Reuseable seed cells
oooft
Posts: 191
Morning. My last lot of seed tray inserts are falling to bits and i need some new ones. I'm fed up with flimsy rubbish that fall to bits when lifted. Looked online and lots of places claim theirs are sturdy but i wondered if anyone here could recommend some that they've used for a few seasons. Many thanks
1
Posts
I have the 48 cell version of these which I got recently and they are much sturdier than anything I have used before.
I m thinking of getting some 24 cell ones for next year.
https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/24-cell-seed-trays-x4-pid6994.html
https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/48-cell-seed-trays-x4-pid6995.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_term=1100609380195&utm_content=All Products&gclid=CMuc7ODwmuECFVaRhQodO9sLvw&gclsrc=ds
There is also 9 cell deep version.
Charles Dowding, the UK no-dig evangelist - and a heavy user of cells - recommends these ones as being very durable:
https://containerwise.co.uk/product/40l-propagation-tray/
However, I'm not sure of their pricing.
kind regards
Neil
I'm not sure what two or three sizes to get for sowing various veg, particularly as I often leave seedlings in too long.
I'd rather get it right first time than fork out for returns.
Did you ever buy any? If so which sizes do you recommend?
I haven't bought any from there as I'm still waiting for my old flimsy ones to I've up the ghost. They do a 40-cell tray - the size which Charles uses for most things.
Kind regards
I just measured the flimsy inserts and they are 50mm deep. The Containerwise shallow ones are 55mm.
I think I'd probably go with the 40H
Kind regards
Euro format 14 x 10 cells. They might be HDPE (milk crate and blue barrel material) rather than PP.
Wish I'd bought more. Tricky to bottom water though as I never found a tray that would take a 60x40 flat just and not much more.
I bought some propagation trays from Containerwise (not the CD60 ones). They are OK but not as robust as the Stamp ones and I'm concerned that if I handle them from the edge in haste when fully loaded then that edge is going to give way.
Of the domestic sizes the 40L, 40H 77L and 28H have been most useful. The 160 Danish is the same cell density as the 77L.
Looking at the manufacturer's logo on them("Cetap" by Sinorplasticos Lda, PT) I already had some 345 cell Euro trays which were disappointing because they cracked under the weight of compost and water after not very much use by me. I'd to make up plywood boards to slide under when handling to delay those cracks leading to the units snapping in half. It was a 345 cell though and there were obviously compromises for cell density, which other manufacturers' units would also have. They wouldn't have so much handling in the production environment they were designed for. I got them second hand so who knows how long they were baking in a greenhouse before I got them.
CW make or have their CD60 trays made for them in the UK.
The best of the few brands of injection moulded trays I have seen which are currently in production are from Spid Trays. The white one featured in this video (in French).
I'm not sure if their UK distributor would do small orders of say a dozen units and ejector board or if a French wholesaler would post to UK.
The Containerwise ones are fine for domestic format (38cm). There doesn't seem to be much choice of manufacturer for injection-moulded trays at that size
There are trays aimed at forestry (Hika, Stuewe, IPL Rigipots) but they are deeper format and slim, so unless one is germinating some fast-rooting seeds the young roots are going to get suffocated quickly.
One would really need to visit a trade show.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.