Hex Soil Block Press, Small

thingiverse

This is a soil block press for making small hex-shaped soil blocks for starting seeds in. The soil blocks will hold their shape, so you don't need lots of little pots to start seeds in. To make soil blocks, try a soil mix of 3:1:1:1 finely sifted plain dirt, peat moss, perlite, and water (you don't need to sift the peat moss & perlite, you just want to get rocks, sticks, and other clumps out of the dirt). Get the mix fully hydrated but not soggy, and play with the mix until you can make blocks that aren't too dense for roots, but hold their shape well. The exact ratio of components will depend on your dirt, how much clay & organic matter it has, etc. What's worked well for me is to get my soil mix ready in a tray with a flat bottom, and spread the soil evenly to a depth of ~2", then open the block press and press it down into the soil like a cookie cutter until it hits the bottom of the tray. Then compress the plunger firmly, and lift the whole press with soil inside out and turn it upside down in your hand. Use a butter knife, flat piece of wood, or other scraper to scrape the bottom of the press clean of excess dirt, then (while still having the press upside down) push the plunger down against the table to raise the soil blocks out of the press. It's helpful to have a bucket of water to rinse the press in after every set of blocks, to clean excess dirt out of it. I've also designed a larger hex block press that these smaller blocks will slot right into when the seedlings are ready to transplant, but that design needs a little refining still and I wanted to upload this one now since it's seed starting time now. I'll link or include the large press when I have it ready. There are several other block press designs available as well, such as https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4242649 and a very similar small hex press https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4157155