Making Your Own Seed Discs and Tapes

Making your own seed tapes or seed discs is a great way to prepare for the upcoming gardening year. The advantages are obvious. Sowing itself can be done much more conveniently. No more half-frozen fingers fumbling with radish seeds and the like. Additionally, the spacing is more regular, and homemade sowing aids are cheaper. It's also possible that there are no seed tapes or discs available yet for your favorite plant. And last but not least, you can also process your own harvested seeds with them.

Everything needed for making seed tapes or seed discs is usually found in every household: kitchen paper or paper napkins, cornstarch and water, a small teaspoon or alternatively a syringe or a clean shampoo bottle (travel size), seeds of your choice, and a pen, scissors, and adhesive labels.

Before you start, consider what areas you'll be preparing the sowing aids for (garden beds, balcony boxes, flower pots, etc.). They also make great gifts—heart shapes are especially lovely for this!

For seed tapes, it's best to take two or three sheets of kitchen roll (still attached) and cut them into narrow strips. For discs or hearts, cut individual sheets of kitchen paper into the desired shapes. To do this, place a plate, the relevant plant pot, or a similar object onto the paper towel, trace around it with a felt-tip pen or ballpoint pen, and cut it out. Afterwards, carefully peel off the top layer of the multi-layered paper towel and set it aside.

In a small screw-top jar, add some cold water and a few teaspoons of cornstarch. Screw on the lid, shake well until the starch has dissolved, then briefly bring the mixture to a boil. This should create a viscous paste, which will serve as a type of glue to fix the seeds onto the paper.

Once the paste has cooled (to avoid damaging the seeds), you can apply it in droplets at regular intervals using a teaspoon, cosmetic bottle, or syringe. This makes it easy to set the spacing for your seeds. If you like, you can mark the individual points beforehand with a pen.

Place a dab of this organic paste onto the lower layers of the paper towel for each seed, then carefully place the seed on top. Once a tape or disc is fully populated, lay the reserved top layer of paper over it and gently press down. To ensure the project dries as quickly as possible, it's best to place the tapes or discs on a baking rack or cooling rack.

Don't forget to label your seed tapes or discs so you know what you've planted. Write the plant's name on a small adhesive label and stick it to the edge of the top layer of paper.

Only once the seed tapes and discs are completely dry can they be stored in a cool, dry, and dark place. A shoebox or a food storage container, for example, would be suitable for this.