Seed-Starting Products

Host Paul James describes a variety of products to make seed-starting easier and more effective.

Self-contained systems are appealing for a number of reasons, mainly because they are basically self-watering. One particular plastic foam version is reusable and makes the process practically foolproof.

Filling the reservoir with water is the first step. After that, you place the capillary mat on the pegboard stand and set the stand in the reservoir, making sure the mat is in contact with the water. (The pegboard stand is also used to eject seedlings from their cells, and the reservoir comes with a plastic hood to maintain proper humidity). The capillary mat wicks up water from the reservoir and keeps the potting mix moist from the bottom up — an ideal situation for starting seeds. Depending on the size of the plants you're growing, you need to add water to the reservoir only once a week or so.

The plastic foam packages also come in a variety of cell sizes for starting seeds or potting up seedlings. As for the capillary mats, they can be purchased separately and are useful for any system such as peat pots or the more familiar plastic pots and trays.

Another system has extra deep cells to encourage exceptionally healthy roots. The plastic cells allow roots to grow as long as 5 inches, and each cluster of cells opens like a book to simplify routine root inspection.

If foam and plastic don't suit your ecological conscience, you may want to try a honeycomb starter made of biodegradable paper. You simply fan out the honeycomb to fill the cells with potting mix. Available in several sizes, the tightly-packed arrangement not only saves space, it reduces moisture loss as well. Because there's no bottom, the roots are naturally air-pruned and yield nice, dense root balls. When it's time to put the sprouted seeds in the ground, just separate the pots and plant them along with the seedlings.

A similar alternative provides a nearly endless supply of paper pots while helping to recycle old newspaper. All it takes is a strip of newspaper rolled around a maple press, folded under at the bottom and twisted into the base. You then slip the pot off the press, fill it with soil and plant your seed. These paper pots can also be planted in the ground along with the seedling, which means there's virtually no risk of transplant shock. Because most newspaper ink is soy-based, the entire pot is biodegradable.

You don't need pots at all if you start your seeds with a soil block maker. Market gardeners have long used them in pursuit of both economy and quantity. Just fill the container with moist soil or potting mix, pack well, eject the blocks of soil and plant the seeds in the ready-made holes.

Soil block makers also come in two sizes to make different sizes of cells. The larger size comes with an insert to accommodate blocks from the smaller block maker, allowing you to transplant from a smaller to a larger block with no concern about transplant shock.

Precision seeders make easy work of planting seeds. You can pick up the tiniest seeds one at a time, and by gently squeezing the rubber ball, you can deposit the seed exactly where you want it. Three tips are available for handling different sizes of seeds, even the ones you can barely see. These seeders are also great for garden work by virtually eliminating the tedious task of thinning.