Best Seed Tape Ever - Rodale Organic Life - Toilet Paper Trick for Small Seeds

Windmere 5/20/2016, 10:47 am

Hey guys,

I came across the super neat do it yourself trick for planting small seeds. Wet toilet paper, place seeds spaced as you want and then cover, etc.

Here's the link:

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/plant-tiny-seeds-making-seed-tape?cid=NL_YourOrganicLife_-_052016_SeedTape_Article&smartcode=YN_0005403801_0001553581

Carrots, etc., always give me the worst problems when I plant. I really like this idea!

Ginger Blue 6/5/2016, 4:55 am

Thanks for posting the link, Windmere! This may be just the trick I need to easily sow a perennial border outside of my vegetable garden.

The article didn't specify, so I'm guessing unused tp is best applied to this method. Shocked

On a serious note, though, folks who garden organically, or those with chemical sensitivities, need to carefully consider what kind of toilet paper is best used for creating seed tape, especially when planting edibles.

A quick internet search of "chemicals in toilet paper" yields interesting results...

Mellen 6/5/2016, 9:39 am

I went to the Bravo Lake Berry Tasting last weekend in Woodlake (CA). The Tulare & Kings Master Gardeners were there. There was a SFG booth (Yea!!!). The lady there was laying seeds out on paper towels, spaced for SFG. She said she then just put the towels down, sprinkled the dirt on it & watered it in. Thought I would try that one. She said it worked better with the "Select a size" towels because it was easier to cut 3 down to size than to make 2 strips.

Actually, I'm for ANYthing that will handle those little seeds. I did the TP trick for my "salad box" this spring. It mostly worked. 3/4 of my seeds germinated. Only 3 carrots though. Sad

I LOVE carrots! Planted more this weekend. Hope it's not too late.....

Windmere 6/5/2016, 9:49 am

I have not actually tried this yet, but I think one of the best TP to use would be Scott 1000 single ply. It's unscented too. I think that the fact that this TP is so thin... well it might work better with carrots.

CapeCoddess 6/5/2016, 10:26 am

Ginger Blue wrote:

On a serious note, though, folks who garden organically, or those with chemical sensitivities, need to carefully consider what kind of toilet paper is best used for creating seed tape, especially when planting edibles.
...

Agree! When I first read this thread I was wondering if I could use unbleached coffee filters, which I sometimes use in the bottom of pots. Or maybe unbleached paper towels. Not sure if they have unbleached toilet paper. I've never seen it.

CC

Mellen 6/5/2016, 11:06 am

....and I never thought of what is in TP & paper towels at all. Just the ease of planting the seeds. Sighhh.... back to the drawing board. Thanks everyone for waking me up. Very Happy

Mellen 6/5/2016, 11:20 am

How about this? It's a little pricy, but if all you use it for is seed tape (might have to hide it Very Happy

), it would amortize out?

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/toilet-paper

CapeCoddess 6/5/2016, 11:27 am

Perfect, Melon. Well done! Thanks!
I use other Seventh Generation products but never thought about toilet paper either.

BeetlesPerSqFt 6/5/2016, 10:04 pm

I use Caboo TP - made from sugarcane waste and bamboo fibers. No recycled paper content means no BPA from receipts and inks. And they don't use chlorine bleach implying (though they don't state it outright) no dioxins. The tubes are very sturdy. I used them instead of peat pots (leaving the bottom open) for my nasturtiums, fennel, and dill. They didn't peel open upon getting wet like the thin tubes I've used previously. I was hoping for air pruning since I left the bottoms unsealed, but no such luck. The nasturtiums grew roots out the bottom and up into eachother's tubes... blush

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Best Seed Tape Ever - Rodale Organic Life - Toilet Paper Trick for Small Seeds

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