making seed tapes with tp

Last year I used toilet paper to make my own seed tapes. My carrots did not need to be thinned and they grew larger...anyone try this?

I would be interested in knowing how you do that. I hate thinning carrots. I never know when to do it.

take any tiny vegetable seed to make seed tapes. I tried carrots last year......lay out toilet paper (fold in half later) space seeds according to package directions, spray lightly with water, fold tp over the seeds and spray lightly. Let the seed tapes completely dry, roll them up for storing until your are ready to plant in the garden. The seeds will stick to the toilet paper and not move!!

This message was edited Jan 20, 2009 8:05 PM

Wow! What a great idea!
Thanks for that. This would work for a lot of things. I hate having to thin and waste seeds.
Thanks a lot Wendy!

Yeah,
Thanks, Wendy!

Wendy, you unroll the paper roll into the dirt when you plant, right? Thanks!

I learned this trick in my master gardening class
yes, darkmoondreamer

Very cool! thanks!

course, around here, the tp would dry up and blow away before any seeds managed to germinate, probly...... maybe not if I watered it enough it would fall apart, yes? And just deposit the seeds where they lay....... Unlike the ill-fated leaves I tried to mulch with, didn't fall apart soon enough, blew away instead. LOL!

kyla, I think you cover the tape with soil, just like you would regular seeds. I have seen similar ideas from Parks Seed (seed Mat) I was wondering how to make them because they really work well. I have a really hard time thinning the seedlings also, it just seems so wasteful. I'm thinking of trying radish seeds, I hate them but my son loves them. This would make it really easy.
kyla-regarding your question on another thread about the seedballs, if you have wind that idea would really work for you.
Lisa

Lisa, that makes sense -- I thought of it later on, actually, silly me......

What a GREAT idea. i am going to pass that on to some gradeschool kids I'm going to be teaching about growing seeds. Anything to do with tp will thrill them!

I wonder if you dampened the tp first...the seeds would stay put and not roll about?

I'm not trying to be silly but does anyone type of TP work better. One ply or two?

"dampened" tp is a great idea.......thank-you Aloha
I use 2ply quilted...works great!

I am so glad I saw this, thanks!

Wendyloo- do you know how to make 6" round seed mats? Or any size for that matter. I saw on the Today Show that one of the major seed companys makes those for instant herb gardens. I thought I might give it a try. I'm going to do the TP thing with some carrot seeds I got as a "free gift". The ground here is so hard I never thought of growing carrots but its worth a shot.
Lisa

1lisac

I have heard that coffee filters might work, have never tried it myself. If you do keep me posted.

This is kind of funny -- I saw those same seed mats advertised and they appealed to me too but now I am not sure what the advantage would be over just sowing seeds in a pot..... (the ones I saw were designed for a pot that was sold with the seed mats.)

anyway, coffee filters is a great idea but, what is kinda funny is, I did make some seed balls a while ago, and put them out, and then my neighbors who unbeknownst to me are in the habit of using this big ole timber out there to drive their car up on to change the oil so they won't have to jack it up, they decided to change the oil and I looked out the window and there they were thumping that thing along, rolling it up the shallow incline to their car.

I know my seedballs are now seed pancakes, AKA seedmats! LOL! I have no earthly idea if this will hurt their process out there, I sure hope not, but, Lisa, you could make your seedballs and roll them out with a rolling pin and cut them into rounds......

????

I don't know, just a thought........ ;-)

Kyla-I have actually used the seed mats and they worked great. You get a variety of seeds, spaced correctly, selected to grow under the same conditions, and the seeds are protected from the environment. When I used the ones I bought I had to cover them with wire because my chickens scratched them up but once they got going they were great. I think the selling point for them, including the 6" rounds is convience, The one I saw on the Today Show for an instant herb garden seemed so hassle free, like the TP tape you only get what you need and you are ready to go.
Lisa

When I placed my seed order with "Johnny's" I also ordered two seed discs not really knowing what they were. They came this week and I don't see how they could loose. My first thought was "coffee filters". I prefer seed over plants almost all the time. I think I will try the TP and a coffee filter or two as I have lots of seed. The birds are giving my beds a work over right now and it might help in that regard as well. Thanks for the information.

Christi

My only thought with the coffee filters is that they are too strong. How would the seeds push through? Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong kind of filters?