Anyone who's ever tried to fill a tray of 24 cell modules with a standard hand trowel knows the small frustration this set of tools solves. Compost everywhere. Cells half-full. Compost on the bench, in the cells next door, on the floor. Pricking out is even worse — a regular trowel is too clumsy to lift a tiny seedling without disturbing its neighbours, and you end up using a teaspoon, a pencil, your fingers. There has to be a better tool, and there is.

The Burgon & Ball Cell Tray Trowels are a properly considered set of two miniature trowels designed specifically for the precision work of propagation — filling narrow cells without spillage, lifting delicate seedlings cleanly, working in tight spaces a standard trowel can't navigate. Stainless steel heads, FSC-certified hardwood handles, the same Sheffield-made quality as the rest of the Burgon & Ball range, scaled down for the propagator and the potting bench.

From Burgon & Ball, the Sheffield toolmaker who've been making garden tools since 1730. Supplied to us through our partners at AllotMate, who curate proper, well-made tools for gardeners and allotmenteers who'd rather buy once.

What they're for

These are the right tool for propagation — the precision work that bigger trowels make harder than it needs to be:

• Filling cell trays and modules — narrow blade fits inside cells without spillage, and the right capacity for the cell size means no overfilling or compression
• Pricking out seedlings — the slim profile lifts tiny rootballs cleanly without damaging the surrounding seedlings still in the tray
• Potting on into 9cm or larger pots — comfortable scale for moving small plants into their next-size container
• Filling small pots — quicker and tidier than scooping with a hand trowel
• Working with cuttings — particularly the smaller propagation containers used for softwood cuttings
• Sowing larger seeds — covering individual seeds at depth in module trays

For anyone running serious propagation through the spring — whether for veg seedlings, cottage flowers, or both — these are the tool that turns module-tray work from a fiddly job into a properly satisfying one.

Specifications

• Set: Two miniature trowels with complementary shapes for different propagation tasks
• Length: Approximately 18cm — small enough to tuck into a tool belt or potting bench drawer
• Heads: Stainless steel — rust-resistant, smooth-release, easy to clean
• Handles: FSC-certified hardwood, ergonomically shaped for control during precision work
• Use: Propagation work — cell trays, modules, small pots, seedling transplanting
• Made by: Burgon & Ball, Sheffield (since 1730)
• Supplied through: AllotMate

When you'll use them

The cell tray trowels come into their own at the busy propagation moments of the gardening calendar — particularly the late winter and spring weeks when sowing dominates the bench:

• February to April sowing — tomatoes, peppers, chillies, brassicas, sweet peas, hardy annuals, anything raised from seed under cover
• Pricking out — moving germinated seedlings from communal trays into individual cells or pots
• Potting on — promoting young plants from cells into larger 9cm or 11cm pots as they outgrow their starting containers
• Late summer sowings — hardy biennials, overwintering veg, autumn-sown flowers
• Cutting propagation — striking and potting on softwood, semi-ripe and herbaceous cuttings
• Greenhouse and propagator days — the steady flow of small jobs that fills a serious propagation routine

Looking after them

• Wipe clean after each session — soil and compost release easily from the polished stainless steel
• Dry properly before storing — stainless steel resists rust well but appreciates not being put away wet
• The hardwood handles can be lightly oiled with linseed oil once or twice a year to keep them conditioned
• Store together — the pair work as a set, and keeping them in one place on the potting bench makes propagation sessions flow more smoothly
• Tuck them into a tool belt or drawer — at 18cm they're small enough to live properly out of the way when not in use

Pairs with the rest of the Burgon & Ball propagation kit

If you're building a proper propagation setup, these tools work as a coherent set with the rest of our Burgon & Ball range:

• Cell Tray Trowels (these) — for filling cells and pricking out
• Compost Scoop — for moving compost from bag to bench efficiently
• Dibber — for setting larger seeds and seedlings at consistent depth
• BoronGreen Transplanter — for moving small plants from pot to bed when they're ready

Together they cover the whole propagation journey from sowing to planting out. Build the set over time, and a serious spring sowing routine becomes far less effortful and considerably more enjoyable.

As a gift

Particularly thoughtful for:

• A serious veg grower or allotmenteer — anyone running propagation in volume
• A cut-flower gardener — sweet pea, dahlia, cosmos, zinnia and ammi all involve substantial module-tray sowing
• A new gardener setting up a propagator or greenhouse — these will get used immediately
• Pair with a propagator and a packet of seeds for a complete starter gift
• Or with the matching Burgon & Ball Compost Scoop for a thoughtful potting-bench gift

About Burgon & Ball

Burgon & Ball have been making garden tools in Sheffield since 1730, drawing on the city's centuries-old expertise in steel. They hold the official Royal Horticultural Society endorsement on much of their range. We're proud to stock their tools; British-made kit at this quality is increasingly rare.

A small thought: propagation is one of the gardening pleasures that rewards small investments disproportionately. The right propagator on the right windowsill, the right compost in the right cells, the right tool for filling those cells — each small upgrade compounds. By March your bench is full of healthy seedlings, by May they're planted out, by July your borders are full of things you grew from a packet. Tools like these are how that pleasure starts.