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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Apr 28, 2011 11:47:57 GMT -5
I've been scouring the Internet all winter, looking for another seeder so that I don't have to stoop over so much to plant my garden this spring. I was scheming, and making models out of clay, and fiberglass, and testing designs and push rods, and springs, and etc... A few days ago I built the final version. I am laughing so hard at how simple the final design was, and how easy to use. Oh my gosh! I can't believe my grandfather, and father failed to teach me about this seeder. With it I can plant potatoes almost as fast as I can walk down the row. Oh my heck!!! So here's the video I made of the seeder in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9qs7Rkdaqk |
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Post by johno on Apr 28, 2011 13:04:35 GMT -5
Joseph, that's just awesome. I need all the ideas I can get to avoid getting up and down repeatedly. I already use a pvc pipe (smaller diameter) for planting large seeds, but the simple modification of cutting an angle on the end should cut my time in half. THANK YOU! Wish I had encountered this idea sooner...
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Post by grunt on Apr 28, 2011 13:36:59 GMT -5
I love simple. Great idea.
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Post by garnetmoth on Apr 28, 2011 14:13:41 GMT -5
that is awesome.
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Post by robertb on Apr 28, 2011 16:14:40 GMT -5
How do you manage not to get the tube clogged with soil?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Apr 28, 2011 19:46:58 GMT -5
The angle cut on the bottom keeps it from filling with soil. (Used pointed end facing away from you.) In heavy clay, you can set the seeder on the ground, and then push it forward with your foot to make the hole, so no soil ever enters the tube. Today I used it to plant parsnip seeds in a stiff wind. They went right down slick as anything, as long as I released them inside the mouth of the planter. I also used it to plant beets. Those of you that love precision seeding... I put one beet fruit every 6". Weeee Haaa! Before the seed was even planted I have saved gobs of thinning time. I had intended to test it today for planting onion sets: see how they grow if they go into the ground all skewampus with the roots pointed any odd direction. Maybe another time.  |
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Post by atash on Apr 28, 2011 23:38:57 GMT -5
Thank you for posting. I had heard about this idea for planting beans and corn, but had never seen one in action so I did not know precisely how it worked.
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Post by heidihi on Apr 29, 2011 6:40:49 GMT -5
for sure this is a "must try" thank you so much i would not have figured it out with out the video!
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Post by grunt on Apr 29, 2011 11:06:47 GMT -5
Joseph: I think so long as the roots are actually in the ground, you won't notice any difference.
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Post by steev on Apr 29, 2011 12:24:22 GMT -5
Excellent! Man, the tool-maker, continues to progress!
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 30, 2011 8:15:05 GMT -5
Beautiful! I think if you had 2 sizes, larger for taters, smaller for onions (garlic too perhaps?) you could get the onions in straight?
Mike's here and we are discussing this... the onions and garlic being our focus... I made a cardboard template for planting the garlic last year. 12 holes, each an inch in diameter, 3" between each hole. What if you arraigned 12 tubes the same way? How would you do it? It would cost a lot more to make them tall, but wouldn't it be worth it? An idea to "kick" around.
What size would you use for onions? We are thinking 1".
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Apr 30, 2011 12:18:29 GMT -5
I used what pipe I had on hand. 1.5" for potatoes and 1" for seeds and onion plants. I think a 2" pipe might be better for potatoes because then I could cut them bigger. A circle shaped knife blade would be really clever for cutting potatoes for a tube seeder. (I saw a circle shaped hoe the other day.)
I think that 1" would work fine for onion sets. (Although the last batch I got had some larger bulbs in it.) It was snowing again on Friday after an overnight rain so I haven't tested it with onion sets.
I don't worry too much about spacing. If I'm doing 8" spacings and I get anywhere between 6" and 10" I'm pretty content about that.
My daddy plants lettuce a clump of seeds spaced a foot apart, and then thins the clump to one plant. This seeder would work great for something like that.
If I were making a 12 shooter, I'd do it by drilling holes in a board that sits a couple inches off the ground, and then fixing the tubes into it probably with glue/epoxy. I'd make the end tube closest to the operator out of steel, and brace it to the far end of the planter.
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Post by steev on Apr 30, 2011 16:09:38 GMT -5
You could probably get an official round blade from a labware supply company, a stopper-borer, but if you ground to sharpness the edge of a piece of copper tube, it would doubtless serve; might even work long enough with PVC. I suppose either of those would give you a cylinder piece. For a piece rounded in the cut, you'd probably need something like a pear-corer, that you can jam in and rotate.
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Post by mnjrutherford on May 1, 2011 7:48:18 GMT -5
I need to read this to Mike. But I'm thinking that if you wanted holes less than 1 inch, you could use a food garnishing knife. Perhaps even a melon baller?
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Post by varaahan on May 27, 2011 8:41:21 GMT -5
Hi Joseph !
That's a good idea. In fact I'm going to try it in my farm to sow groundnut (peanut ?) in my 1 acre farm.
Thanks for sharing. ;D
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