[Trillium]

A lot of folk having trouble outside direct seeding and getting the spacing right. The backs of seed packages always indicate the best spacing but when you're outside it's hard to determine what's what.

This lady figured out something very simple and ingenious. You can use the suggested paper towels, and toilet paper also works beautifully. Here

[Goosegirl]

Page not found when I tried it just now.

[Runwell-Steve]

Yep, that's what I got as well.

[Trillium]

Hmmm, sorry about that. Try this:

http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-22-2009-home-made-seed-mat.html

[flitwickone]

absolute genius

[Yabba]

Absolute genius if you have 100% germination? ( not including the destructive forces of toppling parsnips )

¥

[Plot22]

Is it me or does that look like a lot of hard work.

[skywalker]

I disagree. The time spent thinning and wasting seeds would be just as much time as using this method. Its genius i will be using it.

[mumofstig]

I wonder what goes in to make the glue?...just a thought   

[Swing Swang]

My life really is too short, still I suppose that it's an alternative to sowing using wallpaper paste and an icing bag.

[solway cropper]

Why do people have trouble getting the spacing right. Even with carrot seed it's not difficult and parsnips, beetroot etc couldn't be easier. With good seed sown at the correct time you should get a high germination rate so not too much thinning required.

[Kristen]

I'm happy raising in pots and transplanting. Gets me one plant at each "planting station" and buys me time to get the bed prepared, and no need to get it to fine-tilth for seed sowing, or be at the mercy of the weather for germination. I also think that planting out a small plant helps with the weeding. Hoeing / preparing the soil just before planting means that the next crop of weeds are well behind the plants that I put out - its going to be another week or so before I need to weed the Parsnips, and they were planted out a month ago and are quite decent sized plants now

I kid myself that raising seedlings in pots is the same amount of work as making fine-tilth seedbeds and watering / mollycoddling outside - my seedlings are in the cold conservatory, so I don't need to exert myself much to check on them

But given my only-good-for-making-bricks clay soil its very hard to get a seedbed early in the year when its still wet, or in the summer when its set like concrete.