[donald.cape]

I've been given a Fisons Blockaid device that was found when a relations shed was being cleared. has anyone any experience of using these. There wasn't any compost with it just a plasting mat that is used as a base for making the blocks I think.
Do I need special compost to make the blocks and once made are they any good?
Any information would be appreciated

Thanks in anticipation.

Donald Cape

[8doubles]

I had a try with one and it ended up in a drawer in the shed  . IMO they are not worth faffing about with , better off with a plastic pot or one of Richy`s paper pots.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=11390.0

[Ivah]

I used one of these for several years around 1975 when you could buy a compost that made nice stable blocks. I used to grow Onions in clumps of 4 or 5 by germinating them in the blocks and planting them out a foot or so apart. It's all described in Geoff Hamilton's Gardeners' World Vegetable Book. However I don't think you can buy the compost now and ordinary MPC doesn't work. Maybe somebody knows what used to be mixed in so you can make your own. Modules and the flimsy PlantPak pots seem to have made them obsolete.

[mumofstig]

If i remember rightly it used to have a lot of peat in it, so you may not be able to buy it any more

[gillie]

I seem to remember that you could make blocking compost by adding fairy liquid to ordinary compost.

However the blocks did not really work.  I found that the seedlings rooted through into the block next door.  Then there was advice on placing bits of card between the blocks... and before you knew it you had made sort of pots!

Best not to bother.

Cheers,

Gillie