I love the salt-shaker idea!

Sometimes I do the same thing with an empty pill bottle. I drill a small hole in the cap. Sometimes I add white sand so I can tell where I have or haven't shaken.

Then I use a 2-liter Coke bottle filled with vermiculite to cover the seeds.

I have a plunger-gadget and a dial-an-opening hockey-puck-shaped gadget.
I haven't yet bought the suction-and-needle puffer gadget, but I have one blunt-end needle that I might glue onto a turkey-baster-bulb.

The best thing I've seen for "put exactly ONE seed EXACTLY where you want it is from Lee Valley Tools. Precisely-sized indentations in thick plastic, like a mini-micro one-seed-scoop/

http://www.leevalley.com/en/ga...

Someone said that he used a pencil sharpened to a point, then dipped in water, to pick up one seed at a time.

I've used a tiny plastic or stainless steel measuring spoon to scoop one medium-size seed out of an ice-cube tray where I've been soaking them in dilute hydrogen peroxide.

Sometimes I use a small spoon or the plunger-gadget to drop 3-10 seeds onto a dry white saucer. Then I roll them aorund until one is well-separated from the others. I touch a finger to that ONE seed and pick it up, then rub two fingertips together until it drops into roughly the rigt place.


Sorry: no photos!

Jennifer bought that tool from Lee Valley! I have used the sharpened, wet pencil as well. I always start out good but then get impatient so the shaker works well for me. I like the vermiculite in the two liter bottle idea too!

Thanks!

An old salt shaker, I would think, would also work well to spread Diatomaceous Earth for ants. I was spreading the DE with a small plastic cup until I read this tip. Thank you!

Hello everyone, I am kind of new here, and just wanted to say how much I appreciate all the sharing of good information that goes on here! I also use the "salt shaker" method when planting tiny seeds. Adding the white sand is a great idea to keep track of where you've been!
I also use a thin strip of masking tape. Just the cheap kind. I stick it, sticky side up, to my dinner table, a piece about 2 1/2 feet long. Just long enough so it's not awkward to handle. Then I pour the seeds into a shallow saucer, and with tweezers, I grab one seed at a time, and stick to the tape, spaced however far apart from each one I want.
Then I "plow" a shallow trench, lay the tape with the seeds on it into the trench, seed side up, then gently pat a little dirt over it. The masking tape breaks down pretty quickly once wet, and the seeds germinate nicely on it. I think it may even keep the seed from washing away in a hard rain.

I like the idea of the masking tape.
I have a shaker bottle which came with a lid
which allows for different size openings so can sprinkle different size seeds.

Oh my gosh, that's a great idea too. I guess I didn't realize masking tape would break down. I have been using the toilet paper with flour/water glue. I like it but I can't always control the drops of glue and I'm not sure it's good for carrots because this spring the ones I did didn't germinate very well.