Yes they work well as long as you are planting in rows. My Earthway is going on 10 years old and it is my 3rd one owned. You will still have to do some thinning but not nearly as much as normally and it does save on the amount of seed wasted.

The only issue I have with it is that it does take more seed up front to fill the hopper enough. You don't use all you put in the hopper but that volume/weight is needed so that you get even feeding/distribution. The excess just goes back into the bag.

Dave

I use 3 different seeders - which should be endorsement enough. I use the pinpoint seeder for salad greens and root crops, but it is pretty much a market gardeners' tool, because of the volume and spacing. The Earthway is less accurate, but will handle a larger variety of seeds, and for home gardeners makes a lot of sense. There are similar plate seeders now on the market, like the Jang, which are supposedly much better, but also 6 times the cost. The EZ-Seeder is a vacuum operated system for seeding flats and trays, which is great if you do a lot of transplanting. Seeders should eliminate thinning if they are adjusted properly.

For your needs, the Earthway with an assortment of seedplates is probably the best option. You could do 300 row/feet of beets in about half an hour, walking. It can also be mounted on a garden tractor, which means you could do it while sitting and having a beer, which is an entirely different experience from what you just went through.

"It can also be mounted on a garden tractor"

bi11me,

Do they sell a mounting kit? I have one it's about 25 years old and it kills my back. I think they made them for shorter people, but I'm a giant, 6'5".

My Earthway plants a little too densely, so I plugged every other hole in the seed plates with silicon calking.

so I plugged every other hole in the seed plates with silicon calking.

What a great idea! I wish I had thought of that before I seeded 2 80 foot rows of beets yesterday even though the thinnings make great salads. Thanks for posting the info.

Dave

There used to be a tool bar so you could attach multiple seeders behind a small tractor, but I haven't seen one in years.

Thinning conflicts with my native New England parsimoniousness. It means your doing work to undo the work you did before. Until I found my new method, I spent a lot of $ on pelleted carrot seed.

My back and knees tell me when I've pushed then too far... for about a week. Then I usually go do it again.

digdirt - "What a great idea!" - Spot on. wertach, - Excellent! I'll be dang.

bi11me - "I use 3 different seeders - which should be endorsement enough." - Because you do, all should? Just seems arrogant as 'ell Mate.

Probably is innocent enough but considering that you consistently defer to potential copyright infringement issues with iVillage, it surely comes off as a "leader" to sell a book ... as you also state will be out in Nov.

I have backed out of posting ( this is probably it here) because I have found myself tempted to battle over stupid issues. I never tell folks how to grow as it changes for me ... each year is different and provides me with lessons that I often didn't really care to learn in hindsight.

Call a neighbor, let him shoot a deer ( because you are a "commercial grower" - does this include the ability for someone else to shoot the deer?) and swap it for lobster. WTF does this have to do with the common man?

"I am working on a book, and because of copyright issues with iVillage my editor doesn't want me to post photos - she doesn't even like me doing any writing here, but that's a different argument. Hopefully the descriptions will suffice till next November..."

So, is any post comprehensive or should the reader be aware that come November, links will be available for the book? There, the complete answer may be found?

Mate, you have provided some good info .... it just seems to be tainted with publicity :(

cozy - I'm not sure what you are implying or why you take such offense; I offer my opinion and plenty of advice and participants can do with it what they like. There are several million gardeners in the US, this little forum constitutes a miniscule percentage of the book market for me, and the publisher is in charge of marketing - that's how publishing works. I made one reference to copyright, regarding photos, in several years of posting, that hardly qualifies as "consistant." A simple search will show that. My use of seeders is for efficiency and precision, but also because, like the OP, planting by hand, at a certain age, becomes debilitating. I never said or implied that "all should," in fact I stated specifically that certain seeders were more appropriate for professional growers than for home gardeners - to me, that is accurate advice. On the other hand, I've seen EZ-seeders on eBay for less than $100, which would be a justifiable expense to even a "home" gardener who starts a lot of tomatoes or lettuce plants, and has limitations on their time. I have never, nor will I ever, violate the iVillage guidelines for commercial posting. No one here knows my name, the subject or title of the book in progress, or the publisher - there are no conflicts, despite the "taint" you imagine.

My participation here is for entertainment, both my own and others, and to contribute to the general conversation, and to learn and to hopefully teach; it has nothing to do with my other activities. There are a lot of new gardeners who show up here and get crappy advice like "call the extension service" or "read a book," I make a conscious effort to give pertinent advice based on decades of experience, not toss off some irrelevant and disrespectful throw-away answer that offers no benefit to the poster. If my posts aren't comprehensive (and I would argue that they are more so than many), I have happily answered any further questions, including by private e-mail. There is no "hidden agenda" despite your apparent conspiratorial suspicions. If you find my posts to be otherwise, I would suggest you not read them, because your penchant to "battle over stupid issues," is probably not good for your hypertension. I'm happy to debate, but I'm not here to argue with anyone. Read into that what you wish, as you seem inclined to do. My apologies for not writing what you want to read, but you clearly misconstrue my purpose.

this might interest you for modifying your Earthway

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmhack

"this little forum constitutes a miniscule percentage of the book market for me"

A'ight then ( so it is now a consideration) .... suppose that I misconstrued my request for pics and the reply of "I am working on a book, and because of copyright issues with iVillage my editor doesn't want me to post photos - she doesn't even like me doing any writing here, but that's a different argument. Hopefully the descriptions will suffice till next November.."

And I suppose that " n Maine, as a commercial grower, I can shoot any animal that is harassing my crops unless they are on the endangered species list. I don't own a gun, but I've got a neighbor who comes pretty quick if I call him, and he trades me lobster for it. I eat good." weren't never stated = Is this legal?

make a conscious effort to give pertinent advice based on decades of experience, not toss off some irrelevant and disrespectful throw-away answer that offers no benefit to the poster. If my posts aren't comprehensive (and I would argue that they are more so than many), I have happily answered any further questions, including by private e-mail. There is no "hidden agenda" despite your apparent conspiratorial suspicions.

Suspicions? Heckfire, ye have blatantly stated your position. Shown no support/instructions via pics for fear of your publisher.

Search the site ... I'll hang around a bit.

If I had a book deal I'd toot my own horn a lot more than bi11me has. I in fact haven't seen it at all. Just good advice, and in most posts he states "in his conditions" or "in his system", or something to that effect. Why does everybody get pissy if someone takes the time to put thought into their responses. A lot people here think they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof online. Reminds me of brad paisleys song "on line" where that dweeb from signfeld plays on the video.

Northeastnewbie, they work just fine IF you have good soil. If you have rocky soil, forget it.

If you have rockier soil than a seeder will tolerate, get hold of Carol Deppe's book The Resilient Gardener, and look at her homemade PVC planting tubes. Photo on the third page of the photos, directions for making on page 105 (or look up "Direct seeding -- planting tubes for" in the index). Simple, cheap, clever. Do your seeding standing up!

Sue

cozy - I think I've stated my position quite clearly. If you don't understand copyright law, or property protection laws in other states, I feel no obligation to explain them to you or defend myself. If you want to discuss gardening, that's fine, but my private life has nothing to do with you. If you choose to be angry about that, the problem is not my problem. I think my descriptions are sufficient for most careful readers; I'm not obligated to post pictures, but I have an interest in not doing so. That requires no further explanation.

Brother Billme

Ye deserve the outcome of your own ventures ... but you do not deserve the dictatorship of others simply trying.

No, you are not obligated to show pics .... nor are you to be considered an expert while withholding these pics due to copyright issues. Comprehende?

There lies the issue ... say it but afraid to show it. Ye say that ye have an interest to not show pics ... so you are, by definition, trying to sell them.

Meanwhile, I sit on the sidelines .. and the gang will eat well this year ...... despite your elite market.
No further explanation required.... understand?

And if that a'int country, I have a few pics

cozy - Wow.

If I publish photos on iVillage, or for that matter, write on iVillage, I forfeit my ownership of those publications - just like you or any other participant here does - it's in the fine print, and it's an implied contract, which we all agreed to when we posted our first words. To whit:

BY VISITING THE GARDENWEB NETWORK OR COMPLETING THE MEMBER REGISTRATION PROCESS AND SELECTING THE "SUBMIT REGISTRATION" OPTION, YOU ARE INDICATING YOUR AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, AS SUCH TERMS MAY BE MODIFIED FROM TIME TO TIME. iVillage shall not be liable to you for any breach of these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, please do not visit or register for any websites on the GardenWeb Network.

From time to time iVillage may supplement these Terms of Service with additional terms pertaining to specific content, services, products, features or tools ("Additional Terms"), which Additional Terms may be placed on the GardenWeb Network to be viewed in connection with the specific content, services, products, features or tools and shall be identified as such. You understand and agree that such Additional Terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms of Service. In addition, from time to time iVillage may amend or otherwise modify these Terms of Service, as set forth in Section 4 below.

Unauthorized access, distribution, reproduction, copying, retransmission, publication, sale, exploitation (commercial or otherwise) or any other form of transfer of any portion of the GardenWeb Network, including but not limited to all content, services, products, features or tools, is hereby expressly prohibited.

That's pretty straightforward.

The process of print publication, unlike on the web, requires a different set of agreements and contracts, to which I am also bound, and one of the stipulations is that until the book is published, my advance on royalties prohibits me from publishing closely related content in other media outlets. Since the prose part of the book is essentially complete except for the final edit, and because gardening is only one facet of a much more complex topic than you seem to be imagining, I have a good understanding of what I can and can not write, but the illustrations are actively being dealt with right now, and I'm not going to jeopardize a project that is several years in the making just because you can't understand what I'm describing without a picture. Obviously it must be a failure in my writing.

I have no idea where you get this impression of "dictatorship," maybe you would prefer that I preface every post with the phrase "What I would do... " but dude, this is the internet - that should be implied from the get-go. Nor do I understand what you find wrong with my interest in selling my words or pictures or ideas... where I'm from, we call that free enterprise, and it's not only accepted, but encouraged. I'm not selling it here, I'm giving it away (or perhaps not giving it away, in some cases, but I'm not asking anyone to pay for anything). I have spent many years and dollars and hours of labor creating what I have, including a market that many people don't fully understand. I have, I think, been quite generous with my experience, and intend to continue to be so. If that doesn't satisfy your needs, really, I'm sorry. Nothing I'm doing is preventing you from doing the same thing, and every resource that I used to get where I am - from the Boston Public Library to Nexis Lexis to visiting farmers who don't speak English in Europe and chefs in the US who don't garden, and learning many things the hard way, by making costly mistakes - is just as accessible to anyone else who wants to make the effort. I already have a pretty full plate; making your life easier while you "sit on the sidelines" and get pointlessly pissed-off is more than I want to take on, and is not in my own best interest. If you simply need an outlet for your frustrations I'm content with providing that for you, but if you think that I'm the cause of them you might best be served by some further introspection.

Wow is correct.

Billme freely shares his valuable insights and experiences from his decades of market growing. My own gardening and terraforming efforts have directly benefited from his gracious sharing of what he knows and his willingness to spend his own VALUABLE TIME examining my particular issues and proposing thoughtfully-considered methods of addressing them.

I don't know what personal issues you have against copyright laws, or why you feel the need to abuse another person on Gardenweb because you don't LIKE copyright law. No matter how you feel about it and how much abuse you levy on others, the LAW WILL STILL EXIST.

If you don't like the laws, then go talk to your Congressman. You'll have a long row to hoe. Don't be a jerk here.

Holy heck. I was wondering what was so all-fired intesting about the topic of seeders that I peeked at this thread. After checking to be sure the OP hasn't clicked the "recieve e-mails" box (heeeeyy... Welcome to gardenweb, we're all real nice when we aren't attacking like rabid dogs), let me just say What. The. Heck. ?

For anyone who has forgotten,generally it is accepted that all advice proferred here is a) advice and b) each individual's opinion. If someone doesn't like another's advice they are a) free to ignore it and/or b) free to offer their own personal advice. Outright defamation of another? Not so good. It makes me not wish to participate here anymore if that is how people are going to comport themselves when they disagree with another.

NEnewbie, sorry your thread got hijacked, and sorry I have no experience to share on the subject of seed planters. Though if my growing continues to expand I may be re-reading this thread in a year or two. Skipping all the off-topic stuff, of course.