Back to Eden Gardening

[thistlebloom]

Bee, please tell us how you make your tape. I have never done it, but if I teach the kids garden class again this summer that would be a great thing to have for carrots and other dinky seeds.
In fact I was thinking of having them come over on a winter Saturday to start some seeds for their garden....haven't quite worked out the details yet. Seed tape would be a fine lesson.

 

[Beekissed]

Just used flour paste mixture in a spray bottle and cheap single ply toilet paper. It's easier if you do 3-4ft. sections instead of longer tapes...just easier to manage and fold the toilet paper that way.

I just mist the toilet paper a little to get the seeds to stick a little when I place them at the correct distances, then fold the toilet paper over and mist it a little better, pat it gently...enough to stick the two folds together. Then just let that dry fully before rolling and storing.

Most everyone else does it with a flour paste and dabs that on with a q-tip or paint brush, some use paper towels instead of toilet paper, etc. I used the mister because it was easier and faster. I'm thinking the thicker paste may stick the seed and paper more securely than did my method...I had a few seeds shifting when I rolled the tape but not enough to cause me to change my ways, if you know what I mean.

Don't know which method you'd find easier when working with kids~the paste and dab method or the thinner glue and spray bottle method.

Here's one tutorial: http://ladyleeshome.com/making-seed-tapes/

 

[thistlebloom]

Thank you! The flour mixture doesn't clog the sprayer?

 

[Beekissed]

I had to play with it and get it thin enough to spray, which also left me with a less powerful glue/paste action....probably why some of my seeds dislodged a bit from their spacing when I rolled my tapes. Not many, but saw a few move a little.

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm definitely going to do this, especially with the kids garden...which I guess I will be committing myself to. It will be a great pre-garden lesson.
Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[Beekissed]

Going to put wood ash in the orchard today...that soil grows nothing but moss, so it's badly needed. I have a fire pit in the same section of the lawn and it has a ring of lush, green grass around it for about 8 in. out...then the rest is moss.

Will be interesting to see how that changes the pH of the soil there and if it helps the production and flavor of the apples.

 

[ninnymary]

The leaves I spread around in my beds don't look like they are decomposing fast enough. I think they may still be there when planting time comes around in the spring.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

I know mine will and I'm counting on that. They provide ground cover to suppress weeds, help conserve moisture, attract and feed worms thus keeping the soil loose and absorptive, and will continue to provide compost tea to the soil below each time it rains.

To increase composting speed, one can add nitrogen in some form to feed the bacteria that work in breaking down plant materials. Some recommend blood meal but it's pretty costly. Good ol' manure will help, especially if turned under the top layer of the leaves. I'll be adding aged horse manure to my leaves this winter and more in the spring.

I'm thinking this is going to be one weird weather year, possibly a big ol' drought this spring and summer, so those leaves just may become my best friend long about then.

 

[bobm]

Bee ... Here in the PNW where moss grows EVERYWHERE ( lawns, trees, roofs, etc. ) so to control moss we use iron sulfate. All of the big box stores, grocery stores, etc. stock " Moss out " where the active ingrediant is iron sulfate and they charge an arm and a leg for it. However, If you go to the gardening department and buy the fertilizer iron sulfate, from 1/2 - 1/3 the price. Really WORKS great !

 

[Beekissed]

Spread ashes at the drip line of the apple trees, as nothing grows there but moss. Hope some of that gets down to the roots.

Have been noticing the leaching of nutrients from the BTE garden into the surrounding yard...deep, lush green grass growth all around the perimeter, with long streaks outwards and downhill from the garden, in low places in the yard, from whence that area drains. Almost looks like a leach field for a septic system!


All of the follow up vids on YT about this method described neighboring pastures, lawns and even chicken runs benefiting from the compost tea leaching from any BTE garden or orchard area but I'm now getting to see it firsthand. It gives me an idea of what to expect about the nutrient flow in my soil directly underneath this huge compost pile.

My rhubarb is up and I've noticed how deep green the leaves are...very deep green. Lovely!