I prefer one more transplanting for really
  gorgeous transplants. :-)) And the 4x4 cube takes up less room yet
  has the capacity of a 5 inch pot.
  However, my 4x4 block maker has disappeared; so I use 2x2 blocks
  mostly. I find expensive pepper seeds cool off too much to germinate
  properly unless sealed, and then mold develops. So I plant
  pre-germinated seeds directly into the cubes, or, with my trusty
  pencil, carefully poke a larger deeper hole into the 2x2 cubes, and
  transplant tiny seedlings. But that is more work than needed. :-)
  Once I get my inserts, life will be that much easier- just lay the
  seedlings in the larger depression and cover the roots. (I have also
  seen 2-inch inserts for the 4x4 cube somewhere, or you can make some.
  Anyhow, by using the 1/2 inch cubes for germinating, you can eliminate
  skips in a row and transplant only seedlings in cubes for
  outdoors. Also, being so small, precious germinating room (on top of
  my fridge) is saved and I can start far more seeds at once than in the
  bigger blocks.
  It takes a lot of water in the mix to create a stable cube - the
  compression makes a tight seal that holds the cube together until the
  roots penetrate the whole cube, and after that, the roots hold it
  together. As the roots hit the drier outside, they automatically root
  prune, until the cube becomes a mass of roots in short order. There is
  no transplanting shock at root level, and the roots charge right into
  the surrounding soil as soon as transplanted at the correct season.
   And tomato transplants in either 4x4 blocks, or 2x2 cubes set into
   4 inch pots become lush and thick and floriferous before the outdoors
   season gets fully underway. Having compared growths in different size
   pots, containers and cubes, they all work if they give the roots
   enough room to grow unhindered, but the cubes don't leave a lot of
   messy pots behind, and the peat acts as fertilizer in open ground.
   And they are so much cheaper than peat pots! (Of which I buy a few
   large ones to start melons, which don't care for the peat block
   mixtures that much. I think they resent the compaction and wetness
   too much.)
   How do you water blocks? Pour a stream alongside (not on) an outside
   row, and the blocks will quickly absorb as much water as they can
   hold. But being open on 5 sides to air, they usually dry off very
   quickly at soil surface, which inhibits mildews and molds.
   Germinating seeds often don't require any watering until they have
   fully sprouted. And since smaller seeds are not covered with soil,
   you can see the roots start, the fuzzy root hairs growing just behind
   the tips, the stem start and elongate to the point where , under
   different methods, you would say they had "finally germinated." :-)
   Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine carries the 1/2 inch blocker, the
   2x2 size, and the optional plastic cube inserts for them for $19.50,
   $24.95, and $3.50 respectively. Smith and Hawkins in CA., and Lee
   Valley Tools in Canada also carry some of the available models. The
   2x2 is the most all-round useful size.
   I consider my blockmakers in the same category as my tiller - not
   110% necessary, but 100% nice to own and use for time and labour
   and ecology saving. :-)
                          ...Sandra...
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