At $3 or more per packet, seeds can be one of the primary costs of gardening, especially if you are starting a new garden or expanding the crops you are growing. To some extent, it is an unavoidable cost, but all too often seeds are wasted and the cost of your garden grows needlessly. One of the most common causes for this is not properly spacing the seeds when they are planted. Seed tape is a great way to prevent this from happening and save you a lot of money on your garden budget. Here’s what you need and now to get started.
Materials
- Seeds, you really only need to make seed tape for seeds that are so small they are difficult to handle individually with your fingers.
- 2-ply toilet paper
- All purpose flour
- Water
How to Make it
- Measure out a length of toilet paper to the length of your raised beds, or the shortest length if your beds are not the same size.
- Split the toilet paper. Separating the 2 plies from each other. This will give you more paper to work with and make it easier on your seeds to sprout. You don’t want to leave it intact.
- Spread the toilet paper out on a surface large enough to work on.
- Mix the flour and water together until you have a paste. This paste will be used to hold the seeds in place on the toilet paper. It should be a little thinner than toothpaste.
- Spoon out a small amount, about the size of your thumbnail, of the flour paste on to the separated toilet paper. Place a dab of paste every 3 to 4 inches down the paper, about one per square on most toilet papers. Do not place the dab directly in the center of the paper, but rather about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom. This is to allow for the top to be folded down on top of it later when you are done.
- Now, place a seed, or two seeds if you are using seeds with a low germination rate, on each dab of flour paste. When you reach the end of the toilet paper, fold the top over.
- Carefully roll the tape back up, and then just unroll the tape in your garden bed and cover with a light layer or soil or fine compost and water in.
In only a few minutes you can make several feet of seed tape, and at the price of seeds, and of pre-made seed tape it is well worth the time and effort.
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