1010 Extra Strength Seedling Trays – Item of the Day
Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.
Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is 1010 Extra Strength Seedling Trays from Bootstrap Farmer. They also make standard 1020 trays if you prefer them for what ever reason. I actually prefer 1020s for seed starting but I am currently using 1010s for microgreen production in my hydroponics farm with ebb and flow and growing on jute mats.
I went to 1010s because it lets me grow up to 8 different varieties at one time in a 2×4 flood tray vs. 4 varieties. Additionally with just Dorothy and I to feed a single 1020 tray of one microgreen variety is just more than we can use before they go bad or over grow.
The key with these is durability. Most seed trays are much cheaper and they are fine for their purpose. That purpose is single use. They are for shipping large flats of seedlings to large nurseries. Some end up being recycled but most end up in a land fill. Plastic is not as evil as some seem to think but bluntly I feel single use plastic is if not the devil at least a pretty nasty demon.
But I get why a company shipping 250,000 plants every spring to box stores and big nurseries use it. It is cheap but you know my rule about cheap right, always be frugal, never be cheap! Buy those cheap ones and you will spill crap everywhere and in 2-3 uses they get brittle and break. Not these, they are designed to last years and years and years even in a greenhouse or under grow lights. How strong are they? Well check this photo, that is a very heavy paver, on the rim, bends but doesn’t break or yield. Like I said they are tough.
So when it comes to home use I see no reason not to spend more now to spend less later. Get the best and longest lasting item you can get. In this case it is both better for the environment and better for your budget as well. I don’t know how long these will last but I know commercial microgreens producers with some that are over 5 years old and still like new and that is with everyday use for that long.
I personally got a 10 pack that lets me fill my entire flood tray and have 2 in reserve. They just work great so if you have need of trays like this for seedlings or microgreens or any need consider checking them out in either a 1010 or 1020 size today.
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – In addition to the options I linked to above everything Bootstrap Farmer makes is awesome they also do different depths, and multi color. Why multi color, well say you are a commercial producer instead of labeling trays, use a color code. Anyway you can see everything they offer here, and anything that they call heavy duty really is, you can take that to the bank.
P.P.S. – Below you can see a recent video where I show microgreens growing in system in these trays. Note that while you can grow microgreens in soil and many do I do NOT recommend doing it with a repeating flood and drain system like the one I am using. In such a system the soil will become water logged and you will get mold on your greens, dampening off and other issues. Additionally you will leach soil nutrient and tannin into your fluid and end up with other issues. In a system like this I recommend jute mats. They are not really economical in quantities under 50 though and I don’t recommend you buy them on Amazon, the best deal I have found on them is here at True Leaf Market.
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