My husband and I recently bought 40 acres. We have gardener before, but this year we are going BIG. We hope to plant even more next year, as the nearest grocery store is 30 minutes away, and we want to be able to have a farm stand for our community.
What is the most affordable way to start a LOT of seedlings? We would like something that we can use for at least a few years before it needs to be replaced, and hopefully without too much plastic waste.
by ConsequencePersonal7
8 Comments
Personally, seed cell trays, and a diesel heater would be best for this space. Super low running cost compared to an electric heater. If you get high quality seed trays they will last a long time too.
Look up vacuum seeders. They allow you to plant a whole tray of seeds at once. I’ve been farming for 25 years, and those are the gold standard for small producers. Johnny’s Seeds sells one, and you can plant 2x 72 cell trays per minute with theirs.
I do mine indoor and it saves a ton of money/time and space.
3 or 4 of these [https://www.target.com/p/5-tier-wide-wire-shelving-black—brightroom—adjustable-metal-storage-unit–72-63–h–350-lb-capacity–5-shelves–no-aasa/-/A-83500096](https://www.target.com/p/5-tier-wide-wire-shelving-black—brightroom—adjustable-metal-storage-unit–72-63–h–350-lb-capacity–5-shelves–no-aasa/-/A-83500096)
with 2 to 3 of these per shelf
[https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Spectrum-Daylight-Equivalent-Greenhouse/dp/B0B3CCLW5D/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.X42daxSN_5rQ2JH-7thIYpSd-e_cFupOzhvsp5YWY2FTBeqefbRv8kMiMP5kyqFNNuDWmowfFPMz6-uEiBJcE33wOO5l_ijNfEB9bjtmhtvEZ1ezTqSs-ADzDQ0OdFvkYliv78Y15j1CAnKHvEamM9FAWIDc569yX-a77AFLOPXVJWNZKvAGIYRusfTl4FCrbQIT-aWK5jixfA7zV6ydZJP1Mjh0PHkCS_xG9HQiTSsC7q0bv5KVPAvYF5rsVc2qS1W-zrDjbozy9XQRMvwN209x37uvo3wkVEhWMsY5l2o.f4AXMyBr7FcbDvY_m8kbdt6xh0JAmfiZUz2k4DcQLWc&dib_tag=se&hvadid=695236858774&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9017451&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=17806638006378763547–&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17806638006378763547&hvtargid=kwd-1080878717021&hydadcr=20752_13321681&keywords=barrina%2Bt8%2Bgrow%2Blights&mcid=09907514cde13bf6864a78c9c6a52807&qid=1744126737&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Spectrum-Daylight-Equivalent-Greenhouse/dp/B0B3CCLW5D/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.X42daxSN_5rQ2JH-7thIYpSd-e_cFupOzhvsp5YWY2FTBeqefbRv8kMiMP5kyqFNNuDWmowfFPMz6-uEiBJcE33wOO5l_ijNfEB9bjtmhtvEZ1ezTqSs-ADzDQ0OdFvkYliv78Y15j1CAnKHvEamM9FAWIDc569yX-a77AFLOPXVJWNZKvAGIYRusfTl4FCrbQIT-aWK5jixfA7zV6ydZJP1Mjh0PHkCS_xG9HQiTSsC7q0bv5KVPAvYF5rsVc2qS1W-zrDjbozy9XQRMvwN209x37uvo3wkVEhWMsY5l2o.f4AXMyBr7FcbDvY_m8kbdt6xh0JAmfiZUz2k4DcQLWc&dib_tag=se&hvadid=695236858774&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9017451&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=17806638006378763547–&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17806638006378763547&hvtargid=kwd-1080878717021&hydadcr=20752_13321681&keywords=barrina%2Bt8%2Bgrow%2Blights&mcid=09907514cde13bf6864a78c9c6a52807&qid=1744126737&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1)
My advice is not to focus in cheap and focus on value, durability, and funtionality. I finally learned this lesson. Trying to go cheap for years probably cost me 3X more than dong it right in the first place.
Also, before you buy anything, think about your logistical situation. What is going to save you time? How are you going to move things around? Where are you going to store things during the off season?
How long will you be growing out your starts between potting up and outplanting? With hundreds, you don’t want to repot them. Bigger pots take more potting soil, which is a big cost. How are you going to transport them to the fields? In a trailer over uneven ground? Carry them?
My recommendation is to go with quality 4.5″ deep square pots like [these.](https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/square-black-form-pots?variant=42701230833863). These are re-usable for 3 or 4 years, hold sufficient soil volume to support a plant from seedlings to field size (don’t plant too early) and are low cost if you buy in bulk.
Buy a [tray system](https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/black-form-trays?pr_prod_strat=pinned&pr_rec_id=cd3257c13&pr_rec_pid=7482801291463&pr_ref_pid=7482800242887&pr_seq=uniform) to fit your pots and logistical needs. I find the 15 plant trays great for me. The ones with a cell for each pot are the best for ease of moving the plants around. They take up space but you seem to have lots of that. . Don’t cheap out on trays. Dropping a load of starts because you cheap tray bends or breaks sucks. These are reusable for years if you take care of them.
Pick a high quality potting soil like Pro-mix. It costs more but is pretty bulletproof. One bale will fill in about 100 deep 4.5# pots.
In terms of supplemental heat, you at least need some system for freeze protection. Your system will depend on where you are and your energy costs. My greenhouse is small and electricity is relatively cheap where I am so I have a couple electric space heaters on inkbird controllers, which also run the exhaust fans. You may want a kerosene heater or even a barrel stove.
Good luck!
So how much do you have in the greenhouse? How much cost do you have in the investment?
We’re growing cut flowers on a 1 acre site
Using soil blocker on small trays to start seedlings minismises space and makes potting on simpler
Then moving on to large “flats” which you can pick up 2nd hand or will come as part of orders for plugs
Then planting out
We grow through plastic weed membrane where possible to minimise on time spent weeding
I work at a nursery. We start many of our plants ourselves from seed, but some trademarked plants are illegal for us to propagate so we order them from licensed distributors. They come in plug trays. These plug trays are odd sizes/configurations, and it doesn’t make sense for us to try and store 50 different kinds of trays even though many of them are high quality. So we throw out things that we can’t find a use for.
The season for ordering these is over for us, but we would be delighted to give away these trays for individuals to start their own if you were to contact us when we a planting them up. We tried to reuse them for years, but just found it inefficient for a nursery scale production.
See if a local mom-n-pop nursery has ones they can’t use (ask early in the year).
Labor is the most expensive part. Find ways to get folks to come help. Love that you’ll be a food source in your community.