Key takeaways
- Seed tapes fix tiny seeds at the right spacing, so there is little or no thinning
- Lay tapes in a drill 1-2cm deep that you watered first, then cover and firm
- Keep the paper damp until the seedlings come up, or germination fails
- Make your own with toilet paper strips, flour-and-water paste and fresh seed
- Less thinning means less carrot scent in the air to draw in carrot fly
Seed tapes are thin paper strips with seeds already fixed at the right spacing. You lay them in a drill, cover them and water. They save fiddly sowing and most of the thinning, which is handy if tiny seeds, cold fingers or stiff knees make sowing a chore.
You can buy them for common crops or make your own at the kitchen table. This guide covers both, plus the one thing that makes or breaks them: keeping the paper damp.
Do seed tapes actually work?
Yes, as long as you keep them moist. The paper holds the seed in place, then breaks down in the soil as the seedlings grow. Each seedling comes up where it should, with no clumps to tease apart and no bare gaps.
Bought tapes are easy to find for carrots, lettuce, radishes and spring onions. Some suppliers also sell round seed discs for pots.
The real gain comes later. With little thinning to do, you waste less seed and save time. For carrots there is a bonus. Thinning releases a scent that draws in carrot fly, so less thinning means less risk. The carrot root fly guide covers the other ways to keep them off.
A neat row of carrot seedlings from a tape. With the spacing done for you, there is very little to thin.
How to sow seed tapes
Sow tapes in a drill 1-2cm deep that you have watered first. Then keep the paper moist until the seedlings show.
- Rake the soil to a fine, crumbly surface. Lumps hold the tape off the soil and the seed dries out.
- Draw a drill 1-2cm deep. Pressing a cane into the soil gives a straight, even drill.
- Water the drill first. The paper must be wet through before the seed can start.
- Lay the tape flat along the drill. Pin each end with a stone or a bent piece of wire so the wind can’t lift it.
- Cover with about 1cm of fine soil or compost and firm gently. This presses the damp paper against the soil.
- Water with a fine rose and keep it moist. In dry weather, check every couple of days until seedlings appear.
Carrots usually take two to three weeks to come up, so stay patient. In raised beds the soil dries faster, so check more often. The raised bed gardening guide has more on keeping beds moist.
A gentle sprinkle keeps the paper damp without washing the soil off. Little and often is the way until seedlings appear.
How to make seed tapes at home
Home-made seed tapes need toilet paper, plain flour, water, a cocktail stick and your seed. It’s a nice job for a wet winter afternoon.
- Cut strips. Tear toilet paper into strips about 2cm wide. If it is two-ply, peel the layers apart.
- Mix the paste. Stir a little plain flour into water until it is thick, like glue. Don’t use wallpaper paste, which often contains fungicide.
- Dot the paste. Use the cocktail stick to dot paste along the strip at your crop’s spacing, such as every 5cm for carrots.
- Add the seed. Drop one or two seeds onto each dot. A damp cocktail stick picks up tiny seeds easily.
- Fold and dry. Fold the strip lengthways over the seeds and press. Leave it flat to dry completely, ideally overnight.
- Store. Roll it up loosely, label it with the crop and date, and keep it in a paper envelope indoors.
Use fresh seed, especially for parsnips, which lose their power to germinate quickly. Old seed leaves gaps along the tape.
Dots of flour paste at even spacing, a seed on each, then fold the strip over. Simple and cheap.
Bought tapes, home-made tapes or loose seed?
Each has its place. Loose seed is cheapest but needs the most thinning. Bought tapes save the most time. Home-made tapes cost very little and let you choose any variety.
Seed tapes are an easy way to get children sowing. The spacing is done, so every seed ends up in the right place.
| Option | Cost | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loose seed | Lowest | Most thinning | Bigger sowings, confident sowers |
| Bought tape | Highest | Least work | Quick sowing, beginners, children |
| Home-made tape | Very low | A winter evening to make | Favourite varieties, saving effort later |
If you like the idea of even sowing but want a head start, fluid sowing is another option. It uses seed that has already started to sprout, mixed into a gel.
Which seeds suit tapes?
Tapes suit small seeds that you sow straight into the ground and that are hard to space by hand.
- Carrots, which hate being thinned. See how to grow carrots for spacing and soil.
- Lettuce and salad leaves
- Radishes, which grow so fast that thinning is easily missed
- Spring onions
- Beetroot and parsnips
Skip tapes for beans, peas, courgettes and sweetcorn. You can place those big seeds one by one. They are also pointless for crops you raise in modules or pots and plant out later, such as brassicas and tomatoes.
A string line keeps the row straight, and a stone stops the tape blowing away before you cover it.
Common seed tape mistakes
Letting the paper dry out. One dry spell before germination can lose the whole row. Water every couple of days in dry weather.
Sowing too deep. Small seeds run out of energy before they reach the light. Stick to 1-2cm and cover with fine soil, not clods.
Laying the tape in a dry drill. Watering only from above may not wet the paper through. Soak the drill first.
Leaving the tape unpinned. A long tape catches the wind. Pin both ends before you cover it.
Storing tapes somewhere damp. A damp shed can make the paste go mouldy. Keep finished tapes indoors.
Frequently asked questions
Do seed tapes actually work?
Yes, as long as the paper stays moist until the seeds germinate. The paper breaks down in the soil and seedlings come up at the right spacing. The big win is far less thinning and less wasted seed.
How deep do you sow seed tapes?
Sow them 1-2cm deep, the same as loose seed of that crop. Water the drill before laying the tape, cover with fine soil or compost and firm gently. Most taped seeds are small, so going deeper can stop them coming up.
Do you still need to thin seedlings from seed tapes?
Very little, because the seeds are already at their final spacing. If two seedlings come up together, snip the weaker one at soil level with scissors. Snipping disturbs carrots less than pulling.
How do you make seed tapes at home?
Stick seeds onto strips of toilet paper with flour-and-water paste. Dot the paste at the spacing your crop needs, put one or two seeds on each dot, fold the strip over and leave it to dry. Then roll it up until sowing day.
How long do home-made seed tapes keep?
They keep about as long as the seed would in its packet. Make sure they are completely dry, then store them in a labelled paper envelope somewhere cool and dry indoors. Damp is what spoils them.
Which seeds work best on tapes?
Small, fiddly seeds such as carrots, lettuce, radishes and spring onions. Beetroot and parsnips work too. Big seeds like beans, peas and courgettes are easy to place by hand, so taping them gains nothing.
Ready to plan your sowings? The seed sowing calendar shows what to sow each month, and there are plenty more ideas in the growing guides.
Our team produces practical UK gardening guidance from source research, contributor records and established horticultural practice. Editorial standards are overseen by Matt W.
