The Cone-tainer is a cone-shaped UV-stabilized plastic container designed to hold potting soil into which you can plant seeds - the seeds germinate and produce plants which can be transplanted into the soil. The Cone-tainer tubes we sell are held upright in a custom plastic rack which holds 200 tubes. The Cone-tainer rack with tubes assembly can be placed in a plastic storage container that can be used to hold water and nutrient solution filled to touch the bottom of the tubes, which makes a simple hydroponic growing system. Sterilite makes inexpensive plastic storage containers in sizes that will hold the tray and tube assembly, available from retailers like WalMart.
The advantage of Cone-tainers over other conventional plant-starting plastic six-packs used by plant nurseries is the root systems of the seedlings started in Cone-tainers are much larger, better developed and are in the shape of a planting dibble (a cone-shaped rod) commonly used in the forestry business. Therefore, the root systems of the seedlings are disturbed as little as possible during the transplant process. Cone-tainers are very durable and will last for many planting seasons.
In the case of using Cone-tainer grown seedlings with landscape fabric, a propane torch is used to melt an appropriately sized hole in the landscape fabric - sealing the fabric edges so they don't unravel. The seedling's root system is placed in the soil after an appropriately shaped and sized hole in the soil is fashioned. Instead of a dibble, a tool like a tire iron can be used to make the planting hole in the soil.