Saw this about growing corn in poor countrys

[FarmboyBill]

Some Asian? has harvested a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates on growing corn, supposedly for poor farmers in developing nations? It calls for putting corn seed in seed tapes. A farmer buys the seed tape takes it home, hoes rows and lays the seed in the row. The tape itself is supposed to hold moisture close to the seed.

I cant see poor farmers buying it, when/if they got small kids who can take a stick 8in long, and lay it between placed kernals of corn.
NOW< IF they don't have said kids, THEN It would become more a viable solution, AND< Without said kids, they might be in a somewhat better position to buy the corn seed in tapes.

Whatcha think?

[wr]

I think you're misinformed. The Gates foundation had funded a Brazilian man on this project. The taped seeds is are set for ideal spacing, with the hope that impoverished farmer will reap maximum crops. It is my understanding that the project is not selling anything and will currently be tested in parts of Africa.

It has nothing to do with putting kids to work or having kids prepare rows but is part of their program to end world hunger.

[Callieslamb]

I find seed tapes useful for crops with small seeds like carrots. I rarely use them since the price is so high compared to a packet of seeds. I can spread it out thinnly. Corn is large enough to handle for me without the tape. However, whatever floats someone else's boat is fine with me too. I hope it encourages people in challenging situations to learn to grow their own food. Sometimes that means making it as simple as possible. If seed tape helps then I hope they make lots of it.

[rambler]

I recall reading in 1970s that those seed tapes were the coming thing.

They just aren't flex able enough to allow a person to adjust to the soil and rainfall conditions one has in this field, that field....

Sounds real nice to a fella behind a desk, or a person with an assembly line background.

But it doesn't fit the extremely varriable conditions actual farmers face.

Paul

[farminghandyman]

a bag of seed and spacer stick would be much simpler,

[farminghandyman]

really tho, I was going to plant a acre of corn, or it equivalent, (43560 square feet),

Ok say the plot is 100 feet wide, makes row 435.6 feet long, now say I want 30 inch rows, that is 40 rows, is 17,424 feet of tape,

even at one cent a foot for the tape, that is still $174.24 in tape and that is not the seeds,

ok a earth way seeder is $108 off of amazon http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...59026428,d.aWc

for some reason I would think a few seeders sent to a village that can plant nearly ever type of seed out there and many spacing,

I really doubt if farmers around the world are as dumb as the Gates think they are, and do not under stand basic seed or plant populations, and moisture needs,

the tape is one time thing, the seed planter is a many year investment.

(I am not saying the earth way is the best or the seeder that should be used, but I am sure some thing similar could be made or found that would do the job, for the farmer,)

(we in this country have on had seeders since the mid 1800, and not really until the 1900's were they common).

1841 - Practical grain drill patented

http://inventors.about.com/library/i...rs/blfarm1.htm

apparently 1701 was when a man named Jethro Tull invented one, https://www.asme.org/engineering-top...ng/jethro-tull

[FarmboyBill]

WR IF you read my post as I intended it, I said what handyman said, WHICH I thought would be a cheaper way of planting corn.
It had NOTHING to do with what B&M Gates were doing.

[wr]

Originally Posted by FarmboyBill

WR IF you read my post as I intended it, I said what handyman said, WHICH I thought would be a cheaper way of planting corn.
It had NOTHING to do with what B&M Gates were doing.

I did reread your post and while I don't always have a firm grasp of Bill speak, you talk about cost, children and utilizing sticks to set rows and nothing about a cheaper way to plant corn.

You also indicated that the harvested a grant from the Bill & Malinda (?) Gates in order to sell this item. I was clarifying that the Gates foundation had made a statement regarding this particular project being part of their non profit program and not going to be for sale as you indicated.

[Harry Chickpea]

Grain drills for gardens are easy to make. Here is one I tossed together a few years back. The coffee can holds the seeds, you drop them in the cut off oil can top and it drops to the bottom. The pipe on the side is for measuring the distance between plantings. The stick is to clear any clogs. I could have stuck a poker on the end to pre-make the holes to the proper depth, but I didn't bother.

[COWS]

Somebody sold Bill and Melinda a bunch of nonsense.. Good way to sell seed tapes.

I have been involved with planting GARDEN, not commercial corn for over 1/2 a century. I have planted it with a horse drawn planter and a 2 row 3ph planter. I decided it was not worth the effort to take time to hitch up the planter. At first I would lay off the rows so I could use a 2 row cultivator, spread fertilizer by hand, then dropped the seed by hand and covered them with a hoe. If they were too thick I thinned them with a hoe, did some of the cultivation with a hoe. After children left home and our food needs were reduced, I moved the garden closer to the house so It could be watered if necessary and I could look after the electric which is keeping the #&*@# deer outy and the triple #$%&* raccoons out.

All the guys in poor countries need is good varieties of seed and instructions on spacing. They can step off the spacing at first and soon they can eyeball it. Fertilizer assistance is more important than seed tapes.

COWS

[emdeengee]

We have planted small seeds (radishes, carrots) mixed in wallpaper paste very successfully. Just use a pastry decorating bag to "ice" your rows. Not sure it would work for big fields.