Ladbrooke Authentic Soil Block Maker - Maxi 4" Hand Held, Made in England

I need to get my soil consistency correct, but this works well so far. Sturdy construction

This thing is awesome. The plants that were transplanted to it grew larger almost immediately. The soil stays together best if you leave it overnight to soak before making blocks. Also, it is important to dunk the tool in a bucket of water before each new block. The only downside is once you have made several the tray can get quite heavy.

I tried with different mixes of soil, all supposedly made for soil blockers and this large blocker is too large plus it is not put together well; the inside plug is crooked and might well be why the block does not hang together. Am going to try and return it as damaged goods as it was very expensive.

Makes a block that can be put in a 4" pot if you're planting in them. Otherwise just put in the ground. You need quite a bit of soil to pack it but does the job well. Well built.

I've been using a makeshift blocker made from a milk carton and a wooden pusher for a number of years and finally decided it's time to upgrade to the real thing. Well, that didn't turn out so well and the real thing went back for a refund.I start my plants in 2" blocks and move some up to 4" if the planting bed or the weather is not ready. I had two issues with the soil blocker:- The first is that the milk cartons are 3-3/4" x 3-1/2" in size which allows me to fit 10 blocks into a 10x20 tray. The soil blocker is 4"x4" which means I can only fit 8. Dunno about you, but in my greenhouse space is at a premium and that's a big difference.- The second issue is that the blocks didn't come out as well as with my makeshift milk carton method, they broke at the base of the indentation for the 2" block. I tried drier, wetter, harder, softer without much success. No such trouble with the 2" or my milk-carton blocks.So overall this turned into an expensive downgrade and sadly the soil blocker is going back. It's solidly made and probably works great for others, but not for me.

Too big and just do not see the usefulness. I will try it again next year.

I have been starting seedlings indoors for a few years now, and I really dislike using seedling trays. They are cheap, break, and they take forever to clean and store. Not to mention they are plastic and not great for the environment. I wanted to try soil blocking to see if my starts really are healthier and if I could avoid the junky plastic seedling trays. YES! It is all true. I love soil blocking for so many reasons. If you are thinking about trying it, I would suggest starting with the 1.5" inch maker first. You will quickly want to get all of the larger and smaller sizes. I really love using the smaller blocks and nexting them in the next size up as needed. I have found it very helpful to use my fingers to press the soil into the crevises of the blocker and rinse the blocker between each block/set of blocks you are making! Soil blocking is very doable and fun. I use 1/2 seed starting mix, 1/2 nice potting soil, a scoop or worm castings, and water to make my soil blocks. You can totally do this and you will love it.

I received my 4 inch blocker on time. Works great. If its not working for you, change your soil composition.