Find The Perfect Seeder For Your Garden With These Helpful Tips

Once you know how and when to direct sow seeds in your garden, you might be interested in finding a suitable seeder for your yard. At this point you're faced with a multitude of options, which can be a bit overwhelming at first. To make your choice much easier, consider factors like the size of the area you want to sow, the types of crops you plan to grow and your budget. For medium sized and larger garden plots, you can choose from a push-type or precision, pinpoint, or spreader types of seeders. At the other end of the scale, small space gardeners may only require something like a hand seeder. 

The main difference between precision and pinpoint seeders is that the former will only sow a single row of seeds while a pinpoint seeder can do multiple rows at once. You'll also find that many precision seeders function better with larger seeds, while pinpoint seeders handle small seeds much more efficiently. These tools work by opening the trench, dropping the seed at a specific spacing, covering it with soil, and even tamping it down with the back wheel – all with just one pass over the ground. This can save you a lot of time and take the strain off your back. There's also the option of a seed spreader which broadcasts the seed over a designated area. However, this type of seeder is more commonly used for grass seed rather than vegetables, but can also double as a spreader to fertilize your lawn.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective options is the Earthway Precision garden seeder that you just push along the ground. You can adjust the seed spacings with a change of the seed plate. The only drawback with this type of seeder is that, while it works great for larger seeds, it's not that good with small ones. So, if you're growing salad greens or carrots, it's likely that you'll have to do some thinning because this model drops seeds in clusters rather than individually. Another, more advanced option is the Jang TD precision seeder which does drop seeds individually, but it is also better suited to larger seeds and might be a bit heavy for home gardeners.

On the other hand, the four-row pinpoint seeder from Johnny's Selected Seeds may be a better choice for those working with small seeds as it drops individual ones at preset intervals of 1 inch. Also available are one row and six row pinpoint seeders, which have adjustable spacings. However, the one drawback with these is that the soil needs to be well-tilled for easy operation. As another option, Jang also has the JP seeder which is more suited to small or medium-sized seeds. Spacings are adjustable with this push-along model too. But, if you're gardening in smaller spaces or have a limited budget, as long as you know how deep you should be planting your seeds, you might be better off with something a little simpler like a mini seed spreader.