I put duct tape over every other hole on my earthway. I plant radishes with my earthway in 32" wide beds with rows about 7 inches apart. this gives plenty of room to grow and will shade out weeds.

Those rows are 7 inches apart?

they soon shade over here is a pic of them just coming up and you can see the rows. I plant beets the same way and wish I had a plate that would plant turnips like this

It's frustrating that in this day and age we can't have an affordable planter that actually has some precision to it, that is made out of metal.

s1100, I am not sure what you mean by affordable. the earthway is a good product for around a $100. It is not a "precision" machine as it does have some misses. But I look at it as it is so much better than planting by hand, I can live with a few misses, and I still have the $500+ in my bank account by not buying a Jang planter. We run a Lean Farm. I use old Troy bilt tillers that are long paid for instead of buying a $4000 BCS. The picture I posted of my radishes is not misses, it is of slower germinating seeds. They filled in solid and I sold many bunches of radishes from 32" by 20' long beds this fall. The return off that bed of radishes could buy another earthway seeder. I can live good with that.

Everyone says the Jang is better. $500 is a lot of money that doesn't have an immediate return being Earthway also seeds. One way to thin which sounds crazy is to mix in some old seed with poor germination. Just a bit. This can work for carrots and stuff.

I have to believe, that for $500 you could build a decent planter in your garage. Maybe even $250-$300. I was thinking about buying the Jang, but x4, you end up well over $2500 with the drums. I currently use a pair of IH 185 units (I have three and one for parts), I own a JD 33 That I don't even use anymore (Stainless steel plates are over $80 bucks). I like the Earthway and would buy a couple, but space and seed cost are a big consideration for me. I would pay $300 per unit to not have to bend over to thin, When you are closing in on 50, It becomes money well spent.

i have a 4 row pinpoint seeder

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?searchterm=4+row+pinpoint+seeder&isusersearch=1

it works great as long as the seed bed is prepared properly and the rate is adjusted.

I am 62. I don't bend over to thin. I either plug holes in seed plates or use a garden rake when the are about an inch high. The 4 row pinpoint seeder would be a good investment for real small seeds like lettuce or turnips. For now I just broadcast the seeds and use the garden rake method. takes about a minute to thin a 32" x 25' long bed.

What would be the minimum and maximum plant spacing you would expect/need out of a planter? I'm thinking 2.0" to 23.5" with plate holes ranging from 4 -24. I think I'm going to build my own planter. I've got ideas.

i've used the pinpoint seeder for carrots, onions, asian greens, lettuce, turnips, spinach...others i can't think of right now. not much wasted seed if thats important.

Have you considered pelleting your seed? I have seen it posted elsewhere how to use clay and water to pellet seeds similar to what Johnny's sells.

I have come up with a planter design that is simple, easy to adjust, and will be cheap to build and buy. It singulates seeds like nothing before it. I will be testing different variations this spring to find the best one. I think this is going to change how we (gardeners and small farmers) sow our gardens, and will save us a ton of money spent on seeds, and a ton of time thinning.

Just found this post, after using my earthway seeder this morning. (first time) It was ok but will know more as peas and beets come up. One thing, I had to lean it over as hopper became empty. Also just noticed this post is in the market gardener forum. I am not a market gardener, but I do farm corn and soybeans in Iowa, and at times I'm not very impressed with my planters accuracy. And I spent over 6 figures for it. So I don't know if there is a perfect planter.

Since you brought this thread back to life I'll answer your question. Google Monosem planters. These are amazing at seed singulation. I plant everything from peas, beans, corn, pumpkins and other day I notill planted spinach, carrots and beets. I purchased a used unit after having it on my wish list for years.