Make your own seed tape
Seed tape as a sowing aid
Seed tapes help you when sowing your plants, as they protect your back and save you seeds. You don't have to sow your seeds individually and you have the right spacing in the bed. This means that your plants won't take up any space later on and will grow large and evenly. If you make your own seed tapes, you can also do some gardening work in winter for the spring.
Make your own seed tape: what you need
- Seeds (e.g. flowers, herbs, carrots, radishes or lettuce)
- Toilet paper, kitchen roll or blank strips of newspaper
- Pencil, ruler/measuring tape, scissors, paintbrush/shashlik skewer
- Flour paste
Make your own flour paste
Flour paste is made by mixing flour with water until a thick paste is formed. 1-2 tablespoons of flour are enough for a few seed ribbons. Mix the flour with water in a bowl - you should keep adding water until the mixture is still thick but there are no more lumps.
Making your own seed tape from toilet paper - here's how
Cut approx. 2 cm/0.8 in wide strips of toilet paper to the desired length and lay them out flat. Measure the distances for your variety(ies) with a measuring tape and mark them with a pencil. Using the end of a paintbrush, apply a small dab of flour paste and a seed to each spot on the tape. Then allow to dry well so that the seeds do not start to germinate (e.g. on the heater). Label your seed tape.
Seed tape for vegetable plants
Sowing fine carrot, radish and lettuce seeds in the bed can be laborious. Carrots and radishes often have to be separated again later. With a seed tape, you can save yourself the hassle of sowing and your vegetables will grow directly at the right spacing. Carrots and radishes can be sown together, as the radishes serve as marker seeds.
Seed tape for flowers and herbs
Flowers and herbs are also often sown using seed tapes. Flower mixtures for insects and beneficial insects are very suitable for seed tapes. This makes it easy to grow flower strips in the garden with flowers that gradually start to bloom throughout the season.
Seed disk instead of seed tape?
Seed discs are more suitable for sowing in pots than seed tapes. Cut a circle out of some kitchen roll that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pot. Then place your seeds on the paper with flour paste, as with seed tape. When sowing, your seeds will not be washed away by watering and will stay in place.
Laying out and planting seed tape
Place the seed tape in a smooth and evenly deep seed furrow, press it down and water it a little. Add a little soil on top and press it down briefly. Now water again carefully, as your seeds should not dry out over the next 14 days. Germination is only reliable with sufficient moisture.
