Burpee Self-Watering Seed Starter Tray, 72 Cells

I am a looong time gardener and landscape professional. Every year I start my veggies from seed. This year I decided to use a self watering system. I normally just use Jiffy 7 peat pellets and trays with lids.2 things I noticed were not touched on in the instructions. #1, that the self watering mat is to be folded down along the short sides in order to be able to touch the water reservoir. This is critical! How else is the water supposed to get from the bottom of the tray up to the elevated planting trays? #2, each, compressed soil pellet is not the same size (for some reason). If they are not in their little cells vertically, they will have a hard time absorbing and expanding with the water. This is more of a frustration then anything else.Burpee needs to do better! Not everyone is an advanced gardener.

The kit came ready for assembly. I saved the coir pucks for later, and used a coir brick soaked in water to fill the cells. The only complaints are that the dome seems a little too big and wants to fall over the top of the cells ( pull the cells to the outer most edge of the watering tray to fix this) and it is impossible to add water to the watering tray without removing one of the two seedling trays.

Like the fact that it comes with everything you should need to start your seeds.DISLIKE the fact that I was to receive six plant markers with the kit and there was NONE at all. Much needed when starting more than one species of seeds.

So when I got the product it was missing a few soil tabs which seems to be everyone’s biggest complaint. My second complaint which I may be wrong on I’m not sure, is that when you go to put the lid on it doesn’t go on all the way…. Only time it goes on all the way is if you remove the trays. Other that that within 4 days I’m already getting sprouts and it was a fun project for my son and me to do together.

I have an old Burpee set like this and have used it for many years with great success. I’m sure this new one will work as needed but might not last as long. The wicking mat is very thin and cheap, but maybe they are all like that now.And SIX plant labels? Come on, Burpee, how much would it cost to throw in a few dozen?I will use it this Spring for onion seedlings.

I got this for granddaughter 4 years old. When she saw the pods expanding her 👀. Was worth every penny. She enjoyed putting pods n water in each cube. And mashing soul n planting seeds. We had great time together

Have set it up. Easy. Not sure about the self watering part. Will have to see if it actually works. Otherwise good product

I planted 5 different types of vegetables, and they all are doing well with only 2 plugs not producing, which was probably caused by the seed I used. I do recommendnot planting Squash seeds in it as they grow extremely fast compared to tomatoes, peppers, etc. This causes them to steal sunlight from other seedlings. I'm looking forward to using it again for me herb garden. Would certainly buy it again.

I am so happy with this tray! It has made things so easy for me. There was one batch of seeds I wanted to get started when things were all still frozen up where I live. So not having to get my own soil and fill the cells was so handy. The "wicking" pad has kept all the cells moist and all my seeds have sprouted and are doing well.The other reviews that say their seeds didn't sprout....come on, you can't blame this product on that. Either you've got bunk seeds or you did something wrong.And as for the people having trouble getting the soil pellets to expand, if you follow the directions they work perfectly! Just keep adding more very warm water and "assist" apart as needed.I wouldn't use this for the rest of my seeds, as I don't mind doing the work myself when the weather warms up. But for when you need the convenience of something like this, it is entirely helpful!I highly recommend this tray. It is easy to use, sturdy, and effective.

Nice size, easy to use. Read the instructions on how to properly assemble and place the mat and it works very well. The dome is meant to rest on top, not snap into place, but if you’re not expecting it or don’t bother with instructions, you might be annoyed. The only issue I’ve had is that because the trays are so large (36 cells in each) transplanting was very tricky. Easily remedied by snipping into smaller sections of cells. Durable enough to reuse for at least a couple of seasons. Really love the mat feature, keeps things moist for days.

Overpriced and lengthy shipping