EASY- Make Your Own Seed Tape Info ~ Save JFE - October 7th, 2005 at 07:41 AM
Toilet paper seed tape
If you plan to build an in-the-ground garden bed with children, let them help with the whole process. Provide appropriate tools for turning soil, fertilizing, and watering; containers for weeds and other garden wastes; and systems for sowing seeds.
Large seeds—beans and pumpkin, for example—can easily be spaced in the soil with fingers. Smaller seeds—like tomatoes, radishes, and lettuce—are hard to control. You can buy seed tape at gardening stores with seeds appropriately spaced on biodegradable tape. But making seed tape works just as well—and it"s fun.
Here"s what you need:
packets of gelatin (like knox gelatin)
mixing bowl and spoon
water
seeds
white, unscented toilet paper
ruler
scissors
cardboard scrap
marker
cotton swab or small paintbrush
1. Cover the work area with newspaper if it needs to be protected.
2. Measure the garden plot and determine the row length for the vegetable or flower you are planting.
3. Examine the seed packet to determine the appropriate spacing for that plant. Cut the cardboard to the length of the space recommended.
4. Unroll the toilet paper to the length of the garden row.
5. Using the cardboard spacer, make evenly spaced marks along the center of the toilet paper roll.
6. Mix the gelatin with enough water to make a soupy paste.
7. Dip the cotton swab or paintbrush into the gelatin and dab each spot on the toilet paper.
8. Place a seed onto each of the gelatin paste dots. Let the paste dry.
9. When it"s time to plant, make a trench in the soil at the recommended depth for the seed—1/2 inch for carrots, for example.
10. Set the toilet paper seed tape in the trench and cover with fine soil. A neat row of plants will sprout.
If you plan to build an in-the-ground garden bed with children, let them help with the whole process. Provide appropriate tools for turning soil, fertilizing, and watering; containers for weeds and other garden wastes; and systems for sowing seeds.
Large seeds—beans and pumpkin, for example—can easily be spaced in the soil with fingers. Smaller seeds—like tomatoes, radishes, and lettuce—are hard to control. You can buy seed tape at gardening stores with seeds appropriately spaced on biodegradable tape. But making seed tape works just as well—and it"s fun.
Here"s what you need:
packets of gelatin (like knox gelatin)
mixing bowl and spoon
water
seeds
white, unscented toilet paper
ruler
scissors
cardboard scrap
marker
cotton swab or small paintbrush
1. Cover the work area with newspaper if it needs to be protected.
2. Measure the garden plot and determine the row length for the vegetable or flower you are planting.
3. Examine the seed packet to determine the appropriate spacing for that plant. Cut the cardboard to the length of the space recommended.
4. Unroll the toilet paper to the length of the garden row.
5. Using the cardboard spacer, make evenly spaced marks along the center of the toilet paper roll.
6. Mix the gelatin with enough water to make a soupy paste.
7. Dip the cotton swab or paintbrush into the gelatin and dab each spot on the toilet paper.
8. Place a seed onto each of the gelatin paste dots. Let the paste dry.
9. When it"s time to plant, make a trench in the soil at the recommended depth for the seed—1/2 inch for carrots, for example.
10. Set the toilet paper seed tape in the trench and cover with fine soil. A neat row of plants will sprout.