It’s time to start springtime seedings! At the preschool we make “soil towers,” which are just like soil blocks except cylindrical shaped. I created this simple soil tower making tool out of a short PVC pipe and a wooden dowel with a knob fixed to the top, and pin on the bottom. The rounded knob makes the dowel easier to press, and the pin on the bottom makes an indentation in the soil for the seeds. The soil has to be dampened and even slightly muddy so that it can be pressed into shape. The kids love pressing the soil down– I tell them to use all their muscles!! Then we carefully press the soil out of the pipe and voila, that’s how you make soil towers 🙂 The children are very good at holding small seeds with their tiny hands, and placing the seeds in the soil indentation helps them practice their fine motor skills. Finally we cover the top of the tower with a little soil, and spray with water. We planted lettuce seeds last week and already have seedlings sprouting up! In a couple weeks we’ll be able to transplant the starts into the garden beds inside the greenhouse.