Posting seedlings

I thought I'd share with y'all how I posted some of my chilli seedlings to a couple of the other board members. I didn't want to buy any cusom seedling holders so I thought I'd go all Blue Peter with what I had lying around the office.

What you need:
1) Sticky-back plastic (obviously)
2) Some OHP acetate sheets (I had some coloured ones left over)
3) Cling film
4) Sandwich bag ties

1: Prepare your seedlings
Water beforehand, and prick out your seedlings making sure you leave a little clump of damp soil about the size of a marble around the roots. Wrap a small bit of cling film round the rootball and secure around the stem with a tie:



2: Make the tubes
Take your acetate sheets (I used blue ones):



And cut them to an appropriate size (I cut the A4 sheets in half to make A5 sheets). Working with one seedling at a time, roll up the sheet until it is a bit bigger than the rootball and use two bits of tape to secure it in this shape (if you are using inkjet acetates, make sure the shiny side is on the inside of the tube). Put a bit of tape around the bottom of the tube:



When you drop the seedling into the tube it will stick to the tape which will secure it in place and stop it from sliding up and down the length of the tube.

3: Insert the seedlings

Put the seedling (1 per tube) into the tube and gently let it slip down to the bottom and stick to the tape across the base:



Putting the seedlings in this way will neatly fold up the leaves and keep them padded:



4: Post!
I put mine into padded envelopes and then posted them, but the best option would be to put the tubes into a box with some newspaper or bubblewrap around them to stop them bashing around.

The recipient can then just take off the tape at the bottom and the seedling will come out of the tube stuck to the tape. Easy!

Hope that helps.