Have you seen the seed tape they sell in seed catalogs and at gardening centers? It's supposed to help you space tiny seeds appropriately. It is best not to thin some seedlings, such as carrots. With this in mind, I made my own seed tape out of flour paste (flour and water), carrot seeds, and toilet paper, cut into long thin strips. I used a q-tip to dot the flour paste on the paper strips at the correct intervals, and then placed a seed on each dot. It was easy and fast. Here are the supplies:
And some of the finished "tape":
It was strong and easy to handle. I put the strips in my raised beds, covered them with a little soil, and watered. Unfortunately, the squirrels dug up and destroyed all the seed tape in days! I suppose they were looking for nuts. Not surprisingly, nothing germinated. Maybe next year I will use floating row covers or red pepper flakes sprinkled in the beds.
And some of the finished "tape":
7 comments:
Hey Baby, I just found this as a possible reason/solution for why squirrels are always picking on your plants: "According to Jerry Baker, master gardener, the squirrels eat things in the garden primarily because they're THIRSTY. He suggests keeping a couple of bird baths full of water for them instead of killing or torturing them."
LOL I haven't been killing or torturing them! Let's get a bird bath for the back yard - it's definitely worth a try.
Ginger,
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a nice comment. I enjoyed my visit to your blog and welcome you to "Bloggerland".
This post about making your own seed tapes is cool though those pesky squirrels are bad guys. I simply had to stop putting out bird seed in my feeders because it attracted more squirrel varmits than birds (plus they drove my two terriers crazy). I now have no squirrel digging or damage in my yard and my bulbs and plants stay safe and sound. There are several acres of woods behind our house so the squirrels and birds can fend for themselves.
Catch your blog again soon...you are off to a good start!
Jon in Vicksburg at Mississippi Garden
Jon,
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for the squirrel advice! I always enjoy your blog and your beautiful photographs!
I had the same problem with squirrels, but I don't really have any solutions. I just planted a bunch and hoped for the best. And I did get a few tiny carrots last year.
The homemade seed tape is cool! What a neat idea.
Glad to have you blogging now. I'll add a link from my blog if that's ok?
Thanks for visiting my blog Lisa! I'd love a link on your blog!
I planted carrots the normal way last year and, like you, had a few tiny ones (like three inches long and pencil thin - lol). I chalked it up to inconsistent watering on my part. I am giving up on carrots!
Squirrells!!!! How something so cute and furry can be destructive. This is why I don't seed...they seek and destroy. This year I am going to invest in a kiddie pool and fill it with soil and start my seeds, then plant them when they are large enough to transplant
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