Earthway Seeder and grain

[bee_pipes]

Anybody got any experience with Earthway Seeders? Somebody gave me one and I'm a thinkin' about getting some dirt turned in a back field and trying some grain this year. Can't see doing such a large area by hand and this seeder is just sitting around. I figured you needed acres and machinery to make grain worth-while, but there's an excellent story by a fellow in Canada that works with 50 foot rows - I could do that:
Grain In The Garden (www.cog.ca/documents/GrainintheGardenWI07.pdf)

I can borrow a tractor to get the soil turned, but after that I'm pretty much on my own.

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

Hi Pat,
Yes, I bought my Earthway Seeder away back in 1985.
I've planted every major grain (and rare stuff) with it at one time or another.

Here's an excellent pdf file on the subject.
http://www.vabf.org/infosheets/4-06.pdf

The Earthway seeders work pretty good for the most part....I have to tip it to the right when some types of seed gets low in the hopper so that it'll pick up the most of it.
Another major drawback is it's tendency to grind-up some types of seed, but that's easily remedied......

http://wannafarm.com/?p=4

I rarely use the Earthway for grains other than broomcorn anymore.

I grow most grains "zero" till.
I mow the area with a scythe as close to the ground as possible, then I lay done mulch, cardboard, newspapers, old bed sheets, or whatever, anything that's free and blocks out the sun to smother the sod.
When the sod is fully smothered, I remove the mulch, broadcast the seed and then work the seed in with a spur harrow. (Garden Weasel)
Sounds like more work than it really is, it's easy labor.

I hope to get a blog up and running by summer, I'll post more on the way I raise grains then.


~Martin :)

[sbemt456]

The Gardenway seeder is an excellent tool for the gardener. We use ours to plant most of the garden stuff with exception to corn and beans which we use an old fashioned corn dropper. We had to get a new front wheel for ours a few years back as we wore the old one out. It has a handy little row marker attached to it as well.
If it was free use it.
Happy growing!

stella

[bookwormom]

I just googled the earth seeder, since it is news to me. I have a Wolf Garten seeder, for the garden it is just dandy, but for grain I think I would not want to use either of them. My grandmother always seeded by hand, she tied a cloth around her shoulder that held the seeds and made a wide sweep like with her arm , it has been done like that for millennia and works, I would say it would be lots faster than the push seeder . What I would like is something to press the seeds into the soil.
Pulling a cattle panel behind the tractor is not doing so great.
My winterwheat, about 50 by 80, really shows where the soil is lousy and where I put manure last year. I am debating whether to let it get ripe or go ahead and turn it under. If I let it form grain we would have to turn the chickens in for self serve, I am not keen on threshing.

[Deberosa]

I just got an earthway seeder this year but plan on using it for row crops. I also planted my buckwheat and spelt by just broadcasting by hand and then raking in lightly - I don't have a roller either. Both are coming up well and should be fine if the silly weather would get warm!

Too muddy to try the earthway seeder here just now but if you wanted nice neat rows of grain it might work...

How cool you got one for free!!!