Cole Planet Jr Seeder

[Just Cliff]

I have seen Threads on this and other forums about the pathetic seeders on the market today. I have searched for years trying to find an old Planet jr seeder like one I saw in a pic from England. Very early this morning I did another search for something related and found this.

http://www.coleplanter.com/handseeder.htm

I have not got a price yet. I know it will cost plenty but just looking at the pics of it. I know it will last a long time if its anything like the original.
They also have a rowdrill that I think would work well on my two wheel tractor.

http://www.coleplanter.com/rowdrill.htm

[MD Steader]

that has GOT to be the most perfectly groomed soil i have ever seen

[J2E1]

Any thoughts on the earthway seeder? I've heard mixed results and small seeds are tough for it. Though the amount I'm planting each year, sweet corn would be what goes in the ground the most.

[Murray in ME]

Originally Posted by J2E1

Any thoughts on the earthway seeder? I've heard mixed results and small seeds are tough for it. Though the amount I'm planting each year, sweet corn would be what goes in the ground the most.

I've had my Earthway for almost 20 years. It still works like new. I think it does a great job. It's not a true precision seeder as you will have to do a little thinning with some seeds. It's so much better than doing it by hand though. I've never had much problem with my seeder chewing up small seeds and I usually seed thousands of row feet every year. The most common problem with small seeds is that they can sometimes get under the seed plate which is rough on the seeds and can affect the way they're dropped out of the seeder. A couple of tricks that work well are to: 1, not fill the seed hopper to full; 2, lean the seeder to the right slightly as you use it and; 3, don't try to go to fast with it. There is a fix available for the Earthway that is supposed to eliminate the problems with small seed. http://wannafarm.com/earthway-seeder-fix/ I haven't tried this fix yet as I haven't had that many problems with my seeder. One of these days I'll get around to it.

The Earthway isn't perfect but I like mine very much. When I can afford it, I do want to replace it though. With one of the Jang seeders mentioned on the other Planet Jr. thread.

I've never used a Planet Jr. but from what I've heard from others that have them, they are obviously built much more solidly than an Earthway and has a larger seed hopper. But, they also say that it is not really any more of a true precision seeder than the Earthway. There is still thinning involved. Personally, I wouldn't be that concerned about the heavier construction of the Planet Jr compared to the Earthway. As I said earlier, my Earthway is almost 20 years old and still works like new. The seed hopper on the Planet Jr is larger but that would only be an issue with big seeds in a large garden. The seed hopper on the Earthway holds enough of the larger seeds (bean, peas, corn, ect.) to plant well over 100 feet of row. Considering the price difference, I'll gladly carry more seed with me to refill mid row if necessary.

Hope this helps.

[Deerefarmer41]

I built a sleeve hitch for my Earthway planter. I can plant 100 ft. row of corn in a couple of minutes, behind my garden tractor. Also have a hitch that allows me to use two Earthway planters at the same time, like for two rows or carrots or beets. Going to try the home-built tightener for the disk on small seeds. The Earthway does plant small seeds too close together, but does not take too much work to thin. Have less than $50.00 in both planters, bought at a yard sale. Have planted as much as two acres of corn with the Earthway, did a fine job. My gardens are all set up so I can cultivate all the crops with the garden tractor, until they get to much height for driving over.