Tiny Farm Gear

In North America, at least, the EarthWay Precision Seeder is in a class of its own. This is in good part due to the fact that it’s also the only seeder in its price range… Inexpensive at around $100US, it’s widely used in market gardens and nurseries, and probably larger home gardens as well. I’ve used one for five seasons (with no breakdowns, no repairs!). For direct seeding, for me it’s either the Earthway or by hand. It does have its drawbacks, quirks that you have to get used to, but it certainly works well enough to get the job done. Tips »

An inexpensive seeder, probably best for very small gardens, given the size of the seed container. It opens the furrow, drops the seed, covers it up. Comes with six seed plates. Doesn’t seem nearly as versatile as the Earthway, but perhaps has a specialty use in the larger veggie garden. It’s made in Europe, and available there and in North America.

From the Netherlands, the Thilot Holland HZ423 seeder looks like a cross between the EarthWay and the old Planet Jr. Seed drops through an aperture in a seed plate, like the Planet Jr. (and unlike the EarthWay, which relies on a revolving vertical plate to carry seed up and into a chute—much less reliable). A couple of features mentioned in the literature sound interesting: a seed brush in the hopper which it seems is to keep seed loose and well-separated, and an adjustable control for step-seeding, which can leave up to 20cm (7.8″) between drops (that’s interesting, wonder how it works). The price tag is fairly steep: €686 from the manufacturer in the Netherlands.