"Seed-snail" testing thread, 2025

Sarah Joubert wrote:

William Bronson wrote:
I wonder if it would work with winter sowing?

I successfuly used snails to grow red and green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and leeks. They were transplanted direct from the snails into the garden. I shall take a recent picture of what they look like now.

Check out this video, Kendall combines winter sowing jugs and seed snails into "snugs"

Ooops! After seeing Williams post I just realised that he was referring to early sowing as opposed to winter veg! Thanks for not rubbing my nose in it!
That's a really good idea. I overwinter my mango seedlings in water bottle greenhouses so that's another use for my stash of 8L bottles.

Here's second video:

This video shows a seed snail used for starting cuttings!

When I first heard of this method, I thought it was just a silly fad. The more I see and read about it, the more I'm interested. I thought I would give it a try. A lot of people recommend bubble wrap, and I have some bubble wrap Amazon bags,  I also have some free seeds, so I decided why not?  I just couldn't plant my free tomato seeds. The thought of planting food in plastic, not intended for that purpose just seems like a bad idea. I planted marigolds (my seeds, so still free). Even though they are eatable, we don't eat them.
I actually enjoyed the process, and look forward to watching my snail come to life.
As a side experiment I poked some of seeds down and laid some sideways, we will see what germinates faster.
I look forward to hearing the results of using material. I worry the roots will grow into it.
Good luck everyone

Compared to lots of seedsnail pictures I have seen, my results aren't that impressive. the strange thing about it is the uneven germination. I have 9 marigold seedlings in all stages from ready to plant out, to a couple pretty small. This was marigold seeds I harvested myself, so maybe that was the issue, or maybe uneven watering? I don't know. It's been a very rough year for seed starting for me all around, so I guess I'm happy I got what I got. I was practically free, and I enjoyed the process, so I'm still calling it a win.

I don't know why it took me so long to notice, but the largest "marigold" is a tomato. I have no idea what kind, I didn't plant it, at least not on purpose.  It's a nice looking seedling. I planted all the marigolds and the tomato.  They are doing well.
Maybe I waited to long, but it wasn't as easy to separate the roots as everyone said it is. It was fun, and I will probably try it again.
I would love to get an update from those of you who used material to make your seed snail. Did it work the way you thought?  Did the roots grow into the material?
Thanks

I like seeing all the promising results here. I didn't like what I got from using cardboard snails. And I wouldn't want to use plastic since I'm trying to do that less and less. But cloth strips might be a thing to try. Do you guys think this is more than a gimmick and something you'll want to keep working with?

I've been very happy with all my seed snails. It is slightly tricky finding the right support pot to put the end result in, but with seeds or pricking out seedlings it seems to work quite well.
I only used material for my bean seeds - there was a little penetration of the material, but generally just where I had a sewn seam in the material. I used a fairly heavy woven cotton fabric that had been a pair of overalls (coveralls?) that had become past repair. I guess the finer the weave the less likely you are to have roots penetrate, so a fine cotton shirt might be better (although less rigid so more difficult to handle.
I didn't find the fabric snails difficult to water or drying out much in between, I guess the fabric will share the water out in the snail a bit more than plastic ones would.
This year (non GAMCOD) I've just used some offcuts of old polytunnel plastic. I have lots and it will last for years yet - I'm definitely continuing with this method!

I did use the snails again this year but did them in single rolls and put each one in a closed pot.
That seemed to really help prevent them drying out.
I like it since I don't love tending to large areas of seedlings inside.

I'm now a bit scared about the tomatoes since they did amazing and I have 60+ in the ground since they all survived.

I sent a tiny snail home with my daughter, on Sunday. Only 4 plants in it; 2 rose of Sharon and 2 elderberry, because she just found out that her apartment complex actually will let her put plants into the ground, by her patio, as long as she maintains them, so they look nice.

I used a scrap of the good kind of cheesecloth as the coil, with some of my homemade potting soil. They were fresh cuttings, when I saw them last, but they were pretty wilty, in this crazy 100°F heat. I think the heat index bumped it to 106°? She had an 8hr drive to make, but I told her to leave them in the coil, keep them slightly damp for a few weeks, then check them to see if roots have started, being very gentle, as she unfolds the snail, so... we will see how that works out, in a few weeks.