DE grow plug idea

[aclum]

Hi Rick,

Unfortunately, I can't see your photos. I think you described it well enough so I can picture things though.

I like your idea for the moveable plugs and good point about being able to rearrange the seedlings (which you wouldn't be able to do with intact 6 packs). It's not a whole lot different from using little 3 oz. cups with drain holes in the bottom packed together in a pan you can fill with water (and using empty cups as "space fillers" if necessary so the plants don't tip over). However, if you're starting from scratch, your method might be less expensive. But if you used the teabags with 6 packs like you describe instead of the cut-up 6 pack inserts, the teabag method might be the same or less expensive. Although we're not talking about much money here in the broad scheme of things !

I think the (hypothetical) advantage of the teabags, though, is that it would be easier to contain the DE when the plug was turned on its side. It seems like with your suggested method, you'd have to hold the DE in your plugs either by holding the shamwow, etc. in place with your fingers or a rubber band or whatever. Whereas with the teabag you could just slap on a twist-em or use the drawstring type teabags.

BTW, I start my seeds in small disposable aluminum pans (or things like Stouffer's individual frozen lasagna containers) with the seeds spaced maybe an inch apart. Unless I'll be using the seedlings as scions for grafting, I'll pot-up to the 3oz cups after they get their first or second set of true leaves. The future scions just stay in their little tray until I do the graft.

I'm not totally sure that I'll use the teabag method myself as I haven't had too much trouble matching up the cuts without lining up the stems, but this has the potential to make things a lot easier and there's a lot more rootspace for things to grow. I think it somewhat depends on if the roots penetrate the teabag material. I've got a 6" mystery plant from a test grafting with lots of good roots still in its 3 oz cup. I plan to transplant it to a teabag today and see what happens.....


Larry,

There's a good (but long) thread on using DE in the seed starting forum.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...=22329&page=39

I think I need to go back and re-read it myself ! I'm still a bit confused about the fertilizing. BTW, I started some seeds in Optisorb on Jan 6 (see my post on the 2014 grow list thread) and all but 2 of the 18 or so varieties have germinated. For the grafters out there, my 105 rootstock seeded at the same time was one of the first to germinate (along with Carbon) on Jan 10th!

Anne

[RayR]

I'm not doing any grafting but I filled some Teavana small tea bags I have on hand with a 50/50 mix of Optisorb DE and coir and planted some pre-sprouted onion seed in them. The tea bags are pretty sturdy and the whole thing filled up looks like a tall mini grow bag. They fit firmly into 1.5" six pack cells.

[aclum]

Hi Ray,

Thanks for posting the photos! It's really fun to see someone else trying it out too !

Think I may have to get some of those 1-1/2" cell packs (Kath mentioned that Johnny's has free shipping coupon codes at the moment).

Anne

[RayR]

Originally Posted by aclum

Hi Ray,

Thanks for posting the photos! It's really fun to see someone else trying it out too !

Think I may have to get some of those 1-1/2" cell packs (Kath mentioned that Johnny's has free shipping coupon codes at the moment).

Anne

Glad you like the pics and you can click on them and see them even though the thumbnails have been broken here.

Those 1.5" cell packs are really common in seed starting kits. You can find them in most hydroponics stores and some nurseries also, The one in the picture with the tray I bought at Dollar Tree and it comes with a humidity dome also. Pretty handy when you only need to work with 12 cells or less.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Here is some more info on t-sac tea filters;

unbleached paper filters
gusset bottom and flap top

size 1 - 2.5 in. W x 3.5 in. height (pouch), 4.7 in. with flap
size 2 - 2.9 in. W x 4.1 in. height (pouch), 6.2 in. with flap
size 3 - 3.3 in. W x 5.4 in. height (pouch), 7.2 in. with flap
size 4 - 4.0 in. W x 6.0 in. height (pouch), 7.9 in. with flap
size 5 - 3.3 in. W x 6.8 in. height (pouch), 8.6 in. with flap

Dutch

I purchased a one hundred box of the T-sac size 1 and planted some pepper seeds in them six days ago. I planted 18 cells with t-sac tea filters filled with a DE and coir mixture and they are all falling apart in less than a week. It was a good idea, using tea filters, but the t-sac filters didn't work for me.
Dutch
P.S. I am a tea drinker anyways so nothing is lost.

[RayR]

The Teavana filters have become more fragile too after 1 week, I tore a couple of them trying to pull them out of the cells. Partly my fault because I let them dry out too much and they stuck to the bottom of the cells. The concept is a good one, I just think paper tea bags as a material don't have the long term strength to hold up.
I was right, the onion roots on some have already penetrated the paper.

[tuk50]

Ray, I haven't tried them yet, but wonder if you would try to transplant very early or wait till the roots penetrate the whole bag to help support the structure. I am going to use them with beets, chard, kale and only fill with promix?

[RayR]

Originally Posted by tuk50

Ray, I haven't tried them yet, but wonder if you would try to transplant very early or wait till the roots penetrate the whole bag to help support the structure. I am going to use them with beets, chard, kale and only fill with promix?

Yes, I agree. I'm going to let things progress and see if the root mass will replace the paper tea bag and bind the structure together. I can see the paper itself won't last for a long time since the combination of paper and water creates a nice home and lunch for microscopic fungi.

[Salsacharley]

Would it be worth considering "double bagging" the tea bags to strengthen them?

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Would it be worth considering "double bagging" the tea bags to strengthen them?

I thought of that too, it would extend the life of the outer support a little bit.
I was going to do that anyway with the few bags that I tore.

[aclum]

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the report! I've been out of commission for a couple of days (bad drug reaction) and just checked on my plants today. I see that the teabag around my little early girl seedling I started was beginning to fall apart. I might let the outside dry out a little then put it in a new bag and see what happens.

Just today I got my order for the drawstring teabags. They're made of a different material that feels more like paper toilet seat protectors than cheap paper napkins. Sorry, these were the only comparisons I could come up with off the top of my head !

The bags are more of a truncated pryramid shape and seem very interesting. I'll give one a try today.

Anne

[Larry636]

I sowed 18 cells of Ultrasorb with spinach 12 days ago in the DS T bags. All 18 look as good as new this am. No sign of breaking down. I keep about 1/2 inch of bottom water in the flat on a heat mat.

Larry