Episode-600- An Interview with Soil Cube Creator Clayton Jacobs
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Today we have Clayton Jacobs who is the creator of “The Soil Cube” with us for an interview. The Soil Cube Tool makes small 2″ cubes of soil that you sow your seeds into and grow them into seedlings before putting them out in the garden.
Soil blocks for seed starting are actually a very ancient technology practiced by native in the Central and South American region. By using soil cubes, you will be able to control the early plant development, move them to the garden when ready, and have no consequence for having done so.
The seedlings will thrive and have you will have a dramatic increase in viable plants in contrast to one who is planting seed directly into the prepared garden beds or rows.
Join me today as we discuss…
- What makes soil blocking superior to starting in any type of pot
- What is root pruning and how does it lead to healthier plants
- Starting plants vs direct sowing
- Why with blocks you can start plants that generally don’t transplant well
- Using cover crops to open up compacted soil
- An awesome free eBook originally written the 1800s
- An amazing way to heat raised beds and grow year round
Additional Resources for Today’s Show
- Members Support Brigade
- TSP Gear Shop
- Join Our Forum
- Bulk Ammo – (sponsor of the day)
- Ready Made Resources – (sponsor of the day)
- Clayton’s Website – The Soil Cube
- Free eBooks From Clayton’s Site
- Members Support Brigade
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.
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Hey Jack, I was wondering how to get the MSB discount at the Soil Cube Website?
Thanks! Greg
@Greg
1. Log into the MSB
2. Click on “The Soil Cube”
3. Follow the instructions there
Jack
I get so much info from your podcasts. A family member started me on them last fall and I try to get in several a week. My son is now hooked and getting himself on board in many things. Making me very proud of him.
nice, I am ordering one of these today!
Given your website I bet he will send you one free if you email him or at least do a BOGO for you Nick.
It never hurts to ask
Jack,
I recently purchased ‘Seed of Change’ seeds from North Haven Gardens in Dallas, they told me they were having the same issues with the company as you, plus they were not getting their seed orders in a timely manner, if at all. They suggest there are issues with this company and that they might not remain in business much longer.
Dan
awesome– good show, and I just ordered mine. Can’t wait to get this garden Rocking!
Has anybody actually RECEIVED their soil cube maker yet? Just curious.
Got my soil cube early this week! Got so excited I forgot to post back here! This thing is COOL! I have a ridiculous number of soil cubes prepped for seeds for this weekend!
Mine arrived. I think it took about 8 days or so. He is a one man operation.. I think a lot of people ordered after this podcast. Good job jack!1
Got my soil cube maker a few weeks ago and have been busy with it. My comments:
The recommended soil recipe didn’t work well for my first batch. I ended up with hard bricks, but my pole bean starts did good in them anyway. Smaller plants may have struggled with it. Now I mix the components by feel, and have a good idea what it should feel like when I compress the wet mixture in a fist and release it. What works better for me seems to be less dirt and more peat. Oh, and the instructions say “wet like oatmeal…” Perhaps Clayton eats really really dry oatmeal, but what I know as oatmeal consistency is too wet. A bunch of water will squeeze out when you compress the cube, it will be muddy and dry to a hard brick if it’s that wet.
Yes, the roots don’t seem to come out the SIDES of a soil cube, but they most definitely will come out the bottom, big-time. I had my pole bean cubes in the Sterilite tray as Jack recommends… this definitely makes it super easy to water the cubes from the bottom with about 1/4″ of water. After 10 days my beans were 3″ tall and I saw no roots… however, what I found when I pulled them out of the tray is large super-well developed root structures out the bottom of the cubes up to 12″ long! I would have seen them if I had looked up through the bottom of the translucent tray. Needless to say, they were tangled and I lost some of them trying to pull them apart. Some had even started growing into adjacent cubes.
My soil cube tool has large spaces between the aluminum paddles and the plastic forms. This allows a lot of soil mix to get worked up into the recesses of the tool during production, and if you don’t notice it and keep the tool clean every cube will end up a little smaller than the previous one until they are very short. It’s a pain to get that soil out of there without disassembling the unit. I’m gonna make better fitting paddles for mine and find out if there is a good reason for such a sloppy fit.
Oh, and use a light touch when compressing the soil cubes with the tool. Develop a soil recipe that holds together well with light pressure and just enough water.
To be clear, my cubes were not floating in water. When they’re dry enough to justify watering, you add about 1/4″ of water, and it sucks up into the cubes in five minutes or so. Super convenient. Does this in itself promote excessive root structures outside of the cubes? Is there a better way?
Oh, one more idea you might not think of right away… if some of your cubes end up too short, or if you simply want taller ones, just stack two of them when they’re fresh and wet! Simple and works great.