Starting your own plants from seed will often give you healthier plants at a lower cost. If you want to start seeds in bulk, you may want to consider a seed tray to help with germination.
So, what is a seed tray? A seed tray is a container used to sow multiple seeds at once. After seed germination, seedlings grow in the seedling tray until they are large enough for transplant. A single seed tray can hold anywhere from 6 seeds to over 1000 seeds!
Of course, when choosing a seed tray, there are lots of options for the material, the type of tray, and the number of cells.
In this article, we’ll talk about seed trays and the options that are available. We’ll also get into how to use seed trays and how to water the seeds and seedlings.
Let’s get going.
What Is A Seed Tray?
A seed tray is a container that is used to plant multiple seeds at once. A seed tray is sometimes called a seed starting tray.
A seed tray allows you to plant many seeds together in one container. This makes it much easier to water them and transport them.
After the seeds germinate, the seed tray holds seedlings as they grow, until they are ready for transplant outdoors or into larger containers.
There are a few different types of seed trays, including:
Mesh seed tray – a mesh seed tray allows water to drain out easily. A mesh seed tray is best for holding multiple individual containers (pots). A drawback is that the holes in a mesh seed tray are too large to hold soil without it falling through or washing away when watered. You can find mesh seed trays from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Solid seed tray with drainage holes – a solid seed tray with drainage holes allows for adequate drainage, but allows soil to stay moist enough for seed germination. A solid seed tray with drainage holes is best for planting multiple seeds together in one place. A drawback is that the seedlings do not have individual cells, so their roots can get tangled together as they grow. You can find solid seed trays with drainage holes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Solid seed tray without drainage holes (leak proof seed tray) – a solid seed tray without drainage holes does not allow for any drainage. A solid seed tray without drainage holes is best for holding a cell flat (also called a plug flat). Since it holds water, it can be used to catch excess water from watering seeds, or it can be used to water from below (more detail on this later). You can find cell seed trays without drainage holes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Another interesting option is this seed flat with 20 rows from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Instead of separate cells, there are separate rows to keep different plant varieties from getting mixed up.
