Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Seed tapes make spacing seed a breeze. If you ever tried to space a pouch worth of seeds you can appreciate these tapes.
Soon its time to start planting outdoors. Uneven ground, slopes and even raised beds can be a challenge. These handy garden helpers come with the seeds spaced exactly where needed. No measuring!
Here are some advantages to using seed tapes according the National Garden Bureau
• Even seed spacing prevents oversowing, especially with crops like lettuce, greens,carrots, wildflowers, etc. This also eliminates the need for thinning the young seedlings.
• The lightweight tape prevents birds from eating freshly sown seeds
• The tape, when covered with additional soil, won’t wash away in a sudden spring downpour, ruining evenly spaced and sown rows.
• Almost all seed tapes are biodegradable to protect wildlife and have no damaging impact on garden ecosystems.
• For gardeners experiencing arthritis or other mobility issues, a seed tape is a quick and easy way to sow tiny seeds.
You can make your own seed tape. Cut paper towels strips 1-inch wide. Start by wetting the paper towel then spacing seeds according to package directions. Allow to dry. Seed should stick to the towel. Plant at the depth recommended on the package.
The paper towel will compost in about 2 months.
I will definitely be trying this tape this year when I plant my lettuce seeds!