Irrigation is fantastic. It has revolutionized the way this garden runs this year. Plants with roots love it.
Seeds, however… Less so.
Here’s the thing: drip irrigation is wonderful at watering plants that already exist. Not so much for coaxing tiny plants into the world. It doesn’t wet the surface of the soil consistently, and if you’re a seed trying to germinate, that top layer is your whole world. When it dries out, so do your dreams.
A few weeks ago, I planted what felt like hundreds of seeds directly into the soil.
And… nothing.
Well, not nothing. A few showed up. But a suspicious number simply ghosted me. It’s been disheartening. I kept checking the beds like maybe they’d suddenly spring to life if I just stared hard enough. (Spoiler: they didn’t.)
So, lesson learned.
If we’re going to rely on drip irrigation, we probably can’t count on direct sowing unless we’re going to babysit the soil surface with a hose or a mister. And given how time works and how my schedule doesn’t, that’s unlikely.
So we got a soil blocker.
I’ve never used one of these before. It’s basically a little press that compresses soil into tidy cubes with little indentations on top for the seeds. The idea is that there’s no container to deal with, and the roots don’t get root-bound the way they can in pots. They’re supposed to transplant better, and they’re appealingly efficient in terms of space and resources.
It felt like a gamble, but I was tired of staring at empty dirt. So I gave it a try.
And… I’m delighted to report: it looks like it might work!
The blocks held together beautifully. They’re sturdier than I expected, and they’re surprisingly satisfying to make. I kind of want to block soil all day now. We’ll have to see if the seeds germinate, but the blocks look great so far. It’s early yet, but I feel very optimistic.
What’s Next
– Keep the soil blocks wet
– Rethink which seeds (if any) get direct-sown
– Accept that gardening is 90% learning curve and 10% growing stuff
There are no guarantees, but I’m starting to feel like we’ve got a fighting chance. And this time, the seeds aren’t alone.
Leave a comment