Materials & Tools

An empty plastic tub - preferably one with a lip around the edge of the lid.
Kitchen roll
Craft knife
Scissors
 

Step 1

Mark a slot along one end of the lid.
 

Step 2

Carefully cut the slot with the craft knife and/or scissors.
 

Step 3

Cut a sheet of kitchen roll to roughly the width of the lid.

Step 4

Feed the kitchen roll through the slot, leaving enough to cover the lid on the upper face.

Step 5

Fill the tub with water. Drape the lower part of the kitchen roll in the water, then seal the lid.
 

Step 6

After about 10-20 minutes, the top of the kitchen roll should be wet due to capillary action

Step 7

Sow seeds onto the damp kitchen roll.

Step 8

Check the water level in the tub, and top up if necessary.

• A full tub of water should keep the kitchen roll moist for at least a week, providing stable conditions for any seeds to germinate.
  This makes it an ideal solution for people who can only go to their allotment at weekends.
• This system should provide ideal conditions for things like parsnips, which are often difficult to get to germinate.
• Once seeds have sprouted, they should be carefully moved into pots of compost, or their final growing position in the case of parsnips.