Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
How to Make Seed Tape
Proper spacing of your vegetable plants is one of the hardest and most annoying things to get right when you're trying to grow vegetables, especially when you're planting tiny seeds like carrots and lettuce. By making your own seed tape at home, you can get your kids involved in planting and make sure your seeds are spaced out correctly all at the same time.
Homemade seed tape is a great project for me and my daughter to do together on a rainy day. All you need is some flour and water, toilet paper, paint brushes and seeds.
Step 1: Decide how long your rows will be. I have 4x8 foot raised beds, so I know I need seed tape that's either 4 or 8 feet long. Since the toilet paper is already divided into 4 inch squares, I know I can just count out 12 or 24 squares of toilet paper.
Step 2: Cut the toilet paper in half with scissors. The toilet paper is twice the width you need, so just cut it right up the middle of your strip and you have 2 rows already measured!
Step 3: Mix your paste. We use flour and water because its all natural and biodegradable. Just mix about a tablespoon of each until it's slightly goopy.
Step 4: Measure for your seeds. Read the back of your seed packet to get the proper spacing. My carrots and radishes need to be 3 inches apart. So using a ruler as a guide next to my toilet paper strips, I use a paintbrush to just dab a little dollop of glue every 3 inches for the whole length of the paper.
Step 5: Add Seeds. Now it's easy to go through and stick one or two little seeds to each glue spot. Then, folding the strip in half will seal the seeds safely inside my seed tape until they're in the ground and ready to germinate!
Planting Seed Tape
Seed tape can just be laid in the soil in the Spring and lightly covered with dirt. The toilet paper will disintegrate, and the seeds will begin to germinate in the ground, perfectly spaced out from each other allowing the vegetable to grow and provide you with a better harvest.
