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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 110, Issue 36

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  • From: Mark Weinheimer <mrw601 AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 110, Issue 36
  • Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:08:38 -0400



  1. Re: Planet Jr seeder (Don Lareau)


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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:05:27 -0600
From: Don Lareau <dlareau AT tds.net>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Planet Jr seeder
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <4F74B277.3050709 AT tds.net">4F74B277.3050709 AT tds.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I am using tractor driven Planet Jr seeders for the first time so I can
do it faster and cultivate with an Allis Chalmers G.  I would love any
advice for a newbie on using these seeders.  Either something I can read
online or your experience would be great.  Mostly looking at doing crops
like beets, carrots, parsnips, spinach, maybe sunflowers, beans, corn
etc.  Some of the questions I have are:

At what speed do I travel, and how does it affect spacing and how do you
dial this in quickly?

How do I check to see how many seeds per foot are actually coming out?

Do I need or want a scatter shoe for beets carrots or?

Are the seed plate settings they recommend good?

Any other bed prep advice or settings advice would be great thanks so much.
Don

Don Lareau
Zephyros Farm and Garden
11466 3725 Rd.
Paoina, Co. 81428
www.zephyrosfarmandgarden.com

Board Member
Organic Farming and Research Foundation
www.ofrf.org


Don,
I've been using them for about 4 years, now.  They need a firm seedbed, the drive wheels skid or create a furrow if the soil is too loose.  I used to lightly press the bed tops with the front end loader, before or during planting.  Last year we fabricated a press pan to mount in front of the seeder. 
We use them for carrots, parsnips, beets, chard, lettuce, radishes, and turnips.  I find that they put down a lot of extra seed or not enough, so we have to thin everything we plant with them.   We are transplanting more of the lettuce, this year, and experimenting with transplanting beets and chard to reduce the time spent thinning.  I find that they put down way too much of the corn, bean and pea to be practical.
I run about 1 1/2 mph when seeding.  In the best of all possible worlds it's a good idea to have somebody walking behind the seeder to make sure no stones or clods get caught in the drive wheel and the cams that hold the hoppers to the base don't loosen up when the units hop over stones etc.  Using a file to smooth the cams and other castings and fitting everything up before using the units saves a lot of time in the field when changing seed out frequently, as we do.  I would love to have more precise, better built, planters, but they do the job at a very reasonable cost.  I'll send you our settings chart, but you have to figure out what works for you.
Good luck,
Mark

Mark Weinheimer
Farm Manager
Regional Food Bank of NENY
965 Albany-Shaker Road
Latham, NY  12110
(518) 339-5726
(518) 786-3691
(518) 786-3004 Fax
www.regionalfoodbank.net


  • Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 110, Issue 36, Mark Weinheimer, 03/30/2012

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