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  • From: Susan Truxell Sauter <ssauter2 AT wvu.edu>
  • To: market farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Earthway precision seeder troubles
  • Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 13:11:44 -0500


Hello,

For those of you experienced using this seeder, can you share with
me/us your troubleshooting tips? I've been nothing but frustrated
with what seems to be an incredibly cleverly designed little gadget.
However, these are my unsatisfactory experiences so far:
1. Lays down way too much corn seed (sugar enhanced so it's shrivelled) with
the seed plate. Gonna try taping some holes on the pea plate and see
if that is any better.
2. Onion seed plate will not pick up onion seeds in the hopper. Did
the dishwashing liquid thing in case it was a static electricity
problem...still to no avail. (even after trying a test run along the
basement floor indoors.) Had to broadcast the seed.
3. Pea plate lays down way too many sugar snap peas. Tried smaller
pea plate. Same thing. Finally tried chard plate which looked like
it was the right size. But in the garden, again, either laid down
too many or none at all.

One thing I'm wondering--does the seed bed have to be incredibly smooth
for this thing to work properly? If so, then it probably always will
be the wrong tool for my gardens. I just don't like to chew the soil
up like that. Hmmm..., maybe I'm gonna have to though--planting 3
pounds of sugar snap peas by hand hurt my 'peapickin' back--to borrow
a signature line phrase of an earlier writer. Also, how full does the
hopper have to be for the thing to pick up seeds? Wondering if that
was my problem with it not picking up the onion seeds.

TIA.

Susan




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