Making your own toilet paper planting strips
13.4 years ago outdoor seed starting, seed planting sheets, seed planting strips
My previous attempt at making planting strips worked ok, lapsed a bit on the watering, but had a few surviving carrots. This time around I decided to go with the classic technique at making planting strips with simple toilet paper.
1. Start with single ply. If you buy the fancy double-triple ply toilet paper you will want to pull them apart to start with a single layer. This will make it even easier for your seeds to push their roots through the paper.
2. Cut to appropriate widths. You should be able to get four lengths of planting strip (eight lengths for double ply) by cutting the paper lengthwise 4 times. In my case I only needed 3 so I simply cut mine into thirds.
3. Apply some glue using a glue stick. Hold one end of the paper and use a little dap of glue for the appropriate spacing for my carrots I did just a little under 2 inches (just eye balling no measuring required.
4. Attach the seeds. Simple drop a few seeds in the area and press gently with your finger to ensure they are in place. I then pick up the paper and lightly shake off any seeds that did not stick and reapply seeds as needed.
5. Plant the strips. There is no reason to wait for these to dry, you can plant them immediately or wait a few days/weeks until you are ready. Lay in the desired location, cover will a bit of soil and give a light watering. In a few weeks you should have perfectly straight and spaced rows the seeds of your choice.
