Seed Tapes

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.