They are pricey I agree and they can reduce transplant shock. But I have found that they also dry out very fast because of the increased surface air exposure and so require more careful monitoring or you will get markedly reduced germination rates. Learned that the hard way. ;) It can be a bit difficult to get your soilless mix just right so that the block retains its shape but isn't too hard for root penetration. Once you do making the blocks goes quickly. You'll need some sort of containment trays to hold the blocks until ready to transplant them to larger containers. Hope this helps. Dave

i have not tried the soil block makers but soil blocks work well so it sounds good. i cant recomend the newspaper pot makers.tried that and the seedlings didnt grow and eventualy turned yellow.i suspect denitrifying bacteria feeding on the paper was the cause as to the 55 i fear you would have trouble with mold and fungus.i use one of my many tanks as a rooting tank filled part way with lite soil. any and every cutting goes in there befor it goes to the compost. many that are eager rooters survive and i think more would make it if i used rooting hormones.but i keep a fairly large hole open in the lid at each end for air and mist daily

Just saw this message today after potting up about 100 seedlings from 1/2 inch soil blocks to 2 inch blocks. I just started using soil blocks this year after trying peat pots and peat pellets in previous years. After this exercise I will never go back to anything else! Soil blocks are fun, easy to make and germination happens really fast. My basil germinated in around 24 hours and tomatoes in 48 hours. Hot peppers that are supposed to be hard to germinate have near perfect germination in less than a week. I use a very simple recipe for my blocks: lots of sphagnum peat moss, a handful of perlite, some bone meal, some greensand and some wood ash( to reduce the peat moss acidity). Nothing is precise and everything is just thrown in. I mix this up well and add plenty of water and let it soak for several hours. The consistency should be that of slurry or thick oatmeal. This is a LOT more water than if you watered your plants directly but this is what gives the blocks consistency. Always water the blocks from below or use capillary mats. After a while the blocks harden with the fibrous roots in them and become nearly indestructible. You can actually drop them on the floor and they dont even break! Check out the attached links for pictures of coleus, peppers, basil, different varieties of tomatoes and asian eggplants growing in soil blocks. Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Blocks

I have some pictures that shows the soil block form s I made using some 3 inch PVC pipe, a 3 inch circle of thin plywood, and a 8 inch piece of 3/8 threaded stock. The hole in the plywood was drilled tight so that the plywood disk could be screwed ontp the threded stock with a 3/8 nut backing it up. Enough was left protruding through the disk to produce a hole in the top of the casting. Once the mix is packed into the pipe, push down on the 3/8 shaft to force the soil out.