25-CELL AIR-PRUNING SEED STARTING TRAY — 1020 COMPATIBLE

🌱 25-CELL AIR-PRUNING SEED STARTING TRAY — 1020 COMPATIBLE

Get healthier, more transplant-ready seedlings with this 25-cell air-pruning seed starting tray, designed as a reusable 3D-printable alternative to traditional seedling cell trays and soil blocking.

Each tray provides 25 individual 44 mm seed-starting cells and measures 250 × 250 × 50 mm.

Place two printed trays side-by-side in a standard 1020 nursery tray to create a complete 50-cell seed-starting system that's easy to fill, bottom water, move and reuse.

🌱 FEATURES

• 25 individual seed-starting cells
• 44 mm cells
• Overall dimensions: 250 × 250 × 50 mm
• Two printed trays fill a standard 1020 tray
• 50 total planting positions per 1020 tray
• Air-pruning design encourages healthy root development
• Designed for bottom watering
• Reusable season after season
• No soil blocker required
• No supports required
• Tested print profile included
• Profile designed for a Bambu Lab A1 with 0.6 mm nozzle

🌿 WHY AIR PRUNING?

Traditional seed-starting cells have mostly enclosed walls. When developing roots reach those walls, they can begin following the container and circling around the root ball.

Air pruning takes a different approach.

When a growing root reaches an opening exposed to air, the root tip stops extending and the plant responds by developing additional lateral roots.

The result is a more branched root system throughout the growing medium rather than long roots concentrated around the outside of the container.

This can produce a well-developed root ball that's ready to establish after transplanting.

🪴 AN ALTERNATIVE TO SOIL BLOCKING

Soil blocking is popular with gardeners because the exposed sides of the blocks naturally air prune the roots.

These trays are designed to provide similar air-pruning principles while still giving you the convenience of individual reusable cells.

There's no soil-blocking tool or special soil-blocking process required.

Simply fill the cells with your preferred seed-starting or potting mix, plant your seeds, and bottom water.

💧 EASY BOTTOM WATERING

The trays are designed to sit inside a standard 1020 nursery tray, making bottom watering simple.

1. Fill each cell with your preferred seed-starting mix.
2. Plant seeds according to the seed packet instructions.
3. Add water to the bottom 1020 tray.
4. Allow the growing medium to absorb water from below until the surface becomes evenly dark and moist.
5. Water again as needed when the surface begins to dry.

Bottom watering helps keep delicate seedlings undisturbed while encouraging moisture to move evenly through the growing medium.

📐 DESIGNED FOR STANDARD 1020 TRAYS

Each printed tray measures:

250 mm × 250 mm × 50 mm

Each tray contains:

25 × 44 mm seed-starting cells

Print two and place them together inside a standard 1020 nursery tray for:

50 total seed-starting cells

The two-piece arrangement also makes the trays easier to print on common desktop 3D printers than a single full-size 1020 insert.

🖨️ PRINTING

A tested print profile is included for:

Bambu Lab A1 + 0.6 mm nozzle

• Supports: None required
• Nozzle: 0.6 mm profile included
• Printer: Tested on Bambu Lab A1

The design is optimized to print without support material, reducing wasted filament and post-processing.

🥬 GREAT FOR STARTING

Use the trays for a wide variety of garden plants, including:

• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Herbs
• Flowers
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Melons
• Other vegetable and flower starts

Choose plants and transplant timing appropriate for the approximately 44 mm cell size.

♻️ PRINT ONCE — USE IT AGAIN

Unlike lightweight disposable seed-starting inserts, these trays can be printed in a suitable material and reused for multiple growing seasons.

At the end of the season, clean and store them with the rest of your seed-starting equipment so they're ready for next year's garden.

📦 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

This listing is for digital 3D-printing files only.

No physical seed tray, 1020 tray, soil, seeds or plants are included.

A tested print profile is provided for the Bambu Lab A1 with a 0.6 mm nozzle.

🌱 HEALTHIER ROOTS. SIMPLE SEED STARTING.

This design combines the convenience of a traditional cell tray with the root-development advantages of air pruning.

25 cells per print. 50 cells per standard 1020 tray. No supports. No soil blocker required.

Fill it. Plant it. Bottom water it. Grow.