A couple of weeks ago, I decided to create my own seed mats after seeing a tutorial given by Gran at Annie's Kitchen Garden. I have to admit, the concept was completely new to me and I was very excited to give it a try. If you've ever seen photos of Eliot Coleman's Four Season Farm, you'd be amazed at the level of accuracy and neatness that can be accomplished by a 6-row seeder (which can by purchased at Johnny's at a hefty price). I wanted to be able to duplicate this on a much smaller scale in my home garden.

I had listed the many potential benefits of using seed mats that I could come up with in an earlier post. For instance, I could see how they would be useful for small seeds and crops that do not require a large amount of space in which to grow. From my own experience, I've found certain seeds to be particularly tedious to handle and sow into neat rows (wild arugula seed, for example, is the size of a grain of sugar). And having to thin carrot seedlings is a chore that my back would gladly live without. Finally, as I'm just about to harvest some of my Hakurei turnips, I've noticed that growth has been pretty irregular due to the fact that the spacing between each plant is not consistent, a problem I'm hoping to solve with these mats.


I decided to grow a quick crop of radishes (30 days to maturity) using this method. To construct the seed mat, I used fast food chain style napkins that measured 12" x 12" when unfolded. On each napkin, I was able to fit 24 radish seeds spaced 2 inches apart. Since my raised beds measured 6 feet in length, I was able to align comfortably about 5 and a half mats down one strip.

I amended the soil in my bed and leveled it using a garden rake before positioning the mats seed side up. I then covered the mats with about a half inch of compost and watered well. It was as easy as that.


One week later, about 90% of my radishes germinated and sprouted within a 24 hour period. They look impeccably spaced and their growth appears very consistent. I'm extremely happy with the results. This past weekend, I sowed some mache, minutina and Tango lettuce using the same method. Hopefully they will do just as well.

Wishing you a bountiful harvest,
Thomas
A Growing Tradition