By Elizabeth Spence
This method of starting seeds has been around for about a year, and we have been asked to find out about it. One of our subscribers has tried it without much luck. We ourselves have not tried it, but let’s have a look to see what it’s all about.
As the name suggests, the form of this seed starting method looks like a snail, or a jelly roll:
The main advantage is that it saves a lot of space compared to using regular pots and trays. The other advantage is that there is room for roots to get quite long – the system acts like a root trainer.
MATERIAL
Various materials are suggested for the roll itself: aluminum foil, wax paper, kraft paper, corrugated cardboard, old jeans, burlap, packing foam, landscape fabric, cotton sheeting, plastic bags, bubble wrap, all cut to size.
Many note that the paper-based products do not stand up well to the constant moisture and disintegrate quickly.
Others report that anything woven is problematic because the roots grow into the fabric and the seedlings are quite difficult to separate.
The outstanding winner is packing foam. Not only is it readily available, but you can re-use it. A close second is bubble-wrap.
SOIL
A standard seed starting mix is generally recommended.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- Trowel
- String, scotch tape or elastic bands to hold the roll together,
- Labels and pen, or just a pen if you write the name on the roll itself.
- Humidity dome, saran wrap, sandwich bags or something similar.
METHOD
- Cut the outer material of the snail 6” high by between 10-24” long, depending on the type of seed. The larger the seeds, the more of everything you will need.
- Spread the potting soil about 1/2” thick (or more for bigger seed) along the length of the roll, making sure that it touches the long sides. It is generally recommended that the soil should be very wet – you just squeeze the excess water out.
- Leave about 6” without soil at the end so it’s easier to roll up.
- Roll up
- Use tape, string or elastic bands to stop the snail unwinding.
- Label
- Stand the snail on end and plant the seeds into the soil spirals. Follow packet directions for sowing depth and spacing. Advice is: one type of seed per snail!
- Mist lightly.
- Set in trays, bowls or some other containers so they stay upright and can be watered from the bottom when necessary.
- Cover with some sort of plastic to retain moisture
- Wait for the seedlings to emerge and remove plastic
- Gradually harden them off starting about two weeks before you intend to plant them out. Have a look here for information on how to do this.
- When the seedlings are large enough and toughened up, unroll the snail.
- carefully tease out the seedlings and transplant them into pots or directly into the garden.
There is a lot of information about this on the web now, so if you’re keen to have a go, check it out!
As with all seed starting in our neck of the woods – be careful not to start too early. It’s so easy to get carried away. Check out the top of the page to see roughly how many days are left until our last frost!
And let us know how you get on! Is it worth it??
February 2025