You’ve probably seen seed tape at the store- this wonderful product that you lay on the soil, lightly cover with soil and water thoroughly. Within a short period of time, seeds magically sprout from it, perfectly spaced and even, negating the need to thin seedlings. Did you know, you can make your own easy sow seed tape for free using materials you already have?!
Originally, we used toilet paper to create our seed tape, but you could also use strips of newspaper. Just cut them following the guidelines provided below and be sure to use black and white paper only, (no glossy or color pages).
MYO Seed Tape
You’ll Need:
Single Ply Toilet Paper- The cheap stuff folks, not the thick, “leaves dust on your rump”, perfume laden junk, just good old fashioned TP. (We used Scotts Original).
1 Tbs Flour
1 bit of water
Ruler
Seeds
The seeds I used here were .10¢ a packet at the dollar store. Mix about a tablespoon of flour with a bit of water to make a thin paste.
Unroll the toilet paper squares into lengths of 2-10′ (depending on how long you want your seed tape to be.) Now, cut directly down the middle of the toilet paper, dividing it into 2 long strips, like this:
Plant Spacing Guidelines
Read the back of your packet of seeds. How far apart should your plants be spaced? Ours states “1 inch”. Using a ruler & a pencil, mark that spacing out on your seed tape. In this photo, we used a bright yellow marker so you could exactly what we mean.
Next, dab your finger in the flour paste and dab each dot on the toilet paper. A very little goes a LONG way. Remember, you only need to make the seeds stick, you aren’t trying to “presoak” them. Alternatively, you can use a plain non-toxic glue stick instead.
Place 1-2 seeds on each dab. I noticed with this particular brand of seeds, the germination rate isn’t particularly wonderful. As a result, we opted to used 2-3 seeds per dot.
Next, fold the toilet paper over, enclosing the seeds and gently run your hand along the length of the seed tape to fully seal it. Let it dry completely, about 20 minutes, or plant immediately if you’d like.
On the edge of the seed tape, mark the type of seeds within it and the depth of soil for planting. To plant the seed tape simply place the seed strip on top of the prepared soil (tilled & watered) and then cover with the amount of soil needed as per the seeds chosen.
Water thoroughly. As the seeds sprout they’ll be perfectly spaced in your garden.
these would be a fun mother’s day, spring birthday gift, or housewarming gift for a gardener. they could be rolled up and wrapped with a homemade gift/planting instruction tag. a watering can would be a cute “gift basket”!
very clever and crafty indeed !!!!
good way to spend a rainy day with kids while you wait for spring to arrive. i might have to try this one with grandkids….
this is an excellent way to save money and use time indoors when the weather is bad. i like the comment about how to make it into a gift, too. thanks!
flour paste? are you referring to just a flour and water mixture with nothing else?
Yes, it says, “Mix about a tablespoon of flour with a bit of water to make a thin paste.”
i will definitely be trying this! we actually intend on planting some more items this weekend. it will be a great time saver.
awesome idea i will try this with my granddaughters
i will have to try this next year when i plant!
this will help keep seeds from getting flushed out by watering too! yay!:party1:
great idea, i will try this next spring.
this is added to my rainy day this winter projects!!
Hello everyone. This is my first time, so I hope I don’t blot my copy book.
I literally was on the point of buying some onion tapes online, but am glad I saw this first. I’m not familiar with Scotts tissue, being in England, but assume it is perforated? I think I’ll slightly offset one long half strip so when it is placed on top the perforations aren’t next to each other.
You could do a double strip of seeds on one long sheet, offset other long sheet on top then cut down the middle when dry?. Won’t that make it a bit stronger? I’d need to do that, as I’m quite heavy handed :o)
Just another thought, maybe could add a pinch of nasty pepper to the flour mix, so naughty little munchers don’t pinch the seed.
Hope you don’t mind my comments.
I need to take time off so I can really investigate this site.
mamabird
I like this idea. I don’t like having to thin out plants and frankly I don’t have the time. Winter would be a great time to do this and be ready when planting time comes around.
Great idea! I can’t wait to try it! We buy seed tapes for lettuce, so this would be great.
I will try it with lettuce and radishes. Do you think white tissue paper would work the same way? Hmmm, I’ll have to see if I still have white tissue paper, I usually keep it, but may have tossed some as I had so much tissue paper.
Thanks for this though!:springsmile:
Thanks so much for the great idea! We plan on planting a larger garden this year (last year was just a few plants) and I personally don’t know one plant from the other when they are sprouting. Knowing exactly where my seed are will be a big help when it comes to weeding.
I will start making these up in the next few weeks so I’m ready when we get the ground prepared come warmer weather.
How far ahead can these tapes be made?, I would like to do this those real small seeds, Like Carrots, Buy doing this ahead of time. I believe I would follow through a lot better at getting more planted in the garden, I am just so clumsy when trying to plant those seeds. I was actually going to buy seed tape this year for the garden this would save a lot of money.
I would just like to know if you can do these now and plant in a couple of months from now.
that’s such a great Idea. I will be doing this in my garden this year. Thank you for sharing.
Such an easy, inexpensive way to make your garden grow even and pretty 🙂
I would suggest using a tp that is designed for use in a septic tank. this paper will decompose faster than regular tp.
I would suggest using a tp that is designed for use in a septic tank. this paper will decompose faster than regular tp.