Soil mixture for seedling trays

Hi group,

Was wondering if anyone has used soil mix as per the system in cell
trays for seedlings? and how the requirements differ from using seed
flats...

ET & Group:

Cell trays are plastic trays that are made with individual cells in which each seed germinates and grows until time for the first transplant. Each cell is only about 1/2" across, and so a tray holds a couple of hundred tiny seedlings.

Transplanting from these is less stressful to the plant, as the roots do not intertwine with others', and the soil can also be maintained on the root.

The seeding operation requires an automatic seeder, and much more space is required for the first seed flats, since seeding in rows yields 600-1,000 seedlings per tray.

For the small grower, and where it's difficult to get adequate heat, the Mittleider Method of planting seed directly in rows of shallow furrows in a flat works great, and costs much less that using cell trays.

For those of you who might want to grow in Cell Trays, just mix the Pre-Plant into the soil mix BEFORE you put the soil in the tray.

Mix 3 ounces of Pre-Plant Mix with 1 cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil mix, then fill your cell trays with the soil mix.

Jim Kennard