Thursday, May 8, 2014

Seed Mats- A Legacy

Today, I made seed mats for my radishes. I started this years ago after reading this tutorial.

The woman behind that blog and the information was lovingly referred to as Granny. Through blog comments and emails, Granny became a special friend of mine. She "got" my humor and even appreciated it. She always tried to steal Buddy, our dog, even though she lived so far away. She also tried to get Mr Farmer to travel out there to do some chores for her. I wish now that I had sent her that loaf of fresh bread she always wanted when I'd post about baking it.

Granny had so much gardening knowledge that she passed along to those who read her blog. She walked me through planting potatoes for the first time last year. I thought of her the other day when we planted our potatoes for this year.

Granny passed away last night from a quick battle with cancer.

I will always remember her humor and think of her when planting my gardens.

So, in honor of her, I will pass along her seed mat tutorial in the above link and in the post to follow below.

First, get the cheapest toilet paper, napkin, or paper towels available to you. Grab your seeds, a marker, a ruler, and white school glue (water clean up).


I used strips of toilet paper this year. Measure out and draw lines according to the spacing directions on your seed packet.


Now, at each intersection, place a drop of glue and then a seed.


After doing a couple of these, I decided I wanted to speed things up. So, I stacked three strips on top of each other. I measured out my lines on the top one.



Then, I took my marker and made a dark dot at each intersection making sure to let it bleed through the toilet paper.


Now I just had to put a drop of glue on each dot and place the seed.


I let the seed mats dry and will put them in the garden tomorrow. I'll just place them on the soil and cover them with a light covering of soil and water them in. The toilet paper and the glue will disintegrate, leaving only the seeds- in perfect lines. This also keeps the tiny seeds from blowing all over when trying to plant them on a windy day.

14 comments:

  1. thanks for coming by, langela! Granny had time for everyone and i think that's what made her so special.

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    1. How she managed to do that and everything else she accomplished, definitely made her special.

      Thanks for stopping in!

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  2. After reading your posts, I always read the comments and looked forward to those from Granny. She did get your humor. I loved seeing her comments. Sorry for your loss and her families loss.

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  3. Missing Granny like you. :-( She was absolutely wonder. A beautiful soul. Glad to see you put your own tutorial together. Sharing is what she is all about!

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    1. Thanks, Barbara, for stopping by. She will certainly be missed and remembered for years to come.

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  4. Sorry to hear Granny is no longer with us. She will be missed by many and I am so sad for her family who I know will really miss such a wonderful lady.

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  5. I to am missing my long distance friend. She is the reason I have followed your blog.

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    1. It's funny how we can get so close to someone so far away, isn't it? I think she's the reason I have any followers. :)

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  6. It is so easy to get close to someone even though we may have never met them in person. Some people think that can't be done, but it can be. Granny was a neat lady and I always loved reading her replies to you. I think this is a nice tribute to a beautiful woman who had a beautiful soul. I'm glad that Granny's fight wasn't long as cancer is a nasty thing to have to fight. Now she is at peace and with God. Thanks for sharing this trick that she taught with us. Big Hugs cause I know how sad you must feel.

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    1. She was certainly special. I think it helps getting to know someone when you find blogs from people that have like interests. It's a good starting point and helps you feel like you already know a little about them.

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