Market Farming

["Wyatt Jones" <wyatt_jones AT netzero.com>]

I worked the soil pretty well when using the Hatfield transplanter, it still ended up bending the levers after a while, eventually it broke the flat moving part of the hole digger off completely.  I didn't have any problems with the way it operated and I would give it high recommendations if it was just built heavier duty.  Maybe I should mention I had the largest size they make, might not be as much of a problem on the smaller models as they don't have to move as much soil.

 

I used it for strawberries and it worked very well.  That may be due to the same reason I had to go back and cover the transplants though.  I simply took off the depth gauge completely, dug the holes with the transplanter as deep as it would go and dropped inthe strawberry plants that I carried in a basket I hung over my shoulder as I went along (of course in my case the dirt stayed to the side and didn't fill in the hole at all).  I then went back, lifted up the strawberry plants and scooped the dirt that was pushed to the pushed to the side when I dug the holes over the roots.  It made planting a lot quicker even though it was a two step operation.  I could see how it would be a problem if you depended on the plant staying high enough by itself.  Maybe if one planted when the soil was a bit moister it might help the soil to stay to the side in lighter soil but they you might start having the problems with durability I had.

 

I put the transplanter to good use while it lasted, but its a bit expensive to be a throw away tool and don't plan to buy another one though I might try to fix the one I have and beef it up a bit.

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