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Make Your Own Seed Tape – Homemade Seed Tapes From Toilet Paper

Make your own seed tape with some seeds and a roll of toilet paper. Why waste money on store bought seed planting tape when you can make your own seed tape with this common household item?

The tutorial shows you how easy it is to plant tiny seeds in a vegetable garden.

DIY seed tape

Have you ever noticed that some seeds are so small that you end up wasting them at sowing time? This means that you’ll have to thin out a lot of the seedlings later. If you enjoy DIY garden ideas on a budget, this is the project for you.

What is seed tape?

Seed tape

Photo credit Wikimedia commons

Seed tape is a strip that is embedded with pre-sown single or multiple species of seeds. The spacing of the seeds is done for you at the correct distance for growing properly.

The seeds are sown between layers of tissue paper. They are a great help for gardeners who have arthritis or other mobility issues.

Seed tape gives these gardeners a quick and easy way to sow tiny seeds without having to spend a lot of time bent over when sowing the seeds.

DIY Seed Tape made from Toilet paper

Don't break your back sowing seeds for your veggie garden. Use seed tape. Head on over to the Gardening Cook to find out how to make seed tape from toilet paper! #VegetableGardens #seedtape 🍓🍅🌶🥒🥬🥦 Click To Tweet

How to make seed tape

Homemade seed tape is also a really fun project that the kids will love help with.  Making the seed tape gives them a project to do when they are too young to handle garden tools.  

Children will feel that they played a part in the garden when it starts to grow. DIY Seed Starting Tape

Double ply toilet paper works best for this project. It is a little stronger than single ply and will hold the seeds better.Making seed tape

To make your own seed tape, you’ll need these supplies:

  • Double ply toilet paper
  • Seeds for flowers or vegetables
  • Spray bottle or plant mister

To make the seed tape, unroll a strip of toilet paper and mist it with a sprayer. Place the seeds along the center of the strip.Spacing seeds on tape

Be sure to check the package for spacing recommendations to ensure even sowing in the garden.

Start with one long edge and fold a third of the toilet paper over the seeds. Fold the other side over to completely cover the seeds. You will end up with one long strip with seeds encased in the center.

Mist the toilet paper again after lightly tamping down the seeds. This will secure the seeds in the toilet paper.DIY seed tape toilet paper project

To plant the DIY seed tape

Carefully take the vegetable seed tape strip out into the garden. Make a shallow furrow in your seed starting mix and lay the strip down.seed tape laid in a row in a planter

Cover the entire tape lightly according to the depth directions on your package. Mist the soil and wait for the seeds to grow. 

The toilet paper tape will disintegrate in time and the roots will grow through it easily. You should see some signs of growth in 7-10 days

seedlings and trowel in a planter

Tip: Alternate carrot seeds with radish seeds because when the radishes sprout, they help to mark the row and break the ground. 

The two vegetables also make good companion plants.

Vegetable garden hacks like this one save you time and money. See more DIY garden hacks here.

Pin this seed tape project for later.

Would you like a reminder of these tips to make your own seed tape? Just pin this image to one of your gardening boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

Roll of toilet paper

Admin note: This post for making seed tape first appeared on the blog in April of 2013. I have updated the post with new photos, a printable project card, and a video for you to enjoy.

Yield: Strips of tape to sow seeds

Make Your Own Seed Tape

Finished seed tape

Seed tape is a convenient way for gardeners with arthritis to sow seeds evenly without having to spend a lot of time bent over. It's also a great project to do with children.

Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Difficulty easy

Materials

  • Roll of 2 ply toilet paper
  • Package of seeds

Tools

  • Spray bottle or plant mister

Instructions

  1. Unroll a strip of toilet paper about two feet long.
  2. Mist the toilet paper lightly with a mister.
  3. Place seeds along the center of the strip of toilet paper using the seed package's recommendation for spacing.
  4. Starting along the strip’s long edge, fold a third of the paper over the seeds, then fold the other third over to cover the seeds completely.
  5. Mist the toilet paper again after lightly tamping it down.   This will secure the seeds. 
  6. Make as many of these strips as you need.
  7. Carefully take the seed strips out to the garden.
  8. Make shallow furrows in your prepared soil, lay the strips down, and cover them lightly according to depth directions on your seed package.
  9. Water lightly. Sees should begin to sprout in 7-10 days.
  10. The toilet paper will degrade over time.

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Gisele

Monday 15th of April 2019

Very good idea. I am planting tomato seeds today and will try it. Thanks.

linkon

Saturday 8th of July 2017

i likes your article because its quality very high

Rome

Tuesday 7th of March 2017

great idea can make a great man. i likes your idea

Emran

Tuesday 27th of September 2016

i will try to follow your tips

terry suzuki

Wednesday 16th of March 2016

my interests is in the vegetable culture in a small garden such as contaner, patio, kitchen, planter, and so on.Particularly the vegetable growth is in the climate of southern California tropical zone. Your continuous note on the matter is appreiciated. Terry Suzuki, in Southern California. U.S.A.

Carol

Wednesday 16th of March 2016

Hi Terry. I live in NC, not California but last year I grew my veggie garden on my patio. You may be interested in this article. http://thegardeningcook.com/vegetable-garden-on-a-deck/ Carol

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission from the sale, but the price is the same for you. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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