Toilet Paper & Seeds

You're probably asking yourself "how does toilet paper and seeds relate?"  Good question.  And I thought the same thing when I read about this method in one of the books I got for Christmas.  The book, I Garden: Urban Style, discusses space and time saving techniques for those who live in an urban environment or apartments.  It goes from the basic "which garden suits you" to recipes for what you grow.  In "Chapter Five: Grow It" there is a nice tidbit about seed tape.  Thus toilet paper and seeds go hand in hand.

Here's how my experience with creating my own seed tape went:

Step 1 Gather the Materials:

• Non-toxic glue
• Cheap toilet paper
• Scissors
• Tape measure or ruler
• Seeds w/shallow bowl
• Tray

For this, I used a lid from one of the seed trays putting sheets of white paper underneath for contrast should I drop a seed off the toilet paper.  And I had a slight dilemma - which seeds to I wish to plant using this method? The Danvers Half Long or Scarlet Nantes?  I went with the Scarlet Nantes. 

Step 2 Cut: Measure the area or container (as is my case) to determine the length of the toilet paper.  Then cut strips.  Now keep in mind that that you can start several batches at two-week intervals to have a steady supply of carrots.  I usually do this with the mini-nantes because the thumb sized carrots are great sauteed with orange zest throughout the summer...just saying...

Step 3 Glue the Seeds: This step will give you tacky fingers but work in small batches instead of trying to finish the whole strip at once.  To hold the seeds, I used a shallow bowl with only a few seeds in it.  Also, don't slather the glue on because then all you get is toilet paper glued to whatever tray you are using.  The package says plant in rows 12" and then when seedlings emerge thin to 3".  Because you don't know if EVERY seed is going to work, I put the seeds on the strip every inch (or close enough).  Once they start to grow then I will thin or replant as needed.

Step 4 Plant: The package directions say cover with 1/2" of soil and with the seed tape all you need to do is lay it out wherever you'll be planting and cover.  The end. :)

This year I'm planning on at least two varieties of carrots in several containers.  Last year, they played well with the cucumbers, which I had on a cotton and bamboo trellis.  So a few will hang out with the cucumbers and others will go into other containers in cycles.  With self-watering containers it makes growing carrots so much simpler.  Because the seeds are so small and plants close to the surface they are easily disturbed in traditional pots.  So here's my challenge for you this season: Grow a small container of carrots.  You can thank me later :)

On a side note: I have a baby eggplant.  Out of the two seeds I planted, only one took, but check out the handsome lil' bugger.  Adorable, isn't it?  Guess the heat mat does it when growing eggplant.  This one is a Black Beauty variety.

I planted four bell pepper seeds but none of them took so I replanted and am now crossing my fingers that at least one emerges.  If not, oh well, I'll pick up a few plants from the local nursery.

By now if you are in my zone (which is 5), you should be starting lettuce, chard, kale, endive, carrot, radish, beet, turnip, kohlrabi, and parsnip outside as well as onion sets or transplants.

Good luck and don't forget to leave a comment on your garden's progress!!