This is just for fun. I have been reading about making your own seed tapes. Seed tapes are great for small seeds that are hard to sow evenly - carrots, lettuce, etc. Last year I sowed my carrots in 3 rows and thinned them out as they grew. I had a great harvest of carrots but it was time consuming to thin the carrots. The same can be said for the lettuce. I started most of my lettuce seeds early but the process was again time consuming. The seeds were first sown in a flat tray and when they were large enough to handle, were transplanted into individual cells.
Will making seed tapes cut down on the time? I am not sure but I am going to evaluate the process as the growing season unfolds. Here is what I have done so far.
I started with undyed tissue paper. My rows in my garden are approx. 36" wide. The real planting space is probably more like 30" from row to row since I don't sow at the very edge of the bed. I started by making a grid on the computer of 1" dots and printed that out. I am planting my carrots this year on a 2" spacing. The next step was to transfer the dots at the 2" spacing to the tracing paper. I mixed 1 packet of unflavored gelatin with 1 cup of boiling water and allowed it to partially set. I liked using gelatin because if it gets too hard you can softened it by reheating it. I used a dropper and squeezed a small drop over each dot. I only did one row at a time. I put 2 seeds on each drop and then covered the row with another sheet of tissue paper. I continued on until I finished the entire sheet. I estimate that it took approximately 15-20 minutes to complete a sheet. For the lettuce I put 1 seed at every inch because I plan to use the greens for an early salad as I thin them to 4 inch intervals. The lettuce is a mesclun mix. I discovered that by allowing the gelatin to become sticky, I could pick up a seed on the end of a tweezer and place it on the dot of gelatin and it quickly stuck to the gelatin. It went quickly once I realized the gelatin needed to be slightly set.
Another alternative is grabbing a toilet paper roll and measuring out a piece the length of your rows. Cut in half lengthwise, place seeds 1/3 in from the side and fold over. I also read that you can use a washable white glue (Elmer's) instead of gelatin. The criteria for both the paper and adhesive is that it should disintegrate quickly and be non-toxic. Be creative and use what you have.
I will already give a thumbs up to being able to sit on a chair in a nice warm house sowing tiny seeds at precise intervals! The rest of the story will unfold this summer.
This year everything seems to be moved up by almost a month. Usually the goal is to plant peas in our area on St. Patrick's Day (March 17). This year my peas are starting to poke through the ground, the onions are about 4 inches high, lettuce is growing. 
