# earthway seeders!!



## wheresdabeef (Mar 9, 2005)

Hey all! Did a search and the last info on the forum from 07, any new exp. with using the earthway seeder, would like to get one to plant 100' rows of beans, popcorn , beets and the like. I always work up the ground well, then lay out the rows all at once, then i could take the seeder and run the row and be done!! Thanks for the input>


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## ca2devri (Feb 29, 2008)

Do it! It's the cheapest seeder you can find and does a half-decent job. To do a full-decent job I think you'd have to spend a lot more. You will save a metric ton of time. Get the extra seed plates too as you'll have a lot more options. It takes a bit of playing around to get the seeding rate you want. You can tape up holes in plates if you want to make adjustments.

Chris


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## Missy M (Mar 2, 2007)

Just watch what you pay. The ones on ebay are more expensive than a new one. Goggle it and you can get a new one at a good price..


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

I'm debating between the Earthway and an attachment to the Glaser Wheel hoe http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5963-glaser-seeder-conversion-kit.aspx

I've heard the Earthway is nice but it has "issues." I just wonder if the Glaser might be better. 

I need one but I'd hate to buy the Earthway and find out a week later that something else is a superior seeder.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

If you can justify almost 4 times the cost take a look at the JP1 at the site below. I watched YouTube videos on it and I liked what I saw.

http://www.willsie.com/brochures/seeder_brochure_january_2010.pdf

If you don't wish to spend that much to get better precision or are unwilling to plant by hand then go for the Earthway. Many here seem pleased with them and there should be many more recent threads concerning them. Did you check the Market Gardener forum?


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

I use one and like it. Saves me a lot of time not planting by hand. I kept checking ebay till I found one, think I paid $25, maybe $35 for it. I till well before I use it as hitting clumps of dirt makes it hard to push and keep in a straight line.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

The Earthway is a decent, inexpensive option, but it's not perfect. The Glaser is way overpriced IMO, and the others above that range are just crazy expensive. I'd look for a used machine.


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

Windy in Kansas said:


> If you can justify almost 4 times the cost take a look at the JP1 at the site below. I watched YouTube videos on it and I liked what I saw.
> 
> http://www.willsie.com/brochures/seeder_brochure_january_2010.pdf
> 
> If you don't wish to spend that much to get better precision or are unwilling to plant by hand then go for the Earthway. Many here seem pleased with them and there should be many more recent threads concerning them. Did you check the Market Gardener forum?


 I like the way that one looks,but a little more than I would want to spend lol.I have used the earthway planter for about thirty years and it does the job for me. Heres one at Parks that looks pretty good,but never heard any comments on it.Priced pretty reasonable to. Anybody familiar with it?? http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/s...&SearchUnion=Y&CustSearchText=seeder&x=11&y=9


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

We used an Earthway for the first time last year. It does very well, but is a little lightweight for our heavy soil. We are going to try fastening a brick (or two) to the top this year, to give it a little more heft.

We use a pipe planter (homemade jab planter) for corn, but the Earthway for everything else.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Here's a manual one that looks interesting too:

www.standnplant.com/index.htm


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

I just watched the video for this stick planter at Johnny's: 

www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6427-seed-stick-planter.aspx

It looks like it goes along as fast as the wheeled seeders and would be a whole lot more truly "precise" because you control when the seed drops. I wish there were more reviews from folks who've used it.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

And, in reading the descriptions of all these more closely, the stick/jab type planters work best with medium to large seeds. They're not recommended for smaller seeds like carrot or beet. I wonder if most of the problems people have with the Earthway (skips, jams, or double seeding) might be mainly with the smaller seeds?

Maybe all of them work fine on larger seeds and none of them work well on small seeds?


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

happydog said:


> I wonder if most of the problems people have with the Earthway (skips, jams, or double seeding) might be mainly with the smaller seeds?
> 
> Maybe all of them work fine on larger seeds and none of them work well on small seeds?


The smaller seeds always caused issues with the one I had as well as the Lambert I had.
Well that and imprecise seeding from multiple drops meaning a lot of thinning and more seed consumption. I despise thinning. Tough to kill a desired living plant that is simply in the wrong spot. Very time consuming as well. Did I mention time consuming? Thinning carrots is the worst.


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

A couple of years ago, I found directions for modifying an Earthway seeder so as not to have problems using smaller seeds. We didn't have any problems last spring, our first year with the unit, so I never looked up the site again.

However, I remember it was easy and involved some nuts and bolts and a pvc cap -- nothing hard or involved. I'm sure a Google search would turn up the site again.


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## Yellow Creek (Nov 15, 2007)

I think this is the link Monica in MT suggested:

http://wannafarm.com/earthway-seeder-fix/

This may also help:

http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/crop...ations+for+Optimal+Use+of+a+Garden+Seeder.htm


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## knoche (Feb 9, 2009)

I like the suggestion for the Earthway fix.
The only problem I have had with this seeder in 40 years has been exactly that - the seed plate gets small seeds behind it and then grinds the seed up and frequently jambs up. Still, for the moeny this is probably one of the best seeders I have ever had.
Several folks have reported that leaving the seeder outside in the sun or cold for even short times can warp the plates or the housing making this problem even worse.
I have used a dry lubricant spray that does improve things a bit but the fix in the article does a far better job.
I have even used the Earthway to plant grains on small plots with good results.
The link on the LSU site provides some advice on which plates to use for different seeds. Experience has led me to similar conclusions as the advice on the plates has often been sub-optimal.

For small seed I would suggest taking a look at the seeder on, http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-226-seeders-and-parts.aspx
I particularly like the idea of the six row seed but have not wanted to spend that kind of money. The four row at half the price seems a bit better.

With all seeders there are two issues - singulation and spacing. The big problem with all seeders is getting the singulation (drop exactly one seed at a time) right.
There are lots of ways to do this and there are lots of patents on various solutions. The Earthway uses a simple inexpensive but inexact method that is common with lots of other historic seeders and there are a lot of variations. The ones on the Johnny's website use a dimple in the shaft which can work a bit better but not as much flexibility on seed size (works great for standardized pelleted seed).
Another method is a vacuum method and there are several variations on this. One of the types uses a seed pate similar in concept to the Earthway but not as a cup but a precise hole - vacuum holds a single seed in place over a hole until it is scrapped off and drops in the tube. Another type uses hollow "needles" or nozzles on a hub - the needles pick up a single seed by vacuum and drop it in a tube.
The vacuum seeders can be very precise and reliable but they are not cheap and they need some way to generate the vacuum, usually an electric pump.
About the lowest cost example is http://www.suttonag.com/SeedAce.html ($2400 plus additional nozzles)

Almost all of the seeders use some form of mechanical belt or gearing to get the seed spacing. This is less critical and even the simplest systems seem good enough.
You get more rows with any of the seeders by ganging multiple units side by side.
Some of the larger commercial seeders use multiple tubes connected to a single singulation unit and some form of mechanical selector to direct the seed into one of the tubes leading down to the soil.
As is almost always seems to be the case for speed, quality, and price - choose any two.
Everything is a trade off of one criteria against another.


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

happydog said:


> I just watched the video for this stick planter at Johnny's:
> 
> www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6427-seed-stick-planter.aspx
> 
> It looks like it goes along as fast as the wheeled seeders and would be a whole lot more truly "precise" because you control when the seed drops. I wish there were more reviews from folks who've used it.


I've had one for several years. I like it a lot. It's easy to use and to adjust for different seed. It has 3 different sized bars that lift the seed and drop it down the tube. Very quick to change them. I usually just the smallest one. The largest one is for really big seeds like lima beans. I use it and an Earthway for all my seeding. I've used the seed stick planter with seeds as small as okra and beets. It would have problems with seed smaller than that. I use the seed stick planter for things like cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, okra, ect., that I want planted either in hills or spaced farther apart than the Earthway spaces them. I use the Earthway for things like corn, sunflowers, beans and peas because it's faster than the seed stick and I'm happy with the spacing.

To me, the seed stick and the Earthway complement each other rather than one replacing the other. The Earthway is faster with the larger seeds at closer spacing and it has better depth control. The Earthway is the only real option for the two for smaller seeds. The seed stick is great for larger spacing with the larger seeds and for planting squash, ect. in hills.

Neither seeder is perfect. They both take some getting used to. Especially the Earthway. But, they both work quite well and are, in my opinion, great values for what they cost. There are seeders that are more precise than the Earthway but they cost several times as much. They both save an incredible amount of time and bending compared to doing it all by hand. Mine have paid for themselves several times over just for the time and back ache they've saved.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

For carrots and similar very small seeds I really like the idea of the tapes. From what I understand it's basically tissue paper with the seeds between the two layers. Expensive for what it is though. Maybe someday I'll come up with some way to DIY, but for now thinning carrots is the only choice I have.


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

Bret4207, there have been several threads here on making your own seed tape. Not something I've ever tried, though.


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