Have you struggled planting tiny seeds such as carrots and radishes? It seems like such a waste to sow extra seeds and then thin them later, and getting seeds to land in the right place in the garden is a challenge when they are so small reading glasses are required to see them (at least by me). Try making your own seed tape! It’s very low cost and results in precision-planting if that is something you enjoy ☺
I made my own seed tape by first measuring the length of the row or seed bed for the seeds I was planting. Next I measured the same length of toilet paper that I needed for the row or seed bed. I used Seventh Generation toilet paper but any brand will work. I have used seed tape in pots and in the garden plot and it works well either place.
I put the length of toilet paper on the kitchen counter and assembled my carrot and radish seeds, 2 small plates, 1 craft paintbrush (a child’s watercolor brush works well), flour, water, black medium tip marker, ruler, and a small bowl such as a custard cup.
I folded the toilet paper in half lengthwise and creased it to get a nice clear centerline down the length of the toilet paper. Then using the ruler and the black marker, I placed a dot on the toilet paper centerline where each carrot seed should go, based on the recommended spacing from the seed packet (see Seed Tape 001).
Then I mixed the flour and water in the custard cup to make the “glue”. Contrary to what you might think, this technique works best if the flour/water mixture is the consistency of gravy. If you make it too thick, the seeds don’t release as easily from the paintbrush.
I placed the carrot seeds on one plate & the radish seeds on the other. If you spread them out on the plate you will be able to access one seed at a time more easily.
Then I touched the tip of the paintbrush to the flour glue, and then touched a carrot seed with the brush which makes the carrot seed stick to the brush. Next I touched the paintbrush with seed to a dot on the toilet paper and the seed will adhere to the toilet paper and pull away from the paintbrush. Repeat this step until you have placed the appropriate number of carrot seeds on the toilet paper. Since I was interplanting radishes between my carrot seeds, I repeated the above step for the radish seeds, planting them in between the carrot seeds.
After getting all my seeds on the seed tape, I put dabs of flour glue about an 1/8” below the seed row and then folded the top 1/3 of toilet paper over to meet this row of glue. Then I put dabs of flour glue about an 1/8 “ above the seed row and folded the bottom third of the toilet paper over to meet that row of glue. This results in 2 layers of paper protecting the seeds,
Now you can easily carry the toilet paper strips to the garden and place them where you want them. Cover gently with soil and wait for the sprouts!
