One of the challenges of being so small scale is that we need supplies that are in between gardener and commercial scale. When I started I went to the supply place in Albany where most folks around here get their potting mix, pots, etc, and asked for advice. They said everyone started with 288s or even smaller plug trays so I bought a carton. These are like 1/2 inch square, and not much deeper. They dry out quickly. I seldom use them, but keep trying to find a good use. I seeded onions in them. Onions tend to have shallow roots so I figured that would work for a couple of weeks. I wanted to move them out to the hoophouse to free up space, so transplanted them into larger trays today – trying for 3 plants per “cell”, in about 1000 cells. I must force myself to recycle those 288s. Onions are about the only thing I plant 288 of the same variety. If I could start over I would only get 58s or larger.
Explanation – the plug trays are about 11 x 22 inches. The numbers, 288 or 58 etc, refer to the number of cells (plants) in that space.
