0:00Hi guys. In this video, we're going to be talking about how to grow healthy transplants. There's a lot of different ways to do this and a lot of mistakes

0:07can be made, but you've been doing it long enough to have a good system in place. So, talk to us about the system that you guys are using here on the farm currently for your propagation,

0:18growing transplants. Well, as I think I've mentioned before,

0:24um Elliot Coleman was kind of my mentor through his book, The New Organic Grower, and he makes quite a case for

0:34soil blocks, as the as making the healthiest transplants. And and I

0:40totally agree with that. I visited a lot of farms and in my opinion the healthiest transplants

0:49um have almost always been from soil blocks and you've done sidebyside comparisons.

0:57Yeah, we have we have done sidebyside comparisons. So purely from uh health of

1:04the transplant point of view, I think soil blocks win hands down. The challenge with soil blocks is they're a

1:11little more labor intensive and um are not so easily um automated as far as

1:21seating and stuff goes. So that's the downside.

1:25But just backing up a little bit, I would just say as a general rule, the bigger the block or the plug tray or whatever,

1:37the bigger the root ball,

1:40the healthier your transplant is going to be. So, that's that's a general rule.

1:47But then the other thing you've got to think about is that it's really all about um time and location.

1:58So or you know how much time and space.

2:02So um the bigger the block, the more time you have to deal with. you know,

2:10the the plant can get bigger and so you can hold it for say a month, 4 weeks.

2:18Um, if you're dealing with small blocks or plug trays like this 200 count plug

2:24tray, either you're going to have to supplement the fertility to keep it in

2:31here for a month or you're going to have to plant it out sooner,

2:36right? So, you got to keep that in mind as far as the size of the block, the longer you can hold it. But then, how much space do you have to grow in?

2:47You know, if you're trying to grow a lot of transplants in a fairly small space,

2:53you're going to need to go with smaller plug size or block size just to fit it all in. Yeah.

3:00So, those are the things you've got to weigh.

3:03And we actually have come up with kind of a hybrid system for most of our general transplants like our brasacas

3:12and beets and and um cucurbits,

3:20tomatoes, all those things. We still use soil blocks. Um, the one thing we're growing a whole lot of is salad mix,

3:31salenova.

3:33And so for that, we're using these 200count plug trays. And the reason for that again is a space issue, but also a

3:43mechanization issue is we have a um a drop cedar,

3:50not a vacuum cedar. I don't like vacuum seeders, but here's a drop cedar for this plug tray.

3:59And you know, with one quick click of the the wrist, you've seated 200 lettuce plants.

4:08Yeah.

4:09So, that's huge. So, we we've come up with a whole system, which maybe we

4:15should do a video on, just the lettuce planting system. I mean, we did talk

4:21about that some, I think, once, but that we use the plug trays and then we

4:28we do paper pots for a few things, but for somebody starting out, I would say,

4:36um, soil blocks is a great place to start. Um, we started with a 2-in soil blocker. And

4:44so, if somebody doesn't know what a soil block is, there might be somebody watching.

4:48Here's the blocker. This is the professional standup version. Here's some soil blocks. This is an inch and a half block,

4:57which I'm not sure why the basil was planted in there. Usually, we planted in a 2-in block.

5:05So, you're using a a flat bottom tray with drainage holes and

5:13heavy duty tray. So, you know, of course, one one other thing with with soil blocks is you're saving a lot of

5:20plastic cuz you're not dealing with flimsy trays that last a year or two and then you got to throw away. Yeah.

5:28So, you get heavy duty trays. Some of our trays have literally lasted us

5:3627 years. I mean, well, no, I guess we didn't have them the first year.

5:4226 years. Yeah, that's great.

5:46So, soil blocks are the way to go if you want the healthiest starts. Um, I suppose it's a little bit of upfront

5:55cost with that. You have to have the blocks, the blockers themselves, which are not cheap,

6:02but there are small versions. You know,

6:04this is a handheld version that, you know, is $35 or something. So,

6:13if you're Yeah, if you're just starting out, it doesn't have to cost much money.

6:18Yeah. Okay, cool. Any other final thoughts on growing healthy transplants?

6:24I know it's we just touched the tip of a very large iceberg. Yeah, there's a lot of final thoughts that we'll save, but

6:32um yeah, think about your your time and space and what system is going to work

6:42best for the space that you have and and uh yeah, cool. Last thing though, do you

6:50want to tell people what potting mix you're using?

6:55Yeah, for years we made our own potting mix which worked well but is fairly labor intensive. Right now we're using

7:04um it looks like burger but because it's French Canadian I think they say berier.

7:12Um and we use OM2 which is a fine mix.

7:18We use that for our our micro greens and our mini blocks and our uh paper pots.

7:27And then the OM6 is a more a coarser mix. This is some OM6.

7:36Um and you use that for soil blocks. We use that for soil blocks. All right. So, Bier OM1 and OM6.

7:46Yeah. One other thing, cucurbits have a reputation for not liking to be transplanted, not liking their roots

7:55disturbed. So, we use the 3-in block for our cucurbits and have had good success with that.

8:04Okay?

8:05So, you know, you you got to you got to take that into account, too, what what needs the plants have. Some plants don't

8:13mind being transplanted and others are very sensitive to it. So, those are just a few things. Great.

8:23Well, we hope this video has been helpful for you guys watching and that it will help you have more success with your transplanting in the future. Until next time, happy growing.

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