DIY seed tape idea!

Is this cool or what?

The idea is great, that's what I thought too, until I went to plant. The seed in the flour paste would not germinate. I had plenty of time last winter to do this.
This yr. I had to dampen the tape in the house and with tweezers try to get the seed off the tape. All the seed germinated this spring. I guess it must(flour) must be kept very wet to let the seed get some water? I really think the mm does not stay wet enough to wash away the flour without washing away the seed too.
Jo

Perhaps this might help, little jo?

One of the replies to the article in response to another reader who had not had success:

Quote:
I’ve had the same issue. I was SO excited to use my seed tapes but they never germinated and I lost a lot of time. I used the newspaper and elmer’s glue. The newspaper just never seemed to break down (or the glue for that matter) and so the seeds were just stuck there and so was the paper. This year, I’m going to try to use toilet paper (1 ply) and put the glue between the seeds and then fold over the paper. This way, the seeds are just between pockets of toilet paper.
Unquote.

That is a great tip, Kelejan! Going right in my book of notes! I am going to try doing seed tapes for my carrots using napkins. I hate all those little holes lol..and I never got hubby onto the seed board thing. Need to do that this spring lol..

Try this technique using 6" size napkins that unfold to one one square foot. Look for flimsy napkins that will dissolve easily. Newspaper is too substantial to just dissolve. I'm going to use this technique this year for carrots, radishes, and turnips.

I used paper towels, the paper split to 1 ply. Maybe the tp or very thin nakins would work, but would suggest diluting the flour mixture.
Jo

@dvelten wrote:Try this technique using 6" size napkins that unfold to one one square foot. Look for flimsy napkins that will dissolve easily. Newspaper is too substantial to just dissolve. I'm going to use this technique this year for carrots, radishes, and turnips.

dvelton; Do you mean use two unfolded napkins together? Place one on top of the other? You can use the napkin to completely cover one square foot without making it a tape.

kelejean, no, the idea is to use just one flimsy napkin and adhere the seeds in place with a drop of white glue. Let the glue dry and then you can fold the napkin up and store it until you want to plant. To plant, lay it out on a square, seed side down, and cover lightly with a vermiculite/compost mix.

By the way, kelejan, did you notice the link to the tutorial on this technique? I tried to bold the label but didn't do it right. Link is here.

@dvelten wrote:kelejean, no, the idea is to use just one flimsy napkin and adhere the seeds in place with a drop of white glue. Let the glue dry and then you can fold the napkin up and store it until you want to plant. To plant, lay it out on a square, seed side down, and cover lightly with a vermiculite/compost mix.

I get it. That makes sense.

I had pretty good success with this last year for flower seeds.
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Cup cold water
Toilet Paper
Squeeze Bottle
Food Coloring (optional)

dissolve cornstarch in water over med heat until it boils and thickens. Mixture should look opaque and cling slightly to a fork before dripping off.

Let cool and transfer into squeeze bottle add 1 drop of food coloring to make "glue dots" easier to see.

Lay out toilet paper strips and place dots across one side of the fold with the cornstarch mixture spacing according to the planting directions of the seed packet (or spacing according sfg) add a couple of seeds to each dot. Let dry.

When I planted these "seed tapes" they were only a couple of inches wide and after covering with soil they pretty much disinigrated within a few weeks. Flowers didn't seem to have much of a problem sprouting or sending roots down.

@dvelten wrote:By the way, kelejan, did you notice the link to the tutorial on this technique? I tried to bold the label but didn't do it right. Link is here.

Just noticed that I missed this. I found the video very interesting and I will be giving it a go. thanks.