Ozark Akerz Regenerative Farm
  • About
  • Our Farm
    • Our Animals
    • Our Vegetables
    • Our Hot Sauce
  • Blog
  • Teaching Resources
    • Videos
    • Presentations for educators
    • Get Creative
  • Merchandise
  • Testimonials
  • Pineywoods Heritage Beef
  • News
  • Photos
  • Contact

BLOG

No plastic + Easy transplants = Pots made of Soil

3/13/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Tomato seedlings at 10 days
A month ago we planted over 750 seeds in soil pots we made on the farm out of compressed organic potting soil. We do this for one main reason, to avoid using plastic pots which can contain endocrine disruptors like Phthalates and BPA.
The 200 heirloom tomato plants outgrew their soil pots this week so it was time to transplant them into larger pots. We haven't perfected making larger soil pots yet (they tend to fall apart when we move them) so we used biodegradable peat pots. We were hoping to use coir pots (made of coconut husks) because they are a more sustainable product but they were sold out everywhere. We'll order them early next season.
Transplanting tomatoes
Sue holding one of the soil pots. The soil block acts as a container and a growing medium
Plastic seed trays
Traditional seed trays surround the soil with plastic
We started the transplant at 1 PM and finished around 8 PM. This included set-up time, preparing the organic potting soil, cleaning up and a one hour break when our local irrigation expert came by to talk to us.
When it comes time to transplant, the root system is very established in the 2.5 inch soil pots. Using soil pots minimizes any stress and damage to the roots during transplant. Once we get going we have a pretty good system:
  1. Mike fills the peat pots about 1/3 full with moistened organic potting soil
  2. Sue waters the soil pot, slightly compacts the soil at the bottom of the peat pot and transplants the soil pot into it
  3. Mike fills more soil on top of the newly transplanted tomato plant and puts it in a tray

We both carried the trays back into the mudroom which is acting as our greenhouse for the second year in a row. Space is becoming a problem, especially after the transplant. We fit 24 soil pots in each tray, but only 8 peat pots. Also the tomatoes are a foot or more tall, so we have to remove some of the shelves to give them space to grow. We're gonna need a bigger greenhouse!
Picture
Before the transplant, 24 plants per tray
Picture
After the transplant, 8 plants per tray
If you're interested in purchasing one of the heirloom tomato plants you've read about here, please visit Our Plants page for more information. The biodegradable peat pots can be planted directly in the ground making transplanting it to your garden quick and easy.

Happy Friday the 13th
-  13 is a lucky number for both of us!
Sue & Mike

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Graze Against
    ​The Ozark Akerz Blog

    Farmer Sue
    Farmer Sue
    Farmer Mike
    Farmer Mike

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    October 2018
    August 2018
    April 2016
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    Article
    BBQ
    Bulls
    Chefs
    Chickens
    Christmas
    Cleetus
    Country Living
    Dung Beetles
    Eggs
    Farming
    Gardening
    Health
    Holidays
    Hot Sauce
    Humor
    Hunger
    Indigenous
    Language
    Man-eating Chicken
    Marinade
    Oysters
    Pasture Health
    Pate
    Peppers
    Photography
    Pineywoods Cattle
    Poetry
    Possums
    Progress
    Recipes
    Regenerative
    Runes
    Soil
    Sustainable
    Tomatoes


    Check out our YouTube channel
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About
  • Our Farm
    • Our Animals
    • Our Vegetables
    • Our Hot Sauce
  • Blog
  • Teaching Resources
    • Videos
    • Presentations for educators
    • Get Creative
  • Merchandise
  • Testimonials
  • Pineywoods Heritage Beef
  • News
  • Photos
  • Contact