A Great Way To Start Seeds

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Posted by @sherrilosee on
Noticing that the deep plugs many plants are sold in grow vigorously due to their well developed root system, I decided to start seeds in pots modeled after these plugs: long, narrow, tubular containers with good drainage.

But, where to get them? As a dedicated bargain hunter, I did not want to pay the prices asked for online and in catalogs for plug trays that would disintegrate after a couple years. So, I sourced out these tubes from a science supply surplus shop in the area for about 40 cents each and ā€“ WOW! What a difference it made in the seedlings!

As you can see in photo 1, they are double-capped plastic tubes, about 6ā€ X 2ā€. I punched holes in the bottom cap, removed the top cap, filled with soilless seed starter mix, planted seeds and . . . well, take a look! Photo 2 shows a germinating seedling; photo 3 shows the really well-developed root after 2 months.

I placed them in a cheap, dollar store basket with open weaving at the bottom so that I could dunk 5 or 6 at a time in a baking pan filled with water every week. The soilless mix soaks the water from the bottom so the seedlings are not disturbed as they would be by top watering.

Just thought Iā€™d share this idea before seed-starting season gets under way!

Thumb of 2012-08-28/sherrilosee/a99ea6 Thumb of 2012-08-28/sherrilosee/c43431 Thumb of 2012-08-28/sherrilosee/1c48a3

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Do tell from where! by crittergarden Jul 11, 2014 3:49 PM 9
Great idea! by clintbrown Apr 9, 2013 6:34 PM 48

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