A friend of mine recently asked me whether I’d heard about this new method for growing seedlings. Evidently, the “seed snail” method was heating up Instragram. I had to find out more. And when I did, I wondered what you might think about it.
A screenshot of the Instagram page introducing the Snail Method of growing seedlings from seed.
The idea is to replace the old way of growing seeds using trays or tiny soil plugs. Instead, you take a long, narrow piece of sturdy yet malleable plastic such as bubblewrap, spread soil along its length, then place seeds along one long edge and roll up the plastic like a dirt jelly roll until you have a – you guessed it – seed snail which you place upright and keep watered.
Here’s a YouTube video of the process.
Seedling sushi
After your seedlings, all cozily tucked up in their soil and plastic bedroll, are big enough to plant on, the idea is that you simply unroll the plastic and voila! Healthy seedlings with long, un-bound root systems like those seen in the photo below.
A screenshot from Instagram showing the results of growing seeds using the snail method.
Now, call me old school but I’m not sure about this new-fangled method of growing seedlings. I tried to find reports of gardeners who had used this method to great success but I guess the method is still too new. Perhaps it’ll take another couple of months before word comes in about whether strong, healthy plants were the result. Still, I have my doubts.
Here are my concerns:
- Once you’ve unrolled the seedlings, how do you separate each plant without harming the roots? As you can see in the image above, the root systems are nice and long but they’re entangled with their neighbours’ roots.
- It looks like you wind up with extra long roots which is not necessarily a bad thing. But you would probably have to dig extra deep holes to plant them which could be problematic.
- The good thing about plugs or trays is that the roots are all tucked up in one convenient package for easy transference without damage to roots. Yes, roots can be bound as they grow round and round in their little tray cubbies or fabric plugs but I’ve usually found that you’re planting them on before they get to that point.
On the other hand, I can see that there could be some pretty good reasons to practice the Seed Snail method including:
- Saves space.
- Makes a great conversation starter
What are your thoughts?
I can certainly see the benefits of growing seedlings with roots that aren’t root bound. Fabric plugs (as seen above) do make for root bound plants. I personally always cut along the side of each plug and pull away the fabric before planting. I do that when I get young potted plants, too – carefully poking and digging around the base of the plant’s stem to reveal the inevitable buried plug. I’ll pull away as much of the fabric as I can without damaging the roots and then repot the plant or replant it in the ground. I’ve heard it been said that these plugs are biodegradable and maybe they are if you’ve got a couple hundred years to spare.
Here’s the bottom line: I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Can you see yourselves using the Snail Method? Can you see how this new method might eclipse our old ways? Or perhaps you have your own innovative way to grow seedlings. I’d love to know. Please share!
Ministry of the fence 
I will be trying the seed snail for first time this year. Especially for early starters like my onions.
My garden is not close by and I have to take a citybus to move my seedlings to the garden.
what a delight to think this method would make it easier to do that.
I will let you know how it works out.
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I would expect seed snails would be brilliantly transportable! Yes, please let me know how it all goes. Grow boldly!
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this will be a game changer ! I usually build layers in my wire grocery cart and it takes so many trips (I walk each way ).
seed Snails will mean a lot fewer trips.Thanks for showing me this
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I’m really excited for you. Please do let us know how it goes.
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Hi, I tried seed snails last season for one round of annual crops in June with great success. My cosmos and zinnias transplanted and grew well. My method was to tape the side of the roll, pop the roll into a round plastic 4″ or quart pot to keep upright, and set into clear a plastic storage tub with holes drilled on the top, sides and bottom. Placing in partial shade but near the house helped moderate weather extremes, and reminded me to water or remove the top in hot days. The whole system was more critter- and fool-proof for me than traditional trays or direct sowing.
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That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your success story. It’s fun to hear about new ways to do things and if it’s easier, all the better.
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I saw the same posts on Instagram and had to give it a try. I did four rolls six days ago, two have sprouts of Zinnias up while the Mexican Sunflowers are not up yet. I did not have any plastic so used landscape fabric that I rolled up and then put a piece of Cling Wrap over it to keep the moisture in. Will I end up with plants that will flourish this summer? I don’t know. I do know it was kind of fun to try the experiment. 🙂
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I am all for putting a fun spin on any gardening activity. And I must admit I couldn’t help but smile when I first saw photos of the “snails”. Please let me know how planting out your seedlings go.
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I’m going to stick with old school on that one. 🙂
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So I did pot up about 10 snails. A bit harder to do the roll up than advertised. Definitely leave at least 8” of roll empty at the end to seal the snail. She used tape. I used a large elastics and it might cut off circulation. Put seeds in after. Only use one type of seed per snail as watering from above they spill over into each other’s roll. Lesson learned. Probably watering from below is better. Need perfect fitting containers for them, maybe tomato cans would work better. I still like the idea and will see how it pans out. I write up very explicit directions for myself on each type of seed (likes moist, likes light, sprinkle on top etc) but then I just throw all seeds on top and scuff up the soil and drench them all exactly the same.
I did buy myself a seed storer that I just LOVE. $24 on Amazon. It’s basically like a case of tic-tac sized containers and I used a labeler. Love it as I hated envelopes all falling over.
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Thanks so much for your insights, Alison! I can totally see how getting the snails to stay upright could be a challenge. Please let me know when you get to planting them on. I’m really curious to know if the longer roots are going to be a problem or a boon.
Your seed storer sounds interesting. It sounds almost like a pill sorter. I wonder if that would work the same. Avoiding paper envelopes would be a huge plus. They can be a pain.
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