1020 Seed Starter Trays and 72 Cell Plug Trays, Thick Durable Seedling Plastic Nursery Tray for TD538 1020 Tray Germination (10 Sets)

$25 for 5 trays of 144. I'm set, these are great and long-lasting. Just wish they had larger cells for my bigger seeds. I don't even need these this season as everything is in the ground, but I couldn't pass up this deal.

Trays like these are generally used for commercial production. But I have come to need these for home gardening as well. Typically, legumes, beans, corn, etc., are seeded directly in soil. But I have either some very clever birds or chipmunks: no matter what I put down as a deterrent, within 24 hours of seeding, I will return to find entire rows of seeds methodically removed leaving behind rows of empty holes. I eventually learned to win the battle by first germinating the seeds in plug trays on my deck (protected by hardware cloth) and then transplanting them right into the ground as they are sprouting. No more raided rows of seeds!I initially started using plug trays made of cheap plastic (like the ones you find in any garden center each spring used for flats of annuals). The benefit of the cheaper plastic is that you can easily squeeze and manipulate each cell to pop out the plug of dirt and roots intact. But you’ll be lucky if you can get two seasons of use from these thin plastic trays: quickly the walls of the cells tear. So last year, I invested in a set of heavier-weight plug trays. The walls of these cells will never tear, and the tray can be used for many seasons. But the lack of flexibility in the plastic became a problem when I tried to remove the plugs. Since I wanted to plant the seedlings at sprouting stage, I couldn’t pull on the tender plants themselves to dislodge the plugs. And since the plastic is rigid, I couldn’t squeeze the plugs out either.I first tried using a blunt, flat tool (much like an icing spatula) to pry out the plugs. But this just made a mess of each plug. Again – because the seedlings were young, there weren’t substantial roots holding the soil together. As I pried each plug out, the soil just fell away from the young roots. I finally resorted to using a small grapefruit spoon to literally “scoop” each plug out of the cell. Again, this was a mess, and the process definitely disturbed the young roots. That became even more apparent when some of the seedlings suffered transplant shock.I was excited when I saw the design of this product. Finally!...a plug tray made of strong plastic but with a finger hole at the bottom of each cell (see photo), so that you can easily push each plug out while keeping the soil intact. I was even more excited when the trays arrived. If the ones I used last year were “heavier-weight” – these are “super-heavy-weight.” They have the strength of a strong milk crate. You can easily stand on one (see photo). In fact, not only do these make excellent plug trays, they also make fantastic floor risers for use in wet/damp locations – such as greenhouses. You can stack boxes and supplies of any weight on these trays to keep them off the floor and dry.For home garden use, here are a couple of suggestions: first, you will need to fill the trays with damp (not dry) soil, and you will need to tightly tamp the soil down in all cells before lifting or moving the tray. Otherwise, loose soil can spill out from the finger holes at the bottom of each cell. Second, because these are intended for commercial production, they would typically just sit on propagation benches (lined with hardware cloth) or in beds of pea gravel. Hence, they don’t come with any drip trays. For home use, you will need drip trays, but these are not a standard size and will not fit, for example, in common flats. Search “ASIN B0BNGBH5XF“on Amazon for a compatible drip tray. Be sure to order the 18” size (NOT the 16” size). These drip trays taper toward the bottom: you need the bottom interior to be at least 15-inch-square (which only the 18”-size is).

If you fill these up you'll have a lot of plants. I don't need that many plants started this year so what I did was use unused pockets to separate different types of seeds to make it easier to see how they do. I always label the seed rows. These are a good size and aren't heavy even when full of starting soil and watered making it easy to rotate if needed. The plastic is sturdy and should be good for a number of years. The drain holes make overwatering difficult though I prefer misting spray bottles. Seed packets usually recommend 2-3 seeds per planting but with this many pockets available I can plant 1 seed per pocket. Since the dirt comes out with the plants when removed I can re-use the full pockets that didn't start. This results in much fewer wasted seeds. If plants are going to be transplanted outside I try to use a rotating fan on low to help them build up a tolerance to wind.

If you are a home gardener, flower or vegetable, this is a must have to start seeds. Just like large greenhouses, these seed starter trays are perfect for creating plug-style plants. Once packed, the soil and roots pull clean from the trays and you can transplant to larger pots or directly in the ground. Made of super sturdy plastic, these are meant to last, used year after year. A tremendous value for the number of cells you can plant, you may need to split this 5 pack with a neighbor or friend.

These seed trays are great. They are nice and sturdy which makes using them even easier. They work great for starting all of my seeds for the garden, they are very easy to get the starts out of to transplant too. Great value.