This is hands down, the best soil block recipe I have ever used! Especially when you use the food processor to shred the pellets! It really distributes the wool evenly. Bri, I will have to try wetting the pellets slightly before I process next time. Overall, this soil block recipe is great for germination! Celery is notorious for being difficult to germinate and I got mine to start growing after 8 days, when the packet says it should take up to 30! Thank you for sharing your recipe, Bri!! It is definitely changing my gardening game for the better ❤️
Oddly enough, I've discovered pet fur can also be used. I wish I'd thought to look it up sooner. I own a dog that sheds alot and another very fluffy one that I have to trim every 2 weeks. Now I will be adding lots of fur to my garden😂
My #CorgiGlitter would be readily available to use, too!! Hmmm... I'm curious. I wonder if LAUNDRY LINT could be used here and not just in my fire pit??
Before this came out I just tossed the pellets in a bowl of water and by the time I sifted my soil they were all puffed and loose just dumped the wool & wool water into soil & mixed. Works Great!! No processor needed. 👍🏼
First year growing lisianthus, first year soil blocking, fist year using wool pellets a la You, and I'm not sure what everyone is talking about when they say "lisanthus test" mine have grown effortlessly. Thank you. I actually just retrieved my second pack of Wild Valley Farms wool pellets from the mailbox this morning and came here for that recipe again. Perfect timing! Thanks so much. My second sucession of flowers and veggies is going to be a healthy and vigorous as my first. I ended up mixing this recipe with the recipe that had green sand and coco coir at a 1:1 ratio of the two recipes with everything but my Lisanthus (mostly because I ran out of wool pellets), and I had great success.
Thanks for your great videos, you've given me inspiration and courage to try soil blocking. Had to make my own soil mix, can't get Coco loco here in Canberra Au, but have used wool pellets blended as you suggested. First blocks made today, getting tomatoes going indoors for late spring. So excited to see how they go 🙏🏼
Have you tried this with just straight wool? I'm wondering what the pelleting adds to the process other than perhaps consistency in measuring. I have been doing some reading/watching, and I have come across one or two who use sheep wool as a mulch. Anyway, I'd love your take one whether it's necessary to turn it into pellets before use.
Loose wool is very stringy. I just put some down in my garden as mulch. I’ve you’ve ever used synthetic batting for stuffing a craft project that’s exactly how raw wool is. The wool pellets have shredded the wool prior to pelletizing. You could take scissors and cut your raw wool into the little pieces and then not have to to use the pellets.
Always love and learn from your great and motivating instructional videos. You thoroughly cover your subject while keeping it real with charm and grace. Thank you Bri! 💕
Off subject. Have you ever used beneficial nematodes in your garden? You can save lots of time and effort by letting nature take care of pest problems. I use worm compost in the garden and have great luck with that. Keep up the great job with you and yours.
I don’t like importing any insects, there are potential unknown effects. It’s under researched. Empress of dirt explains it well empressofdirt.net/beneficial-nematodes/
@@Blossomandbranch Thanks for the link. I read the info on that page. The article has lots of good info. I lived in Florida and now in Wisconsin. I use the beneficial nematodes that destroy the most pests in the garden. Our dogs have been free of ticks and flee when all the next-door friends and family are being infested with them. The pond on the property would have these donut-shaped nematode blocks and would get rid of the mosquitoes. I have had good luck with the company that we chose. May God Bless you and yours with your life's journey.
What if you just have raw wool and angora and not pellets? I have a friend with sheep and angora goats and can get all the tag wool I want for the garden. LoL it encourages the scavenger beetles ;-) when used for mulch
Ok I did it!!! Got my mini blocker. My first concern was did I overprocess my pellets? But they blended with soil and I made my first 100 blocks in a matter of minutes. My next question is this- do you have any kind of heater in your greenhouse? I have a Palram greenhouse. Not fancy but it’s 50 plus inside and 42 outside. I don’t have electricity but I did manage to run an outdoor cord to it and set up a heat mat. What else can I do?
Great video! What kind of soil do you use after the seedling stage? Or once you transplant? Can we use the same mix for a garden raised bed? Im a beginner!
Hi Bri 👋 used your recipe yesterday (first time blocking) and it was a huge success. Question about watering though… I went out to check the blocks today in our greenhouse and they’re still quite moist. I’m guessing it’s due to the wool… how often do you water while waiting for germination vs during the seedling stage?
They’ll be quite wet during germination stage right after making, so should be no need to water for the first week or so if they’re under a cover for humidity! Keep them moist until you see true leaves, then you can let them dry out a bit more between watering
So are you using raw fleece to make these pellets? I’m assuming you are. Looking at working with a local farmer to get some wool for making the pellets and not really sure about what I’m needing to buy. Brand new to using any sort of wool or fleece or anything and So I’m unsure. 😅 thank you so much for passing this wonderful information along.
Hi Bri! :) I have a question about the peat-free potting mix portion of the soil blocking recipe! In my area, the only peat-free potting soil/mix available at a reasonable price uses aged forest products/wood fines (for some reason, coco loco is very expensive here, not sure why!). Do you think this would still work for soil blocking or would I be better off ordering a block of coco coir online?
Thanks, Brianna! Could you tell me how much Mykos mycorrhizae you use in your recipe without wool? I watched the video, but couldn’t find the amount listed! Thank you!
@@evalynnkuehner, same here! Just a guess, but I think it would have to be cut in very small pieces and used sparsely. The fiber is water wicking. I tried using the 3rds to mulch around in my garden last year and literally held a hose over it and couldn't make it wet. As soon as the water was removed, it fluffed back up and blew with the wind! I'm sure there is a good way to use it in the garden, I just haven't found it yet. 😂
If you don’t like your plants sitting in plastic, why are you using a plastic container to mix with sharp edges that’s probably getting plastic in your soil?
Because I use what I have. Moist soil sitting in warm conditions for extended periods of time like when starting in a seed tray is what leads to plastic leaching. I’m not too concerned about a few minutes of mixing but if you are then use an alternative. ✌🏻
@@Blossomandbranch I was meaning because the scraper and soil blocker are scratching the plastic container and the shreds are staying in your soil. I use plastic. I was just curious if it was such a concern why you wouldn’t use a simple wooden box. That said, I DO love the idea of the wooden trays and it’s something I’m totally going to make.
I might pass on using human hair, just because of the many products people use! I think a lot of shampoo/conditioner/hairspray can stay in hair for a long time
