How to Use đŸ§» Toilet Paper to Make Your Own Seed Tape

Making your own seed tape is easy and fun! Why buy those expensive rolls of seed tape in the store when you can make your own?
 
 
Here's a list of what you'll need:
Toilet paper
Water
Flour
Paint Brush
3 Small Bowls
Seeds 

    First you'll want to dump the seeds that you plan on using for your tape, into a small bowl or jar.
     

    Fill another small bowl with water.
     

    Place a tablespoon or so of flour into the last bowl and mix in just enough water to make a paste. Something like the consistency of pancake batter.
     
    So now you've got three bowls or jars. One with seeds, one with just water, and one with your flour mixture.
     

    Lay your roll of toilet paper onto a flat surface.
     

    Using the end of your paintbrush,  dip it into the flour mixture and then onto the toilet paper making a dot.  Do this up the entire length of the toilet paper making sure that the spacing of the dots matches the planting distance recommended for the particular crop you'll be planting.
     

    Refer to your SeedsNow planting guide that was included in your order or refer to our websites Seed Planting Calendar
     

    Once your toilet paper has a line of flour dots, rinse the end of your brush, and then dab it in the water, and then into the jar with the seeds in it. This will pick up a small amount of seeds onto the tip of your brush.  Now place those seeds on the tip of your brush onto the flour dots.  Put between 2-3 seeds per dot.
     

    Now that your flour dots, all have seeds on them, you'll want to fold the toilet paper in half. There should be enough flour on the paper to make it stick and hold when you fold it.
     
     

    At this point you can let it dry completely and then roll them up until you're ready to plant them.
     

    In the garden, use a piece of wood to make a trench where you'll be planting your seed tape.
     

    Lay the tape down, cover with soil, and then water to moisten the soil and the tape. 
    Using seed tape cuts down on waste that you get with traditional sowing methods.  No more thinning an entire row of seedlings! When your seeds germinate, they'll be perfectly spaced according to the recommended spacing guidelines that you created when you made your seed tape.

    12 comments

    Beverly Sutter

    excellent idea

    MARGARET L PHILLIPS-SAPP

    Can these seed tapes be made in the winter to be used at seed planting time?

    Nancy

    This is great! I have milkweed seeds to plant for next year. I’ll do this toilet paper thing and put them out in the fall to sit over
    winter and grow in spring like they do in nature.

    Marilyn Wann

    Bamboo toilet paper would be safest to use, I think. Recycled toilet paper contains microplastics.

    Brittney

    I know Marks comment was from last spring… However, they do have have organic toilet paper if you’re truly concerned with chemicals from the toilet paper. I personally would use a septic safe thinner toilet paper such as Scott’s to versus a thicker toilet paper like charmin or cottenelle. This really is a wonderful idea considering how much I dread planting and wasting half of my darn carrot seeds!!!

    Christine

    So the wetness doesn’t encourage germination of the seeds

    asha

    Very useful information. Thanks.

    Raul Hernandez

    Great idea i hate wasting seed by thinning them

    Roblee

    Perfect for carrots! I HATE messing with carrot seeds.

    Mark

    Just wondering about chemicals, bleach, etc. in the tp. If we go to trouble io getting organic seeds planted in organic soil, doesn’t the toilet paper change all that?

    Aly

    Genius!

    Michael G O'Leary

    The information provided will be very good when planting a garden. Thank you

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