Topic: Home-made seed tapes

[growmore]

I read cornflour makes a stronger glue for these than ordinary flour ..
To store them roll them up and put them in a big glass jar with some powdered milk in the bottom, Apparently the powdered milk absorbs any moisture..cheers..Jim

[the_snail]

suppose cornflower would be good to use if you have a gluten problem. As flour is bad for you if you injest it or get it on your skin.

Good tip growmore.

The_Snail

[Derekthefox]

I agree, good idea growmore, I never knew that cornflour makes a better adhesive ...

Derekthefox :D

[John_H]

I read once about someone mixing small seeds with wallpaper paste and using an icing bag (more usually used for cake decoration) to get them distributed evenly in the furrows - though I suppose you need to work out the quantities of paste per meter by running a few experiments first.

I think you can also use this for seeds which you have  pre-germinated in the warm but wouldn't take to too much handling.

[supersprout]

... although it doesn't result in the even spacing you get from seed tape. For more on fluid sowing see http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,14136.msg137025/topicseen.html#msg137025  8)

[amphibian]

I used seed tapes last year, they were an unmitigated disaster.

The birds pulled them out and flew off with them.

This year I will cover the beds.

[supersprout]

:'( amphibian that's a new one! but the appeal of giant worms with seed garnish is understandable from the birdies point of view ;D good luck this year ;)

[bison1947]

Making Your
Own Seed Tapes!

Seed tapes are an easy way to plant a row of seeds with precision spacing. This is a valuable technique when you have a short supply of seeds, or each is very expensive. It provides for uniform spacing and avoids the need to thin out sprouting seedlings. Control freaks also love that they can predetermine plant spacing without having to "eyeball" it on the spot.

Simply put, seed tapes are just seeds fastened to some sort of thin biodegradable paper by an adhesive that itself is biodegradable. This allows for the plant roots to grow through the paper as the adhesive dissolves around the seed so as not to obstruct growth.

In a small pan, dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 cup of cold water. Cook over a medium flame, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from getting lumpy. Once it starts to boil and turns into a translucent gel-like mixture, remove it from the stove, and let it cool to room temperature.

Get some paper towels, leaving the sheets attached, and tear off a section of about five feet. Cut the length of the towels into long strips that are about 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.

Take a look at your seed package and determine the proper planting distance for this variety. You might want to gently label a corner of each tape with the name of the variety it will plant. This will avoid confusion later and help you to properly label your garden plantings.

Take the cooled cornstarch mixture and put a few spoonfuls into a small plastic bag. Work the gel mixture toward one corner of the bag, removing as much excess air as possible, then seal the bag. Next you'll need to snip off the corner of the bag to create a pastry bag like tool, similar to those that bakers use to ice cakes. If you are doing more than one type of seed, think about the size of the cut you make in the bag first. Smaller seeds will only need a tiny speck of gel, while larger ones may need a glob. It's always possible to put a bigger notch in the corner of the bag if you need bigger globs, so start with your small seeds first.

At this point it's a simple matter of dabbing on the gel at the right spacing (use a ruler and pre-mark lightly with a pencil) and putting the seed in each dab. If your seeds are very small, you may want to put the seed into the cornstarch gel mixture (after it's cooled) before even placing it into the bag. Then you can mix them together and seed the tape by simply dabbing in the right spots.

One creative use of seed tapes is to plant them in patterns. This would allow you to precisely determine where various flowers or foil age will grow in relation to each other. Think how your loved one would like their name in flowers! Or how about your street address spelled out in daisies?! The possibilities are endless.

I made my own tapes but instead of using a bag a bourght a medicine
syringe from the local cheimest for 35p.

Works great

Bill........

[Multiveg]

Has anyone else had a go at making these seed tapes? The approaching autumn has got me thinking for next year. I didn't get round to doing any this year though.

[supersprout]

I did them at this time last year for spinach and overwintering onions, and they worked a treat! And again in April for carrots (nothing appeared) and kale (patchy). Probably best sown when it's rainy ::)

[cambourne7]

Have made a note to try doing some of these seed tapes with carrot as Snail suggested, sounds like that one would indeed solve a few problems.

A job for Christmas day afternoon I think, when everyone else is watching telly, I shall be laying strips of paper out on the table and messing about gleefully with paste and carrot seed  ;D

Ah ha.... can you use wrapping paper?????

[supersprout]

Soak a piece of wrapping paper in water. If it disintegrates easily when wet, it should do the job :)

if you use different coloured paper for different seeds, if you try to plant them on a windy day and they all get mixed up in a tangle you'd be able to sort them out easier
:-[

[cambourne7]

HI

I am thinking about a seed blanket for my japanese onions as the weathers getting worse i just wondered if i might just create 3 blankets made of 2 full sheets for news paper as described earlier and that way i can space them out and i dont have to weed between them?

The bed is 10ft by 4ft hence the 3 double pages.

C7

[cambourne7]

how soon after putting the seeds onto the tape do you need to plant them?

I am hoping to get them in on sunday and do the seed tape saturday night

cambourne7

[supersprout]

that should be fine cam :)
good luck!

[cambourne7]

going to need it i think
will remember camra and you can have a look at the site :-)

[supersprout]

 ;D ;D ;D

[okra]

A brillaint suggestion

[jlottie]

Just found this thread - what a great idea, can't wait to give it a go  :)

[Multiveg]

Even though I started this thread, I still haven't got round to doing these homemade seed tapes! Maybe one day when pigs might fly?