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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Earthway Push Seeder

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  • From: "Casey & Teena" <cm62547 AT windstream.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Earthway Push Seeder
  • Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:11:07 -0500

Here is a link to the roller tool that Allan Balliet mentioned or at least one like it, there are several different widths. There may be other companies that manufacture something like this, it is a roller tamper for prepping the ground before installing concrete.
http://www.marshalltown.com/Products.aspx?D=200&S=225&C=C2191


----- Original Message ----- From: "Allan.Balliett" <allan.balliett AT gmail.com>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 12:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Earthway Push Seeder


>


Steve - I use the Johnny's precision seeders a lot. They really fail
to perform on loose soil. I think in Coleman's original winter
harvest handbook there was a picture of an expanded metal roller on a
stick that he used for firming beds. I tried to buy one from him but
he told me that he hadn't found a reliable supplier and he would not
refer me to any of the people that he knew of making these rollers
(myself, I didn't know of anyone) Later, when I got the power harrow
for my BCS, it came with a small diameter extruded metal roller and
in the accompanying literature pictures of similar units on long
handles. Joel at Earth Tools wasn't able to find anyone who would
export these, though. And then I got the new Coleman precision
planter, which comes with SMALL rollers front and rear. An
acknowlegement of the weakness of the first generation precision
seeders, but not quite the solultion I was looking for. (For loose
beds, Coleman recommends that before you fill the hoppers of the
seeder that you stand it on in on one of the rollers (the free one)
and roll the bed, thereby tamping it with twice the weight per sq
inch the bed would get when rolled normally. A lot of rather eerie
work, in my book, that is!

Anyway, one day last year i happened to find out that concrete
workers use a tool just like I dreamed Joel could import for me. It's
two 48 inch long, 8 inch in diameter extruded metal rollers with a
LONG large diameter metal handle. You can roll the whole bed at once
(and some: my beds are 36 in wide), when you reach the end, the
handle flips over and you can roll back, without lifting the rollers
and turning around, which is a good thing since this unit, in total,
is HEAVY!

What you get when you roll is a bed that is 'just right' and very
smoothed out. In fact, I've started dispensing with a final raking,
getting a lot of both leveling and smoothing by just rolling this
tool down the bed.

I trust the Earthway rear wheel "soil compressor" to assure good
'seed-to-soil-contact,' but with both precision seeders, I feel that
I need to roll the bed again with this tool to assure good seed set.
(This has improved my germination rates substantially and also helps
keep seed in position if hit by heavy rain before germ, etc)

Sorry, don't have a name for this tool, nor a manufacturer. It wasn't
cheap ($150), but neither is seed for several acres. I'd definitely
buy another one of these should I ever have to.

-Allan in WV, who should be out seeding instead of talking about it






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