We are going to be planting a good size garden plot for corn(60' X 100') and the kids won't be around this year to help.(there goes our free labor! lol)
I found this from Lehmans: http://www.lehmans.com/store/Outdoors___Gardening___Planting_and_Seeding___Lehman_s_reg__Best_Seed_Planter___H737359?Args=
Has anyone used this or something similar? Not sure what to look for and if they work well or not.
Thanks for any input! :-)
Anyone use a Seed Planter?
I had one long ago when I had soft sandy soil, and about a half acre of corn.
I LOVED it! So easy! Back saver.
Ability to plant seeds as tiny as lettuce.
I did start walking funny when I was running the machine, I stepped in a sort of spraddledy zig zag because I didn't want to step on my freshly covered seeds. It didn't like rocks over a coupla inches big. Your soil should be freshly tilled and quite soft.
I saw an antique one once, all made out of cast iron. Like old stuff, it was beautiful.
You won't regret buying it, even at that price, which, by the way, is about what I paid more than thirty years ago! I do really small gardens now. Really small!
I have one and the only problem I have with is it tends to plant the seed to close together. Seed is cheap but they will go through a lot of seed. I also have the fert attachment for it, but don't use it very much
Thank you both! I'll make sure we plant right after it's tilled.
Amazon has the same planter at a lower price, and the reviews from customers were interesting. You might want to take a look at that page before you commit to one, although it sounds as though it would work well for your operation.
I have tried filling the holes, and it does work somewhat. On the Earthway website are the specs for the plates as to how far apart the seeds are dropped. They also sell a blank plant and you can make your own.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to go over to Amazon and Earthway to check them out. :-)
I love them for beans, peas and corn. They're a real time saver and do a good job of covering to a uniform depth. I have my Dad's and he loved it because it spared his arthritis somewhat.
Dorothy, but would they make sense for a medium-sized potager? I would love to be able to avoid getting down in the dirt to plant my seeds, since planting time is usually gnat time, too, and they really bother me! But I'm only talking about twenty- or forty-foot long rows, here.
I don't do corn, but do plant beans and peas and other row crops, and it would be nice to have them spaced evenly without breaking my back.
I think so. Of course you have a shorter growing season and may not use it as much on that account. My rows were about 40 to 50' and I kept succession plantings of corn, beans and peas going from March to August. It does seem to use a lot of seed but I think germination is better due to the uniform depth and thinning is easier than planting to me. I like the wide row planting and it was easy just to move over a few inches for another pass. It let me make rows straighter too. I'd put a stick or even a big clump of weeds at the end and just aim for it. I never had the fertililzer attachment but was considering it. They're lightweight and can easily hang from a wall or ceiling hook for storage. If I could go back to row planting in the dirt, I'd consider it essential equipment.
Sounds like that method might use up too much seed for me, since I typically just use packets or small amounts that I've saved from year to year. Maybe what I should do instead is invest in one of those little plastic seed dispensers as a compromise. I don't think my rows are really long enough to take advantage of a planter, either, since my garden is divided up by a brick walk.
My rows are 30" wide and I use a rake with two rubber fingers attached to make neat furrows if I'm planting double rows, or I just use one of the fingers if I'm planting in the center of the plot. That gives me straight lines of veggies.
This message was edited May 29, 2009 1:33 PM
Your garden is looking great. I did the tripods last year and it worked very well. This year I tried to skimp by using a single and lashing them with crosswise sticks. Now the whole thing is a mess and badly leaning. I've learned another lesson the hard way. Your space looks small enough to manage as you say. Sowing seeds is tedious to me but my favorite is to see them come up.
Twiggy, I also love seeing the seeds come up, and watching the tomatoes and other plants I started inside catching hold and taking off once they're in their permanent location. That's such a great feeling! By the way, the little white cup tops that you can barely see next to the tall yellow marigolds are pepper plants - some of them might look familiar! They took forever to germinate, though. Next year I'm going to start my peppers and eggplant a lot earlier.
Thanks; that's the impression I was getting. That's not the way it's described in the sales hype, but it does seem like overkill for a smaller garden.
Very much so, overkill for small. I'd guess if you had, like I did, 50 to 100 foot rows, then this little gizmo would be perfect.
But we just have 'fresh' gardens, not 'put up' gardens that provide for canning and freezing a winter's food. Been there, done that-- all I did all day every day was fiddle with food. But then, I'd go to the grocery store for flour and salt, and everything there looked yukky.
I agree it is overkill for small gardens but mine was free so I use it. :)