earthway garden seeder?

[greenthumb]

I have been looking at this to plant our garden this year. I would like to know if they work or has anyone used or seen one used and do they save time we plant about two acres of veggies each year and I would like to see if the earthway planter would be worth the money. I have seen them online for about $70 plus shipping

thanks

 

[GareyD]

I have one and wouldn't do without it for the garden...waaaaay easier than hand dropping seeds, spaces well and marks the next row as you plant...

Look into the extra seed plates that are available...the supplied plates work well for most seed, but the extra money for the additional plates is well spent...

GareyD

 

[Bird]

I bought mine, same price, at a local farm supply store (Gebo's) for that same price, then ordered the additional plates and a little canvas bag that attached to the handle to store the plates in so they were all always handy to change. So I had a total of approximately $90 in it. Handy little tool; sold it to a cousin when I had to move back to town.

 

[Molerj]

I have one too, I only use it for planting corn & beans.

 

[fishman]

When I was a kid we used one to plant about a half acre of garden and it worked quite well. As I recall, the soil had to be tilled pretty fine in order for the planter to efficiently cover the seeds. It also worked best with larger seeds like beans and corn. You could flat plant some ground with it if you wanted to. . . and my folks did. Boy did I get tired of picking green beans in the summer and eating canned beans all winter.

With two acres, you would save a lot of time.

 

[timb]

We have an older model - had mixed results. As was mentioned above - worked best on larger seeds and had to have a nicely tilled bed. I wouldn't bother for a small or medium garden with shorter rows but it worked great when we were planting 75-100 foot rows of sweet corn. I see they have a fertilizer attachment now - anyone know if that will work on older units - and if it is intended to fertilize as you plant or in a separate pass?

Tim

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( the soil had to be tilled pretty fine in order for the planter to efficiently cover the seeds )</font>

Yep, I usually just drug a hand rake down the rows after planting to be sure they were well covered.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( worked best with larger seeds )</font>

I think it works quite well even with the smallest seeds if you have the right plates. I used it for radishes and turnips as well as the larger seed.

 

[GareyD]

Yep, I've used mine for about all seeds...the only problem I had was with beet seeds...bought the additional plates and even that problem went away.... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

GareyD

 

[Saxman]

I have had one for 10 years or so, I would not be without one. The savings in seed and uniformity that they are planted is GREAT. If you are a serious gardener, you HAVE to have one!! In my opinion.

 

[sassafraspete]

If you are putting in large rows of things like corn and beans, they are the cat's meow. My brothers and I used to put in a large garden in short order . I can still picture my oldest brother pushing that seeder along. Sometimes we had less than ideal conditions to work our clay ground and it would have some clods. Since the plates turn via a belt to the wheels...sometimes the wheels would skoot along instead of turning...and of course no seed would drop. When the ground was prepared poorly, I could always tell ...as the spacing on the corn would be erratic due to the wheel skoot. If the ground is in good shape, the wheel will roll just fine, and seeds will drop properly. Since we cultivated with a tractor, we would string a line as a guide for the planter...and also space it properly for the tires on the tractor. I remember one time when my brother got mixed up and didn't stay on the same side of the line...we had alternating wide and narrow rows. It was hard to cultivate that year....we had to use troybuilt only. Didn't have the fertilizer holder...but I always thought that might be a really good thing, especially with planting corn. All this garden talk has me thinking about fresh corn on the cob !!

sassafraspete

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Didn't have the fertilizer holder )</font>

Pete, all your post sounds very familiar except that comment about the fertilizer holder; don't know what you meant by that. I, too, used a string to lay out the rows. I started by driving stakes (half inch steel) at each end of all the rows, then strung a string to follow with the planter. And for my green beans and blackeyed peas, I liked double rows; ran the planter down one side of the string and back down the other side. For the other seeds, I'd just go down one side of the string. Both my water hydrants were one the same side of the garden, so after the seeds sprouted I'd pull all the stakes on the opposite side, but leave those on the side where the water hydrants were so they served as guides so I could drag a water hose down between the rows without it getting on any of the plants.

 

[sassafraspete]

Bird, I think you can get an optional fertilizer hopper attachment for them (TIMB mentioned in his post). Seems like it would be good for corn...which needs a lot of nitrogen. I usually side dress my corn after it is up. I always wondered if the fertilizer hopper would make it tipsy. I have knocked my planter over many times and had to pick up spilled beans/corn. They could make a better stand. I still like my old fashion push plow for some things. For peas, I also would make double rows (down each side of the string), however I like to really sow them thick...(I think they do better)...so use the push plow. Your mention of the blackeyed peas...really makes me hungry. My wife has southern roots, and when we got married, I was soon planting crowder peas, blackeyed peas, and collard greens. As a northerner...I'd never grown any of those. Now, I'd take the crowder peas and corn bread, any day over the horticulture shell-outs we planted. Funny, thing, my folks also started enjoying these southern treats as well. Gee, all this garden talk is making me hungry. The defining garden moment for me is picking that first tomato. Sinking my teeth into the sweet corn would have to come in second.

pete

 

[Libertine]

greenthumb:
As some others have said, the Earthway works fine however, the seed bed has to be "just right" (not too wet, correct fineness, etc). Also, even with all their seed plates, some smaller seeds don't space well & you'll still need to do some thinning. Their seed plates interchange with the older Golden Harvest brand seeder (made by a different company) which does a bit better job covering the seed. I recently restored an older Golden Harvest and like the way it "handles" a bit better than the Earthway.
Also available are the old Planet Jr which is far heavier and better made (not made any more, but can be picked up used for around $150+ in good condition). Finally, if you want to go top of the line look at the Nibex (made in Sweden).
Happy seeding.
JEH
PS Regarding the fertilizer attachment, I have found it works fine IF you have exactly the right consistency and what you are side dressing isn't the wrong size, the least bit moist, etc. In short the Earthway is excellent IF all the conditions are perfect, but it doesn't have as much flexibility for less than perfect conditions.

 

[john sharp]

I picked up a golden harvest planter off of craigs list anyone know what the number sequence for the plates are,I can see the corn plate is the large spacing not sure of the rest thx.

 

[jbooth]

Heres a youtube video of the cajun gardener. He tells how he sets up his earthway planter. He has a lot of other videos concerning gardens/gardeners. He's a good southern boy and talks slow enough to understand. Could drag a short chain (better make that a short light chain since this is a pusher) to help covering the seed.

YouTube - Setting your EarthWay Planter - Growing a Vegetable Garden

 

[john sharp]

Says it all, thanks for the info,JS