Sure, Mr. Stacky systems work very well with any regular seedlings purchased from your local nursery or hardware store, but for those who are a bit more serious about their gardening, you may find that growing from seed is the best and most cost effective method.
Firstly, it’s waaaaayyyy cheaper. For commercially minded growers, this is one of the many keys to success.
Secondly, it’s great for the more uncommon crops that you can’t normally find in seedling but are readily available in seed form.
Good news is that planting seeds for vertical toward gardens is very simple and cheap. There is no need for rockwool or other expensive media or equipment. Just follow the steps outlined below.
Lovely root development showing from this seedling in a coco/perlite media
- Prepare cocopeat/perlite mix (80/20 Coco/Perlite). Cocopeat is affordable and highly available media. We sell 5KG blocks at very reasonable prices here. Coco has so many wonderful properties. It’s extremely porous and at the same time holds moisture very well. This combination promotes rapid root development, which is essential for overall plant health. This same ratio of coco/perlite is what comes with your Mr Stacky Hydroponic System so no need to purchase anything different, it works!
- All you need to do is expand the cocopeat block in water and mix in the perlite.
- Fill up your seedling trays with the coco/perlite mixture and pat down slightly.
- Place seeds in each cell, usually 1 to 3 seeds per cell and press down slightly.
- Dust slightly with more of the cocopeat mix over top.
Newly emerged tomato and chive seedlings
6. Keep sheltered inside for the first few days until you see the seedlings emerging. Water just enough to keep cocopeat slightly moist, but never let it dry out. With the coco peat so porous, it’s better to be slightly more wet than dry, so keep that in mind.
7. After this stage, full sunlight is the go!
8. A few days after the seedlings emerge, and the first true leaves appear, use some hydroponic nutrient water, heavily diluted. This will really make them take off!
9. Ensure that you do not over water your seedlings as this can lead to damping off and other diseases.
Sufficient sunlight is required to prevent leggy seedlings. (ie. where the stem is too long…)
So it’s pretty simple. Give it a try and let us know how it goes. Feel free to ask any questions you have. Thanks for reading!
About the Author
Mr Stacky is the leader in Tower Garden Systems in Australia, specializing in commercial hydroponic farming, urban farming & residential vertical gardening.
Find out how he can help you achieve your food production goals. Contact Brian