Gardening Naturally, you've probably seen Eliot Coleman demonstrate an intriguing contraption called a soil blocker. This device forms moist soil mix into free-standing blocks that can be used for starting seedlings.
Some catalogs offer even more sweeping statements about the virtues of soil blocks.
I bought two soil blockers last year. The small blocks can be dropped into indentations in the big ones when the plants are ready for more space. I had a really bad time with my seedlings last year. I used the soil blocker almost exclusively, and I had poor germination. I didn't blame these troubles on the soil blocker, but I did wonder if the compost-based mix recommended in the instructions was not sufficiently sterile, or perhaps just too rich.