In December I signed up for a Kickstarter campaign for a product designed to take the guesswork out of vegetable gardening. I wanted to help the folks at Seedsheet turn their idea into reality for streamlining the process of planting a vegetable garden.

Just like its descriptive name, Seedsheet is a preplanted garden that’s ready to unroll and water.

Earlier this month, as a reward for being one of the early supporters, I received my 1-foot by 3-foot herb Seedsheet. The Seedsheet is preplanted with basil, cilantro, parsley and dill.

I had to wait for the rainy weather to go away before I could take the Seedsheet out for a trial. The seed pods are encased in the same material that’s used by the pharmaceutical industry to make it easier for pills to dissolve, so it’s important not to get the pods wet before it’s time to plant.

The process is so easy that just about anyone could plant a Seedsheet garden by knowing which side of the sheet faces down. The instructions say the Seedsheet can save anywhere between 30 minutes to 4 hours of planting time or the equivalent to drinking at least 4 beers.

Because my small vegetable garden plot is reserved for tomatoes and squash plants, I decided to plant the Seedsheet in a plastic trough container. It was easy to cut the weed barrier cloth to select the number of pods to plant. I used the enclosed landscape staples to keep it in place and stored the leftover section in a cool, dry location for next season.

Watering in the seeds may be the most challenging (and time consuming) part of gardening with this product. The instructions make it clear to start by gently misting the seed pods with a spray bottle or misting nozzle. That’s because a watering can will dissolve the pods too quickly and spread the seeds over the top of the fabric. (Please don’t ask me how I know this.)

Keep spraying until the soil is nice and moist. Just like when seeds are planted in the conventional way, the seeds need to be kept moist until they germinate.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it grows.

The folks at Seedsheet have some good ideas for the future of their product. At the website, gardeners will be able to plug in their zip code to have a Seedsheet customized to their taste and environment. All of the seeds are organic, non-GMO and “optimized for their specific characteristics, companion benefits and climate compatibility,” according to the FAQ page on the website.

I think the Seedsheet is a great idea or I wouldn’t have signed on. I’m all in favor of anything that helps more beginning gardeners get started gardening – or helps older gardeners keep growing.

Seedsheet would be especially helpful to anyone interested in planting in a community garden raised bed. All they’d have to do is prepare the soil, unroll the Seedsheet and spray the pods. It could give new meaning to the idea of “making the bed.”

What do you think of this new approach to “agricultural plant-by-numbers” for growing vegetable gardens?