Hi greeneyes
Have you ever made your own seed tape?
I saw some DIY directions online, and was wondering if anyone has had any luck with making it yourself. I’d like to try it this year....I waste so many seeds by hand sowing.
http://www.gardenbetty.com/2012/03/make-your-own-seed-tape/
Buying it is costly and mostly you can’t get the seed varieties you want. :D
I tried it twice. Once with Elmers and once with a homemade concoction I found on “How To...”. Didn’t work well for me.
Here’s what I do now. I use tweezers to handle the little seeds - I think that may have been a tip from tubebender.
I take a stick and poke a shallow hole where needed, and eyeball the placement. For example if I need to plant five seeds I place a one at each edge, one in the middle and one at each midpoint of the distance between the edge and middle, then use the tweezer to put the seed in the hole and use a finger to push some soil on top.
I also use my fingers to measure, if I’m planting according to inches. When I make the V for Victory sign and poke my fingers into the dirt, that’s a two inch span between the holes. My middle finger is right at 3 inches long.
From the tip of my middle finger to my wrist is 6 inches. I used to know the distance from the tip of my middle finger to my elbow, but that knowledge has atrophied, since I got a tiny measuring tape on my key chain.
This was useful info when I used to shop for household Items that had to be a certain size, but weren’t labeled with dimensions. I came up with it when I was about 12, found it useful, and continued to use it for quick and dirty estimates.
Another way is to put a seed in a tiny Dixie cup of seed starter and let it start indoors - better germination and very useful for older seeds - it also conserves water. Once it is up a ways, transplant according to the distance you need between plants. No empty spaces to go back and refill, and no thinning needed.
That looks like a really good idea. I wonder if making your own glue with flour and water would also work.