If you’re searching for the best garden seeders, you’ll no doubt be wanting a machine that’s
efficient, easy to use and saves time.
Whether you are using garden seeders for personal use, as a market gardener, or for horticultural commercial use, you’ll be looking to find a solution to the age – old question of how to get maximum produce from minimum investment of time and money.
But, not all garden seeders are made equal and it can be frustrating trying to get it right the first time. You may well have been here before and know just how challenging it is to find the best tool for the job.
So, if you are looking for garden seeders that are less taxing on the body, make planting more productive, know which vegetables you can plant using garden seeders and which machine to buy, read on.
What is a Garden Seeder?
A garden seeder is a tool designed to place a seed into the soil at optimum depth and distance apart to ensure best germination and growth. It can be a back – breaking job planting by hand and one that doesn’t always guarantee best results.
Gauging the ideal depth and distance your seeds need to be planted from each other is long and drawn out when you are measuring by eye, and planting by hand.
Why Use Garden Seeders?
Garden seeders are great at improving a time consuming job, making it more efficient, especially when you have a reasonable sized patch to sow. If you’ve chosen wisely, your garden seeder will save time, money and your back!
Making sure only single seeds are planted (despite how small some seeds are!) garden seeders take away the stress, turning an arduous job into a pleasurable experience.
What to Look for When Choosing Garden Seeders
Given you are looking to save time and energy, your garden seeder needs to satisfy your requirements.
By choosing a push garden seeder you will eliminate excess bending, allowing the machine to do the hard work for you. Using the wheels as guidance, you are able t o seed straight planting rows as you walk.
With a row marker attached, you’ll also be able to mark out the next row at the same time as planting your seed.
Look out for a machine that’s:
- Easy to set up – with simple seed plate selection for the right plant
- Good size hopper – cut down on time taken to keep refilling
- Quality, sturdy construction – long term usage, lower costs on maintenance
- Row marker – allows you to automatically mark out the next row without stopping
- Simple to keep clean – remove the worry of stuck seeds and uneven delivery
How do Garden Seeders Work?
Belying their simple looking design, garden seeders are precision tools. The front wheel guides the machine along the row and activates a spinning disc within the hopper. The disc has a number of slots of the correct size for the seed you’re looking to plant and picks up a single seed as it spins.
Dropping the seed down the shute into the soil, the seed is then covered over by the chain and tamped down by the rear wheel.
Benefits of Using Push Garden Seeders
One of the benefits of using push garden seeders is the very act of pushing them along the soil allowing you to remain upright. Comprehensive garden seeders will also come with a row marker arm, designed to mark out the next row as you plant seed in the first trench.
Good walk – behind garden seeders will come with a range of different sized seed plates to accommodate various seeds. Look for garden seeders capable of planting small vegetable seeds such as corn and small peas, as w ell as larger vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage and cucumber.
Drawbacks of Using a Garden Seeder
Depending on which of the push garden seeders you choose, here are some of the drawbacks you may encounter:
- Too small a hopper – you will continually keep having to refill
- Soil conditions – you may find some garden seeders not favorable to certain soils
- Too much maintenance – time-consuming upkeep, lack of spare parts
- Not enough choice of seed plate size – bespoke seed plates are expensive
- Skipping seed planting – may occur when the seed plate size is not small enough
- Too many seeds being distributed – over planting of plot, with extra time and work to thin once seeds are growing
The Who's Who of Garden Seeders
Now you’ve established the need for a garden seeder, let’s look at what’s on the market.
Earthway Garden Seeders
Manufactured in the United States, Earthway garden seeders are probably one of the most well-known. Traditionally built, their seeders are most often bought by smaller plot owners, with Amazon reviews suggesting their garden seeders are a good first buy.
Definitely a step up from broadcast seeding, the machine cuts back on body aches and pains. However, other reviews do suggest that design flaws are causing issues, and that it may not be the easiest to use. One particular problem seems to be the haphazard results of too many seeds, or none, being planted along a row.
This, of course, is not such a headache to smaller gardeners, but may well not be acceptable to larger land owners, as it makes additional work having to either thin out or reseed, as necessary.
Chapin Garden Seeders
Chapin is another US based garden seeder producer with a long history of manufacturing storage tanks, pumps and sprayers. And indeed, their experience has produced garden seeders Amazon reviews suggest are easy to assemble and definitely saves time over planting seed by hand.
Once again, it appears careful attention to preparation of soil before seeding will greatly enhance performance on Chapin garden seeders. The lightweight nature of the machine may suggest that this garden seeder is best used on smaller plots with well prepared soil.
Hoss Garden Seeders
Hoss garden seeders are well built and are a step up in terms of build quality and strength. Their price is also reflective of this. While some may see its durability as a feature worth investing in, others see it as a drawback in terms of manoeuvrability to and from your land.
Another drawback is the open hopper. Not only is the hopper on the small side, but being open leaves it vulnerable to spills if the seeder is knocked over. Of course, this could also be seen as a benefit, as it is easy to swap out different seeds.
Amazon reviews, though, are positive with around 64% of purchasers giving Hoss garden seeders a 5 star review.
And One To Watch: Cresco SRS Garden Seeder
The Cresco SRS Garden Seeder is the culmination of years of experience with seeders and their challenges. Taking the concept up another notch, Cresco has been on a mission to build a single row seeder that will make your seeding easier.
Designed to cut out some of the issues experienced by users of other garden seeders, Cresco has come up with a precision tool that works. Similar in looks, the tweaks incorporate the best of durability, lightness and ease of use and combine them with consistency and price.
Garden Seeders: Worth the Effort or Not?
Despite the drawbacks, garden seeders can be said to be a lifesaver for your body, saving time and money into the bargain.
Key to your success is choosing the right piece of equipment to help you, making sure the garden seeder you choose is able to deal with your land conditions and acreage.
We guarantee, whatever your choice, you’ll wonder why you’d taken so long to change up your planting regime.
