If you are an avid gardener then you have probably heard of seed tape. If you’re a novice gardener, then you might not have run into this handy, dandy, little helper yet. I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and I have nothing but good things to say about it. In fact, I use it so often, I’ve learned how to make it at home with this seed tape DIY instead of spending money purchasing it.
What is seed tape exactly?
Seed tape is essentially tape that comes in a package with seeds in it. You can also find just the tape itself so you can add seeds to it. It’s fairly easy to buy if you want to buy it {HERE}. It’s most often sold with carrots seeds already seeded because the seeds themselves are so small. You can see that {HERE} for carrots, {HERE} for green onions and {HERE} for lettuce.
Why I do need it?
Seed tape helps seed stay in place for a little bit so their roots can get established. It can also help you to plant in a straight line and space your seeds evenly.
My biggest issue is that our property can be very wet. Even planting in our raised garden beds {HERE}, I’m often worried that my seeds will wash away. Or at the very least, wander to a different part of the bed. It’s a very common issue with smaller seeds.
Seed tape can be very, VERY helpful for these things. Really small seeds like carrots, lettuces, radishes and a few others out there benefit from being planted this way.
Seed tape DIY
I never seem to have seed tape at my fingertips when I need it. And, it’s something that I use throughout the year for subsequent plantings of things like lettuces, cabbages, beets, radishes and more.
Basically, anything I plant from a seed in my garden uses seed tape. This year I even planted sunflowers and loofah with it too. Even though the seeds for those plants are larger, I like the idea of them being able to get rooted.
So, I make my own seed tape from cheap toilet paper, water and flour. It’s insanely simple to make. And, I can make it in January, February and March and then be ready to go once my beds are ready.
Supplies for seed tape DIY.
- 2 ply toilet paper – The cheaper the better. Don’t use the kind with extra moisturizers. You don’t want whatever that is going into your dirt for your vegetables.
- About three tablespoons of flour mixed with two tablespoons of water. You want the mix to have a texture similar to pancake batter.
- A toothpick or a Q-tip for applying the “glue”.
- Seeds of choice.
Here’s how to make DIY seed tape
- Ripe the toilet paper to the size of your garden bed. I rip mine to about 4 feet long. My beds are 4×4 and 4×8. I like the shorter pieces because I can use them multiple directions in my 4×8 beds.
- Pull the plys apart from one another. If you’re having trouble doing this you don’t have to. The seeds will grow through 2-ply. However, having a true 1-ply seed tape is best for them and allows their roots to grow easily.
- With your toothpick, add a dot of glue every few inches. The space between each dot should be based on what kind of seed you’re planting. Planting carrots? About two inches apart will work. Planting lettuce? You want to give them about five inches apart. Cabbage? Ten inches a apart to allow for them to spread.
- Add one seed to each dot of “glue”.
- Once all your seeds are on, go back and add subsequent dots of glue to the paper in between your seeds and in the middle of the toilet paper. This helps it stay together.
- Fold one side onto the other side and then press down.
- Lay flat to dry on the counter. Avoid putting it on wood.
Planting seed tape
Once the seed tape is dry you can plant it right in the garden. Dig a trench an inch to an inch-and-a-half down. Lay the seed tape in the trench and cover with dirt.
I like to leave the ends sticking out so I know where I put my seed tape. Although, if you get a lot of rain those will disintegrate fairly quickly.
Storing seed tape
If you want to make seed tape ahead of time you can store it fairly easily. Once it’s dry roll it up and use a paperclip to secure it. Make sure you add a label to it somehow so you know what seeds are inside.
Thanks so much for visiting today, friends! I hope you enjoyed this post and I would love to know if you decide to make seed tape.
For more garden posts, click {HERE}! I hope you will visit us again here at the farmhouse. Happy growing!
My husband does our lawn and gardening so i have to show this to him. I hope we could grow some great vegetables in our garden using this method of planting.
I’ve never heard of this, probably because I can kill everything but I love that you were able to do make it yourself, so nifty.
I’ve never seen anything like before. I can’t wait to try it!
Such a good idea! I am slowly entering the world of gardening and can take any tips there are!
I love gardening and thought I knew most of what there was to know, but this is totally new to me! Thanks for sharing I’m totally going to try this.
I hadn’t heard of this before today. It sounds like it could come in handy if you garden. I wish I could garden!
Now that’s just smart. I wish I’d done this when I was planting my carrots a few years back. Work smarter, not harder!
This is such a genius idea and pretty inexpensive! Love it!
I saw a video for this on tiktok! They were using toilet paper to fill in the patches on the lawn – such a great idea!
I’ve seen this been done before. It is such a great idea too. I need to give it a try as well.
What a great idea for planting. It is nice to know that this helps plants to be better established.
This is such a good idea and I’m sure saves a ton of money!! Thanks for sharing.
I haven’t heard about this tape. Thanks for educating us in what its used for.
I’ll definitely try this method, it seems a lot easier.
I love this DIY seed tape and will be showing this with my sister who is making the garden.
I’ve heard about this new way of buying seeds but I didn’t know how to use it. It sounds even easier to buy seeds this way!
This is interesting to read. I haven’t heard of seed tape before.
I’m a novice when it comes to gardening so this tip is very helpful! I didn’t know how useful a seed tape could be and it’s great that we can make our own. Thanks so much!
This is a good idea. I am planning on planting vegetables soon, so this tip really came in handy! I love that you can make your own seed tape with stuff we always have at home.
I am new to gardening and this will definitely come in handy
Planting is one of my hobbies during this pandemic. I have never thought to use toilet paper as seed tape, and now, I am thanking you for sharing this idea.
This is a neat idea! I hadn’t heard of this before, but it seems like a pretty helpful little DIY that is also fun to make.
I’ve seen them but I didn’t know they were called seed tapes. Well, I learned something new today. Thanks for the tutorial, too.
Wow that is creative. I didn’t know that even existed. I have always wondered how people plant everything in a line! Thanks
Oh, that’s what they are called! I’ve seen seed tape what always wonder how that worked. Very interesting method.
This is genius! I’d never thought of making my own seed tape but am totally going to try it with my fall plants.
My husband loves to garden and he is going to love learning how to make his own seed tape. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
I like this tip a lot. Using a seed tap is my preference when the seeds are so tiny.
This is such a creative way to use seeds!
I’ve never heard of seed tape before but that is quite interesting. Will keep this in mind for future reference when I start working on my garden.
I didn’t know about see tape This sound really nice idea. I would love to try it in garden.
The seed tape method sounds cool. I’ve never tried it. This is actually the first time that I’ve heard of such.