DIY Seed Tape Tutorial
Thinning is an
important garden chore that many gardeners loathe doing. If you don't
thin though, you find yourself with an overcrowded and unhealthy
vegetable garden. Using seed tape is a great way to ensure that your
vegetables are properly spaced in the garden. Pre-made seed tape can be
expensive or difficult to find, but making your own is so quick and
easy, you won't regret going the DIY route!
This project
surprised us with how quickly everything went. If you have all of your
supplies gathered and ready to go, you could easily prep most of the
seeds for your garden in a fraction of the time it would take to sow
them directly.
First, gather your supplies. You'll need seeds,
toilet paper, "glue," something to measure with, and something to
distribute your glue and seeds. For our glue, we mixed flour and water
together into a workable paste, we used a yard stick to measure, and
for seed distribution, we used an art paint brush.
Seed tape supplies: seeds, toilet paper, flour "glue," and a paint brush.
Now
that you have your supplies, it's time to get to work. First tear off a
strip of toilet paper that is as long as your intended vegetable row;
we went with 4 feet. Then check the spacing for your seeds; this
information should be found on the back of your seed package. For the
Danvers half long carrots we were planting, the spacing was 2 to 3
inches apart. We decided to glue the seeds down every two inches.
Next,
using your paintbrush, glue seeds to the toilet paper. We found it
worked well to first dip the brush in a bit of the glue and then pick
up one or two seeds to apply. Repeat this process until you have gotten
to the end of your toilet paper "row."
Using the paint brush to place seeds on the toilet paper.
Be
sure to label your seed tape. This is super-important, especially if
you are making multiple seed tapes for different vegetables.
After
everything is glued and labeled, fold the length of toilet paper in
half, so that the seeds are safely situated between toilet paper on
both sides. Then, roll it up and set it aside until you're ready to
plant.
Roll up and label your seed tape for storage.
When you're ready to plant, unroll your seed tape in the garden. Then
plant at the recommended depth for your seeds. Give it some water and
you should see vegetables sprouting in no time.
A Note on Seeds
Seed
tape is great for tiny seeds such as: carrots, lettuces, herbs, and
greens (spinach, collards, kale). Medium-sized seeds like watermelon,
cucumbers, pumpkins, and squashes may work for this project, but large
seeds like beans and corn will be too heavy and bulky for this project.
Additionally,
larger seeds are much easier to sow at the correct interval in the
garden, removing the need to thin out seedlings later. With smaller
seeds it's difficult to maintain the correct interval. That's why seed
tape is so helpful. It saves you from having to spend time thinning
seedlings later, and makes your seed packages go a lot farther by
cutting down on planting excess seeds.
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Propagation by Seed Page
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